Clean and Cozy Penguins!

Six stuffed penguins wearing sweaters are posed on a beach with the ocean behind them.

Clean and Cozy Penguins!

A group of women in England knit sweaters to help protect penguins.

Six stuffed penguins wearing sweaters are posed on a beach with the ocean behind them.

© PINP/AAT Kings/Spotlight/Rex Features/Shutterstock.com

Sweaters can protect penguins from oil spills. The sweaters in these photos, worn by stuffed penguins, were knitted as part of a contest. 

Penguins don’t normally wear sweaters! But that hasn’t stopped a group of women in England from knitting colorful outfits for the little birds. The sweaters (called “jumpers” in England) are meant to help prevent penguins from getting sick if there is an oil spill.

The women, who call themselves the “Knitting Nannas,” live at Hazelgrove Court Care Home, a place where older people live and receive the care they need. The sweaters they knit are being sent to The Penguin Foundation, a group that helps protect penguins and other animals on Australia’s Phillip Island.  

“I have knitted jumpers for both my children but have never knit for a penguin,” 94-year-old Joyce Baxtrem told the BBC.

The sweaters aren’t meant to keep the penguins warm. Penguins’ own waterproof feathers can do that. 

Instead, workers plan to put the sweaters on the penguins if petroleum (oil) spills from a ship into the waters where the island’s 40,000 penguins swim and hunt. This will keep the penguins from accidentally drinking in the toxic petroleum when they use their beaks to preen, or clean, their feathers. The penguins will wear the sweaters until rescue workers have time to wash out the petroleum.

A penguin that is wearing a striped sweater stands on a piece of fabric.

© Heath Missen/The Age—Fairfax Media/Getty Images

In this photo, from the year 2000, a penguin wears a sweater after it was affected by an oil spill.

This isn’t the Knitting Nannas’ first such project. In 2024, they knitted a blanket for a baby rhinoceros that had been attacked by a hyena in South Africa.

The projects benefit the women as well as the animals, giving them a chance to use their skills for a good cause. 

“The [knitters] love getting involved and using their lifelong skills to support others,” Hazelgrove Court Care Home’s activities coordinator Sharon Lewis told the BBC. “It gives them a sense of purpose and pride.”

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Did You Know?

Experts say knitting is good for our health. Stitching yarn together into something new calms our brains while allowing us to be creative.

Two boys sit outdoors on a porch and knit.

© Ronnie Kaufman—DigitalVision/Getty Images

Hooked on Crochet!

Jonah Larson crochets as he sits in front of shelves of yarn and other crafting supplies.

© Courtesy of Jonah’s Hands

Jonah Larson has been crocheting since he was 5. Now age 17, Larson is putting his skills to good use, helping a school in the country where he was born.

Crochet is a craft that’s similar to knitting. Larson, who lives in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, taught himself how to crochet by watching a YouTube video when he was 5. Since then, he has created hats, sweaters, blankets, and much more. Larson sells his handiwork on his website under the name “Jonah’s Hands.”  

Larson’s amazing skills have gotten a lot of attention. He has written two books about crochet and appeared on the Drew Barrymore Show several times. He also has almost half a million followers on Instagram.

And now he’s using his fame to help people in Ethiopia, where he lived for the first five months of his life before getting adopted by an American family. Through his website, Larson raised money to build a library and a science lab at an Ethiopian school.

Penguins of the World

Six Galápagos penguins on some land with green vegetation and a body of water in the background.

© JAG IMAGES/stock.adobe.com

True or false: All penguins live in cold climates. False! The Galápagos penguin lives in the Galápagos Islands, where the climate is warm.

Learn more about penguins at Britannica.

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Word of the Day

collaborate

Part of speech:

verb

Definition:

: to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Found: Oldest Ant Fossil Ever!

A fossil of an ant with wings

Found: Oldest Ant Fossil Ever!

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.

A fossil of an ant with wings

Courtesy of Anderson Lepeco/Current Biology

This fossil of an ancient ant is 113 million years old!

Humans didn’t exist when dinosaurs roamed Earth, but ants did. And a newly discovered fossil shows that ants existed longer ago than scientists realized.

Anderson Lepeco, a researcher at the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo in Brazil, found the ant fossil in the museum’s fossil collection in September 2024. The insect was alive in what is now Brazil about 113 million years ago. That makes it the oldest ant fossil ever found—about 13 million years older than any other known ant fossils. Scientists have named this species Vulcanidris cratensis.

The insect was a member of a subfamily of ants called Haidomyrmecinae, also known as “hell ants.” About the size of a U.S. penny, it had six legs and veiny wings. But its jaws were very different from the jaws of modern ants. Modern ants’ jaws move side to side. Vulcanidris cratensis had jaws that moved up and down. These ants, which hunted other insects, may have used their jaws to stab their prey!

“[The jaws] could have worked as a kind of forklift, moving upwards,” Lepeco told CNN.

Scientists say the discovery helps them understand more about how ants evolved to be so common and widespread in most parts of the world. Today’s ants are found on every continent except Antarctica, but until now, scientists had found prehistoric ant fossils only in parts of Europe and Asia. Discovering the Brazilian fossil has made them realize that ants were widespread earlier than they thought.

Corrie Moreau, an entomologist (insect expert) at Cornell University in New York, says the discovery has changed the story of the ant.

“A single fossil can reframe how we understand the history of an entire group of organisms,” she told Science.

NEWS BREAK

No More U.S. Pennies

A pile of pennies, some of which have designs that have been discontinued.

© Tim Boyle/Getty Images

On May 22, the U.S. Treasury Department announced plans to stop making pennies sometime in 2026. The reason? Although the penny is worth one cent, each one costs more than three cents to make. (The nickel—the five-cent coin—costs even more to make compared to its value.) 

