Earth’s History Locked in Ancient Ice

A man wearing a fur hat and gloves holds out a core of ice in a labeled plastic bag.

Earth’s History Locked in Ancient Ice

Scientists are learning about the history—and the future—of Earth’s atmosphere by studying ancient ice.

A man wearing a fur hat and gloves holds out a core of ice in a labeled plastic bag.

James Brooks—AFP/Getty Images

Professor Jorgen Peder Steffensen of the University of Copenhagen holds part of an ice core sample that’s housed at the Ice Core Archive.

It’s one of the most talked-about issues: Human-made pollution is changing Earth’s atmosphere and leading to rapid climate change. But how did the atmosphere change before humans began producing pollution, and what can that tell us about the future of the atmosphere? Scientists believe the key to finding out may be the study of ancient ice.

The Ice Core Archive in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a massive freezer full of ice that originated mostly in Greenland. The ice, which is compressed snow rather than frozen water, dates back as far as 120,000 years ago. It’s a snapshot of a time when the atmosphere was unaffected by human activity.

Air temperatures in Greenland were actually warmer 120,000 years ago than they are today—not because of human activity but because of natural atmospheric conditions. The ice cores can help scientists figure out what the atmosphere was like at that time and how it affected sea levels. Using this information, they hope to be able to figure out how much sea levels will rise due to today’s human activity, according to University of Copenhagen glaciology professor Jorgen Peder Steffensen, who manages the Ice Core Archive.

“With ice cores, we have mapped out how greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane vary over time,” Steffensen told Agence Presse-France. “And we can also see the impact of the burning of fossil fuels in modern times.”

Did You Know?

A person uses a large metal cylinder to extra a core of ice from the ground.

NASA Goddard

In 2017, scientists announced that they had extracted a 2.7-million-year-old ice core in Antarctica.

Fast Facts About Greenland

The Northern lights are in the sky over a city of homes and other small buildings.

© Kell B. Larsen—500px Prime/Getty Images

Fewer than 20,000 people live in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

Greenland lies mostly within the Arctic Circle, which explains its icy surface. Beyond that, what do you know about the world’s largest island? Here are a few quick facts.

  • Greenland was first settled in about 2500 BCE by a group of Indigenous people called the Inuit, who migrated there from what’s now Canada.
  • About 80 percent of Greenland is covered by ice and snow.
  • Greenland’s population is about 56,000. Most people live in ice-free areas along the coasts.
  • The average high temperature in Greenland is 23 degrees Fahrenheit (–5 degrees Celsius) in February and 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) in July. But Greenland is a big place, and temperatures vary widely.
  • The official language of Greenland is Greenlandic.
  • Greenland became a Danish colony in the 18th century. It’s now an autonomous nation within the kingdom of Denmark.
  • According to a 2018 report, Greenland is losing about 110 million Olympic-sized swimming pools of water each year as the ice caps melt due to human-caused climate change.

The Bottom of the World

© Paul Souders—Stone/Getty Images

As old as Greenland’s ice is, Antarctica’s is even older. Antarctica is so cold and desolate that it doesn’t even sustain a human population, except for groups of scientists who stay there temporarily. What does live there?

You can learn more at Britannica!

WORD OF THE DAY

brumal

PART OF SPEECH:

adjective

Definition:

indicative of or occurring in the winter

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In Case You Missed It

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Can This Plant Clean Indoor Pollution?

A houseplant sits on a stand in a home as a man reads a magazine in the background.

Can This Plant Clean Indoor Pollution?

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
A houseplant sits on a stand in a home as a man reads a magazine in the background.
© Antoine Guilloteau/NEOPLANT

A company in France has developed a houseplant that it claims can remove 30 times more pollution from indoor air than a typical houseplant. Called the Neo P1, the plant is genetically engineered to turn toxins into plant fuel.

Indoor air can be full of toxins from many sources, including paint, household cleaners, and insulation. Some of these toxins, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can’t be removed by air purifiers—and it’s not always possible to open a window to allow natural airflow to clean the environment. Experts say houseplants can remove VOCs by absorbing them into their roots and leaves. But studies show that having a few houseplants around won’t significantly improve air quality.

