The second Monday in October has traditionally
been known as Columbus Day in honor of the Italian
explorer's "discovery" of the Americas on October
12, 1492. However, the US federal holiday, which
will be celebrated on October 11 this year, has
always been controversial due to the European
settlers' cruel treatment of the Native American pe...
Many superheroes wear capes. But Batman's
imposing floor-length cloak is legendary. The twisting
sheath not only adds to the Dark Knight's mystique
but also transforms into a rigid fabric that allows him
to fly for extended periods. Now, engineers at the
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapo...
One of the world's most iconic landmarks just got
transformed into a work of art. From September 18
to October 3, 2021, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris,
France, will be embellished with 25,000 square
meters of shimmering silvery-blue plastic fabric, held
in place by 9,842 feet (3,000 meters) of red rope.
The installation, dubbed "L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrap...
Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX is known for
making history. It was the first private spaceflight
company to transport astronauts to the International
Space Station and the first to develop a reusable
rocket booster. On September 18, 2021, the
American aerospace company did it again by
completing the world's first-ever all-civilian mission...
The Sequoia National Park in California's southern
Sierra Nevada mountains is best known for its
namesake giant sequoias. The park boasts 40
groves of the massive trees, which occur naturally
only on its western slopes. But the most beloved is
the Giant Forest, a collection of 2000 trees that
includes half of the Earth's largest and longest-livi...
After years of intense public pushback, the
now-shuttered Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus finally announced the retirement of their
Asian elephant performers in 2016. While the
decision was a resounding victory for animal lovers
and activists, it raised a new issue. The mighty
pachyderms were raised in captivity and lacked th...
The western false asphodel — an herb-like plant
found in abundance along North America's West
Coast — has been known to science since 1879. But
it is only recently that researchers from the
University of British Columbia discovered the
innocent-looking plant's penchant for insects. The
finding is particularly exciting given that this is the...
The 2021 US Open Women's Singles final between
18-year-old Emma Raducanu and 19-year-old Leylah
Fernandez was one of the most anticipated Grand
Slam tournaments in recent history. It was the first
all-teenage final since the 1999 US Open and the
first major final — men or women — since 1968 to
feature two unranked players.
The Henan Province in central China is a treasure
trove of dinosaur eggs. However, the odd-looking
black orb with a blue tint, presented to Fenglu Han
and Haishui Jiang by a farmer in 2018, was unlike
any dinosaur egg the experts had encountered
before. The paleontologists from the China
University of Geosciences initially thought the egg ...
