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Today in context,
February 24, 2021
Crazy but True
Unbelievable events and facts from history.
“Sweet, sticky death”
In 1919 Boston was attacked by more than two million gallons of molasses.
The world’s shortest war
It lasted no longer than 40 minutes.
A cadaver trial
In one of the most bizarre incidents in papal history, the corpse of Pope Formosus was put on trial. And that was just the beginning.
Unlikely WWII allies
During the Battle for Castle Itter (1945), U.S. and German forces joined together to fight the SS.
Mystery in Siberia
In 1908 central Siberia, Russia, was the site of a still-unexplained explosion that had the force of 15 megatons of TNT.
Killer smog
Over five days in 1952, London was blanketed by a toxic smog that is believed to have caused some 12,000 deaths.
Ocean Views
Winslow Homer, one of America’s leading 19th-century painters, was born in Boston on February 24, 1836. His mastery of sketching and watercolor lent his work a sense of spontaneity, as in Snap the Whip (1872), but his deceptively simple subjects also dealt with the theme of human fate in confronting the elemental forces of nature—for Homer, this was often the sea. In Fog Warning (1885), night is falling, fog is rolling in, and a lone fisherman in a dory calculates the distance and the time remaining for him to get back to his home ship in safety. Read more about Homer and the artists drawn to the mighty sea.
Winslow Homer
article / Visual Arts
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of the W.L. and May T. Mellon Foundation, 1943.13.1
J.M.W. Turner
article / Visual Arts
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (B1978.43.15)
Podcasts
See All Shows And Podcasts
Botanize!
Botanize!, hosted by Melissa Petruzzello, is a podcast that will introduce you to some of the world’s most remarkable plants, fungi, and algae. These overlooked organisms have fascinating evolutionary stories to tell about survival, exploitation, adaptation, and general scrappiness, and every episode will pique your curiosity. From parasitic plants to kelp forests, Botanize! aims to showcase some of Earth’s finest nonanimal life-forms and their brilliant ecologies.

Postcards from the 6th Mass Extinction
So far there have been five notable mass extinctions on Earth. A growing number of scientists argue that we’re now in the midst of a sixth. Postcards from the 6th Mass Extinction is a podcast hosted by John P. Rafferty that attempts to personalize extinction, emphasizing the survival challenges that familiar forms of life currently face, while at the same time considering the pivotal roles they play in their own ecosystems.

On This Day
Hear the stories that propelled us to the present day through insights that lend perspective to our world with a nod to our own humanity. Britannica media editor Kurt Heintz, together with Emily Goldstein and Meg Matthias, is on a mission to spotlight poignant and noteworthy events for every day of the year.
The Wives of Windsor

Catherine, duchess of Cambridge
Catherine is married to Prince William, the elder son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and the second in line to the British throne.

Meghan, duchess of Sussex
The duchess formerly known as Meghan Markle put her acting career on hold when she married Prince Harry, Charles and Diana’s younger son.
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Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of all cultures in one form or another since the ancient times, whether the activity in question involved participating in a dance performance, attending a Broadway show, going to a music festival, or watching a movie.
Featured
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Radio
broadcasting
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Horses and Riders
Who were the trusty equine companions of these famous...
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Star Wars: Original Trilogy
Do you know all there is to know about that galaxy...

Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.
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Map
cartography
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Capitals of Island Countries in the Indian Ocean Quiz
Can you name the capital cities of the island countries...
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Asian Capitals Quiz
How well do you know the capitals of Asia? This quiz...

The study of the human mind and body, how these function, and how they interact—not only with each other but also with their environment—has been of utmost importance in ensuring human well-being. Research on potential treatments and preventive medicine has expanded greatly with the development of modern medicine, and a network of disciplines, including such fields as genetics, psychology, and nutrition, aims to facilitate the betterment of our health.
Featured
- Pregnancy
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COVID-19 in 20 Questions
Learn more about COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2.
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What Is the Difference Between Influenza and COVID-19?
While influenza and the coronavirus disease COVID-19...

