Happy 2019! As is the tradition each year, at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, 2018, cities and towns worldwide ushered in the new year with elaborate fireworks displays. Here are a few that we thought were particularly noteworthy....

While visiting the North Pole in winter may not be at the top of your bucket list, the ever-changing ICEHOTEL, which opened its doors to visitors on December 14 this year, may change your mind. Located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi, the hotel, which is carved entirely from ice, is rebuilt annually, with each iteration getting increasingly beautiful and impressive....

For many of us, Christmas is all about decorating cookies, seeking out the perfect tree, enjoying time with family and friends, and, of course, exchanging gifts. As it turns out, not everyone celebrates the holiday in the same way. Here are some fun Christmas traditions from around the world....

With the days getting increasingly shorter and colder, it may appear as though winter has been upon us for many weeks. However, though meteorologists in the Northern Hemisphere consider December 1 as the start of the season, according to the astronomical calendar, the season will not begin until Friday, December 21. Often referred to as winter solstice, it is also the shortest day and longest night of the year. Southern Hemisphere residents, on the other hand, will celebrate summer solstice, the start of the astronomical summer, with the longest day and shortest night of 2018....

Though we are treated to several meteor showers throughout the year, most pale in comparision to the grand finale – the Geminids. Expected to be at their peak on Thursday and Friday night (Dec. 13-14, 2018), the dependable meteors rank high in both quantity and quality. Nicknamed the “900-pound gorilla of meteor showers” by NASA, they outweigh other dust streams by factors of between 5 to 500!...

With less than two weeks left until Christmas, cities and towns across the world are aglow with stunning light displays. Though each is special in its own way, some are truly outstanding. Here are a few that made our list of 2018’s most noteworthy....

At the tender age of seven, while his friends were spending their allowances on “frivolous” things like candy and toys, Jose Adolfo Quisocola was busy saving money for more essential purchases. To try to get his peers to do the same, the youngster from Arequipa, Peru came up with the innovative idea of an eco-bank, which allows kids of all ages to become economically independent and financially savvy – while also helping the environment....

Dolphins have been known to demonstrate many human-like behavioral traits. These include forming complex relationships to accomplish common goals, teaching one another survival skills, and even “babysitting” each other's kids. Now, some researchers at the Dolphin Plus Marine Mammal Responder in Key Largo, Florida have discovered another thing the intelligent mammals share with humans – a love for television!...

On most days, our brains do a good job at interpreting the myriad sights, sounds, and other sensory information that bombards us dawn to dusk. However, every now and again, even our highly-evolved minds get a little confused, resulting in what we call illusions. While all five senses are capable of tricking the brain, researchers have thus far largely focused on optical illusions simply because our vision dominates all senses. Now, scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have devised two clever tricks that fool the mind using sound....

Hadi Partovi, founder of Code.org believes every student should learn the basics of computer science just like they do math, physics, or biology, regardless of what they want to do in the future. The expert says knowledge about the subject is important to understand how the world around us works and compares it to learning about photosynthesis, even though not every student is going to be a botanist. To spark student interest, he created the “Hour of Code,” which introduces the world of computing to anyone, from ages 4 to 104, in a fun, interactive manner. Observed annually during Computer Science Week, which will be celebrated from December 3 through 9, 2018, the event now draws tens of millions of kids from over 180 countries....

On November 26, 2018, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California held their breath as the InSight spacecraft attempted the most challenging part of its 300 million-mile-long journey to Mars – landing. At 2:53 p.m. EST, following a few nail-biting moments, the room erupted in joy at the sound of the official “beep,” and the grainy photo of the Red Planet which confirmed that the lander had not only touched down but was functioning as expected....

Walt Disney’s iconic and adorable rodent Mickey Mouse turned 90 this year! To pay homage to the mouse “who started it all,” the Disney Corporation recently unveiled “Mickey: The True Original,” a 16,000-square-foot immersive art exhibition in Manhattan, New York. Open to the public from November 8, 2018 to February 10, 2019, it features stunning Mickey-inspired exhibits created by over 20 contemporary artists from all over the world....

