Those of you still recovering from last weekend's Halloween festivities will be pleased to know that Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends on November 7, 2021. On Sunday, most North Americans will move their clocks back by an hour, ensuring them an extra hour of sleep. The simple act will also afford them an extra hour of daylight during the shorter winter days....
Read news articleFew Indian festivals are as anticipated, or as widely celebrated, as Diwali. Also called Deepavali, or Festival of Lights, the five-day event, which starts on November 2, 2021, is observed by over a billion people worldwide. The ancient tradition dates back over 2,500 years and is one of the major holidays celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists....
Read news articleFew countries celebrate Halloween with as much fervor and excitement as the US. Children and adults alike observe the occasion by dressing in creative costumes, gorging on candy, and decorating homes and front yards with spooky skeletons and jack-o’-lanterns. Meanwhile, enterprising entrepreneurs cash in on the holiday with creative haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides. So, how did all the fun customs come about? Read on:...
Read news articleLudwig van Beethoven is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians that ever lived. The German composer and pianist completed 722 musical works— including nine symphonies — despite being completely deaf during the last decade of his life. Unfortunately, the maestro died while still working on his 10th Symphony. Now, a team of musicians and scientists have used artificial intelligence (AI) to complete the artist's final masterpiece....
Read news articleThe infamous Salem witch trials, which took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, were a dark period in America's legal history. More than 200 people were wrongfully accused of practicing witchcraft, and 20 were executed. In the 328 years since, most of the accused have been cleared of any crimes. However, for reasons unknown, Elizabeth Johnson Jr., who was just 22 at the time, was never pardoned. Now, thanks to the hard work of an eighth-grade class from North Andover Middle School, MA, her name may finally be cleared....
Read news articleA mirror coated in red paint, a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape, and an invisible sculpture — these are just a few of the abstract artworks that have recently sold for astounding amounts. Now, Dutch artist Jens Haaning has taken the genre to a whole new level. His aptly named "TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN" masterpiece, comprising two empty frames, have set a local museum back 534,000 Danish krone ($84,000)!...
Read news articleWhen some curious summer campers at the Hamilton Junior Naturalist Club (Junats) set out on an expedition to Kawhia Harbour on New Zealand's North Island, they were just hoping to find some small crustacean fossils. Instead, they discovered a well-preserved skeleton of a new species of a giant penguin that inhabited the area between 27 to 30 million years ago....
Read news articleThe 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 people....
Read news articleHumans have flown to the Moon and may even make it to Mars. But providing clean water to all remains a challenge. The World Health Organization estimates that one in three people globally still do not have easy access to clean water. While desalinating ocean water is an obvious solution, the current process is both expensive and harmful for the environment. Now, some Malaysian students may have found a cheaper, more sustainable way to transform seawater into drinkable water....
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