Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 10/02/2026Not to get into the weeds (or herbs), but cilantro leaves come from the same plant that makes coriander. It is a cousin of cumin, also in the parsley family. 11515
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 10/02/2026Herb = leafy part of plants Spice = aromatic seeds, bark, flowers, and roots of plants that have been dried and crushed So, depending on which part of the cumin plant you use, it could either be considered an herb or a spice. 115718
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 10/02/2026Cumin is an annual plant of the parsley family. Dried fruits of the cumin plant, which look more like seeds, are used as a spice in many different cuisines. If it helps, the difference between an herb and a spice has to do with which part of the plant is used. 🧵⬇️ 740259
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 09/02/2026At the 1936 Olympics, Haiti and Liechtenstein discovered they essentially had the same flag. To avoid future confusion, Haiti added its national crest, and Liechtenstein added a yellow crown. Both are really, really ridiculously good-looking. 217443
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 30/01/2026While working at Toronto’s Second City Theater, Catherine O’Hara was made Gilda Radner’s understudy. When Radner left in 1974, O’Hara became a member of the company, and her ability to imbue her comedic characters with depth and humanity launched a decades-long career. 128545
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 29/01/2026An estimated one septillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) snowflakes fall worldwide every year. We may have come close this week. 111418
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 29/01/2026Greenland sharks are believed to be the longest-living vertebrates on Earth. Researchers have determined that one female is around 400 years old. That means she was alive during the Napoleonic Wars, the Boston Tea Party, Charles Darwin, and ABBA winning Eurovision. 422443
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 22/01/2026Unfortunately, chloride is quite bad for the environment. It can kill plants and aquatic animals, and alter soil composition, affecting future vegetation. Chloride-free melting compounds do exist, but are usually much more expensive. 0441
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 22/01/2026That’s why table salt can melt ice down to about -10°F, while calcium chloride can melt ice down to about -25° F. 1410
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 22/01/2026The more ions produced, the more they can get in the way of rigid ice bonds. Table salt (sodium chloride) will dissolve into two ions: - 1 sodium ion - 1 chloride ion Calcium chloride (often used by cities) breaks down into three ions: - 1 calcium ion - 2 chloride ions 2260
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 22/01/2026For no reason at all: how does salt melt ice? There is a layer of water above ice, which allows salt to dissolve into ions. Ions make it harder for water molecules to bond together into ice crystals. This is called 'freezing point depression,' and no, SAD lamps don't help.🧵⬇️ 112128
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 21/01/2026Turns out cows may have beauty and brains. 820338
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 20/01/2026Aquarius’s representation as a man pouring a stream of water out of a jug may be because in ancient times, the rising of Aquarius coincided with a period of floods and rain in the Middle East. Another conspiracy theory for them to consider. 2637
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 15/01/2026There are other factors at play in the Brazil nut effect, including: - particle density - the shape of the container - friction on the walls of the container All of those work together to deliver… the Brazil nut. Don’t worry, you don’t have to eat them. 4592
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 15/01/2026We’re also dealing with granular convection, which is when particles rise in the middle and sink at the walls. When particles are differently shaped, the larger particles rise to the middle, but are too big to fall back down the sides. 1502
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 15/01/2026The first mechanism is called percolation. When you shake the container, small pieces fall into the spaces left by the large pieces, creating a compact base for the large pieces (or nuts) to sit on. The more you shake, the higher the big pieces rise. 1391
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 15/01/2026When a container of mixed nuts is shaken, the largest nuts rise to the top. This phenomenon is known as the ‘Brazil nut effect,’ and there are a couple of mechanisms at play. Or: “Making physics fun with snacks.” 🧵⬇️ 916734
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 14/01/2026A chicken can be placed in a hypnotic-like trance called “tonic immobility” by holding its head to the ground and drawing a straight line in the dirt from the tip of its beak outward on the ground. We don't know what to do with this information, either. 714320
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 14/01/2026Protestors are currently flying an old version of Iran’s flag, both in Tehran and worldwide as their movement gains momentum. Here’s some information on the old flag, as well as Iran’s current one. 28319
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 12/01/2026For anyone considering making a reptile a part of the family: explore.britannica.com/explore/savi...explore.britannica.comPet Reptiles | Saving Earth | Encyclopedia Britannica"I want one!" you hear kids cry as they stroke the shells of tortoises sitting calmly in their laps inside the tortoise pen at the annual ReptileFest in Chicago. The gentle disposition and easygoing m... 0274
