Public Schools, Big Bang, and Your State's Coolest Invention

Public education, explained

The modern public education system in the United States took shape during New England's Common School Movement in the 1830s and 1840s. Today, the system serves approximately 83% (45 million) of enrolled K-12 students across over 98,000 schools. The remainder attend private schools or nondistrict public schools such as charters, or are homeschooled. 

State governments determine curriculum and academic standards, while local school boards and districts typically manage implementation—selecting materials, pacing guides, and lesson structures. For the 2023-24 school year, spending on K-12 public education was around $17,700 per student, totaling roughly $880B. A combination of local property taxes, state revenue, and federal grants funds these expenses.

In 2023-24, 87% of school funding came from state and local sources. The US Department of Education, though providing only about 8%-10% of K-12 funding, shapes national education policy by distributing targeted grants, enforcing civil rights laws, and coordinating research.

... Read what else we learned about the US public education system here.

Also, check out ... 

> The first public education law in the American Colonies was created to prevent Satan's influence on children. (Read)

> How the Industrial Revolution changed childhood and education. (Watch)

> The US lags behind other developed countries in math and science scores. (View)

> An exploration of the political history of the Department of Education. (Listen)

In partnership with Noom

Is the Future of Weight Loss Microdosing?

By now, most people have heard of GLP-1 medications for weight loss—but jumping straight into a full dosing schedule can feel like a lot. That’s why Noom is taking a different approach: Microdosing.

Noom’s Microdose GLP-1^Rx Program is designed to help you ease into GLP-1 treatment with a lower-dose, personalized plan that’s gentler on your body, and for the month of May, you can get 20% off your first month (starting at $79¹). Even better? Participants have seen results of up to 17 pounds lost in 60 days². Paired with Noom’s evidence-based behavior change platform, the program supports sustainable progress—not just quick wins.

Take the quick quiz to find out if this personalized GLP-1 approach could work for you.

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College Tuition 101

Since the middle of the 20th century, higher education has been viewed as a stepping stone to well-paying professional careers for millions of Americans. Earning a degree has become a viable path to upper-class prosperity for many, in particular first-generation college students.

But it can be costly. As of 2025, annual tuition alone ranges from around $10K for an in-state, four-year public university to almost $40K for private institutions. 

The total price tag—when including living expenses, fees, and other costs—for a bachelor's degree in the US can now exceed $100K for public institutions, requiring the majority of students to secure financing to cover the cost of education. Inflation-adjusted average tuition and fees have more than tripled since 1970.

The rising cost of higher education has sparked public debate over the return on investment of attending college. Many high-profile universities have begun to offer generous aid packages and claim full sticker-price costs are only paid by a small percentage of enrollees. 

... Explore our full page on College Tuition here.

Also, check out ... 

> College sticker prices are often misleading. (Watch)

> Most students receive some form of financial aid to pay for college. (Read)

> Play the game of college and try to avoid debt. (Explore)

> A guide to college affordability and transparency. (Explore)

Understanding the Big Bang

The Big Bang theory claims that everything in our universe—from the sun to the very fabric of spacetime—originated from a single point that began spreading out about 13.8 billion years ago. The term was coined in 1949 to contrast it with models that suggested the universe was static and unchanging, though the theory describes an expansion rather than a conventional explosion.

The theory originated in 1927, when Georges Lemaître, a Belgian cosmologist and Roman Catholic priest, applied Einstein's model of gravity—the general theory of relativity—to the entire universe. His solution predicted an expanding universe of galaxies that, by rewinding the clock, would have begun as a "primeval atom." Two years later, Edwin Hubble confirmed the universe's expansion after observing distant galaxies moving away from Earth.

The Big Bang predicts several properties about the universe that have since been confirmed through observation, strengthening the theory. These include an overwhelming abundance of light elements, such as hydrogen, and the cosmic microwave background—an afterglow of radiation left over from the Big Bang—discovered in the 1960s.

Scientists don't know what triggered the Big Bang, though some suggest a quantum fluctuation—or a random energy shift in a quantum vacuum—brought it into being.

... Read our full write-up on the Big Bang here.

Also, check out ... 

> How a twist involving pigeon droppings helped prove the Big Bang. (Read)

> The Big Bang triggered different stages that built the universe's elements. (Watch)

> Stephen Hawking's thesis laid the theoretical groundwork for the theory. (Read)
> How exactly is the universe expanding? (Watch)

In partnership with Noom

Micro Dose, Meets Macro Change

That’s the thinking behind Noom’s Microdose GLP-1^Rx Program—a new way to approach GLP-1 weight loss with lower, personalized dosing designed to fit your body and your goals.

The program pairs GLP-1 medication with Noom’s proven behavior-change platform, helping people build healthier habits while seeing real progress. In fact, some participants have lost up to 17 pounds in 60 days² using this tailored approach. Take Noom’s quick quiz to find out if you’re eligible for the Microdose GLP-1^Rx Program and get 20% off your first month.

Please support our sponsors!

Best of the Week

We added 275 resources this week to our knowledge collective—share your favorite link or outlet with us to see it featured here next week!

The Fort Worth Zoo has a new baby Asian elephant.

Browse a list of the most important inventions from each state.

See the winning photos from a major European nature photography contest.

The Civil War turned the Continental Divide into an American symbol of identity.

Meet the psychologist who reads people through the art they live with.

See which similes appear most often in popular fiction.

How 3D printing inside cells paves the way for microscopic machines.

"Loveflation" is making dating more expensive and less frequent.

How much do you pay in gas taxes?

See who Americans spend time with over their lives.

Explore how the Vietnam War changed rock 'n' roll.

Why jet fuel prices make it difficult for airlines to be profitable.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union created a competitor to Eurovision.

The surprising and strange sources behind 12 famous songs.

Historybook: Aristides is first winner of the Kentucky Derby (1875); Brown v. Board of Education decision outlaws racial segregation in public schools (1954); Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard born (1956); First legal same-sex marriages performed in the US (2004); Singer Donna Summer dies (2012).