Python is an interpreted programming language that is growing in popularity

How Monty Python shaped modern comedy

This video essay analyzes the way Monthy Python embodies postmodernism and Comedy of the Absurd through its off-the-wall humor, skewering social conventions and powerful institutions through its satirical sketches and movies. The video also traces the impact the comedy troupe Monthy Python had (and continues to have) on modern comedy, illustrating how popular shows like "South Park" and "Family Guy" and movies like "Deadpool" are indebted to the famous troupe.

FLOW-MATIC was the first programming language resembling the English language

As part of the team working on UNIVAC—the first commercially produced electronic digital computer in the US—Grace Hopper helped develop the system that enabled nonprogrammers and businesspeople without a strong mathematics background to use the machine effectively, thereby enhancing the computer's commercial viability.

Bitcoin is the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency

Bitcoin is a digital cash alternative introduced in 2009 that rapidly grew in popularity and now boasts a global user base. Enthusiasts point to bitcoin’s decentralized nature—meaning it is not created or controlled by any central government—lending it several potential advantages.

Microsoft Excel is used by over a billion people worldwide

The upstart computer software company Microsoft launched its columns-and-rows spreadsheet program in 1985, enabling users to sort information, create charts, and perform calculations with minimal friction. It would be coupled with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint in 1990 as part of the Microsoft Office for Windows.

Linux adoption statistics, including its use in all the world's top 500 supercomputers since 2017

This has been driven by kernel-level customizations available with Linux-based operating systems that improve computational performance and reduce latency. As of 2025, Linux's desktop market share is 3.7%, but 87.8% of machine learning workloads run on Linux infrastructure. The Linux OS market is expected to grow 105.8% through 2029.

Why the Myers-Briggs test is pure entertainment

The world's most popular personality test isn't used by academic psychologists—but hundreds of companies and thousands of colleges use it to place workers and students. Here's why it's so popular and likely overused.

Why is rice so popular?

From Spanish paella to West African jollof rice, rice is a staple in dishes across the world. This colorful animated video dives into the global expansion of rice, which contributes more than 20% of the calories consumed by humans each year. Learn about rice’s beginnings thousands of years ago, the environmental consequences of its popularity, and the potential for positive changes in the future.

Explore noteworthy use cases for ChatGPT

From asking the chatbot to sort grocery lists to bird-watchers using it to help identify birds, the official ChatGPT Instagram account spotlights interesting and creative use cases for the tool, especially in the days after a significant update or model has been released.

Watch David Attenborough catching a python on 'Zoo Quest'

The first series, hosted by the famed natural historian, was meant to be presented by Jack Lester, a curator at the London Zoo, who would be documented while they captured wildlife to bring to the institution. Because Lester became ill, Attenborough became the presenter and often participated in the capture of animals, such as snakes.

Explore Anthropic Academy, which provides courses on using Claude

The online courses include Claude Code in Action, which teaches software developers how to integrate Claude Code into existing workflows; Claude 101, to learn how Claude can be used to complete everyday tasks; and an AI Fluency series to help educators, instructional designers, and students learn to apply AI in academic settings.

Prompt viruses can exploit and take advantage of integrated AI systems

AI agents—software that can complete requested tasks without ongoing human direction—are expected to increasingly communicate with one another as users and businesses incorporate AI. Providing malicious, self-replicating instructions through prompt injection attacks can cause damaging commands to cascade across systems and services (e.g., banking), without requiring human intervention.

There's a booming community of jumping spider pet owners

Jumping spiders have become hugely popular pets, especially amongst women, and they can cost up to $100. Some get them in an attempt to overcome their fear of spiders, while others just find them adorable. The practice has led many people to appreciate the complexity of the animal that some would consider a pest.

X (Twitter) started as a way to share short updates via text

What began as a way to share 140-character updates quickly grew into a vital platform for activism, politics, and pop culture. Hashtags, trending topics, and retweets—now common across the internet—originated on the platform.

Dinosaur names have shifted from ancient languages to pop culture references

Early dinosaur names used Greek and Latin roots, often just attaching “-saurus” (lizard) to another word describing a notable trait. Over time, this convention has evolved to incorporate the names of where the discovery was made, local languages, and even celebrities.

The Human Genome Project spawned numerous spinoff genetics projects

The Human Genome Project led to the development of techniques later applied to projects in microbial and plant biology, epigenomics, environmental and cancer genomes, and more. In the spirit of the HGP, data from these projects has been made freely available to develop new technologies.

Diabetes drug GLP-1 is a peptide (that's what the 'P' is for)

Glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, is one of the most well-known peptides in common use. In 2024, 26.5% of all adults with diagnosed diabetes used the substance. GLP-1 was particularly popular among people with diabetes aged 50-64, followed by younger adults and then seniors aged 65+.

How the NSF Public Understanding of Science program fueled science interest and literacy

To support STEM education at all levels and in all settings, the NSF has invested in public-facing science projects since 1957. These investments produced science education storytelling and entertainment programming, including "Bill Nye the Science Guy," "The Magic School Bus," and the "Flight of the Butterflies" and "Blue Whales" IMAX films.

Amazon's largest profit engine is the cloud-computing platform Amazon Web Services

Also known as AWS, Amazon Web Services is a suite of IT resources such as storage, databases, and more. While Amazon owns AWS, lots of other tech companies—including Slack and Pinterest—use it to help run their IT operations. In 2023, AWS brought in $25B in profit—outpacing Amazon's entire North American retail division.

Pareidolia: the cognitive bias of finding meaning in randomness

Many people equate "random" with "well-spaced," creating a cognitive bias that influences how people interpret events. This article explains how people tend to assume a generative force behind the patterns produced by randomness. This phenomenon, known as pareidolia, is seen in claims ranging from backward messages hidden in reversed audio recordings to tea leaf readings.

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden once leaked documents suggesting Palantir had a role in alleged surveillance

After releasing documents detailing an NSA surveillance scheme named PRISM (which is also the name of a Palantir service), further documents show that Palantir's software enabled the expansion of the NSA's widest-reaching data programs, XKEYSCORE. Palantir has frequently denied claims of supporting government surveillance and has insisted that its software is designed to maintain "civil liberties," such as privacy.

An overview of the World Wide Web, which is often confused with the internet

When users create a website, they organize content and store it on a web server—one of various types of hardware that make up the internet—in web languages, such as HTML and JavaScript. When visiting the site, a web browser translates these languages into text and other media for consumption.

What are neural networks and why do they matter?

Learn how a neural network works, why it matters, and how it can be trained to recognize patterns, classify data, and forecast future events.

YouTube's 10 most viewed music videos of all time

YouTube arrived in 2005 with a short, innocuous video about the San Diego Zoo. Just 20 years later, it's one of the most popular websites and a go-to for countless music fans. This list of the site's most popular music videos analyzes how the videos hold up after reaching billions of views. The biggest takeaway? "Gangnam Style" is still a thrilling watch.

Running became more popular in the mid-20th century

Once considered a fringe activity, running eventually became an American interest. The trend was spurred in part by the 1966 book "Jogging," which was cowritten by Bill Bowerman, the cofounder of Nike.

The Ishango bone suggests mathematics was born about 20,000 years ago

Ancient civilizations developed mathematical systems for various purposes, including the Egyptians for the construction of the pyramids and the Ancient Greeks for logical reasoning in theorems. However, these systems were predated by the Ishango bone—found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—whose notches suggest a base ten system, prime numbers, and simple mathematical operations.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

See the evolution of Ebola vaccine and treatment development.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day