In developing the Neo P1, French company Neoplants took a type of plant called a golden pothos and made two key changes. First, they engineered it to ensure it absorbs more VOCs than regular houseplants. Second, they designed the plant to convert the VOCs it absorbs into substances like sugar and carbon dioxide, both of which help the plant to grow.

Neoplant sent their creation to air quality experts at Ecole Mines-Télécom at Lille University, who did tests comparing the Neo P1 with regular golden pothos plants. They found that the genetically engineered plant was about 30 times more effective at removing VOCs than the regular ones.

The plant costs about $179, which is about 10 times the cost of a regular golden pothos plant.

Did You Know?

A small dog is surrounded by houseplants as he stands on a cushioned bench looking at the floor.
© Chernetskaya/Dreamstime.com
Houseplants can clean indoor air and have a generally positive effect on our lives. But keep them away from your pets! Many common household plants are toxic to cats and dogs.

The Power of Plants

A woman who is sitting and reading goes from sad to happy as plants are added to the room.
© jongjawi, Good Studio/stock.adobe.com; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Houseplants may not have a massive impact on indoor air quality, but they can benefit us in other ways. Scientists have found evidence that keeping houseplants in our homes can help improve our mental health by reducing stress and may even make us more productive. And many studies have found that horticulture—caring for greenery—can help improve symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Made in a Lab

A man places a flag reading Impossible in a meatball that is part of a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.
© Impossible Foods
How did scientists produce a plant that absorbs more toxins than a typical plant? They used a process called genetic engineering. Household products, medications, and even foods like these meatballs have been created with genetic engineering. Learn more about this process at Britannica.

WORD OF THE DAY

efficacious

PART OF SPEECH:

adjective

Definition:
: having the power to produce a desired result or effect
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Criss Cross

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In Case You Missed It

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
November 29, 2023
Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.
November 27, 2023
A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
November 15, 2023
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.
November 13, 2023

Farewell, Pandas

Three panels, each showing a different panda.

Farewell, Pandas

Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.

Three panels, each showing a different panda.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

From left to right, National Zoo pandas Mei Xiang, Xiao Qi Ji, and Tian Tian.

On November 8, officials at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., loaded their three giant pandas—Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and their youngest offspring, Xiao Qi Ji—into crates and sent them to an airport, where they boarded a plane bound for China. Now, for the first time in 50 years, there are no pandas at the zoo.

China had lent male panda Tian Tian and female panda Mei Xiang to the zoo in 2000 as part of a panda breeding program. The pair of pandas were supposed to stay for a decade, but the agreement was extended to the end of 2023. The agreement also stated that any cubs the two pandas produced had to be returned to China by the age of 4. The zoo has already sent three of the pair’s cubs to China.

China, which is home to the world’s only wild giant pandas, started sending the black and white bears to the United States in 1972. Later, it sent additional pandas to other U.S. zoos. The program was called “panda diplomacy” because it wasn’t just about pandas. It was about strengthening ties between China and the United States, which have had a rocky relationship because of their political differences. At the peak of the program, there were 15 pandas in U.S. zoos. Now, there are only four—at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. Zoo Atlanta’s agreement with China expires in 2024. China continues to lend pandas to nations other than the United States.

Experts say the decline in the number of pandas lent to the U.S. coincides with growing problems between the United States and China. There are no solid plans to bring more pandas to the U.S., but zoo officials say they’re optimistic.

“We’re hopeful for the future, so we have submitted an application that’s being reviewed,” Bob Lee, director of animal care at the National Zoo, told CNN.

For more of the panda trio, check out the slideshow below.

Skip Brown, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute; Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

NEWS EXTRA

A Panda Comeback?

A giant panda leans over a fallen log and looks to her right.

Roshan Patel, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Mei Xiang lived at Washington D.C.’s National Zoo for years before she was returned to China.

Are there more giant pandas in America’s future? At a dinner in San Francisco, California, on November 15, Chinese president Xi Jinping suggested that the answer is yes. President Xi, who had met with U.S. president Joseph Biden earlier that day to discuss a range of issues, commented on both the recent transport of the National Zoo pandas to China and California’s San Diego Zoo, which sent its last pandas to China in 2019.

