Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Since 1768.
One popular Thanksgiving tradition is making a wish while breaking the fulcrum of the turkey, more commonly known as the wishbone. 🧵⬇️

(NOT HIM)
November 26, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Release the transcripts @MoBamba.
November 25, 2025 at 4:18 PM
On November 24, 1971, a man using the name Dan Cooper boarded a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle.

This marked the beginning of a legendary but unsolved heist, a cold case that’s among the most infamous criminal mysteries in American history. 🧵⬇️
November 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Since Sagittarians can be hard to pin down, we thought you’d want to know that the zodiacal constellation of Sagittarius can be found in the southern sky between Capricornus and Scorpius, at about 19 hours right ascension and 25° south declination.
November 23, 2025 at 6:44 PM
19th-century scientists reading Joseph Lister's idea that surgeons could prevent infecting their patients by washing and disinfecting their hands before surgery:
November 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
We hope everyone flies free this weekend.

BTW, the name Elphaba is a reference to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" author L. Frank Baum.
November 21, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Never beating the “they have an unhealthy amount of illustrations of British family crests from the early 14th century” allegations.
November 20, 2025 at 5:17 PM
A flamingo named Frankie recently escaped a British wildlife sanctuary and has been spotted in Northern France.

Frankie flew the 172 miles despite her clipped wings.

FWIW, here’s how far that is.

Ed. note: You cannot drive through the English Channel.
November 19, 2025 at 4:50 PM
If the forest can rebuild after being burned, so can you.

(Ideally in less than 150 years.)
November 18, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Astronaut Chris Hadfield said outer space smells like gunpowder and burnt steak.

Yankee Candle, your newest seasonal scent has arrived.
November 17, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Octopuses have nine brains—one in their head and one in each of their eight arms, which are all capable of acting independently.

But humans invented Extra Toasty Cheez-Its, so our brains are pretty cool, too.
November 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Moss: Private Investigator

Due to their unique traits, mosses have been used as forensic evidence to determine how a crime occurred, sometimes even linking a person to a very specific location. 🧵⬇️
November 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
New nightmare fuel just dropped.

A gigantic spiderweb was recently discovered in an underwater cave on the Greece-Albania border.

The web spans about 1,000 square feet and houses more than 110,000 spiders.

TBH, the underwater cave feels like overkill.
November 12, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Medical services are Cuba’s most valuable export.

The country leases about 50,000 doctors to dozens of foreign nations each year.

In addition to improving global relations, the program brings in billions every year to the Cuban government.
November 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
In December 2022, a picture of Lionel Messi celebrating that year's World Cup win became the most popular Instagram photo ever.

The previous record holder?

A stock photo of a plain brown egg.
November 11, 2025 at 7:13 PM
The longest government shutdown seems to be close to ending.

Here's what you need to know.
November 11, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Fifty years after sinking, the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter remains the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes.

The mystery surrounding the Fitzgerald’s demise captured the public’s imagination, and the tragedy has been immortalized in song, books, and documentaries. 🧵⬇️
November 10, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Vampire bats produce an anticoagulant called draculin that helps them feed on blood without it clotting.

Scientists are studying possible human uses for the blood thinner, so if you overhear a nurse ordering you a dose of draculin, don’t be (too) afraid.
November 7, 2025 at 8:41 PM
In 2006, scientists found a fossil they believed belonged to a teenage T. rex.

It was recently identified as a completely different, smaller tyrannosaur species, but we now can’t stop thinking about teen T. rexes and how much attitude they must’ve given their parents.
November 6, 2025 at 7:34 PM
“I did not kill the president. The doctors did that. I merely shot him.”

—Charles J. Guiteau, charged with the death of President James A. Garfield, 1882

Let’s get into it. 🧵⬇️
November 5, 2025 at 8:13 PM
November 5, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Grazing animals like goats and sheep have rectangular pupils.

As the animals raise and lower their heads to eat, their eyes automatically rotate so that their pupils remain parallel to the ground.

How does this help them? 🧵⬇️
November 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
If you're mad about Daylight Saving Time, you could blame Benjamin Franklin, who first suggested the practice in 1784.

His cheeky theory was that if people rose with the summer sun, they wouldn’t have to buy so many candles.

Let your lower paraffin bills comfort you today.
November 2, 2025 at 5:33 PM
“Ohtani,” in Japanese, means great or large valley.

“Shohei” means balanced or peaceful flight.

Shohei Ohtani’s longest home run ever was a 469-foot peaceful flight out of a great valley on October 17, 2025.
November 2, 2025 at 4:56 AM
If you thought the story of Frankenstein was intense, wait until you hear about the life of its author.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s personal life was fraught with death, life, and a summer of volcanic ash.

Buckle up. 🧵⬇️
November 1, 2025 at 3:10 AM