Lists and Stories
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What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter? Easter is the principal festival of the Christian church, a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. So where do the colored eggs fit in? The egg was a widely used premodern and pre-Christian symbol of fertility and restoration. European “Pagans” (a... -
What Do the Olympic Rings and Flame Represent? The Olympic Games were founded on a love of sport, unity, and competition and an ancient tradition of physical fitness. With such rich history and meaning, an event like the Olympics glows with symbolism and iconography that references its powerful themes. Two unique and well-known symbols of the... -
What Does Photosynthesis Produce? Photosynthesis produces sugar, with oxygen gas as a by-product. The process of photosynthesis is commonly written as: 6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2. This means that six carbon dioxide molecules and six water molecules are converted by light energy captured by chlorophyll (implied by the arrow) into a... -
What Does SPF Mean? Sun protection factor, or SPF, is a measure of a sunscreen’s ability to protect the skin from ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, the portion of sunlight primarily responsible for sunburn and a major contributor to skin cancer. The Sun also emits ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, which penetrates deeper... -
What Does the Rosetta Stone Say? In 1799—about a year into Napoleon Bonaparte’s occupation of Egypt—French engineers doing demolition work in the delta town of El-Rashid (Europeanized as “Rosetta”) made a remarkable find. While tearing down a wall, they unearthed a large black granite stone with parallel inscriptions in two... -
What Happened at the Rock Springs Massacre? Gunshots rang out on the afternoon of September 2, 1885, in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory. Home to hundreds of Chinese coal miners who had come to the United States for work, the settlement’s Chinatown was facing impending bloodshed. After a morning of violence against Chinese workers in one of... -
What Happened to Acid Rain? During the 1970s and ’80s the phenomenon called acid rain was one of the most well-known environmental problems in Europe and North America, appearing frequently in news features and mentioned, on occasion, in situation comedies of the day. Since that time, the visibility of acid rain in the media... -
What Happened to the Dinosaurs? One day 66 million years ago, an asteroid the size of a mountain struck near the Yucatán Peninsula with an explosive force equivalent to 100 trillion tons of TNT. In that cataclysmic instant, the 165-million-year reign of the dinosaurs came to an end. The asteroid theory of the dinosaurs’ demise... -
What Happened to the Megalodon? Megalodon (Carcharocles megalodon) was the scourge of the seas some 23 million to about 2.6 million years ago, during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. The largest megalodons likely measured about 17.9 meters (58.7 feet) long, which made them the largest sharks, the largest fish, and possibly even... -
What Happens to Earth If the Amazon Rainforest Is Completely Burned? Metaphorically speaking, the vast tropical rainforest in South America’s Amazon River basin is often called the “lungs of the planet.” Some people claim that the Amazon Rainforest alone is responsible for 20 percent of Earth’s oxygen, but is this really true? As the region experiences more fires in... -
What Happens to Our Bodies After We Die? What happens to our bodies after we die isn’t a mystery, even if we may want it to be. If you want to confront the physical changes that take place, read on. The first visible change to the body—occurring 15 to 20 minutes after death—is pallor mortis, in which the body begins to pale. Pallor mortis... -
What Happens When You Swallow Gum? Your parents may have warned you not to swallow your chewing gum because it would remain in your stomach for seven years. Could this possibly be true? Chewing gum consists of a gum base and flavorings, including sweeteners. It is true that the gum base (made from synthetic chicle and similar... -
What Have We Left on the Moon? In July 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history as the first human beings to land on the Moon’s surface. Five more crewed missions made it to the Moon in the years that followed before the Apollo program ended in 1972. To date, 24 astronauts (all Americans) have visited the Moon, 12 of... -
What If the President Is Impeached? Impeachment proceedings begin when the president is accused of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” (U.S. Constitution, Article II, section 4). The House of Representatives votes on articles of impeachment, or formal charges of misconduct. If approved by a majority of members,... -
What Is a Cashless Society and How Does It Work? A cashless society is one in which cash, in the form of physical banknotes and coins, is not accepted in any financial transaction. Instead, people and businesses transfer money to one another digitally—via credit or debit cards, electronic money transfers, cryptocurrency, or online and mobile... -
What Is a Modern Pentathlon? While Summer Olympic sports such as swimming, gymnastics, and football are more popular with worldwide audiences, there are other Olympic games that most people know little about. An event since the 1912 Olympics, the modern pentathlon is often forgotten and has a name that might turn off potential... -
What Is a Second Wave of a Pandemic, and Could It Happen for COVID-19? This article was originally published May 15, 2020, and updated October 15, 2020. When a global outbreak of disease begins to slow, feelings of relief and a sense of moving on ensue. But historically, based on past pandemics involving diseases like the plague, cholera, and influenza, that feeling... -
What Is a Superspreader Event? The COVID-19 pandemic has caused various scientific terms to become a part of everyday vocabulary, among them the term “superspreader event.” But what exactly is a superspreader event, and how does it affect the spread of infectious disease? In the realm of infectious disease, a superspreader event... -
What Is an Aftershock? Earth is an active place full of storms, fast-moving river and ocean currents, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Continents are slowly but constantly moving, and the stresses that build up in the rocks that stem from pushing, pulling, and twisting forces eventually result in the sudden violent fracturing... -
What Is an Executive Order? In the United States the president acts as both head of state and head of government. Although the office gives its holder a tremendous amount of power, it does not grant the ability to enact laws. Unlike the prime minister in a parliamentary system, the U.S. president does not need to command a...