Lists and Stories

What Is an Injunction? In law, an injunction is an order by a court to one or more of the parties in a civil trial to refrain from doing, or less commonly to do, some specified act or acts (the former kind of injunction is called prohibitory or preventive, the latter mandatory). The usual purpose of an injunction is to...
What Is an NFT? An NFT (non-fungible token) is a digital asset that has been authenticated using blockchain technology. Digital assets are intangible objects that live on the Internet, including videos, GIFs, images, and collages. NFTs allow their makers not only to “sign” digital assets but also to make money...
What Is Antimatter? What do you get when you combine the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics? No joke here—just a revolutionary concept coined by Nobel Prize winner P.A.M. Dirac after he discovered a strange disparity in an equation. What exactly was Dirac’s equation? Well, in short, it was a vast expansion of...
What Is Cultural Appropriation? You hear about it on Twitter, in news headlines, and at Thanksgiving dinner. But what is cultural appropriation, anyway? It’s not a concept designed to trick you. Taking off in the 1980s, the term cultural appropriation was first used in academic spaces to discuss issues such as colonialism and the...
What Is Earth’s Velocity? Earth has several velocities. There is the velocity with which it rotates on its axis. A point on Earth’s Equator moves with a velocity of 465.1 meters per second, or 1,674 kilometers per hour. The velocity of a point not at the Equator can be found by multiplying 465.1 meters per second by the...
What Is Gaslighting? “Gaslighting” is an elaborate and insidious technique of deception and psychological manipulation, usually practiced by a single deceiver, or “gaslighter,” on a single victim over an extended period. Its effect is to gradually undermine the victim’s confidence in his ability to distinguish truth...
What Is Gerrymandering? In the United States, representatives to state assemblies and the U.S. House of Representatives are determined by the voters within voting districts in each state. Unlike the boundaries between individual U.S. states, voting district boundaries are redrawn every 10 years to coincide with the U.S....
What is Hexavalent Chromium (or Chromium-6)? Many people know hexavalent chromium as a silent antagonist in the biopic Erin Brockovich (2000), which starred American actress Julia Roberts as a legal assistant taking on a company accused of polluting the water of rural Hinkley, California, which resulted in elevated rates of cancer and death...
What is Holy Week? During Holy Week, Christians recall the events leading up to Jesus’ death by crucifixion and, according to their faith, his Resurrection. The week includes five days of special significance: spotlight, Holy Week, Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, Passion of Christ, Maundy Thursday, Last Supper, Good...
What Is Intersectionality? In the 2010s intersectionality became the rallying cry of many left-wing activists fighting for social justice. The Oxford English Dictionary added the word in 2015, and Merriam-Webster published a definition two years later. The term skyrocketed in popularity, in part due to the philosophy...
What Is Jeremy Bentham’s “Auto-Icon”? Jeremy Bentham, the founder of modern utilitarianism, died in London on June 6, 1832, at the age of 84. In the last version of his will, dated May 30, one week before his death, Bentham bequeathed his body to his friend Dr. Thomas Southwood Smith, instructing him and Bentham’s executor to arrange...
What Is Known (and Not Known) About Contrails Contrail is short for “condensation trail.” A condensation trail is a streamer of cloud sometimes observed behind an airplane flying in clear, cold, humid air. Here’s what is known (and not known) about these man-made clouds. Companion, airplane, aircraft, atmosphere, chemical compound, chemical,...
What Is Known (and Not Known) About Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Rumors, conjecture, and conspiracy theories swirl around the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. Companion, MH17, Malaysia Airlines, plane crash, airplanes, Ukraine, Netherlands, Russia, missile,...
What Is Known (and Not Known) About the Bermuda Triangle People have been trying to solve the “mystery” of the Bermuda Triangle for years. Here’s what we know (and don’t know) about the Bermuda Triangle. Companion, Bermuda Triangle, Bermuda, Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Greater Antilles, North America, ship, airplane, aircraft, navigation, disappearance,...
What Is Known (and Not Known) About the Tunguska Event Rumors, conjecture, and conspiracy theories swirl around the explosion that happened near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia, in 1908. Companion, Tunguska, Siberia, Russia, explosion, astronomy, geology, meteoroid, asteroid, comet,...
What Is Mid-Century Modern Design? The term “mid-century modern” is often said to have been coined by author Cara Greenberg for the title of her 1984 book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. The phrase, however, was used before then—though sporadically—to describe the furniture and architecture of the mid-20th century....
What Is the Difference Between a Grain and a Seed? The word grain is usually used for the edible seeds of a cereal grass, such as rice, barley, or corn (maize). A cereal grass’s fruits—the fleshy or dry ripened ovaries of a flowering plant that contain seeds—are also often referred to as grains. Technically, most grains are actually a type of fruit...
What Is the Difference Between a Meteotsunami, a Seiche, and a Storm Surge? A meteotsunami is a large sea wave, with a wave height of two metres (about 6 feet) or more. Unlike seismic tsunamis, which are larger and produced by earthquakes, landslides, and strikes by meteorites or comets, meteotsunamis are generated by sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, such as during...
What Is the Difference Between a Peptide and a Protein? Proteins and peptides are fundamental components of cells that carry out important biological functions. Proteins give cells their shape, for example, and they respond to signals transmitted from the extracellular environment. Certain types of peptides play key roles in regulating the activities of...
What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon? The terms typhoon and hurricane are regional names for the same weather phenomenon, the tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones are intense circular storms that begin over warm tropical oceans, and they are characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. They draw their energy...