 “I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas and went to the [National Zoo] to see them off,” Xi said. “I also learned that the San Diego Zoo and the Californians very much look forward to welcoming pandas back.” 

 “We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and to do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples,” Xi added.

 The Chinese leader did not say when China might send more pandas to the United States or which zoo would receive them.

Fun Fact

Mockup of an Asian elephant standing next to a seated Abraham Lincoln, who says no thank you.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (object no. NPG.65.50), © Sombra12/Dreamstime.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In 1861, the king of Siam (now Thailand) offered to send elephants to the United States so that it could develop a population of the massive animals. President Abraham Lincoln declined the offer.

Giant Vegetarians

© Creatas Video+/Getty Images Plus

While most bears love a good piece of meat, giant pandas are mainly vegetarians. Bamboo makes up the vast majority of their diet. But pandas are a bit like carnivores in one way: they need protein to survive.

Scientists say that the ancient ancestors of the panda were carnivores. The panda evolved to be a vegetarian, even developing strong jaws that enable it to chew through tough, reedy bamboo. But the modern panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore. That is, the panda’s digestive system is short—unlike most plant-eaters, which have long digestive systems to allow their bodies more time to break down vegetation.

So, how do pandas thrive on bamboo and little else? Scientists have found that pandas select the parts of the bamboo that are highest in protein—and when they can’t find the right bamboo, they’ll travel to other areas. If they ate low-protein plants, pandas would not be able to survive.

Dinner Time…Again

A giant panda sits between two branches high in a tree.

© Birdiegal717/Dreamstime.com

If a giant panda is awake, it’s probably eating. Pandas spend up to 16 hours a day devouring bamboo! Learn more about them at Britannica.

WORD OF THE DAY

incongruous

PART OF SPEECH:

adjective

Definition:

: strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected

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In Case You Missed It

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
November 29, 2023
Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.
November 27, 2023
A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
November 15, 2023
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.
November 13, 2023

Are Supershoes Worth the Cost?

A closeup of a pair of Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes being worn.

Are Supershoes Worth the Cost?

A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
A closeup of a pair of Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes being worn.
© Adidas
Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes are made for speed, but they don’t last long.

In September 2023, Tigist Assefa, a runner from Ethiopia, broke a world running time record in the Berlin Marathon. Could the secret to her speed have been what she wore on her feet? Adidas, the company that made Assefa’s Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 running shoes, claims the footwear had something to do with it.

After the marathon, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden posted a photo of himself and Assefa, holding one of the shoes.

“Tigist Assefa…we are so proud of you!” he wrote.

The new Adidas “supershoes” are designed for experienced long-distance runners like Assefa. The shoes contain foam and other materials that add up to a lighter weight, which usually translates to faster running speeds. Adidas made the shoes to compete with those made by other shoe companies, especially Nike. Nike’s Vaporfly shoes are also lightweight and designed to improve running times. Nike, which charges $250 for a pair of Vaporfly shoes, tested the Vaporfly for years and concluded that it helps improve running times by about 4 percent compared to regular running shoes.

A lineup of Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes along with various lightweight materials.
© Adidas
Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes (top) are made up of several lightweight materials (bottom).

Adidas’s Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes cost $500 a pair. They’re lighter than Vaporfly shoes, but the trade-off for all that lightweight material is that they’re not durable. Adidas says the shoes are designed to last for one 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) marathon race plus a warm-up session. Critics say there’s little evidence that the Adidas shoes are much more effective than the Nike shoes.

“We have marketing claims and a pair of promises about improvements,” Ross Tucker, an exercise physiologist, told the New York Times. “We have [Assefa’s] world record in the marathon. But we don’t actually have any evidence, not compared to its peers and certainly not compared to its predecessors.”

Ashley Mateo, a journalist and runner, says she thinks the shoes are effective for her.

“They feel fast, but every runner responds differently to different shoes,” Mateo told the New York Times.

Did You Know?