It's easy enough to agree that human beings all around the world have certain basic requirements that must be fulfilled in order to ensure their individual and collective well-being. History has shown us, however, that it's not so easy to form societies or communities that fulfill these requirements for all members. The fight over human and civil rights has persisted for hundreds of years and remains alive today, both within the borders of nations and on an international scale. It has led to large-scale social movements and reforms concerning issues such as suffrage, slavery, women's rights, racial discrimination, environmentalism, gay rights, and more.
Featured
- Education
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Why Do We Give Valentine Cards?
Freundschaftskarten and Hallmark are among the reasons.
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A Brief (and Fascinating) History of Money
At one time it really did grow on trees.

With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.
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- Literary criticism
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Famous Poets and Poetic Form
Who wrote the long poem The Waste Land? What...
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The Little Prince
It was translated into over 250 languages and sold...

Humans have long pondered not only how we came to be but also why we came to be. The earliest Greek philosophers focused their attention upon the origin and nature of the physical world; later philosophers have theorized about the nature of knowledge, truth, good and evil, love, friendship, and much more. Thus, philosophy involves a methodical assessment of any and all aspects of human existence and experience. The realms of philosophy and religion have sometimes intersected in conducting inquiries such as these. As with philosophy, the study of religion underscores how humankind has long speculated about its origins. The possibility of a higher being (or beings) to which livings things owe their existence has long captived human thought. Many religions also offer their own views on the nature of good and evil, and they may prescribe guidelines and judgment on different kinds of human behavior.
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Aristotle
Greek philosopher
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World Religions Quiz
What holiday comes before Lent? Where is the holiest...
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Religion: High and Mighty Quiz
Can you name the first book of the Hebrew Bible? What...

The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.
Featured
- Procedural law
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What Was Frederick Douglass’s Position on Women’s Rights?
Find out how Frederick Douglass supported the early...
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Abraham Lincoln
How much do you know about the 16th president of the...

How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.
Featured
- Scientific theory
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A Model of the Cosmos
What if the Earth was the size of a Ping-Pong ball?
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6 Domestic Animals and Their Wild Ancestors
Are you wearing fibers produced by a descendant of...

Physical contests and recreational games have long played a part in human society. In both team and solo sports, the human body has been pushed to its limits in the name of improving athletic performance and to break record upon record. The ancient Olympic Games are an early example of the contests in which humans have engaged to showcase physical prowess. In modern times, sports and games have evolved into a lucrative and competitive industry, while other leisure activities, such as card and video games, can be competitive or can just be a way to unwind or socialize.
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Chess
game
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Golf: Fact or Fiction?
Does the winner of a golf match have the highest score?...
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The Olympic Games: Fact or Fiction?
Are only women allowed to compete in the heptathlon?...

Humankind has long striven to improve its living conditions through the development of tools, instruments, and transportation and communications systems, all with the goal of making our lives easier, more productive and—why not—more fun, too! Thanks to human curiosity and technological research, many significant inventions have been made throughout history that in turn made a difference in our daily lives.
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Nuclear reactor
device
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What Is Known (and Not Known) About Area 51
Area 51 has spawned more conspiracy theories than perhaps...
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History of Technology Timeline
Learn more about the history of technology from the...

These are the arts that meet the eye and evoke an emotion through an expression of skill and imagination. They include the most ancient forms, such as painting and drawing, and the arts that were born thanks to the development of technology, like sculpture, printmaking, photography, and installation art, the latter a combination of multiple creative expressions. Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, different eras in art history have had their own principles to define beauty, from the richly ornamented taste of the Baroque to the simple, utilitarian style of the Prairie School.
Featured
- Abstract art
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6 Classical Dances of India
Dance like 1.2 billion people are watching.
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List of Lists: 6 Extremely Random Historical Catalogs
Forget your shopping list and to-do list, here are...

Does history really repeat itself, or can we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us? History provides a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have made an impact on humankind and the world at large throughout the ages. Investigating the causes and results of past events is critically important in gaining a full understanding and perspective of present-day issues.
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South African War
British-South African history
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7 Women Warriors
Seven women who weren’t afraid to fight.
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The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes since 1950
Devastating quakes that caused tremendous loss of life.
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