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Cosmic Curiosities

“I would rather be a superb meteor,

One day, Wenebojo was standing under a maple tree.

Suddenly, it began to rain maple syrup, not sap, right on top of him. Wenebojo got a birchbark tray and held it out to catch the syrup. He said to himself, “This is too easy for the Indians to have the syrup just rain down like this.” So he threw the syrup away and decided that before they could have the syrup, the Indians would have to give a feast, offer tobacco, speak to the manido, and put out some birchbark trays.

Cosmic Curiosities

“Never have I beheld any spectacle which…so forcibly taught the lesson of humility to man as a total eclipse of the Sun.”
~ James Fennimore Cooper, 19th century American writer

Last Thoughts before the Big American Eclipse

Some of the Milwaukee Public Museum's great collections are available online.

American Indian Cradles and Cradleboards - The Museum’s collection of cradles, cradleboards, and associated accoutrements includes nearly 200 items.

Cosmic Curiosities

“The light from a galaxy a billion light-years away, for instance, will take a billion years to reach us. It’s an amazing thing. The history is there for us to see. It’s not mushed up like the geologic record of Earth.”
- Margaret Geller, American Astrophysicist

Pregnancy, Birth, and Infancy

The Great Lakes tribes observed specific taboos during pregnancy which extended to both parents. Both expectant parents, but particularly the mother, were warned not to look at deformed animals or people for fear it might harm the child. Eating or looking at turtles or rabbits could cause the baby to develop the jerky motion of a turtle or rabbit-like fits.

Cosmic Curiosities

“Mars is the only known planet inhabited by robots.”
- Brian Solis, American Speaker & Author

A Day in Space-Life