News Archive

The following is a media release by the Department of Energy’s Office of Public Affairs, dated August 3, 2011: The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that Philips Lighting North America has won the 60-watt replacement bulb category of the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition. The Department of Energy’s L Prize challenged the lighting industry to develop high performance, energy-saving replacements...

One of Europe’s most famous (some would say infamous) fountains is the Ogre Fountain, the Kindlifresserbrunnen (German for Child Eater Fountain), in Bern, Switzerland, that depicts an ogre devouring a naked child and holding a bag of other terrified children. It was built in 1544 as a replacement for a wooden well by Hans Gieng who created most of the public fountains of Bern that were erected during the Renaissance. There are...

Toponymy is the scientific study of place names (toponyms), their origins, meanings, use, and typology. The word “toponymy” is derived from the Greek words tópos (τόπος) (“place”) and ónoma (ὄνομα) (“name”). Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds. Toponymy is distinct from, though often confused...