Lists and Stories

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  What were Sir Walter Scott’s influences? Throughout his childhood Sir Walter Scott read extensively in a variety of genres, including poetry, history, drama, and medieval romance. He continued to read widely after he began to study law, and he became interested in German Romanticism and Gothic novels. Above all, however, he was intrigued...
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  What were the circumstances that surrounded Roald Amundsen’s death? Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, is known as one of the pillars of the “Heroic Age” of polar exploration. His exploits, which spanned Earth’s northern and southern polar regions during the first decades of the 20th century, are legendary even by today’s standards. He and his crew aboard the...
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  What Will Be Used for Money After Bills and Coins? Money, it has been said, is “a social convention.” Everyone agrees some pieces of paper or discs of metal issued by a government have a specific value, and everyone also agrees to that value. And then everyone exchanges these bits of paper and metal for stuff or services or something else of equal...
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  What Would Happen If All the Bees Died? There are about 20,000 species of bees in the world, and they are probably the most important insect pollinators. The thousands of bee species have unique flight patterns and floral preferences, and many have coevolved with flowers in such a way that their body sizes and behaviors almost perfectly...
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  What’s a Hoosier? People from certain U.S. states go by unusual names—Connecticuter, Michigander, Utahn, to name a few—but Hoosiers from Indiana are the only ones whose name isn’t based on their state name at all. Nobody really knows why it came into being, what the word originally meant, or where it came from. Some...
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  What’s Inside the Great Pyramid? According to Napoleonic legend, the future emperor of France emerged from Egypt’s Great Pyramid pale and shaken, having spent hours alone in the King’s Chamber. He never revealed what had rattled him, but supposedly the episode changed his life. Whether or not the story is true, it certainly...
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  What’s Inside the Pyramid at Chichén Itzá? Twice a year thousands of visitors crowd into the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá, located in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, in anticipation of the descent of Kukulcán. They gather around the site’s pyramid, called El Castillo (“the Castle”) by Spanish conquistadors, where, according to legend,...
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  What’s So Special About Stradivarius Violins? Violins built by the Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari (1644?–1737) have a special mystique in the classical music world. They’re also extremely expensive. In 2011 an anonymous buyer paid the record sum of $15.9 million for a violin—named “Lady Blunt” after Lady Anne Blunt, one of its...
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  What’s That Sound?: 8 Intriguing Early Musical Instruments Many early musical instruments are funny. They have laughable names and often produce laughable sounds. Some of them look pretty odd too. Here are a few worthy of closer scrutiny. Look for them at your nearby Renaissance fair, or find a concert in your city. list, early music, musical instruments,...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Bee and a Wasp? Ask a summertime picnicker what their biggest annoyance is, and the answer will likely be “bees.” Landing on uncovered food and drink with impunity, these insects aren’t particularly inclined to leave once they’ve tasted the ambrosial offerings that constitute the average picnic. If irate diners...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Frog and a Toad? You’re on a walk through the woods when a small brown and green creature hops across your path. Careful not to step on it, you lean down to get a closer look. Did you spot a frog or a toad? Though differentiating between frogs and toads can be difficult, there are a few features that may help you...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Gene and an Allele? A gene is a unit of hereditary information. Except in some viruses, genes are made up of DNA, a complex molecule that codes genetic information for the transmission of inherited traits. Alleles are also genetic sequences, and they too code for the transmission of traits. So, what it is the...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Glacier and an Ice Floe? While it is true that both glaciers and ice floes are large masses of ice that can be found in arctic regions, there is a major difference between them. Basically, glaciers originate on land, and ice floes form in open water and are a form of sea ice. Glaciers are formed by the recrystallization of...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Grasshopper and a Cricket? Grasshoppers and crickets can look pretty similar at first glance, especially given their enormous hind legs, which they both use for jumping. They differ in quite a number of ways, though—which is reflected in the fact that they’re actually somewhat distant cousins. One of the most noticeable...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Meteoroid, a Meteor, and a Meteorite? It’s a cool night, and you look up at the stars twinkling and serene in the dark sky. Then a light streaks across the sky and is gone. “Wow, a shooting star,” you think. “A meteor. Wait...or is it a meteorite? Or a meteoroid?” It is a meteor. A meteor is the streak of light that you see in the sky...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Migrant and a Refugee? Migrant and refugee are just two of the many terms we use to describe people who are seeking new homes in other countries. These two terms in particular are hot topics around the world owing to large numbers of people fleeing violence, poverty, political repression, and environmental disasters in...
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  What’s the Difference Between a President and a Prime Minister? World leaders can go by many titles: premier, chancellor, dear respected comrade. But two of the most common are president and prime minister. What differentiates them other than the latter’s hint of continental flavor? A prime minister, by definition, must be able to command a legislative...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Psychopath and a Sociopath? And How Do Both Differ from Narcissists? Psychopath and sociopath are often used interchangeably in common speech to describe a person who is pathologically prone to criminal or violent behavior and who lacks any regard for the feelings or interests of others and any feelings of remorse or guilt for his crimes. Although the terms are also...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Résumé and a CV? Preparing a summary of work experience and skills is a critical part of the job-seeking process. But for young job seekers, fresh out of high school, college, or postgraduate programs, one of the first obstacles encountered is whether you should prepare a résumé or a CV. But what is the difference...
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  What’s the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox? You may know that the solstices and equinoxes signal the changing of the seasons on Earth, but do you remember which is which? Are they just different names for the same thing? Actually, a solstice and an equinox are sort of opposites. The seasons on Earth change because the planet is slightly...