Ren Pengfei—Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images, Michael Reaves/Getty Images Sport
Tigist Assefa (left) and Kelvin Kiptum are the world’s fastest marathon runners.
Tigist Assefa finished the 2023 Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds, a world record for women. The men’s world record belongs to Kelvin Kiptum, who completed the 2023 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours and 35 seconds. The average runner takes around four and a half hours to finish a marathon.

How Sneakers Became a Thing

Bill Russell, Walter Dukes, and other NBA players in uniforms jostling for control of the ball.
UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
In 1961, NBA players wore Converse All Stars on the court.

Anyone who has ever worn a pair of sneakers (or tennis shoes) will tell you that, aside from slippers, no footwear is more comfortable. So it may be hard to believe that sneakers didn’t exist before the 19th century, and they remained a niche thing (worn by only a small number of people) even into the 20th century.

Shoe company Converse got into sneaker-making fairly early when it designed the All Star, a high-top, rubber-soled shoe meant just for basketball players. Debuting in 1917, All Stars are still made today, though they’re a bit different now.

Nike’s Beginnings

Illustration of the goddess Nike wearing Nike Air Jordan sneakers
© Olena/stock.adobe.com, © Bonniecocos/Dreamstime.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sportswear company Nike got its name from the ancient Greek goddess of victory. You can read more about Nike and other Greek gods at Britannica.

WORD OF THE DAY

asseverate

PART OF SPEECH:
verb
Definition:
: to affirm or declare positively or earnestly
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Wordrow

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In Case You Missed It

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
November 29, 2023
Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.
November 27, 2023
A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
November 15, 2023
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.
November 13, 2023

A’ja Wilson Wows!

A’ja Wilson holds the ball and runs as another player tries to block her.

A’ja Wilson Wows!

A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.

A’ja Wilson holds the ball and runs as another player tries to block her.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images Sport

A’ja Wilson (in the black uniform) dodges opponent Robyn Parks of the Chicago Sky during Game Two of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs on September 17, 2023.

A’ja Wilson is already a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) legend, and she’s just getting started. In 2023, the Las Vegas Aces forward led her team to its second consecutive championship. With her talent and drive, there’s no telling how far she can go.

The Aces clinched the WNBA title on October 18 with help from Wilson’s 24 points and 16 rebounds. Wilson, who has been in the league six seasons, was named Finals MVP, the latest addition to an impressive series of accolades.

Wilson wasn’t a born athlete, according to her dad, Roscoe Wilson, who played pro basketball in Europe and was A’ja’s first coach. She was tall for her age, but her skills needed to be developed. The only answer was hard work. A’ja practiced day after day and became a standout at her high school in South Carolina.

“We had to work on getting to the basket, hitting the 12-foot, 15-foot, 8-foot jumpers,” Roscoe told Sports Illustrated. “I would…tell her, ‘You are going to get this done,’ and that her college coach would be tougher on her than I am.”

That college coach turned out to be Dawn Staley at the University of South Carolina. It wasn’t easy for Wilson to adjust to college. She has a learning difference called dyslexia, which can make reading difficult. Staley not only helped Wilson in basketball but also gave her opportunities to practice and become more comfortable with reading. Today, Wilson says that Staley, along with her grandmother, were two huge influences that helped her become the person she is today.

“I was a tall, lanky, freckle-faced teenager trying to understand where I fit. My grandmother always had a way to make me feel good about myself: through talks, walks, and tough love,” Wilson wrote on her website. “Coach Staley and I bonded the first moment we met. She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and she was able to coax it out.”

Wilson became her college team’s all-time leading scorer. Several media organizations named her National Player of the Year in 2018, and she won numerous honors for her talents on the court. When she was selected by the Las Vegas Aces in 2018, she was the number one draft pick. In addition to the two WNBA titles, Wilson’s trophy case includes an Olympic gold medal, two World Cup gold medals, and two WNBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Wilson is still only 27 years old and likely has many more years left in her career. For now, she’s just enjoying her latest victory.

“I cried to my parents [when we won],” Wilson told Jennifer Hudson during an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show. “They sacrificed so much for me. So to have them on the court with me after we won, I cried like a baby, because it was just a wonderful moment.”

