“Cat got your tongue” and other popular sayings are common in the English language. These and many other popular expressions are part of everyday life — yet most of us haven’t stopped to consider or explore their interesting origin stories. Where did these expressions come from and what do they mean? WHY DO WE SAY ‘UNDER THE WEATHER’ AND OTHER …
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A maze in Scotland is shaped uniquely in a nod to a family’s decades-long history — and is today a favorite travel destination for many, especially during the spring and summer months. The Murray Star Maze at Scone Palace in Scotland was planted in 1991 in the shape of a five-point star as a nod to the history of the …
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Earth Day happens every year on April 22. There are many ways that you can celebrate the occasion with activities that both honor and protect the planet. Below are a handful of ways you and the whole family can mark the annual occasion and also, continue appreciating planet Earth throughout the year. 5 QUICK EARTH DAY FACTS YOU MIGHT NOT …
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Carpets of yellow, orange and gold flowers are beginning to cover Southern California’s vast deserts, the Bay Area’s dramatic bluffs and even near Los Angeles International Airport. But do they add up to a “superbloom”? There is no single definition of the event, but so far this year’s blooms haven’t been as vibrant or abundant as those that took over …
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The spectacular sights of springtime around the United States are in full bloom from coast to coast and across the ocean. Here’s a look at five of the best flower gardens in America across five U.S. time zones for your traveling pleasure. EASTERN: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Sarasota, Florida Sunshine State beauty blossoms along the Florida coast at stunning Selby …
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That coffee you slurped this morning? It’s 600,000 years old. Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world’s most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as “arabica.” The researchers, hoping to learn more about the plants to better protect them from pests and …
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The country of Japan is giving the United States 250 new cherry trees, which will replace the hundreds that will be destroyed this summer in Washington, D.C., as part of a construction project around the Tidal Basin. The gift was announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday, April 10, during an official visit and state dinner at the …
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Travis Gienger is the Michael Jordan of giant pumpkins: the greatest of all time. The stone craftsman, horticulture teacher and gourd whisperer from Anoka, Minnesota set the world record last year by growing a 2,749-pound pumpkin. The orange colossus was boldly named Michael Jordan in the spring, in honor of the basketball player widely considered the GOAT (Greatest of All …
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A great cicada revival is expected to hit the U.S. this spring and summer. Two cicada broods are making a simultaneous comeback for the first time in 221 years — with trillions of insects expected to emerge across the country. The two groupings of cicadas, brood XIX and XIII, will emerge from the underground in 17 states across the country, …
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Crowds gathered Friday to enjoy Japan’s famed cherry blossoms in Tokyo, where cold weather has delayed their bloom. Cherry blossoms, known as “sakura” in Japanese, are the nation’s favorite flower. People often have sakura viewing parties beneath the falling petals, where there are also picnics and sake drinking. Vidyuth Lakshman, 36, a tourist from Canada, said she’d seen cherry blossoms …
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