Always wished your stuffed animals could come alive like the ones in Disney’s animated Toy Story franchise? Then you will be thrilled to hear about the new “robotic skins,” which can instantly transform any object into a robot capable of performing basic tasks, like sprinting or climbing. The ingenious device is the brainchild of a team of researchers led by Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale University....

At sundown on December 2, 2018 Jewish families worldwide will mark the first day of Hanukkah by lighting a candle on a special menorah. The eight-day celebration, which will end on December 10, is observed annually on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, which falls anywhere from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar....

The residents of Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin are no strangers to wild turkeys. However, “Smoke,” a lone bird who has been a fixture in the town since spring this year, is like none other they have encountered before. The renegade turkey pursues moving vehicles, “controls” traffic flow by parking himself in the middle of the road, and even chases after children as they descend from school buses. He is also known to boldly approach residents and gobble at them, as though sharing some pertinent information....

Comic book enthusiasts and movie lovers alike are mourning the loss of legendary writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee who died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on November 12, 2018. The 95-year-old, responsible for creating iconic superheroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, The Avengers, and The Fantastic Four, leaves behind a “marvel-ous” legacy that will live on forever....

Thanksgiving, celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November, is one of the most popular holidays on the American calendar. Though traditionally a religious and cultural celebration, it is now observed by all. The origin of the fun tradition, which will be observed on November 22, 2018, can be traced back to a harvest feast in 1621. It was organized by Governor William Bradford to celebrate the Pilgrims’ first successful corn harvest....

US gymnast Simone Biles, who has dominated the sport since the 2013 World Championships, is often described as “the greatest gymnast of all time” and “superhuman.” The 21-year-old phenom proved herself worthy of both labels at the recently held World Championships in Doha, Qatar when she won a medal in every discipline, including four golds, while battling a painful kidney stone....

The Black Sea MAP (Maritime Archaeological Project) was established to survey the floor of the Black Sea to determine the impact of sea-level changes on early human settlements at the end of the last ice age. The search for answers has led to an unexpected bonus for historians – ancient shipwrecks which provide invaluable information about civilizations of the past. Since the project began three years ago, over 67 old vessels, most from the 14th to 19th centuries, have been found. On October 23, 2018, the team of international sailors and researchers led by University of Southampton Professor Jon Adams announced their most exciting find yet: an intact shipwreck that dates back over 2,400 years!...

While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this year was even more so for some elementary school students in Auckland, New Zealand. They became the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom, Will is just an avatar that pops up on the student’s desktop, tablet, or smartphone screen, when summoned....

Veterans Day, celebrated annually on November 11, is a federal holiday to honor the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. This includes everyone who has served in the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, National Guard, Air Force, and the Coast Guard. The holiday often gets confused with Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday of May....

Every year, around October or November, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains worldwide celebrate Diwali. Also referred to as Deepavali or the Festival of Lights, the five-day event, whose exact date is determined by the Hindu lunar calendar, dates back over 2,500 years. Hence, it should come as no surprise that Diwali, which will be commemorated from November 5 to November 9 this year, is India’s biggest and most significant holiday....

This year’s Halloween experience was elevated by several spooky surprises from nature. First, there was news of the “Death Comet’s” November 11 Earth flyby . Then, on October 23, 2018, scientists aboard the E/V Nautilus stumbled upon a white octopus with translucent “wings’ that looked more like a ghost from outer space, than the eight-legged mollusks we are accustomed to seeing....

With the Halloween festivities over, most people will spend the next few days taking down the spine-chilling decorations and tossing the pumpkin Jack-o’-Lanterns, or scary monsters, that they spent hours creating. While the millions of gourds that end up in landfills every November is alarming, even more so is the massive amount of food waste generated since most people fail to take advantage of the fruit’s edible flesh and seeds....