“The body of man has in itself blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile,” begins a text attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. Regarded as the father of modern medicine, he is often the subject of legend rather than fact; of the near-60 medical writings that bear his name, it is

It’s 1984. More than 77 million Americans—nearly one-third of the country—are tuned in to their televisions to watch Super Bowl XVIII. The Los Angeles Raiders are down 9 to 28 in the third quarter against the Washington Redskins when the teams pause for a commercial break. Suddenly, a brass

U.S. Pres. Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant’s predecessor, was a hard-line Southern Democrat who handled Reconstruction in the South with leniency. As a result, Southern state and local governments quickly passed a series of black codes that ensured the sociopolitical hegemony of white planters

Ulysses S. Grant became president of the United States less than a year after the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie created, in 1868, what would be an undisturbed reservation for the Lakota Indians in western modern-day South Dakota. Many Lakota moved, but some chiefs chose to live on unceded land. The

Taika Waititi: Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows: …producer for the TV series What We Do in the Shadows (2019–24) and directed several episodes; the series was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2020.

Italian literature: Fiction at the turn of the 21st century: What We Don’t Know About Children, or A Game We Play) opens a disturbing window onto the perverse and ultimately deadly private world of a group of children abandoned by their families to their own devices. Carlo Lucarelli’s thriller Almost Blue (1997; the original and…

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): …of Raymond Carver’s short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” The film draws viewers behind the scenes of the fraught production and into Thomson’s mind. The character of Birdman taunts Thomson whenever he is alone, and Thomson exhibits magical powers under Birdman’s influence, but it is…

Much of Alfred’s reign as king of Wessex was consumed with defending his kingdom against Danish invaders. By the time he was king, Danish armies had overrun the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia, and most of Mercia, gaining political power in those regions and establishing

For upward of 500,000 enslaved people, the path to freedom during the American Civil War (1861–65) involved a contraband camp. These enclaves were established by people who fled from enslavement to Union-controlled territory. Although some Union officials initially sent them back to the

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

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

The September 11 attacks were a series of airplane hijackings and suicide attacks committed in 2001 by 19 terrorists associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda. It was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil; nearly 3,000 people were killed. The attacks involved the hijacking of four

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

Nancy Meyers: Meyers next wrote and helmed What Women Want (2000), which featured Mel Gibson as a chauvinistic advertising executive who develops the ability to read women’s minds after an accident. While the romantic comedy received mixed reviews, it was popular with moviegoers and cemented Meyers’s position as a major player in…

Philip Levine: …in 1991 for his collection What Work Is, an honor that may have partly inspired the backward look that he achieved in The Bread of Time: Toward an Autobiography (1994, reissued 2001), a series of autobiographical essays that one critic called both elegant and tough-minded. Among his later books of…

Brian Boitano: Later activities and South Park: …later hosted the TV series What Would Brian Boitano Make? (2009–10). He also appeared in the miniseries The Brian Boitano Project (2014), in which he renovated a home in Italy.

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

A sudden halt in Earth’s rotation would cause severe and widespread disruption to the planet’s physical structure, climate and ecosystems. The immediate effect would be the cessation of the centrifugal force that acts on the planet’s surface. This force contributes to the slight bulging of Earth at

For more than a century, U.S. leaders have periodically floated the idea of acquiring Greenland, but President Donald Trump has revived the idea with a sense of urgency. He first raised it in 2019 during his first term and returned to it following his reelection in 2024. His administration has

Carolyn Forché: …2019 she published the autobiography What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance.

A deferred annuity offers a way to save for the future while building cash value over time. Premiums paid into the annuity grow to provide a predictable income stream during retirement, offering financial security for those looking to lock in stable payments later in life. But accessing your funds

Sherman Alexie: Literary career: …writing, and the story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”—published first in The New Yorker in 2003 and later in the collection Ten Little Indians (2003)—also won prizes.

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

They say nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. But the amount you pay in taxes is anything but certain. There’s this big table of rates and income levels. The IRS uses confusing jargon such as marginal tax rates and income tax brackets. And what’s the difference between heads of

What’s Bred in the Bone, novel by Robertson Davies, published in 1985 as the second volume of his so-called Cornish trilogy. The other books in the trilogy are The Rebel Angels (1981) and The Lyre of Orpheus (1988). Two angels narrate this story about the mysterious life of a famous art collector

the Andrews Sisters: …which included Private Buckaroo (1942), What’s Cookin’? (1942), and Swingtime Johnny (1943). The trio’s many hits from these years included “Hold Tight,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” “Rum and Coca-Cola,” “Beer Barrel Polka,” and “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive.” Their recorded performances were heard in the sound tracks of numerous movies,…

Leonardo DiCaprio: This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape: …and for his next film, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), he received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his realistic portrayal of a teenager with an intellectual disability. The film also starred Johnny Depp as the older brother.

Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On was a critical and commercial sensation in spite of the fact that Gordy, fearing its political content (and its stand against the Vietnam War), had argued against its release. It included the chart-topping singles “What’s Going On,” “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),”…

Martin Lawrence: …role on the TV series What’s Happening Now!! (1985–88). Lawrence eventually earned small roles in several films, including Do the Right Thing (1989); House Party (1990) and House Party 2 (1991), with his former coworkers Kid ’n Play; and Boomerang (1992). He served as host of the cable television program…

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended on November 12, 2025. Here’s what you need to know: Federal workers began reporting for work on November 13, after a series of votes that ended the 43-day stalemate. On November 9, eight Senate Democrats joined Republicans to allow a vote to

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

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,

Angela Bassett: …of singer Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) received critical and popular praise, and she was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress and won a Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy. Movies such as the highly acclaimed…

Tina Turner: …female vocal performance for “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” The single became Turner’s signature song. She followed her musical success with a role in the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Later albums included Break Every Rule (1986), Foreign Affair (1989), and Wildest Dreams (1996). Her greatest-hits…

Lily James: Pam & Tommy and other roles from the 2020s: …starred in the romantic comedy What’s Love Got to Do with It? (2022). The following year she appeared onstage with Kristin Scott Thomas in Lyonesse at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

Bennett Cerf: …the popular television show “What’s My Line?” (1952–68).

Ringo Starr: Solo career: music, acting, and photography: …Give More Love (2017), and What’s My Name (2019). In 2025 Starr returned to the country genre with Look Up, which was critically acclaimed.

Woody Allen: Youth and early work: …the screenplay for the film What’s New, Pussycat? (1965), in which he also appeared. Allen made his first film, What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (1966), by redubbing a James Bond-like Japanese action film, International Secret Police: Key of Keys (1965), and shifting its focus to the pursuit of a top-secret recipe…

Bugs Bunny: What’s Opera, Doc? (1957)—an animated masterpiece which cast Bugs and Elmer Fudd in the roles of Brunhild and Siegfried in a hilariously tweaked adaptation of Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung—was the first cartoon short to be inducted into the National Film Registry of…

George Seaton: Later films: … and Eva Marie Saint, and What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) was a whimsical comedy featuring George Peppard and Mary Tyler Moore.

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

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,

Mary J. Blige: Music career: …of her first solo album, What’s the 411?, produced primarily by rapper Sean (“Puffy”) Combs (Diddy). That album reveals the pain of Blige’s childhood while presenting a unique sound that mixed classic soul with hip-hop and urban contemporary R&B, redefining soul music and influencing a generation of artists. The album…

When considering tax-advantaged retirement plans, two majors come to mind: the individual retirement account (IRA) and the 401(k) plan. If your employer offers a 401(k), how do you decide if you should participate in it versus contributing to your own IRA? Although there are many similarities

The terms cathedral and basilica can sound interchangeable—both conjure images of grand, historic churches. But they reflect two entirely different ways of defining a church: One is rooted in function and hierarchy, the other in recognition and tradition. A cathedral is the principal church of a

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

Cheetahs and leopards are both large cats with dark spots and yellowish coats, but they have distinctly different body shapes and hunting techniques. Cheetahs are built for speed, with long legs and slender frames, and they weigh between 34 and 54 kg (75 and 119 pounds). They have unique black

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

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

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

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

Professional athletes are among the most highly paid workers on the planet. The owners of professional sports teams are one of the few groups richer than the athletes who work for them. As such, they seem unlikely to be at the center of high-profile, protracted work stoppages. After all, wasn’t the

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

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

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

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

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

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

The relationship between a symphony and an orchestra is that the orchestra is the ensemble that performs the symphony. While a symphony is a type of musical composition, the orchestra is the group of musicians that brings it to life. A symphony is a large-scale musical work, typically composed to

What is a tortoise anyway? Is it just a fancy way to say “turtle”? Well, actually, there’s a meaningful difference between tortoises and other turtles. All tortoises are in fact turtles—that is, they belong to the order Testudines or Chelonia, reptiles having bodies encased in a bony shell—but not

Don’t know a gator from a crocodile? You’re probably not alone. Although these large reptiles belong to different families, they share a number of similarities, including long snouts, powerful tails, short legs, and bony-plated backs. But there are some easy ways to tell them apart. The first is

The use of herbs and spices can be found as far back as prehistoric times, often as valuable forms of currency in trade. The seasonings have also been used for medicinal properties and as preservatives in food storage. Many spices have been found to contain antimicrobial properties that thwart the

Angiosperms and gymnosperms are the two major groups of vascular seed plants. Angiosperms, which are flowering plants, are the largest and most diverse group within the kingdom Plantae. With around 300,000 species, they represent approximately 80 percent of all the known green plants now living.

Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism share deep historical roots, and both Christian traditions maintain liturgical worship, episcopal leadership (bishops), and sacraments. Their separation dates to the 16th century, when the Church of England broke from papal authority during the English Reformation

You may have been taught that there are only two species of elephants: the African elephant and the Asian elephant. In 2000, scientists recategorized the African elephant species into two distinct species, the larger being the African bush elephant (or African savanna elephant) and the smaller

It’s easy to understand why people confuse bison and buffalo. Both are large, horned, oxlike animals of the Bovidae family. There are two kinds of bison, the American bison and the European bison, and two forms of buffalo, water buffalo and Cape buffalo. However, it’s not difficult to distinguish

Blues and jazz are both profoundly influential African American music styles that developed in the South about the turn of the 20th century. So closely are they related that jazz great Billie Holiday titled her 1956 autobiography Lady Sings the Blues. Yet there are key differences between the two

If you have a smartphone, laptop, tablet, or similar device, it is probably equipped with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless capabilities. But what exactly are Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and how do they differ? Bluetooth, developed in the late 1990s, is a technology designed to enable short-range wireless

White table sugar comes from either sugarcane or sugar beets and is usually sold without its plant source clearly identified. This is because—chemically speaking—the two products are identical. Refined table sugar is pure, crystallized sucrose, much in the same way that pure salt is simply sodium

The difference between cartoons and animations lies in their applications. Cartoons are typically static images, although they can be part of a series, such as a comic strip, to convey a story or message. Animation, on the other hand, is the art of making inanimate objects appear to move. It

The words cement and concrete are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. Cement is a fine powder that forms a hard substance when mixed with water. It’s made by heating a blend of limestone and clay, then grinding it down. On its own, cement can be used in grout or combined

Coffee and tea, two of the world’s most beloved beverages, differ significantly in their origins and cultivation. Coffee is brewed from the roasted and ground seeds of the coffee plant, primarily Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, which thrive in tropical and subtropical climates. These plants

Day trading and swing trading are two distinct styles of market speculation that aim to profit from short-term market movements. It really boils down to two things: A day trade can last from mere seconds to hours, while a swing trade can last from days to a few weeks. What accounts for this

The Internet has greatly changed the way we communicate. Since body language and verbal tone do not translate in our text messages or e-mails, we’ve developed alternate ways to convey nuanced meaning. The most prominent change to our online style has been the addition of two new-age hieroglyphic

An enclave, in political geography, is a territory that’s surrounded by foreign territory. The word enclave comes by way of French from the Late Latin word inclavatus, meaning “shut in or locked up (with a key).” An enclave can also be an exclave if it’s part of a larger territory that it’s

People often confuse the concepts of global warming and climate change, and it doesn’t help that media companies often substitute one for the other in TV, newspaper, and social media reporting. This is somewhat understandable since the two concepts overlap a great deal. In fact, there is a causal

The names Great Britain and United Kingdom are often used interchangeably. However, they are not actually synonymous. The reason for the two names, and the difference between them, has to do with the expansive history of the British Isles. The British Isles are a group of islands off the

Latin America, extending from the deserts of northern Mexico to the icy wilds of Tierra del Fuego in Chile and Argentina, encompasses many diverse countries and peoples. Though most of these countries are largely Catholic and Spanish-speaking, thanks to a shared history of colonization by Spain,

In the 1980s, a condition called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, known more widely as AIDS, began to show itself within particular demographics in the United States. Initially referred to as GRID, or “gay-related immune deficiency,” for its prevalence among gay men, the condition meant a

In short: hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets. Wasps are a diverse group of insects with over 100,000 species, many of which are solitary rather than social. They can be found in a variety of habitats and have a wide range of behaviors. Some wasps are parasitoids, laying their eggs in

Before the invention of the at-home refrigerator in 1913, it was rare to find a strawberry in the winter or a gala apple in the spring—unless it had been preserved. Jams, jellies, and preserves were developed by industrious fruit eaters of days past as methods of keeping fruits fresh out of season.