It will likely be a long time before Americans stop using pennies. Canada stopped making its pennies in 2012, but the coin is still legal tender there, which means it can still be used to buy things. The U.S. penny will also remain legal tender for now.

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Did You Know?

The oldest known fossil of a creepy-crawly thing is a 425-million-year-old millipede that was discovered in Scotland.  

A millipede fossil looks like the imprint of a curved worm in rock.

British Geological Survey © UKRI www.3d-fossils.ac.uk

Get to Know Ants!

There are more than 10,000 species, or kinds, of ants on Earth today. Here are three of our favorites.

Weaver Ant (found in Africa, Asia, Australia)

Weaver ants use silk from their larvae (baby ants) to weave leaves together into a waterproof nest!

Reddish weaver ants weaving a silky nest among some green leaves.

© Jimmy/stock.adobe.com

Leafcutter Ant (found in South and Central America and southern Mexico) 

These ants use their powerful jaws to cut leaves, which they carry to their nest. As the leaves decay (rot), a fungus grows on them—and the ants eat the fungus.

A leafcutter ant walks with other ants and carries a large piece of a leaf in its jaws.

© Morley Read/Dreamstime.com

Trap-jaw Ant (found in South and Central America and the southeastern United States)

This ant can move its jaw incredibly fast. This mighty mouth isn’t only useful for catching dinner. The ant also uses it to avoid becoming someone else’s dinner! When an enemy approaches, the trap-jaw ant snaps its jaw, causing its body to jump into the air and out of the way! 

A trap-jaw ant with jaws much wider than its head stands on a leaf.

© ViniSouza128/stock.adobe.com

Amazing Ants

© Khlongwangchao—Creatas Video/Getty Images

Ants are very good at cooperating, even using their bodies to build bridges, as seen in the video. You can learn even more about ants at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

mandible

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: a part of an insect’s mouth that looks like a jaw and is often used for biting things

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Life Under the Ice

A red and purple octopus rests on the seafloor with its legs curled around its body.

Life Under the Ice

Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!

A red and purple octopus rests on the seafloor with its legs curled around its body.

© Courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute

An octopus rests on the seafloor 3,773 feet (1,150 meters) below the surface of the Bellingshausen Sea of Antarctica.

Experts used to think there weren’t very many living things in the seas around Antarctica. After all, these waters are dark, freezing cold, and mostly covered in thick sheets of ice. But when scientists got a rare chance to explore one of these seas, they discovered that it was full of life! 

The opportunity came in January 2025, when a huge iceberg broke from what’s called an “ice shelf” off the coast of Antarctica. For the first time ever, it became possible to explore the water at this location.

A blue and white boat moves past a massive iceberg.

© Courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute

Scientists were working aboard this ship, called Falkor (too), when a fallen ice shelf gave them a chance to investigate a whole new area of the sea.

Scientists acted quickly, sending a remote vehicle down to the seafloor. When a vehicle is “remote,” it means humans control it from somewhere else, such as a ship.

“[We] went for it so we could look at what was happening in the depths below,” said Dr. Patricia Esquete, who works in the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and the Department of Biology (DBio) at Portugal’s University of Aveiro. The remote vehicle explored the seafloor for eight days—and what it found surprised the scientists.

A large sponge and several anemones under water.

© Courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute

Scientists found a large sponge and several soft-bodied animals called anemones under the sea near Antarctica.

Under the freezing cold waters, there were corals and sponges that helped support a variety of animals, including octopuses, icefish, and huge sea spiders. 

“We didn’t expect to find such a beautiful, thriving ecosystem,” Esquete said. “Based on the size of the animals, the communities we observed have been there for decades, maybe even hundreds of years.”

Scientists are trying to figure out how these animals live in such a difficult location. Most living things need oxygen, nutrients, and sunlight to survive. Scientists know that deep-sea animals can survive with no sunlight and little oxygen. Nutrients float down to them from the surface of the sea. But the Antarctic deep-sea animals couldn’t have gotten their nutrients from the surface because it was covered in ice until very recently.

A woman holds a small isopod in a pair of tweezers over a bucket.

© Courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute

Scientist Patricia Esquete inspects an isopod that was taken from the Bellingshausen Sea and may be a new species. An isopod is a crustacean, like a shrimp or crab.

So how did the nutrients reach the animals? Since ocean currents can carry nutrients, scientists believe it’s possible that currents brought the nutrients to the seafloor under the ice, allowing life to exist there.

When the iceberg broke off, it made it possible for scientists to learn something they didn’t know before. But it was also a reminder that the world is getting warmer due to climate change. As temperatures rise, icebergs that have been frozen for almost one million years will continue to break, leading to a rise in sea levels.

NEWS BREAK

Faizan Zaki Is a Spelling Champ!

A teenage boy holds a trophy and speaks into a microphone being held by a man as he stands with a woman and a teen girl.

© Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Faizan Zaki (center) holds the Scripps Cup while being interviewed about his spelling bee victory. His family appears with him.

Thirteen-year-old Faizan Zaki has won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee! The three-night Scripps Spelling Bee is the biggest spelling competition in the United States. The 7th grader from Allen, Texas, took home the top prize on May 29.

With the competition down to three final spellers, Faizan had victory in his grasp. After Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane misspelled their words, he was given the word commelina. If he spelled this word correctly, he would be given one more word to spell. If he spelled that final word correctly, he would win.

Most spellers ask for more information about the word they’ve been given. But Faizan began spelling commelina right away.

“K-A-M,” Faizan began. Then he realized he was wrong.

That wasn’t the end. The rules state that if all finalists misspell their words, a new round begins. This time, only Faizan spelled his word correctly.