Did You Know?

Chris Coduto/Getty Images Sport; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The WNBA scoring record belongs to Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury, who in 2023 became the first in the league to surpass 10,000 career points.

A’ja Off the Court

Courtesy of the A’ja Wilson Foundation, www.ajawilsonfoundation.org

When A’ja Wilson was in high school, she was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that causes various difficulties with language, but particularly with reading.

Wilson says dyslexia can lead to struggles outside the classroom because people with learning disabilities are sometimes bullied by their peers. She and her parents created the A’ja Wilson Foundation as a resource to help young people with dyslexia, both educationally and socially.

Basketball’s Beginnings

A woman in 19th century clothing watches as girls in knee length dresses vie for control of a basketball.

Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZC4-9676)

In 1891, a physical education teacher named James Naismith hung a couple of peach baskets in a gymnasium and invented the game of basketball. The photo shown here was taken in about 1899. 

You can learn more about basketball at Britannica.

WORD OF THE DAY

encomium

PART OF SPEECH:
noun
Definition:

glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise

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In Case You Missed It

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
November 29, 2023
Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.
November 27, 2023
A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
November 15, 2023
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.
November 13, 2023

The First Ever

Three men and one woman in head to toe red and orange gear pose on a rocky landscape.

The First Ever

Four adventurers are the first people to travel the entire Northwest Passage in kayaks.
Three men and one woman in head to toe red and orange gear pose on a rocky landscape.
Courtesy of West Hansen, www.thearcticcowboys.com

The Arctic Cowboys pose for a photo during their attempt to kayak the Northwest Passage.

A team of three men and one woman have become the first to travel the entire Northwest Passage by kayak in a single season. The team achieved their goal in 83 days.

The Northwest Passage is a legendary sea route that begins at the Atlantic Ocean and cuts through the northernmost part of North America to reach the Pacific Ocean. Explorers attempted to travel the route for centuries, but expedition after expedition ended in failure or even disaster due to sea ice and the harsh northern climate. Finally, in 1906, a crew led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen completed the journey.

Since then, melting ice due to climate change has made the Northwest Passage more accessible, but it’s still a harsh journey. Many people have traveled the entire route in different kinds of human-powered vehicles, but no one has been able to paddle it in a single season. Until now.

The successful expedition was years in the making. Its leader was U.S. explorer West Hansen. Hansen had already paddled down the entire length of both the Amazon River in South America and the Volga River in Europe. He started planning the Northwest Passage journey in 2018, but the trip was delayed due to COVID-19 and poor weather. His first attempt, in 2022, was thwarted by bad weather and other issues.

This year’s team included Hansen, Eileen Visser, Mark Agnew, and Jeff Wueste. They called themselves the Arctic Cowboys. The team started in July, but while that’s summer in the Arctic, the weather was wintry by most standards.

“The biggest challenge was the sea ice,” Agnew told the BBC. “We became trapped in the ice a lot. There was this one occasion in particular where we were trapped in the ice and two icebergs began to ram together with us in between.”

Courtesy of West Hansen, www.thearcticcowboys.com,

There were also winds, 15-foot (5-meter) waves, falling snow, and encounters with wildlife, including a polar bear who sat on the outer wall of their tent while they were inside. Luckily, two of the team members were able to scare off the unwelcome visitor. The team completed the route on October 10.

The Northwest Passage expedition is complete, but for Hansen there may be more adventures ahead.

“I’m really good at handling difficult situations in the moment and figuring out what needs to happen,” Hansen told Texas Monthly in 2022. “I’m not good at avoiding difficult situations, and I put myself in those situations unnecessarily.”

The video shows the Arctic Cowboys during their journey.

NEWS EXTRA

Celebrating Diwali!

Four colorful lanterns hanging and lights running along the ground with people sitting and standing next to them.
© Nikhil Gangavane/Dreamstime.com, © RBB—Moment/Getty Images, © Magdalena Kucova/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The five-day festival called Diwali (or Divali) is observed each year in October or November. In 2023, Diwali falls between November 10-15, 2023.

