Tour de France marks 100th edition with 'Fête du Tour'

Fans will have the opportunity to commemorate the 100th edition of the Tour de France this weekend by taking to the course of cycling's most famous stage race, two weeks ahead of the Grand Depart.

The Tour will celebrate the milestone on Saturday with a host of events organised throughout most of France as part of the "Fete du Tour".

The celebrations are scheduled to take place in all cities through which the race, which gets underway in Corsica on June 29, will pass with numerous activities and rides, ranging from the length of an entire stage to shorter formats of 10 to 50km, planned by tour organisers.

Even the 242.5km ride Givors to Mont Ventoux, which will serve as the Tour's 15th stage, will be open for cycling enthusiasts to tackle, although it will be staggered over two...

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One of the most famous bicycle races is celebrating its 100th year. Racers have traveled over the same roads, through the same landscapes since the early 1900s. Hard to imagine.

Florida celebrates 500th anniversary

Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon was only 4-foot, 11-inches (1.5 meters) tall, a trolley tour operator told his passengers as they rolled down a picturesque street in St. Augustine lined with moss-draped live oak trees.

But the Timucuan Indians he encountered when he set foot in Florida towered over him, standing 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall, the tour guide said.

Turning into the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, he noted: No wonder the explorer thought these tall, robust natives were drinking enchanted water.

Statue of Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon located at the foot of the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine’s Plaza de La Constitucion, Florida. (Image provided by the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau) This week Florida celebrated the 500th anniversary of the day when Ponce de Leon stepped onto the...

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There is an saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." It means that each person has their idea of what it beautiful. It seems that the same can be said of history - the story of what happened in the past may change depending on who is telling it.

Did Jesus have a wife?

It's just a scrap of papyrus paper, no bigger than a credit card. It has on it lines of writing in the Coptic language and their message is potentially sensational. They quote Christ as having made a reference to having a wife. Of course, this flies in the face of traditional belief, and Professor Karen King, who's just revealed the text to the world, says it does not prove that Christ did indeed have a wife. But she says it is an indication that some early Christians believed that he did.

Professor Karen King:
"This fragment is not evidence for the marital status of the historical Jesus. Rather, it's evidence that there was a controversy going on in the 2nd century among Christians about whether they should marry or remain celibate. And it's in this...

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The discovery of an ancient text written in the Coptic language raises interesting questions about religious practices. There is so much we don't know....

Remembering astronaut Neil Armstrong

I’m June Simms. This week, we hear about a new book on natural soundscapes and the man who recorded them.

We also tell about singer Kris Allen and how he chose a name for his new CD.

But first, we tell about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

This week, people around the world have been remembering the...

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In this segment we have a curious combination of topics, ranging from the first man to walk on the Moon to the meaning behind the name of a Top 40 hit song.

Race to the Moon: The days of project Gemini

Shirley Griffith: Today, Harry Monroe and Tony Riggs report about America's second manned space program, Gemini. Two astronauts flew on each flight. Gemini's purpose was to bring the United States closer to its goal of landing astronauts on the moon.

 Tony Riggs: The astronauts of America's first manned program, Project Mercury, made six successful flights. They proved that people could survive the hostile environment of space.

In nineteen sixty-five America's space agency, NASA, was ready to begin its second manned program. NASA called it Gemini. The program was named for the two stars Castor and Pollux in the star group Gemini. The Gemini program would send two astronauts at a time into space.

Gemini would test the men's ability to live and...

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12 forgotten Olympic sports

Since the introduction of the modern Olympics 1896, and the addition of the Winter Olympics in 1924, the popularity of sports has changed. At each Olympiad, new events are added and some sports retired.

Following the 2008 Beijing Games, two sports - softball and baseball - were cut from the Olympic program.

Notable new events at the 2012 London Olympics are women's boxing (three weight classes), mixed doubles in tennis and Omnium racing in track cycling.

Some popular sports find their way into the...

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Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962: she was the most influential wife of any American President

STEVE EMBER: I’m Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about the woman who was the most influential wife of any American president, Eleanor Roosevelt.

STEVE EMBER: Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of America's thirty-second president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She helped her husband in many ways during his long political life. She also became one of the most influential people in America. She fought for equal rights for all people -- workers, women, poor people, black people. And she sought peace among nations.

 Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City in eighteen eighty-four. Eleanor's family had great wealth and influence. But Eleanor did not have a happy childhood. Her mother was sick and nervous. Her father did not work. He drank too much alcohol. He was not like his older brother, Theodore Roosevelt, who was...

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Living museums bring static history to life

This is the time of year when thousands of tourists descend upon Washington, D.C., to see the capital’s great monuments and museums, including the National Gallery of Art and an array of Smithsonian museums.

These are what might be called “static” museums. You walk in, see the pioneer Wright Brothers plane hanging from the ceiling or a great Vermeer painting, or a display of American Indian artifacts.

You look at them, maybe read a placard, or perhaps wear a headset in which a narrator gives you more background about what you’re seeing.

 But in today’s world of spectacular theme parks and dazzling electronic diversions...

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