September 15 isn’t just the publication date for the xkcd book (and another little book for puzzle and code geeks). It’s also the birthday (at least according to some sources) of the Italian explorer Marco Polo. Now, everybody’s heard the story of how Marco Polo brought Chinese noodles to Italy, right? Well, judging by this person-on-the-street video, to some people he’s more famous as the guy in the swimming pool game. But a new HD live-action kids comedy series called Team Marco Polo promises to change all that by teaching kids about history and culture.
Right now it looks like this Seattle-based production is just a YouTube channel and Facebook fan page. But according to the countdown clock, their new website is supposed to go live today. Whether there’ll be anything worth watching is yet to be seen. But if nothing else, have a plate of pasta tonight in honor of this brave explorer, who at the age of 17 crossed Europe and Asia in search of adventure, and noodles.
Kathy Ceceri is busy this month finishing up a children’s book about the Silk Road.