Diwali originated in India and is part of the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain religions, though it’s also observed by some Muslims and Buddhists. Diwali is observed differently in each religion. In Hinduism, for example, the holiday honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Homes are decorated with lights to invite Lakshmi’s presence and bring prosperity.

In general, Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness, or good over evil. People celebrate by feasting, eating sweets, exchanging gifts, and cleaning their homes. Though Diwali lasts for five days, the main celebration takes place on November 12.

Did You Know?

Side by side of a traditional kayak and a modern kayak.
Sarah Stierch (CC BY 4.0), © Marek Uliasz/Dreamstime.com; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The kayak was invented by Native Alaskans thousands of years ago.

The photo shows a historical Alaska sea kayak, known as a baidarka or Aleut kayak, and a modern whitewater kayak.

What Causes the Northern Lights?

© Sjo—Creatas Video+/Getty Images Plus

West Hansen and his team of paddlers encountered danger in the Arctic, but they also saw something beautiful: the aurora borealis, or northern lights.

Auroras are dazzling displays of colored light that sometimes appear in the night sky in Earth’s far northern and far southern regions. Auroras may look like rays, shimmering curtains, or clouds of colored light.

What causes them? The Sun sends out a stream of electrically charged particles called the solar wind, which travels from the Sun toward Earth at great speed. Earth’s magnetic field forces the charged particles in the solar wind toward the planet’s northern and southern polar regions.

As the particles move downward through Earth’s upper atmosphere, they crash into atoms and molecules of gases such as oxygen and nitrogen, causing the atoms and molecules to give off light. This light is an aurora. An aurora’s colors are determined by the different gases.

Braving the Northwest Passage

Animated map showing a route through the Northwest Passage.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
From harsh weather to high winds to sea ice, the difficulties of traveling the Northwest Passage are legendary. You can learn more about this sea route at Britannica!

WORD OF THE DAY

fortitude

PART OF SPEECH:
noun
Definition:
: mental strength and courage that allows someone to face danger, pain, etc.
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In Case You Missed It

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
November 29, 2023
Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.
November 27, 2023
A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
November 15, 2023
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.
November 13, 2023

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

View from behind of three people standing next to each other and holding hands, with the man in the middle wearing a shirt that reads Lahaina Strong.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

When a family lost their home to a wildfire in Lahaina, on the island of Maui, a local builder volunteered his time and skills.

View from behind of three people standing next to each other and holding hands, with the man in the middle wearing a shirt that reads Lahaina Strong.

Mario Tama/Getty Images News

When a wildfire swept through the town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui, thousands of people lost their homes. William Fincher and his family were among them. But thanks to the kindness of a local builder, the Finchers will soon have a new place to live.

Just days after the fire, builder Juan Ricci was already ordering the materials to build two tiny homes—smaller than average homes—with enough space for Fincher, his wife, their two kids, and their two dogs. Ricci paid for the materials out of his own pocket, and he and his crew are donating their time and skills. Fincher is helping. He’s not a professional builder, so Ricci’s crew is guiding him along.

“I’m good with tools, but I don’t know how to frame or put roofs on or lay foundation, electrical, you know, none of this stuff,” Fincher told ABC News. “Juan does, and Juan has the [workers] that know how to do this stuff.”

As of October, the land affected by the fire was not yet fit for rebuilding—officials were still clearing it of debris. That means it will be a long time before the Finchers and other residents can rebuild on their own land. Instead, Ricci’s crew is building the Finchers’ tiny homes on land owned by a family friend. 

Construction isn’t cheap. So Ricci, who has his own bills to pay, set up a GoFundMe, a type of web page on which people can ask for donations. As of October, the page had raised nearly $19,000 out of a $100,000 goal.

“That’s the idea, to raise some money and keep going and start paying the guys that have been working, helping the people,” Ricci told Good Morning America. He’s hoping to use some of the funds to build homes for other Lahaina families as well.

“Everybody’s trying to help out right now,” Ricci said.

NEWS EXTRA

Rangers Win World Series

Members of the Texas Rangers smile and embrace one another on the field.