It all came down to one more word: éclaircissement. Faizan spelled the word correctly, winning the bee and a prize of $52,500. Faizan said he was glad he took a relaxed approach to the spelling bee.

 “I decided to have fun with this bee, and I did well, and here I am,” he told the Associated Press.

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Did You Know?

The Arctic (the northernmost part of Earth) has much less ice than the Antarctic (the southernmost part). The Arctic is also warmer than the Antarctic—but it’s still very cold!

Side by side images of the Arctic and Antarctic show that there is a lot more ice at the Antarctic.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

How Do Penguins Stay Warm?

An adult emperor penguin stands on snow with a chick on his feet.

© Wolfgang Kaehler—LightRocket/Getty Images

Emperor penguins hold both eggs and chicks on their feet to keep them warm.

If you were to travel to Antarctica, you wouldn’t find many animals there. It’s too cold! But some penguin species thrive in low temperatures. This is because of several adaptations—body features and behavior that allow them to survive in their environment.

Here’s how emperor penguins stay warm:

  • Emperor penguins have a layer of blubber, or fat, under their skin that’s like a blanket, protecting them against the cold air and water.
  • Waterproof feathers dry quickly, so penguins can warm up after swimming in the freezing seas.
  • Emperor penguins can lean on their heels and balance on their short tails, so they lose less heat from their feet.
  • Emperor penguins huddle together to share body heat and shield each other from the wind. They move around a lot so they can take turns being shielded.
  • A male emperor penguin keeps an egg warm by holding it on his feet (not on the ice). A pouch that hangs from the penguin dad’s belly also covers the egg in warmth.

The World’s Coldest Place

An Antarctic fur seal and a gentoo penguin side by side on a rocky landscape.

© Westend61/Getty Images

The Antarctic fur seal and the gentoo penguin can both be found in Antarctica and its waters.

Did you know that Antarctica has no permanent human residents? This may have you wondering how cold Antarctica can get! Learn this and a lot more at Britannica.

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Word of the Day

serendipity

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

City of Giants

Children and adults stand in a circle around a giant sequoia sapling that has been planted in an empty lot next to a building.

City of Giants

Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.

Children and adults stand in a circle around a giant sequoia sapling that has been planted in an empty lot next to a building.

© Courtesy Nick Hagen/Archangel Ancient Tree Archive

Volunteers gather around a giant sequoia sapling, one of 100 that were planted in Detroit on Earth Day, 2025.

When arborists (tree experts) decided to plant trees on some vacant land in Detroit, Michigan, they wanted to go big. So instead of picking maple or oak trees for their project, they chose some of the largest trees on the planet: giant sequoias.

Detroit is the first city chosen for the Giant Sequoia Filter Forest, a tree-planting project aimed at helping cities while also helping preserve the giant sequoia species. Once a much larger city, Detroit lost much of its population when its automobile factories shut down. The city has knocked down many vacant buildings, leaving empty lots with enough space for giant sequoias to grow.

A group of children are gathered around a giant sequoia sapling.

© Courtesy Nick Hagen/Archangel Ancient Tree Archive

Many kids are helping to plant and care for Detroit’s new giant sequoias so the trees grow big and strong.

“There’s not another urban area I know of that has the kind of potential that we do to [add more trees],” Andrew Kemp, executive director of Arboretum Detroit, the organization that is planting the trees, told the Associated Press. “We could all live in shady, fresh air beauty. [There’s] no reason we can’t be the greenest city in the world.”

Arboretum Detroit has planted several sequoias in Detroit in the past 10 years. The ones being planted in 2025 were donated by an organization called Archangel Ancient Tree Archive.

Trees don’t just make cities cooler by providing shade. They also help control floodwater and improve air quality by removing pollution from the air. Giant sequoias, which are evergreens, grow fast. In 10 years, the saplings (baby trees) that are being planted in 2025 will be about 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall. Eventually, they could grow to be hundreds of feet tall. Sequoias are also tough enough to withstand many tree diseases—and they can live for more than 3,000 years.

Arborists are also hoping the project will help save the giant sequoia species. Sequoias are native to California, where climate change is worsening the dry conditions that can lead to forest fires.

“They’re safer here…we don’t have wildfires like [California],” Kemp explained. “The soil stays pretty moist, even in the summer.”

A hiker wearing a hat and backpack walks under a group of giant sequoias.

© LL28—E+/Getty Images

A hiker walks through a giant sequoia forest at Sequoia National Park in California.

Like any living thing, the trees of Detroit will need to be cared for—hopefully for generations to come. David Milarch, co-founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, has started a program to teach Detroit kids how to take care of sequoias.

“We empower our kids to teach them how to do this and give them the materials and the way to do this themselves,” Milarch told the Associated Press.

As long as the trees have what they need, they’ll help give the city what it needs—a cleaner, healthier environment.

“Because these trees grow so fast, so large and they’re evergreen, they’ll do amazing work filtering the air here,” Kemp said. “We’re trying to breathe clean air. We’re trying to create shade. We’re trying to soak up the stormwater, and I think sequoias—among all the trees we plant—may be the strongest, best candidates for that.”

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Fun Fact

Illustration showing the diameter and circumference of a giant sequoia with a comparison to the length of five park benches put together.

© Watthana Tirahimonch/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The diameter of a giant sequoia can reach 25 feet (8 meters). That’s as wide as five park benches!

Protecting Giant Sequoias

Six firefighters place silver foil around the base of a giant sequoia tree.

Elizabeth Wu/U.S. National Park Service

In this 2021 photo, firefighters from the National Park Service and Natural Resource Specialists wrap a giant sequoia called General Sherman to protect it from fires.

Can a blanket protect a tree from a fire? It can if it’s the right kind.

