Lists and Stories

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  Farewell to Mad Men The first of the final seven episodes of the American TV show Mad Men aired on April 5, 2015. The acclaimed drama series, which debuted in 2007, centers on the personal and professional life of New York advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) amid the glamour and turbulence of the 1960s. Mad...
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  Fast Facts about the Cell Membrane The cell is the most basic unit of life on Earth, and the development of the cell membrane (or plasma membrane) may be one of the most important parts of the story of the evolution of life. Both prokaryotes (single-celled organisms that lack a distinct nucleus and other organelles) and eukaryotes...
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  Fear of Knowledge Humans have always been an inquisitive species, constantly seeking knowledge to improve our lives and those of future generations. Knowledge, after all, is power. It allows us to understand ourselves and the world around us, and with that understanding has come great advances. Knowledge has built...
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  Feliz Día de Muertos Although somewhat resembling Halloween, the Day of the Dead is a time when death is celebrated, not feared. During the two days of festivities, people don skull masks, decorate graves, and build altars, all to honor dead loved ones and make peace with the eventuality of death. While observed in...
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  Feminism: From Ancient Rome to the Women’s March Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster chose feminism as its 2017 Word of the Year, in response to both the massive Women’s Marches in American cities over the weekend following President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the scores of women who came forward to out famous and influential men for past...
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  Feral Cats of the Last Frontier An earlier version of this article was published on the Britannica blog Advocacy for Animals. There have been more than 30 reality TV shows set in Alaska. Many of these spotlight—intentionally or accidentally—the wildlife in the state and the way humans interact with it. There are grizzly bears,...
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  Fightin’ Fauna: 6 Animals of War Throughout recorded history, humans have excelled when it comes to finding new and inventive ways to kill each other. War really kicks that knack into overdrive, so it seems natural that humans would turn to the animal kingdom to supplement their arsenals. The Assyrians and Babylonians were among...
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  First Day of Fall Denizens of the Northern Hemisphere, brace yourselves. The autumnal equinox, usually occurring on September 22 or 23, means fall is officially here. The autumnal equinox is one of only two days—the other is the spring, or vernal, equinox—when the Sun is directly above the Equator, ostensibly...
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  First Triple Crown Winner Since 1978? Thoroughbred American Pharoah is the odds-on favorite to win the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 6. If he does, he will become the first horse to win the Triple Crown of American races—by taking the Belmont, the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness Stakes—since 1978. spotlight, horse...
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  Fish in a Barrel, Lions in a Cage: Canned Hunting in the U.S. and South Africa An earlier version of this article was published on the Britannica blog Advocacy for Animals. In early December 2003, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney went hunting. He and nine guests spent the day shooting ring-necked pheasants and mallards at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier,...
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  Five Years Later: The Great Sendai Earthquake March 11, 2016, marks the fifth anniversary of one of the largest disasters of modern times. The Great Sendai Earthquake (also known as the Great Tōhoku Earthquake) was not too different from the seismic event that generated the cataclysmic Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It struck in the...
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  Flags That Look Alike A national flag is one of the most instantly recognizable symbols of a country’s identity. Usually people can tell which flag belongs to which country, especially given the prominence of flags at international sporting events, such as the World Cup and the Olympics. Sometimes, however, confusion...
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  Freaky Fluorescent Frog Found In March 2017 a team of Argentine and Brazilian scientists announced that they had found a tree frog that naturally fluoresces, the first known amphibian to do so. The polka-dot tree frog (Hypsiboas punctatus) is a small frog about 3 cm (1.2 inches) in length that lives in the Amazon basin. Its...
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  From Gainsborough to Tansey: 7 Paintings in California Earlier versions of the descriptions of these paintings first appeared in 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die, edited by Stephen Farthing (2018). Writers’ names appear in parentheses. list, tourism, destinations, travel, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Gainsborough, James Ensor, Francisco de...
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  From Pirate to Admiral: The Tale of Barbarossa The island of Lésbos, in the Aegean Sea, is now part of Greece, but between 1462 and 1912, it lay under Turkish dominion. During the 1470s Lésbos was the birthplace of one of the Ottoman Empire’s greatest heroes. The Mediterranean pirate who would ultimately be remembered as Barbarossa (Italian for...
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  From Sport to Spectacle: The Evolution of the Super Bowl The Super Bowl began with the 1966–67 season, the first being played on January 15, 1967. Super Bowl staples—such as pregame shows, opening ceremonies, half-time entertainment spectacles, and other traditions—which once had humble beginnings, now come close to rivaling the game itself for the...
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  From Sport to Spectacle: The History of the Super Bowl This infographic provides a brief history of the Super Bowl. A detailed description follows. Spotlight, Super Bowl, NFL, National Football League, AFC, NFC, championship, gridiron, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, host cities, Buffalo Bills The Super Bowl has taken place in 19 different...
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  Gender Pay Gap Across the United States The infographic contains a bar graph showing what a woman in each U.S. state, Washington, D.C., and the country as a whole loses in average pay over a 40-year career, based on the 2020 wage gap—the difference between the average wages or salaries of men and those of women. The graph is ordered from...
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  Ghost Forests Are Becoming the New Haunts of Climate Change Ghost forests are likely not filled with ghosts, but they should probably scare us. A ghost forest is a stand of dead and decaying trees, an eerie sight that serves as a dramatic warning of a growing problem within the global ecosystem. Ghost forests form when the ocean rises and floods coastal...
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  Gilles de Rais: History’s First Serial Killer? Even if there had been nothing else unusual about the Breton nobleman Gilles de Rais (1404–40), his outstanding career as a soldier in the Hundred Years’ War and as a comrade in arms of Joan of Arc would have been enough to guarantee his place in history. Today, though, those achievements can only...