On April 25, 2023, Mattel unveiled the latest addition to their Barbie Fashionistas collection — a doll with Down syndrome. The world's largest toy maker hopes it will allow more children to connect with Barbie....

Mother's Day is marked annually in the US on the second Sunday of May. On this day, Americans celebrate the extraordinary women in their lives with special treats and lavish gifts. Mothers certainly look forward to the annual pampering. But retailers anticipate the holiday even more. Mother's Day is the country's third-largest retail holiday after the winter holidays and back-to-school season....

Researchers have long known that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — the massive accumulation of plastic waste in the North Pacific Ocean — is home to a variety of sea life. However, they had assumed they were all open ocean inhabitants. Now, a new study has found that it also harbors a surprisingly large number of coastal marine species. They include crabs, sea anemones, and worms....

In early March 2023, Murphy, a bald eagle at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri, began to spend his entire day sitting on a makeshift nest inside his aviary. The behavior was not unusual in itself. Male bald eagles always help females during the incubation process. However, in this case, the 31-year-old bird was trying to hatch a rock!...

We all need to spend time alone once in a while. But Beatriz Flamini took things to a whole new level. The Madrid, Spain, resident spent 500 days alone in a cave 230 feet (70 meters) underground. Flamini was 48 years old when she went into isolation and 50 when she emerged from the cave on April 14, 2023. The extreme athlete took up the challenge to test her mental strength. She also wanted to help scientists explore the effects of isolation on the human body and mind....

Enjoy reading comic books? Then you will be excited to know that May 6, 2023, is Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). This means you can walk into any one of the 2300+ participating retailers worldwide and pick up a free comic book. Now in its 21st year, the global event is celebrated annually on the first Saturday in May....

On May 6, 2023, King Charles III will be officially sworn in as the 62nd monarch of the United Kingdom (UK) and fourteen other Commonwealth realms. They include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This is Britain's first coronation ceremony since Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953. Here is a brief preview of what to expect....

May 1st marks the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States (US). It celebrates the achievements and contributions of the AAPI community. The broad term includes 50 ethnic groups. They speak over 100 languages and have roots in more than 40 countries. They include those connected to China, India, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea....

Black holes have incredibly powerful gravitational pulls. They usually gobble up everything around them. However, for the first time ever, scientists have found a black hole that is creating millions of stars as it zips through space....

Over the years, scientists have used 3D printers for various products. They include electronic devices, jewelry and even artificial organs. Now, mechanical engineers from New York's Columbia University have unveiled a 3D-printed cheesecake made with seven ingredients. This is the most number of items ever used to print a single food product....

On March 21, 2023, the Manhattan district attorney's office announced they were returning 20 looted antiquities to Greece. The artifacts are valued at over $20 million. They include a bronze container for human remains and a set of human and animal figures carved from marble. However, the most extraordinary is a rare Eid Mar coin celebrating the assassination of Roman politician Julius Caesar....

The SpaceX Starship's debut flight launch on April 20, 2023, was both flawless and spectacular. The 394-foot-tall (120-meter) rocket — the biggest and most powerful ever built — fired up its 33 engines and soared into the skies at 9:33 a.m. EDT. The uncrewed spacecraft was expected to complete a 90-minute trip around the Earth before splashing down near Hawaii....

Archaeologists from New York University have unearthed over 2,000 mummified ram heads in the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos. Located about 275 miles (442 km) south of Cairo, Abydos is one of Egypt's most important archaeological sites. It is home to numerous tombs, monuments, and temples....

A two-year-old female Chihuahua named Pearl has just been declared the world's shortest dog living by the Guinness World Records. The pocket-sized pooch is 9.14 cm (3.59 in) tall and 12.7 cm (5 in) long. This is shorter than a regular-sized television remote control and about the same length as a US dollar bill! Pearl weighed less than an ounce (28g) when she was born in September 2020. She has since "bulked" up to 1.22 lbs (553g)....

On April 22, 2023, over a billion people worldwide will celebrate Earth Day with various activities. Some will plant trees. Others will participate in neighborhood clean-up efforts or enjoy a nature walk. The modern environmental movement began on April 20, 1970. On that day, 20 million Americans took to the streets to urge the government to take steps to protect our planet....

This year's eclipse season will begin with a bang with a hybrid solar eclipse on April 20, 2023. The rare astronomical event occurs just once every decade. The last one was on November 3, 2013, and the next one will not be until November 30, 2031. Unfortunately, the celestial phenomenon will only be seen in western Australia, East Timor, and eastern Indonesia....

Tokitae, or Toki, the oldest killer whale in captivity, will finally be released to her "home waters" in Puget Sound, off Washington State. The 57-year-old orca, nicknamed Lolita, was captured when she was four and sold to the Miami Seaquarium in Florida. She entertained park visitors for over five decades before retiring in 2022....

On April 10, 2023, close to 30,000 guests, selected via an online lottery, attended the White House Easter Egg Roll. The fun event was divided into nine, two-hour-long sessions to accommodate the large number of guests. It included various exciting activities as well as appearances by popular costumed characters and celebrities....

NASA's successful Artemis 1 Moon mission paved the way for Artemis 2 — the second of three missions to land humans on the Moon again. The Artemis 2 crew will not step foot on the lunar surface. But they will be the first humans to fly close to the Moon in over 50 years. On April 3, 2023, NASA officials announced the four astronauts selected to helm the historic mission....

An international team of researchers has found the fossilized remains of the largest-known penguin on Earth. The newfound species is thought to have weighed about 340 pounds (154 kg). This is over three times heavier than the largest living species, the emperor penguin. The record previously belonged to a 256-pound (116 kg) penguin that lived in Antarctica about 37 million years ago....

Chloe Ricketts has just become the youngest player to join a US National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team. On March 21, 2023, the high school sophomore from Dexter, Michigan, signed a three-year contract with the Washington Spirit. At that time, Ricketts was 15 years and 283 days old. Olivia Moultrie previously held the record. She was 15 years and 286 days old when she joined the Portland Thorns in 2021....

The fruit fly larva is no more than 10 mm long. Hence, it would be reasonable to assume that its brain, which is smaller than a poppy seed, is fairly simple. However, a recently-unveiled map of the insect's brain shows a surprisingly complex structure. It has 3,016 neurons connected by 548,000 synapses....

On April 9, 2023, Christians around the world will observe Easter. The holiday is the oldest and most significant of all Christian festivals. It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many adults mark the event by attending special church services. For kids in the US, Easter means egg hunts, parades, and the Easter Bunny. But not everyone celebrates the holiday the same way. Here are a few fun customs you may be tempted to adopt....

Crash, a one-eyed rescue cat from Boise, Idaho, has won the 2023 Cadbury "Bunny" Tryouts. The 8-year-old feline will star in an Easter commercial for Cadbury's chocolate eggs and be inducted into the "Bunny Tryouts Hall of Fame." He will also receive a cash prize of $5,000 for himself. Another $5,000 will be given to Simply Cats, the rescue center where Crash resides. They plan to use all the funds to help other animals in need....