At Sequoia National Park in California, officials can help protect giant sequoias from wildfires by wrapping their thick trunks in burn-resistant aluminum foil. The foil reflects most of the heat from a fire, making it less likely that anything the foil covers will catch on fire. Officials have used these “fire blankets” to protect certain buildings and natural features, especially those that have historical or cultural importance.

“We basically told the fire crews to treat all our special sequoias like they were buildings and wrap them all up and rake all the litter away and roll away the heavy logs,” Christy Brigham told CNN during a wildfire in 2021. Brigham is the chief of resource management and science at Sequoia National Park.

Among those special sequoias is a tree named General Sherman. At 275 feet (84 meters) tall and more than 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter, it’s the largest known tree on the planet.

Taller Than Tall!

A man stands with his back against a redwood tree and looks up at it.

© Carmen Martínez Torrón—Moment/Getty Images

As big as it is, the giant sequoia is not the world’s tallest type of tree. That title belongs to the redwood. You can read about these towering trees at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

gigantic

Part of speech:

adjective

Definition:

: extremely large

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Pitching Legend Makes History

Ayami Sato is still in pitching position after pitching a baseball that is in midair and headed for the camera.

Pitching Legend Makes History

Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.

Ayami Sato is still in pitching position after pitching a baseball that is in midair and headed for the camera.

© Arlyn Mcadorey/The Canadian Press—ZUMA Press//Reuters

Ayami Sato of the Toronto Maple Leafs throws a pitch during her debut (first) game in Canada.

Ayami Sato just made history. When the 35-year-old stepped onto the mound as the starting pitcher for the Toronto Maple Leafs last month, she became the first woman to play on a men’s professional baseball league in Canada.

Sato was on fire during her debut game against the Kitchener Panthers on May 11. In the first two innings, she struck out one batter and did not allow a single batter to reach first base. Although the Maple Leafs lost to the Panthers 6–5, the defeat didn’t make Sato’s presence any less noteworthy.

“The world is watching,” Maple Leafs manager Rob Butler told CTV News. “It’s been amazing the excitement she has brought to Toronto and this league.”

“When I was on the mound and just looking at all the crowds, the big crowds cheering, that was a very memorable memory for me,” Sato told the CBC.

Ayami Sato smiles and shakes a teammate’s hand on the ballfield.

© Dan Hamilton—Imagn Images/Reuters

Toronto Maple Leafs starting pitcher Ayami Sato (center) greets her teammates before her debut game in Canada.

While playing on a men’s team may be new for Sato, she has already earned legendary status in her home country of Japan, where she first started playing in the Japan Women’s Baseball League in 2013. During her time with the league, she helped her team win six world championships and was crowned Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. 

Sato is best known for her curveball, but her fastball reaches speeds of up to about 80 miles per hour (129 kilometers per hour). Because of those stats, many people believe she’s the greatest female baseball player in history.

“I love to pitch because the pitcher is in the spotlight,” Sato told MLB.com. “I like being in control.”

The Maple Leafs are one of nine teams in Canada’s Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), an independent league that has been in operation for more than 100 years. Many IBL players once played for Major League Baseball (MLB), while others may have the MLB in their future. 

Sato brought her own star power to the Maple Leafs. Girls approached her before the May 11 game, asking if she would sign their baseballs. Sato says she wants to inspire more kids to take up the sport. Meanwhile, Canadian fans are excited to find out what the season will bring.

“It’s just great to see women in sports getting to play the game they love to play,” one fan told CTV.

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Did You Know?

An overhead view of Labatt Memorial Park without players and spectators

© Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

London, Ontario, Canada, is home to the world’s oldest surviving baseball diamond. Labatt Memorial Park (shown above) has hosted baseball games since 1877.

Firsts on the Fields

A poster shows an image of a female baseball player from 1900 holding a bat along with the winning record of a group of players called the Bloomer Girls.

© Transcendental Graphics—Archive Photos/Getty Images

This poster, which was made in the year 1900, advertises Lizzie Arlington as a “famous lady pitcher.” 

Ayami Sato isn’t the first great female baseball player, and she won’t be the last. In the summer of 2026, the Women’s Pro Baseball League will debut (begin) with six teams, giving more talented women the chance to play pro baseball.

Women have been playing baseball for as long as men have, but they haven’t had the same opportunity to shine as their male peers. Below, we’re highlighting some of the women who have made baseball history.

Lizzie Arlington

After signing with the Reading Coal Heavers in 1898, Lizzie Arlington became the first woman to play on a men’s professional baseball team. Arlington pitched one inning in a game but was not allowed to play in any more games with men after that. She later traveled with an all-female baseball club.

A group of men and one woman pose in a studio wearing baseball uniforms that read “Weiss AS.”

Special Collections—Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University

Alta Weiss (center, seated) with her team, the Weiss All-Stars

Alta Weiss

In 1907, 17-year-old Alta Weiss became a pitcher with a semi-pro baseball team called the Vermilion Independents. After pitching in eight games that season, Weiss became the star of a traveling team called the Weiss All-Stars before retiring from baseball to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Toni Stone

When Toni Stone signed on to play second base for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953, she became the first woman to play professional baseball as a regular on a big-league team. The Clowns were a team in the Negro leagues, which had been set up at a time when Black players were not allowed to play in the major leagues. (During Stone’s playing career, Black players were just starting to be allowed into the majors.) Stone played 50 games with the Clowns, facing legendary pitchers like Satchell Paige.

Jackie Mitchell wears a baseball uniform as she pitches while Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth stand behind and watch.

© Mark Rucker—Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

In this 1931 photo, Lou Gehrig (left) and Babe Ruth (center) of the New York Yankees watch Jackie Mitchell pitch a fastball.