Libel and slander are forms of defamation, which is an untrue statement presented as fact and intended to damage a person’s character or reputation. Libel is a defamatory statement made in writing, while slander is a defamatory statement that is spoken. To be defamatory, a statement, whether

Llamas and alpacas have been used by humans for transportation and fleece production for a few thousand years. Both species are primarily found in Peru and Bolivia and are part of the camel family, Camelidae. Alpacas and llamas are two of the four lamoid species—the other two species, vicuña and

Have you ever wondered about the difference between modern and contemporary art? Or wondered if there even is a difference between the two? Well, first of all, the two terms are not interchangeable. There is a difference, and it is based on rough date ranges established by art historians, art

Monkeys and apes are both primates, which means they’re both part of the human family tree. As distinguished relatives, we should probably be able to tell them apart. But when you look at a gibbon or a marmoset, how do you know which is a monkey and which is an ape? The quickest way to tell the

Generally, the terms ethics and morality are used interchangeably, although a few different communities (academic, legal, or religious, for example) will occasionally make a distinction. In fact, Britannica’s article on ethics considers the terms to be the same as moral philosophy. While

Most people are generally familiar with moths and butterflies. You might recognize a beautiful butterfly in a garden and avoid the erratic moths circling your porch light at night. But what about that whitish blur fluttering around during the day? Or that large fuzzy beauty you just spied on a

An opiate is an opioid, but an opioid is not always an opiate. That’s because opioids and opiates differ primarily in their origins. The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)—specifically, the milky latex found in its unripe seed capsule—is the source of opiates, which include such drugs as opium,

Stars burn bright and hot due to nuclear fusion reactions occurring in their cores. This process involves the fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium, releasing a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light and heat. In contrast, planets reflect the light of their star rather than producing their

If you’ve ever watched Looney Tunes, you may have noticed that the words bunny (which typically refers to young rabbits), rabbit (or wabbit, as spoken by Elmer Fudd), and hare (as shown in various clever episode titles) all referred to Bugs Bunny. While this was likely done to serve the stories,

The Olympic Games features dozens of sports in its competitive lineup, including multiple disciplines of singular sports. For some of these disciplines, the differences between them are easy to spot—cycling road is obviously different from cycling track in the arena where the competitions are held.

While river otters and sea otters might appear similar at first glance, the two exhibit many striking differences beyond their aquatic habitats. Although the term sea otter refers to only one species—Enhydra lutris—river otter applies to multiple species in the genus Lontra, which includes the

Are seals and sea lions the same animal? Technically, they are in the same taxonomical suborder of pinnipeds (Pinnipedia), which comprises seals, sea lions, and walruses. But seals and sea lions are in different taxonomical families owing to some key anatomical differences. The most notable

When describing the motion of objects in terms of distance, time, and direction, physicists use the basic quantities of speed and velocity. Two terms, two distinct meanings. Yet, not uncommonly, we hear these terms used interchangeably. So, what’s the difference? Why is it incorrect to use the

Sugar in fruit and sugar in processed foods are not the same. Fruits contain sugars known as fructose and glucose. When these sugars are combined, the result is sucrose (commonly called table sugar or white sugar). Sucrose occurs naturally in almost all plants but is especially abundant in

If you’re in the U.S., chances are that the “yams” you eat at Thanksgiving are actually sweet potatoes. Shocked? It’s true: yams and sweet potatoes are totally different plants and are not even closely related. In fact, these tasty starchy veggies are actually in two different plant families

Regardless of whether you play a musical instrument, you probably know a little something about beat, melody, and harmony. But while many people are familiar with these terms, some still struggle to understand the difference between the most fundamental of musical elements—tempo and rhythm. In

When you think of the deep web, what comes to mind? Illegal activity? Phishing and scams? Bitcoins? Well, you’d be kind of right…and kind of wrong. These are examples of things found in the dark web, a collection of websites that have hidden IP addresses and may require a specific software to

The primary difference between areas defined as urban (Latin: urbanus, “related to the city”) and rural (Latin: ruralis, “belonging to the countryside”) lies in their population density and, often, the nature of their economic activities. Urban areas are characterized by high population density

Veins and arteries are major players in the circulatory system of all vertebrates. They work together to transport blood throughout the body, helping to oxygenate and remove waste from every cell with each heartbeat. Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart, while veins carry oxygen-depleted