When the Academy Awards were held on March 10, 2024, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell set a record by becoming the youngest people ever to win two Academy Awards. That’s an impressive achievement, but it wasn’t the only record set that night. Read about other records in this article.
In 1939, Lilly Cassirer Neubauer was forced to sell her priceless Pissarro painting in order to escape Nazi-occupied Germany. Now, her descendants continue to fight for their right to the stolen heirloom.
Lunar New Year is a holiday that spans across continents, cultures, and generations. This year, traditions old and new are celebrated through social media.
The winner of this year’s TS Eliot prize explores how race, masculinity, and immigration influence his understanding of Othello, one of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters.
Magician David Kwong breaks down magic into what he calls the “7 Principles of Illusion” and explains what goes into the execution of a magic trick.
Beware: He does give some general spoilers for how some magic tricks are done.
Read about four Houston-based artists whose works of art shed light on immigrant experiences.
These international K-pop legends paused their music careers to serve their country.
Rebecca Rubin, the first ever Jewish American Girl Doll, educates a new generation on the Holocaust.
How much do you know about Hera, one of the original Olympians, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and fertility, and fan of peacocks and cows? There’s a lot more to this goddess than most people think. Check this article out to learn 10 fun facts about Hera that most people probably aren’t familiar with.
Several Shakespearean plots points, including the climax of Romeo and Juliet, focus on powerful potions. Did the bard dream them up, or might they have really existed?
A new Broadway play, “Jaja’a African Hair Braiding,” spotlights people and experiences rarely represented in media. This video discusses the significance of the play’s characters and setting with the actors.
An exhibit at Brandeis University honors the lives of girls and women killed in the Holocaust through paintings, photographs, and first-hand accounts given by Holocaust survivor, Luisa Milch.
The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) went on strike for 148 days this summer, demanding that studios put guardrails around AI’s encroachment on their work. The effects of their new contract will echo in industries far beyond Hollywood.
You may know a lot about mythology, but is evertying you think you know correct? Mental Floss discusses some of the most common misconceptions people have about Greek and Roman myths.
Theater plays a significant role in cultures around the world. Shakespeare Studies professor, Nicoleta Cinpoeş, experienced this fact first-hand as she watched a production of Romeo and Juliet staged in a bomb shelter.
There is a famous optical illusion with two gray lines inside a number of black and white bars. The gray bars are the same color, but they appear lighter or darker depending on which bars are around them. Science was never sure why, but it seems the answer lies in you brain’s neurons and how fast they can fire.
The imprint of Greek and Roman mythology is all around us, from the names of our shoes (Nike, the goddess of victory) to the names of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, etc). And maybe a certain recent movie series has made you familiar with a little Norse mythology, like Thor and Loki, too. Now a new show is introducing Western audiences to Chinese mythology. Find out how costume designers approached dressing ancient Chinese gods for a modern American audience.
Shakespeare, an iconic figure in English history, is celebrated and beloved by another significant English figure, King Charles. Read about how and why King Charles celebrates the 400-year anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio.
Have you ever seen an accomplished athlete suddenly perform as if they’ve completely forget how to play their sport? If so, you’ve seen “the yips”–the sudden and unexplained loss of an athlete’s typical skills–in action. The yips are basically the opposite of achievement. Learn more about a term that started in golf, quickly moved to other sports, and is increasingly being used in other fields like politics, business, and education.
Many contemporary authors are inspired to explore the themes of immigration. Often drawing from their own experiences, they write about meeting different kinds of people and reconciling the past with the future.
