Ice cream is a symbol of summer and a favorite treat of both children and adults. Traditionally, it is made from milk and sugar. Today, many non-dairy versions are also available, often made from nut "milks."... Read more
There are nearly 8,000 species of roses that grow around the world. From the wild varieties, edible and ornamental varieties have been cultivated. Roses are exchanged as gifts symbolizing love, friendship, apology, and sympathy... Read more
Batteries have been a part of our lives for as long as electronics have. A battery is a device designed to "convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy."... Read more
The Justice League is DC Comics' team of all-star superheroes. Among their ranks are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. A number of other superheroes have joined the Justice League's ranks since their first comic book appearance in 1960... Read more
Canada is located in North America, north of the United States. It is well-known for maple syrup, Niagara Falls, and hockey. The beaver is the national animal... Read more
"Don't cry over spilt milk." "There's no use crying over spilled milk." The above idiom in its various forms is often used to mean "don't worry about something that has already happened and that you can't change. In its current form, the phrase first appears in print in... Read more
A jigsaw puzzle is "any set of varied, irregularly shaped pieces that, when properly assembled, form a picture or map." The first puzzles, created in England during the 1700s, were teaching tools - "dissected" maps, alphabets, or pictures of animals... Read more
Cakes are sweetened bread-like pastries. They may include fruits, nuts, or sugary icings. Cakes of various types have been made and consumed throughout history.... Read more
The 1996 slasher film Scream gave rise to a long-lasting horror entertainment franchise. The main antagonist is "a mysterious killer in a Halloween costume known as Ghostface."... Read more
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team, part of the National Football League (NFL), based in Texas. They began playing in 1960, and by 2015, Forbes magazine named them the most valuable sports team in the world. They hold a record of 20 straight winning seasons.... Read more
Our perception of the American West has largely been shaped by literature and Western films. Stereotypical symbols of the West include vast cactus-clad deserts, cowboys riding a horse into the sunset, and wanted posters on saloon walls... Read more
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "the bath as an institution has a long history." From the Bible to ancient Egyptian architecture, you can find evidence of baths and dedicated bathrooms. In ancient Rome, the baths were more akin to spas, containing not only areas for washing but also for steam treatments and massage. From ancient to medieval times, most baths were public institutes rather than private rooms... Read more
For the flute, "a stream of air [is] directed against a sharp edge" which separates into eddies. The tone and sound are controlled by the placement of the fingers over the flute's holes. The flute in our illustration is known as a recorder, fipple flute, or whistle flute. The recorder was produced during the fourteenth century; today, it is often used in schools as the students' introduction to playing a musical instrument... Read more
Radio waves were first discovered in 1886. By 1894, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi had devised a way to transmit telegraph signals via radio waves. Radio was being used commercially by 1920, and... Read more
New Year festivals are celebrated around the world. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, they are "among the oldest and the most universally observed."... Read more
An axe or ax is a chopping or cutting tool that has been used by humans since the Stone Age. The first axes were, not surprisingly, made from sharpened blocks of stone. Later, wooden handles were added and the blades were made from copper, bronze, or iron... Read more
Camping is a "recreational activity in which participants take up temporary residence in the outdoors." Camping first took a recreational turn around 1908, with the publication of The Camper's Handbook... Read more
Glass has been used to make man-made objects since ancient times. In fact, the earliest specimens date to around 3500 B.C. and were discovered in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Glass is made by heating materials such as sand and cooling it in such a way that crystals do not form... Read more
Wine, the fermented juice of the grape or other fruits, has been a revered alcoholic beverage since ancient times. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the grape "was being cultivated in the Middle East by 4000 BCE and probably earlier." Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Bible, and other documents show that grapes were used to make wine thousands of years ago... Read more
The magnifying glass or hand lens is a convex optical lens, mounted on a handle and used to visually magnify objects. They are commonly used for reading, examining jewelry, or observing plants and insects... Read more