Jackie Mitchell

In 1931, the president of the Chattanooga Lookouts spotted a talented 17-year-old pitcher named Jackie Mitchell and invited her to play in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees. During the game, Mitchell struck out baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, something pro pitchers struggled to do. Some baseball fans claim the strikeouts weren’t real—that they were planned to get more people interested in baseball.

Calling All Sports Fans!

Animation showing various sports and athletes

© Masterpress, Ethan Miller, Robert Prange, Maddie Meyer, Ryan Pierse, Minas Panagiotakis, Lukas Blazek, Laurence Griffiths, Stu Forster, Hannah Peters, dpa picture alliance, Ezra Shaw/Getty Images, © Marta Fernandez, Celso Pupo Rodrigues, The Skydiver/Dreamstime.com

What’s your favorite sport? Whether you like hockey, figure skating, or basketball, you can read all about it at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

humdinger

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: something that is very impressive or exciting

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Meet Gizmo the Robot!

A class of fourth graders sits in front of a large robot that is flanked by men and women wearing hospital ID badges.

Meet Gizmo the Robot!

When a hospital needed a name for its robot surgeon, 4th graders had the perfect idea.

A class of fourth graders sits in front of a large robot that is flanked by men and women wearing hospital ID badges.

Courtesy of Hancock Health

The 4th-grade class at Sugar Creek Elementary and the surgical staff at Hancock Regional Hospital pose for a photo with the robot the students named Gizmo (back row, center).

4thA hospital in the United States has a new helper for complicated surgeries. Called Gizmo, this helper isn’t a doctor or a nurse. It’s a robot!

Robots can do many things. There are robots that help build cars, explore the deep sea, and help take care of people as they get older. Gizmo is a surgery robot at Hancock Regional Hospital in the U.S. state of Indiana. The robot will help perform certain surgeries, so surgeons don’t need to make so many incisions, or cuts. The robot arms can use tiny instruments and work in a smaller space, and cameras can magnify places the surgeon needs to look at. Overall, this means that patients can heal faster and don’t need to stay in the hospital as long.

Gizmo got its name with the help of some students from a nearby school after the hospital set up a naming contest for people from the community.

The 4th-grade class at Sugar Creek Elementary School entered the naming contest using a suggestion from student Lili Appleget. Appleget thought of the name Gizmo because it would be easy for kids to pronounce. “It will make kids more calm so when surgeons perform surgery kids will be less worried for surgery,” wrote Lili in the submission letter.

“Parents and kids will not be scared with a name like that! The name Gizmo sounds nice so kids start thinking about happy things,” Lili wrote.

As a prize for winning the naming contest, the 4th-grade class went on a field trip to Hancock Regional Hospital to see the robot in person and meet the doctors who perform surgery.

“This real-world experience has gotten students so excited to write and study robots more. The class is incredibly proud to know that an audience of important community members values their opinion,” Amanda Clawson, the 4th-grade teacher at Sugar Creek Elementary, told the Greenfield Daily Reporter.

The hospital staff are also happy that their new robot helper has a name. Steve Long, the president and CEO of Hancock Health, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Gizmo to Hancock Health’s surgical team and appreciate Mrs. Clawson’s 4th-grade students for coming up with such a creative name.”

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Did You Know?

A gold lion stands on a pedestal holding the clock in his left paw side by side with a closeup photo of the lion’s face.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (Gift of Mrs. Simon Guggenheim, 1929, 29.52.15), Photo Composite by Encyclopaedia Britannica, LLC

This clock, which was made in the 1600s, is also an automaton. The lion’s eyes and mouth move when the clock strikes on each hour.

Today’s robots can do so much! But even thousands of years ago, people were making simpler machines called automatons. Automatons are machines that are self-moving once they get started. Early automatons could play music, dance, and more!

Students Compete in Robot World Championship

A young girl and boy stand at a table on which there is a small robot with circuits showing.

Courtesy of Alton Strupp/REC Foundation

A member of the Dragon team from China competes in the final round of the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championship. The Dragon team was one of the winners of the event.

In May, elementary and middle school students from more than 30 countries traveled to the largest robotics competition in the world: the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas. More than 800 teams of four to six people competed in robotics challenges that tested their skills in building, coding, and driving the robots.

VEX Robotics is a company that provides schools with educational and competitive robotics products so that students can learn engineering, teamwork, and problem-solving.

How It Works

Each year, team members work together to create a robot that can complete certain challenges, like moving balls into a goal or collecting blocks. The students plan how the robot moves and write the computer code that tells the robot how to perform actions. There is also a driver who steers the robot.

The school teams participate in regional tournaments throughout the year. Their robot creations are judged on how well they perform the tasks. Some of the robotics challenges require teams to work together to score points against rival teams. These challenges help kids learn how to collaborate to meet a goal.

Teams that do well at these regional competitions can qualify for the world championship, where they compete against other robotics teams from around the world. 

A group of students pose on stage smiling and holding banners that say VEX IQ Competition as confetti falls.

Courtesy of Alton Strupp/REC Foundation

Winning elementary and middle school teams from different categories pose together at the end of the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championship.

And the Winners Are…

This year’s world champions in the elementary competition are the Dragon Team from Beijing, China and BASIS International School Wuhan from Wuhan, China. The robot skills champion is the team called GuGuGaGa, from California in the United States.

What Can a Robot Do?

Closeup of a large four legged robot with circuits visible

© Paul Marotta—TechCrunch/Getty Images

“Cheetah robots,” which have four legs,  can run fast and are light on their feet.

Robots come in many shapes and sizes, and they can do many kinds of tasks. Some robots even go to space. Learn more about robots, and how they can help people, at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

robot

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: a machine that can do the work of a person and that works automatically or is controlled by a computer

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May 29, 2025

Ronan’s Got Rhythm!

