The Mannahatta Project

In lieu of presents, and a few weeks early, we decided to be super-trendy and give each other H1N1 this year (hence our silence here). But lots of downtime at home means more time to explore The Mannahatta Project, an interactive website that imagines the island as it likely was when Henry Hudson arrived in September 1609. (There's a book too, a decade in the making, which juxtaposes renderings of "then" with photographs from "now.")

The coolest feature lets you enter an address and learn what inhabited that area four centuries ago. Apparently our block was full of rodents like mice and voles, who thrived among the many oaks. Occasionally a wolf, mountain lion, or bobcat wandered through. Today we're happy to report that there are still trees on our street, but now, of course, French bulldogs, pugs, vizslas, and a fat orange tabby, among others, hold sway.