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images Sport

For the first time in their 63-year history, the Texas Rangers are World Series champions. The Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 of the series, despite not getting any hits for the first six innings. The Rangers came roaring to life in the seventh inning after Corey Seager’s bat connected with the ball for the first hit of the game.

“It’s just awesome. This is the vision, right?” Seager, the World Series MVP, told the Associated Press. “It’s a really special moment.”

Did You Know?

Map showing the location of Maui and Lahaina in the Hawaiian islands and the location of the islands in the ocean, as well as a photo of a beach on Maui.

© Dowin Photography/stock.adobe.com; Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Between 1820 and 1845, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Native Hawaiians Speak Out

Mengshin Lin—The Washington Post/Getty Images

Ke’eaumoku Kapu is a native rights activist and founder of a cultural center that was destroyed in the Lahaina fire.

When a wildfire destroyed most of Lahaina, thousands of people lost their homes. But something else was lost, too.

Lahaina is an important part of Native Hawaiian history. The city was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which existed until 1893, when the U.S. government overthrew Queen Lili’uoukalani and made Hawaii part of the United States. When the fire broke out, many historic and sacred native places were destroyed. More than a century after Native Hawaiians lost control of the islands, the fire was another huge loss to their community.

Native Hawaiians say it’s important that they be part of the process of rebuilding Lahaina to ensure that their history and culture are respected and preserved.

“Give us time to heal [from this loss],” native rights activist Ke’eaumoku Kapu said, as reported by PBS News Hour. “And be open and allow us to sit at that table so we can be a part of the solution.”

Hawaii’s Queen

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-stereo-1s12029, LC-USZ62-105894)

The photos above show Queen Lili’uoukalani, Hawaii’s last monarch, and her former palace. You can read more about Queen Lili’uoukalani at Britannica.

WORD OF THE DAY

revivify

PART OF SPEECH:
verb
Definition:

: to make (someone or something) strong, healthy, or active again

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In Case You Missed It

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More Representation Needed

Lily Gladstone and three other actresses sit on a blanket wearing shawls and holding fans in a still from Killers of the Flower Moon.

More Representation Needed

A new report shows that Indigenous actors are rarely represented in movies.
Lily Gladstone and three other actresses sit on a blanket wearing shawls and holding fans in a still from Killers of the Flower Moon.
© 2023 Apple Studios/Paramount Pictures

The actors (from left) JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers, and Jillian Dion, from the 2023 movie Killers of the Flower Moon, are all of American Indian descent.

American Indians, or Native Americans, make up 1.3 percent of the U.S. population. But a new report says that they are rarely represented in movies.

The report shows the results of a study done by the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The study looked at the presence of American Indians in the 1,600 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2022. (The top-grossing films are the ones that made the most money.) It found that less than 0.25 percent (one-quarter of 1 percent) of speaking roles in these films went to American Indians, and only one of the films featured an American Indian lead actor. Only about one-third of the roles played by American Indian actors were important to the plot of the movie.

When American Indians did appear on screen, only 23 percent of them were female.

“Audiences would have to watch thousands of movies to see even one Native woman on screen, and very likely in a minor role,” said Annenberg Associate Professor of Communication Stacy L. Smith, the report’s main author. “This is a failure of imagination on the part of writers, directors, and casting directors.”

Smith said American Indians are nearly invisible in movies. She added that it would be difficult for American Indian actors to earn a living because there are very few roles for them.

The report says there are many ways to improve American Indian representation in Hollywood. It suggests supporting the work of American Indian filmmakers and actors. One way to do this is for movie studios to fund (pay for) movies that feature American Indian actors or those made by American Indian filmmakers.

Did You Know?

Scene from behind a movie audience with the flag of New Mexico shown on the screen.
© terra.incognita/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Film Prize Junior New Mexico is a moviemaking competition for students in middle school and high school. Based in the state of New Mexico, which has a higher-than-average American Indian population, the prize helps encourage and support the work of young American Indian filmmakers.

Shaping the World

November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (also known as Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month). The hundreds of American Indian nations in the United States have a huge range of histories, traditions, and cultures.