Two men and one woman pose by a pool behind a sea lion.

Ronan’s Got Rhythm!

A sea lion named Ronan can keep a beat better than many humans.

Two men and one woman pose by a pool behind a sea lion.

Courtesy of University of California Santa Cruz, © Colleen Reichmuth, National Marine Fisheries Service 23554

Ronan the sea lion poses with researchers Andrew Rouse (left), Peter Cook (center), and Carson Hood (right) at the University of California Santa Cruz.

A sea lion named Ronan has some serious moves. The 15-year-old can bop her head to a musical beat, something not every kind of animal can do. Scientists say Ronan has an even better sense of rhythm than some humans!

Ronan first demonstrated her musical ability in 2013, when she showed she could keep the beat to rhythms she had heard before and to rhythms that were new to her. This surprised scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, where Ronan lives. Previously, they had believed that only animals that can make complex sounds with their voices, like humans, primates, and parrots, could keep a beat. (Just imagine trying to get a dog or cat to do this!)

Recently, scientists decided to study Ronan again to see just how good her skills are. In particular, they wanted to see how well Ronan kept a beat compared to humans.

A sea lion holds one flipper up and opens her mouth while being photographed against a white background.

Courtesy of University of California Santa Cruz, © Joel Sartore/Photo Ark, National Marine Fisheries Service 23554

Ronan shows off her personality.

Scientists asked a drummer to play three different tempos, or speeds. Ronan was familiar with one of these tempos, but not the other two. Yet she was able to bob her head to all three tempos. The scientists also asked 10 college students to wave their arms to the different beats. The researchers found that Ronan had better rhythm than the students! 

“No human was better than Ronan at all the different ways we test quality of beat-keeping,” scientist Peter Cook told the Associated Press. Cook also said Ronan performed better as a 15-year-old than she did as a 3-year-old, which suggests she’s gotten better with time. 

Scientists now plan to study other sea lions so that they can find out if Ronan’s skills are unique. Meanwhile, Ronan will keep bopping to the music. Her best bopping song is “Boogie Wonderland.”

Ronan demonstrated her skills in the video below. See how she compares with four humans!

Courtesy of University of California Santa Cruz

Ronan and four humans compare their ability to keep the beat.

NEWS BREAK

JJ Wins Eurovision!

JJ smiles and holds a microphone while wearing a black jumpsuit.

© Harold Cunningham/Getty Images

JJ, who is from Vienna, Austria, performs during the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.

Austria has won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to a talented singer called JJ.

Since 1956, countries from Europe and other parts of the world have sent their best singers to Eurovision. For three nights each year, the singers perform live for TV and Internet audiences around the globe. Winners are decided by a group of expert judges as well as home viewers, who call in or text to cast their votes. The final round of this year’s Eurovision took place on May 17.

JJ competed against singers from 26 countries to take home the trophy. His performance of a song called “Wasted Love” showed off his ability to sing both pop music and opera with a voice that soared up to extremely high notes.

This is Austria’s third Eurovision win, and its first since 2014.

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Did You Know?

In 2009, researchers showed that a cockatoo named Snowball could move to a beat. Snowball’s skills are so sharp that he looks like he’s dancing!

​​© GreenCreative/stock.adobe.com

Animal Talent Show!

Animals can’t do everything we can. But we can’t do everything animals can, either! Here are some of the most notable talents in the animal kingdom.

A Head-Turning Talent

Owls can’t turn their heads all the way around, but they can look so far back that they can see what’s directly behind them!

An owl perched on a branch has its head turned most of the way backwards.

© alan1951/stock.adobe.com

A kangaroo in midair jumping in a field.

© phototrip.cz/stock.adobe.com

That’ll Take Them Far!

The gray kangaroo can jump 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound.

Showing Real Growth

A type of salamander called the axolotl can regrow missing limbs and even missing organs!

An axolotl rests its feet on the rocks at the bottom of a tank of water.

© AndreyTTL—iStock/Getty Images

A wood frog sits on a leaf.

© silukstockimages/stock.adobe.com

A Show-Stopper

The wood frog produces an enzyme that freezes its body for the entire winter. When the weather warms up, the frog’s organs start working again, and the frog comes back to life.

More About Sea Lions

A sea lion perches on a rock outdoors with another sea lion and the sea in the background.

© kcif77/stock.adobe.com

California sea lions, like Ronan, are known for their intelligence. You can learn more about sea lions at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

nimble

Part of speech:

adjective

Definition:

: able to move quickly, easily, and lightly

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
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June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Torpedo Bats Are Changing Baseball

Anthony Volpe in a Yankees uniform is about to drop his torpedo bat and run from home plate to first base.

Torpedo Bats Are Changing Baseball

A new kind of baseball bat may be helping hitters knock the ball out of the park.

Anthony Volpe in a Yankees uniform is about to drop his torpedo bat and run from home plate to first base.

© New York Yankees/Getty Images

Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees uses a torpedo bat to hit a home run in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A new kind of baseball bat has taken Major League Baseball by storm. But is the “torpedo bat” worthy of all the hype?

The torpedo bat was developed after scientists employed by the New York Yankees did a study to find out how to increase the speed at which the ball travels after it’s been batted. The scientists noticed that batters were hitting the ball with a lower part of the bat than expected. This led to the invention of the torpedo bat.

On the torpedo bat, the mass of the bat is lower down—closer to the “sweet spot,” where batters usually hit the ball. The goal is to pack the power of the bat into the sweet spot for maximum impact on the ball.

The torpedo bat was made available to Major League Baseball teams last season, but few players showed much interest in trying out a new bat design. Then, in March 2025, the Yankees hit nine home runs in three games using torpedo bats. When Yankees announcer Michael Kay pointed out the new bats, everyone paid attention.

