For pranksters, no holiday tops April Fools' Day. Celebrated annually on April 1, it is the one day of the year when lighthearted tricks are not just accepted — they are welcomed. The origin of this fun tradition is unclear. Some believe it began in 1582 when the world moved from the Julian calendar — which started the new year around April 1 — to the Gregorian calendar. Others think it began as a way to celebrate the arrival of spring....

Running a single marathon is hard enough for most people. Now, imagine doing it seven times on seven continents in less than 168 hours — or seven days. That is exactly what the annual World Marathon Challenge dares participants to accomplish. As if that were not enough, they also compete for the fastest total time across all seven races....

On March 22, 2025, millions of people worldwide will celebrate Earth Hour. The annual event encourages individuals and businesses to turn off their lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM local time. This symbolic act serves as a reminder of the urgent need to protect our planet from climate change and environmental damage....

Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel will forever remember her 2024-25 basketball season. On December 4, 2024, the 22-year-old became the first NCAA Division III women’s basketball player with one arm to score in a collegiate game. Her coach, Martin Rather, immediately called a timeout to mark the historic moment....

St. Patrick's Day, celebrated annually on March 17, is a lively holiday that honors the most famous of Ireland's three patron saints. Though widely known for its parades, shamrocks, and everything green, the day's roots are steeped in history....

Zara Lachlan made history on February 1, 2025, as the first woman and youngest person to row solo, unsupported, and non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. The 21-year-old British student completed the 4,100-mile (6,598 km) voyage from Europe to South America in 97 days, 9 hours, and 20 minutes. Remarkably, Lachlan had minimal ocean rowing experience before taking on the difficult challenge....

India is home to numerous vibrant festivals. But few are as eagerly awaited as Holi, the Festival of Colors. This joyous Hindu holiday marks the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil. Its date changes annually, as it follows the lunar calendar. In 2025, Holi will fall on March 14....

On March 9, 2025, most Americans will begin Daylight Saving Time (DST) by moving their clocks ahead an hour. The time change will result in a loss of an hour of sleep or free time on Sunday. However, it will allow for longer days during the upcoming spring and summer months....

Max Manow, a member of Red Bull's skydiving team, has redefined the extreme sport with the world’s first mid-air plane hook maneuver. The daring feat involved jumping from a helicopter, catching onto a nosediving plane mid-air, and then free-falling again before landing safely....

An observant worker at Dewars Farm Quarry in England has helped uncover hundreds of dinosaur footprints. The fossils date back to the Middle Jurassic period (around 166 million years ago). They belong to some of the United Kingdom's largest dinosaurs and offer new insights into their movement patterns....

Plastic pollution is one of the world's most pressing environmental challenges. A large portion of the 400 million tons of plastic produced annually ends up in landfills or the ocean. Unlike organic waste, plastic never decomposes. Instead, it breaks down into tiny pieces called microplastics. These particles contaminate water, soil, and air, harming marine life, livestock, and even humans....

A treasure trove of original Winnie-the-Pooh manuscripts, drawings, and letters sold for $108,000 on January 16, 2025. This price was much higher than the $18,600 estimated by UK-based Fieldings Auctioneers. Two-thirds of the 1920s-era collection was purchased by British fans. The rest went to buyers in the United States....

Swedish artist Mikael Genberg has been hoping to put a toy red house on the Moon for 25 years. His dream moved a step closer to reality on January 15, 2025. On that day, his "Moonhouse" set off for the Moon aboard a SpaceX rocket with the Resilience lunar lander built by the Japanese company ispace....

Mount Everest, Earth's highest peak, is growing faster than expected. Recent GPS measurements indicate it is adding up to 2 millimeters annually. This is nearly twice the previously estimated rate. This growth is mainly due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates over the past 50 million years. However, a new study by the China University of Geosciences suggests that a river capture event may also be helping the growth of the 29,032-foot (8,849-meter) mountain....

Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement on January 15, 2025. It marks the first step in ending the 15-month conflict, which has killed thousands and caused widespread devastation in Gaza. The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced by the war....

On January 29, 2025, over two billion people worldwide will celebrate the Lunar New Year. Also known as the Chinese New Year, the ancient festival lasts two weeks and is China's biggest holiday. Most businesses are closed for at least seven days. This allows millions of city dwellers to visit family and friends. The festival travel rush is known as Chunyun. It is the world's largest seasonal human migration....

When Gu​kesh Dommaraju realized he had a clear path to victory in the World Chess Championship, he could barely contain his excitement. The 18-year-old got the unexpected opportunity, after the reigning champion, China's Ding Liren, made a critical mistake in the final game of their best-of-14 match....

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024. The former American leader, who turned 100 on October 1, 2024, was the longest-living president in US history. Mr. Carter will be laid to rest at the family's residence on January 9, 2025. He will be buried alongside his wife, Rosalynn, who died in 2023 at age 96. In his honor, President Joe Biden has declared January 9 a federal holiday....

As the clock struck midnight, cities across the globe erupted in a dazzling display of light and color to welcome 2025. These stunning pyrotechnic spectacles lit up landmarks and brought communities together in a shared moment of joy and anticipation for the year ahead. Here is a look at some of this year’s most spectacular displays worldwide....

"Comedian," a conceptual artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall, fetched an astounding $6.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction on November 20, 2024. Bidding began at $800,000 and quickly surged to $4 million and then $5.2 million, plus $1 million in auction fees. The final price surpassed the $1.2 million pre-auction estimate for the artwork....

The days following Thanksgiving — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday — are filled with deals to jump-start the holiday shopping season. However, GivingTuesday, which falls on December 3 this year, has a more altruistic purpose. The "Global Day of Giving" encourages individuals and businesses to give back in meaningful ways. This can include charitable donations, volunteer work, or simple acts of kindness....

In January 2019, Adam Staples and his friends traveled to Chew Valley in Somerset, England, to test a new metal detector. While exploring a farmer's field, the device found a trove of silver coins buried in the soil. Staples, an auctioneer specializing in ancient coins, immediately knew they had found something extraordinary....

On November 1, 2024, Aron Fowler and his friends were at Ocean Beach, just south of Denmark in Western Australia, when they saw an emperor penguin walking toward them. This aquatic flightless bird had swum over 2,000 miles (3,218 km) from its usual habitat in the icy waters off the Antarctic coast. It was the first recorded sighting of an emperor penguin in Australia....

About two years ago, Damien Boschetto was walking his dog in a forest near Cruzy in southern France when he noticed a large bone poking out from an eroded cliff. Suspecting it might belong to a dinosaur, the amateur paleontologist quickly alerted experts at the Cruzy Museum. His hunch was correct: the fossil turned out to be the pelvic bone of a titanosaur, one of the largest dinosaurs ever to roam Earth....