Here are just a few American Indians who are helping to shape the culture of the United States and the world.

AFF-USA/Shutterstock.com, U.S. Department of the Interior, Shawn Miller/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Cooper Neill/Getty Images Sport, Jeff Golden/Getty Images Sport, Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images, Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.com

American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

Animated GIF with different summer and winter Olympic sports flashing on and off the screen.
Alamy: photo-fox, Pictorial Press Ltd.; Getty: Keystone—Hulton Archive, grandriver—E+,Carl Iwasaki—The Chronicle Collection, Joseph Prezioso—AFP; Pete Souza—Barack Obama Presidential Library/National Archives, Washington, D.C.; © Jose Gil/Shutterstock.com; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital no. cph 3b32945); Robert Markowitz—Johnson Space Center/NASA; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Did you know that people have lived in North America for tens of thousands of years? The descendants of those first arrivals are today’s American Indians, or Indigenous peoples.

Read more at Britannica!

WORD OF THE DAY

depict

PART OF SPEECH:
verb
Definition:
: to show (someone or something) in a picture, painting, photograph, etc.
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In Case You Missed It

The Neo P1 houseplant is genetically engineered to make indoor air safer to breathe.
November 29, 2023
Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo sent its pandas to China after a lending agreement with the Chinese government expired.
November 27, 2023
A new Adidas shoe is made to help runners win races, but it doesn’t last very long.
November 15, 2023
A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is a WNBA superstar.
November 13, 2023

A More Even Playing Field

A football player holding a football faces off with an opposing player on a field.

A More Even Playing Field

A new football helmet is designed to communicate plays to players who are deaf or hard of hearing.
A football player holding a football faces off with an opposing player on a field.
Courtesy of AT&T
Brandon Washington, quarterback for Gallaudet University (holding the ball) rushes against an opponent.

A new football helmet allows coaches to communicate with players who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The technology works like this: During a game, a coach standing on the sideline can select from a list of plays on a tablet and then send the selection to the quarterback’s helmet. The play appears on a tiny screen at the front of the helmet, where the quarterback can see it. The quarterback then communicates the play to the rest of the team. This process is similar to how plays are communicated to hearing quarterbacks. Many of them receive audio messages from coaches via speakers in their helmets.

A man on a football field holds a tablet and phone next to a closeup of a helmet with a tiny display.
Courtesy of AT&T
Gallaudet University football coach Chuck Goldstein transmits plays to AT&T’s new football helmet, seen on the right.

The helmet was developed by AT&T in collaboration with Gallaudet University, where nearly all the students are deaf or hard of hearing. Gallaudet’s football team competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

“We work out the same way as every other college football program, we practice the same way, we compete the same way,” Gallaudet coach Chuck Goldstein said in a press release. “The difference between coaching a hearing team compared to a Deaf team is…the communication.”

Brandon Washington poses in a jersey showing ASL signs and the number 5.
Courtesy of AT&T
Brandon Washington, Gallaudet quarterback, wears the Gallaudet football jersey.

For nearly two years, AT&T asked the university’s football coaches and players for input as it worked out how to design the helmet.

“They would give us feedback,” Corey Anthony, AT&T senior vice president of networking engineering and operations, told the Associated Press. “We’d go back, make changes, work on it. It’s just a beautiful relationship that we have with that university.”

The players and their coach are thrilled with the result.

“Just realizing, is this for real? Can you look around and be able to see the plays inside the helmet? I mean, that’s just awesome technology,” Trevin Adams, Gallaudet University quarterback, told Good Morning America.

Did You Know?

A basketball player tries to get control of the ball from an opposing player.
Metin Aktas—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Two basketball players battle for control of the ball during a basketball game at the 2017 Deaflympics.
Sound plays a big role in sports. There’s the calling of plays, the coach’s whistle, and the end-of-period buzzer. That’s why an organization called the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) was established. The ICSD’s mission is to ensure that deaf people have more opportunities to participate in sports. Since 1924, the ICSD has overseen the Deaflympics, an international sporting event for deaf athletes. Like the Olympics, the Deaflympics consist of summer and winter events, both of which take place every four years.