A “phobia” is an extreme, uncontrollable fear of a specific item, activity, or setting. The word “phobia” comes from the Latin word phobos, meaning fear or flight (as in running away from something). There are hundreds of phobias people may have, ranging from a fear of spiders to a fear of flying to a fear of meeting new people. Here are some phobias closely related to Halloween. Do any of them scare you?
Learn more about the legacy of Bernice Johnson Reagon, remembered for her activism, musicianship, and courage.
Logging in the Amazon rainforest could threaten the health and wellbeing of an isolated tribe known as the Mashco Piro people.
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris had a goal of being the most environmentally-friendly games in history. One way to meet this goal was by asking the question: “What if the Olympic flame looked like a flame, but wasn’t one?” Learn how engineers came up with the illusion at the heart of the Olympic Games
The bronze, silver and gold medals won at this year’s Olympics are a unique piece of Paris itself – each is embedded with an original piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower.
Blue is for boys and pink is for girls. Or are they? Read about how the colors associated with gender have changed over time.
An Rong Xu describes how she uses photography and art to explore Chinese-American culture, and what it means to her.
Did you know that a popular brand of American cheese was invented by an immigrant from Canada? Learn more about this and seven other surprising, everyday inventions by Americans from different regions of the world in this brief article.
Read about the extraordinary lives and feats of 9 remarkable women.
A civil rights organization shares practical tips for creating unity in the face of conflict.
Clark University Professor of Psychology Jeffrey Jensen Arnett has conducted polls to gather information regarding people’s ideas about adulthood. According to his findings, what are the three most important signs that you’ve reached adulthood? Read to find out.
By traveling to exciting new places, confronting phobias might turn into a thrilling adventure. Explore five sites people can visit to overcome fears such as heights or the dark.
The legend of King Arthur, the hero who saved Britain, may not be true, but it has inspired people for more than 1,000 years. Read an article about what we know of Arthur tales, accompanied by a video summing up the most famous stories.
Writer, anthropologist, and life of the party, Zora Neale Hurston, was a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Read this “retrobituary” to learn about her life and death.
Tornadoes, ice ages, asteroids, megaquakes, and sometimes angry aliens: Hollywood sure enjoys disasters! Read this article about the differences between Hollywood’s view of earthquakes and the views of the scientific community. Learn the real-world science behind movie myths and mayhem.
Pigeons that guide missiles to their targets? Cats that spy on secret meetings? Trained spiders? Read this article to learn why Bob Bailey, the first director of the Navy’s dolphin training program, says he’s never found an animal he couldn’t train—and find out what his animals have been trained to do.
Through hard work and dedication, Cesar Chavez created a labor union for farm workers. His intense desire to make things right came from his own struggles as a child of farm workers.
Judi Dench is known for her legendary performances both on-stage and on-screen. Read this article to learn how Shakespeare influenced Dench throughout her life and career.
As relics emerge from a newly discovered Revolutionary War barracks, archaeologists discover what life was like for soldiers during that time.
Have you ever wondered why some products appear at the top or bottom of online shopping search pages? Or why some items appear twice? Or why you may see identical items with different prices? Artificial Intelligence is powering more and more online and it has a growing ability to influence consumer decisions—and to do so in ways the consumer is unaware of.