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 12/01/2026If lizards had legs, they'd kick you. (they do and they would) 1584
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 08/01/2026The Mercator projection is widely used for navigation charts, but is less practical for world maps, because the scale is distorted and areas farther away from the Equator appear disproportionately large. 621160
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 08/01/2026A timeline of the January 2nd U.S. military mission to arrest and remove Venezuelan Pres. Nicolás Maduro and his wife. 🧵⬇️ 45414
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 05/01/2026Loons feed mainly on fish, crustaceans, and insects, which you could say are their heated rivals. 18213
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 26/12/2025Over a third of Frida Kahlo's paintings were self-portraits. Although her paintings often mixed fantasy with realism, she said, "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality." 1643
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 26/12/2025Of animal skeletons she collected, O'Keeffe said: “To me they are as beautiful as anything I know… . The bones seem to cut sharply to the center of something that is keenly alive on the desert.” 1492
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 26/12/2025While other painters at the time found sunflowers slightly coarse and unrefined, Van Gogh championed them in his paintings. After his death, friends brought sunflowers to his funeral. 1270
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 26/12/2025During his lifetime, Claude Monet painted more than 250 water lilies paintings, seemingly never stopping to say, “Enough. Enough for now.” 113227
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 23/12/2025Mistletoes are parasitic plants. Some have explosive fruits; some fling their babies to new branches they can infect. They can also cause abnormal growths called “witches’ brooms” that deform the branches and decrease the reproductive ability of the host. Romantic. 616145
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 22/12/2025Florida upside down kind of looks like the Grinch. Who knew the 27th state, consisting of mostly geologically young, low-lying plains, had such strong feelings about Christmas? 18518
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 22/12/2025FYI: “Capricornus” usually refers to the zodiacal constellation, and “Capricorn” usually refers to the astrological sign. Capricorns would want you to get that right. 18024
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 21/12/2025December 21 is the winter solstice, which means that in the Northern Hemisphere: - The path of the Sun is farthest south in the sky - The Sun travels the shortest path, giving the day the least daylight and the longest night - Things can only get lighter from here 9500139
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025During the height of the Victorian era, many Brits delighted in the bizarre and macabre, even during the holidays. We have them to thank for the quintessentially odd Christmas cards that still delight (and freak us out) today. "God bless us, everyone." 19721
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025The increased popularity of novelty cards also meant that middle-class families could own a piece of art to display in their homes. And who wouldn’t want a coy boot-wearing onion hanging on your wall?? 110914
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025Although the church and rigid social codes dominated Victorian culture, there are remarkably few religious themes. Instead, dark humor found its way into the designs. 1405
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025With the advancement of printing processes, cards became cheaper and more accessible. Card companies began commissioning artists to create designs specifically for Christmas cards. To keep up with competition, the designs became more original. 1404
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025The first Christmas card is thought to have been designed in England in 1843, the EXACT SAME YEAR that Charles Dickens wrote ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Christmas (snow, big feasts, family cheer) was becoming a thing. 1,000 hand-colored copies of the card were sold in London. 1413
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025Queen Victoria, whose mother and husband were born in Germany, is credited with bringing German holiday traditions like Christmas trees and card-giving to England in the 1830s. 3435
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025All I want for Christmas is…a painting of a mouse riding a lobster. Christmas cards during the Victorian Era tended to be rather unusual, reflecting an offbeat sense of humor before Christmas iconography had solidified into what it is today. Let’s shake this tree down. 🧵⬇️ 126160
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 19/12/2025Feel free to use this as your OOO message for the rest of the year: 115733
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 17/12/2025Reindeer generally stick to a plant-based diet, and in winter, they rely on high-carbohydrate lichens called reindeer moss, which they reach by digging craters in the snow. Bacon-wrapped scallops would certainly be a treat. 19913
Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 16/12/2025During most kidney transplants, the diseased kidneys are not removed. The new kidney is added to the lower abdominal area to allow easy connection to the bladder. 518123