Since then, baseball bat manufacturers have received tons of orders for torpedo bats from MLB teams as well as the public. In professional baseball, pitchers have been improving their performance for years, making it harder for batters to hit the ball. The torpedo bat may give batters a chance to catch up.

Cody Bellinger is poised to hit a ball with a torpedo bat.

© New York Yankees/Getty Images

Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees holds a torpedo bat during batting practice on March 27, 2025.

“The benefit for me is, I like the weight distribution,” Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger told MLB.com. “Personally, the weight is closer to my hands, so I feel as if [the bat] is lighter in a way.”

Not everyone is convinced that the torpedo bat actually helps batters. Some, like Anthony Volpe of the Yankees, say it might be a placebo effect. A placebo effect occurs when a method or remedy works because the person believes it works—not because the remedy itself really does anything. Still, Volpe uses a torpedo bat.

“It’s probably just a placebo,” Volpe told MLB.com. “A lot of it is just looking up at your bat and seeing how big the barrel is, but it’s exciting. I think [anything that] gives you confidence, it helps.”

It’s also possible that the torpedo bat is not a placebo but the real deal. If that’s true, baseball fans might start to see a lot more home runs.

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Did You Know?

An MLB baseball batter has less than half a second to react to a pitch. In that short time, the batter needs to determine the type of pitch and whether to swing or not.

© JohnnyGreig—Vetta/Getty Images

Pick Up a Good Book!

A blue banner with a road, bushes, and flowers and the words Sun-sational Summer Reading under the Sun and an open book.

© Encyclopaedia Britannica 2025

Summer’s almost here! Whatever you plan to do with your break, there’s always time for a good book. As the weather warms up, slow down with one of these reading recommendations. You can find them at your public library!

It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit, by Justin A. Reynolds

When Eddie’s mom makes him miss a day of fun to do laundry, he thinks things can’t get any worse. But when he ventures out in his swim trunks, his neighborhood seems oddly quiet, as if everyone has disappeared.

The cover of It’s the End of the World features a boy outdoors in a bathing suit crouching down as four other children stand behind him.

Courtesy of Scholastic Press

The cover of What Is Color features a dog and a man with a prism creating the colors of the rainbow.

Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers

What Is Color?, by Steven Weinberg

Why are bananas yellow while most leaves are green? What’s a rainbow? This nonfiction book breaks down how colors are made—in nature and by humans—and what different colors have meant throughout history.

The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

It’s 1940. World War II has broken out, and two puzzle-loving siblings are put to the task of solving two big mysteries. One, the location of their mother, who has disappeared. And two, how to crack the coded messaging system put in place by the Nazis, who are rapidly taking over Europe.

The cover of The Bletchley Riddle features the silhouette of a motorcycle rider with some war planes overhead.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

The cover of Wishtree features a tree with ribbons tied to its branches and a bird under the tree.

Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers

Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate

An oak tree called Red is the neighborhood “wish tree”—a tree to which people attach their wishes in the hopes they’ll come true. Red is pleased when Samar and his family move into the neighborhood, but not everyone is so welcoming.

Want more recommendations? Ask your teacher or another adult to check out Britannica’s Sun-sational Summer Reading for a bigger book list, plus bookmarks, puzzles, and more!

Home Run King

Babe Ruth stands at home plate and looks up with his bat over his right shoulder.

© Bettmann/Getty Images

Babe Ruth, who played for the New York Yankees, during batting practice in 1927.

In the 1920s, Babe Ruth was a baseball superstar. Ruth was so talented that some of the records he set still stand today. You can read more about Babe Ruth, or follow the link to the article about baseball, at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

slugger

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

baseball : a batter who hits many home runs

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Bicycles Change Lives

Several people are inside a bicycle shop repairing bicycles or holding bike parts.

Bicycles Change Lives

Working Bikes teaches volunteers to repair bicycles and provides bikes to anyone who needs one.

Several people are inside a bicycle shop repairing bicycles or holding bike parts.

© Courtesy of Working Bikes

Volunteers repair donated bicycles at the Working Bikes Chicago facility.

A bicycle can change a person’s life. That’s why, for more than 25 years, an organization called Working Bikes has provided bicycles to anyone who needs one.

Located in Chicago, Illinois, Working Bikes is no ordinary bicycle shop. Rather than get its bicycle supply from bike manufacturers, the organization receives donated bicycles from Illinois and the surrounding U.S. states. Hundreds of volunteers repair and refurbish the bicycles until they’re like new and ready for a new owner. Working Bikes teaches the volunteers how to repair the bikes.

“[All the volunteers are] kind of like-minded,” Working Bikes cofounder Amy Little told Streetsblog Chicago in 2024. “You’re doing it because you want to help other people. You’re in it together and fixing bikes or loading bicycles into a container because you feel strongly about it.”

A small fraction of these repaired bikes are sold. The rest are given away, often to kids and adults in the Chicago area.

Other donated bikes, as well as bike parts, are shipped overseas to Mexico, Central and South America, Africa, and other parts of the world. Working Bikes has formed partnerships with several international organizations. One of them, in the African nation of Uganda, uses the donations to teach women how to repair bikes.

Four women wearing workers’ jumpsuits pose with bicycles outside a shed that reads Bwindi Women Bicycle Project.

© Courtesy of Working Bikes

The Bwindi Women Bicycle Project in Uganda teaches women to repair bicycles.

Bicycles can be enormously helpful, especially to people who don’t own cars or have public transportation at their doorsteps. For some people, having a bike means the difference between being able to get to work or school and having to stay home. And unlike cars, bicycles don’t add pollution to the environment.

