Mensa Bulletin

Dry Tortugas National Park, which lies 70 miles west of Key West, Fla., is accessible only by boat or seaplane. It's home to Fort Jefferson, a massive hexagonal fort surrounded by water for as far as the eye can see. 📸: Erica Schmelzer @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

No dragons or UFOs in this year’s collection of shorts — sorry, spoiler alert — but artist M. C. Matz nevertheless captures our enthusiasm for fiction with this month’s story-themed canvas. @MensaBulletin

August @MensaBulletin cover story: A fair of the future might take place virtually, unbound by the normal laws of reality, imagines artist Megan Sullivan. Put your headsets on and behold, Impossible Fair.

For her last picture on a trip to the Dominican Republic, Marian Herz spent 1 1/2 hours waiting and trying to get the shot she wanted of a vervain hummingbird. The tiny, squeaky creatures are native to Hispaniola and Jamaica. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

In retirement, Mensan Jim Shane is a volunteer photographer for the @peregrinefund. He caught this family of burrowing owl nestlings trying to sneak a peek at the outside world from their man-made den. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

Initial discussions for the July cover imagined a bird’s-eye perspective focusing on a table of cookout foodstuff. Artist Jon Moore, however, delights us with a more social illustration of a scene that no longer requires suspended disbelief. @MensaBulletin #CoverStory

Phillip Power always wanted to try underwater photography, but, limited by geography, he had to get creative, resorting to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Neb., to spy these sea nettles. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

At the Mercer Botanical Gardens in Humble, Texas, a fountain near the entry greets visitors, including Butch Colbert, who uses a slow shutter speed to give movement to the water flow. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

Delusional parasitosis or not, Morgies deserve empathy. Mensan Genevieve M.H. Corrada takes a deep dive into the complicated history of #Morgellons and the struggles faced by those with the disease. us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

At Skógafoss in the south of Iceland, an 80-foot-wide wall of water drops 200 feet. Its mist regularly seeds rainbows like this one captured by Ashley Wilson. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

Monkey Brain, according to Mensan @RealKentKeith, is the subconscious programming that evolved over time to meet our most basic, primal needs. us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

In the Company of Heroes: WWII film honors Greatest Generation's service and sacrifice @MensaBulletin @JourneyToRoyal us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

“This film is our contribution to preserving that ever-endangered alliance between the present and the past,” writes Mensan and producer Mariana Tosca. “This is our offering to members of the Greatest Generation.” @MensaBulletin @JourneyToRoyal us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

After learning about the men of the 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron who saved the lives of 576 men during #WWII, Mensan Mariana Tosca quickly signed on to produce a film about their stories. us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

“It was my father’s luck that day at the chandlery to find a dirty, 88-inch-long, wooden tube and a lot of optical paraphernalia. It was the Fitz.” @MensaBulletin 🔭 us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

On a bucket-list safari in Tanzania, Brian Gobran scouted this yellow-billed stork, looking regal and staring in the right direction, among a group of others that were drawing several spectators at Tarangire National Park. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots

“As I grew up, I knew the Fitz was a special part of the family. Father would track celestial movements, judge the weather, and if clear skies and something to see coincided, out came the Fitz. This was an event.” @MensaBulletin us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

For years, Mensan and @BallState professor Nick Elam asked this simple question: What if basketball could keep or enhance all that we enjoy about late-game play and eliminate or alleviate all that we don’t? 🏀 us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

Mensan Rick Clarke recalls growing up with the tallest member of the family – a 7-foot-long refractor telescope designed by Henry Fitz about 180 years ago. @MensaBulletin 🌌🔭 us.mensa.org/read/bulletin/…

At the annual Labor Day Lift Off in Colorado Springs, Colo., Betsy Ogan captures balloons reflecting off Prospect Lake. @MensaBulletin #OpeningShots