Free Republic

There's a new attraction for thousands of people enjoying the long holiday weekend on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Shelly Island is a destination you won't find on a standard map. The giant barrier island suddenly formed in the Atlantic Ocean, almost overnight. CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports the mile-long island, which measures as wide as a football field, has attracted hundreds of tourists by boat for the Fourth of July. Pilot Larry Ihler told Strassmann the island "has definitely gotten bigger" and is "more built up." Strassmann set out by kayak on Monday to explore Shelly Island with County...

Egypt's Pyramids Packed With Seashells Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Fossil-Filled April 25, 2008 -- Many of Egypt's most famous monuments, such as the Sphinx and Cheops, contain hundreds of thousands of marine fossils, most of which are fully intact and preserved in the walls of the structures, according to a new study. The study's authors suggest that the stones that make up the examined monuments at Giza plateau, Fayum and Abydos must have been carved out of natural stone since they reveal what chunks of the sea floor must have looked like over 4,000 years ago, when the buildings were...

Forget the Pyramids: That stately, sand-dusted figure on the National Geographic cover is a babe - and she's wearing nothing but three strategically placed shells. Margaret Mead never looked like this. Then again, neither did the Geographic, whose first swimsuit issue hits the stands Saturday, 18 days ahead of Sports Illustrated's annual bikini blowout. Showing all that skin may be a stretch for a magazine whose usual cover lines run to "Indus: Clues to an Ancient Civilization" and "The Magic of Snowy Owls." Nevertheless, the editors of the venerable Geographic believe they've remained true to their mission.