“We’re doing over 10,000 bikes a year, getting bikes that may or may not have been ever fixed up,” Working Bikes cofounder Lee Ravenscroft told Streetsblog Chicago. So we’re saving 10,000 bikes, and we like to think that they’re all used by people trying to get to work and back, and get to school and back. Trying to improve their lives.”

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Did You Know?

According to a recent study, people who choose to travel by bike instead of by car just once a day can reduce the amount of carbon pollution they produce by 67 percent!

Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu and another man ride bicycles as other cyclists and pedestrians are behind them.

© Alex Wong/Getty Images

In this 2009 photo, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu (center) rode his bicycle to work as part of a “Bike to Work Day” event.

Check Out These Bikes!

Several people ride ordinary bicycles on a racetrack as spectators watch.

© Alex Wong/Getty Images

It’s hard to imagine riding these bicycles, with their giant front wheels and raised-up pedals. Yet many people in the 1870s tried them out—and they loved them!

During the 1800s, bicycles were still developing. The ones in the photo, called ordinary bicycles or penny-farthings, replaced a heavy wood-and-iron bike that was called the bone shaker because it was so difficult and uncomfortable to ride. The ordinary bicycle was lightweight and easier to ride—sort of.

You may have noticed that the ordinary bicycle’s front wheel is huge. This allowed the rider to move farther with less effort. Pedaling once would cause the wheel to complete one rotation. The bigger the wheel, the farther the bike would go. 

But the ordinary wasn’t very safe. A small shift in position could send the rider tumbling over the front of the handlebars. After only a few years, ordinaries were replaced with a different type of bicycle. This one had two wheels of equal size. Fittingly, it was called the safety bicycle!

Amazing Minds

© VCG Wilson—Corbis Historical/Getty Images , Nancy Kaszerman—ZUMA/Alamy, © Everett Collection Inc./age fotostock, NASA, U.S. National Park Service

Have you ever wondered who invented some of the things you use every day? Click through the slideshow above to learn about some of these amazing minds. Then check out Britannica to learn about other famous inventors!

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Word of the Day

refurbish

Part of speech:

verb

Definition:

: to repair and make improvements to (something, such as a building)

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025

Moose on the Move

A moose is walking in a wooded area.

Moose on the Move

Moose are unlikely TV stars. Yet a show about an annual moose migration attracts more viewers every year!

A moose is walking in a wooded area.

© Michal Fludra—NurPhoto/Reuters

A moose crosses a forest road during its yearly migration in Sweden.

Each year in April and May, a TV show has people in Sweden glued to their screens. The show doesn’t have a lot of action. It’s not funny or dramatic, either. Called The Great Moose Migration, the show follows a group of moose that are migrating from one part of Sweden to another.

The Great Moose Migration, which is shown on Swedish TV and on the Internet, follows moose on a journey the animals take every spring. Dozens of moose in northern Sweden swim across the Ångerman River to grazing pastures, where there are plants and berries for them to eat.

The show could be described as reality TV, but it’s actually a livestream. Cameras that have been posted along the moose migration path let viewers see moose, or any other animal, when they pass by.

The livestream is often called “slow TV” because it’s usually not very exciting. Sometimes nothing happens for hours. But many viewers stay tuned so they don’t miss a thing. They never know when they’ll spot a moose.

“I feel relaxed [watching the show], but at the same time I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a moose. Oh, what if there’s a moose? I can’t [take a break]!’” 20-year-old William Garp Liljefors told the Associated Press.

A moose is lying down in tall grass in a wooded area.

© Michal Fludra—NurPhoto/Reuters

This moose has stopped to take a rest.

The Great Moose Migration has become increasingly popular. Over a million people watched in 2019, the show’s first year. Last year, there were more than 9 million viewers around the world.

Annette Hill, a professor at Jönköping University in Sweden, says people like slow TV because it’s similar to real life. The cameras show what’s really happening at any moment, even if there’s very little going on. It’s also relaxing to watch a quiet show.

“Nothing spectacular is happening,” Hill told the Associated Press. “But something very beautiful is happening in that minute-by-minute moment.”

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Fun Fact

Moose are terrific swimmers. In fact, their nostrils close automatically when they’re underwater!

A mother moose and a calf swim in marshy waters.

© Jessicastock.adobe.com

Animal TV

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area; Bureau of Land Management Oregon & Washington; Kameron Perensovich; USFWS Mountain-Prairie

Have you ever wished you could meet a baby hippo or observe a mother bird feeding her chicks? Animal livestreams enable people to have these experiences—remotely, of course.

An animal livestream is made possible when one or more cameras are mounted in an animal’s habitat or living space, like a forest or even a zoo. Viewers, usually anyone with an Internet connection, can watch the animals to their heart’s content. Best of all, cameras don’t disturb wildlife, allowing them to do their daily activities without knowing they’re being observed.

The video above features some fun—and sometimes funny—livestream footage.

Don’t Mess with a Moose!

A moose and her two calves stand in a wooded area and look at the camera
Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Moose are plant eaters, but they’re enormous and can be dangerous to humans who disturb them in the wild. Experts say it’s never a good idea to approach a moose. Luckily, we can observe moose on the Internet!

What else is true about moose? Learn more at Britannica!

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Word of the Day

sensation

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: someone or something that causes a lot of excitement and interest

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In Case You Missed It

Scientists have discovered the fossil of an ant that lived in Brazil about 113 million years ago.
June 9, 2025
Scientists didn’t think many living things could survive under thick sea ice. They were wrong!
June 5, 2025
Volunteers are planting giant trees in Detroit, Michigan, to help the city and the trees.
June 3, 2025
Ayami Sato, who may be the greatest female baseball player ever, just became the first woman to play on a men’s professional team in Canada.
May 29, 2025