To be, or not to be, opening line of a monologue spoken by the character Hamlet in Act III, scene 1, of William Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy Hamlet (c. 1599–1601). Often referred to as a soliloquy, the speech technically does not meet that term’s strictest definition—that is, a monologue delivered by an actor alone onstage—because Ophelia, the object of Hamlet’s fickle...

Best rock tumblers: Quick list (Image credit: National Geographic, DanDarci, Future)1. Best overall 2. Best for professionals 3. Best for small stones 4. Best double barrel 5. Best for beginners The best rock tumblers make your rocks look impeccable, bringing out their natural beauty. But how do you know which one is right for you?Rock collecting is a hobby that...

　　Also spelled: Yugadi (Show more) Also called: Gudi Padwa (Show more) Ugadi, Hindu festival celebrating the new year in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. In Maharashtra and Goa states it is known as Gudi Padwa. Ugadi is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month of Chaitra (March–April) following the South Indian Amavasyant calendar, in...

　　occult, a term that was originally used in Latin to designate the hidden or unseen properties of things and that, since the 16th century, has also been used to characterize religious traditions that include belief in unseen forces or that otherwise behave in a secretive or mysterious manner. Moreover, in the phrase the occult, the term designates a range of...

Antarctica is perhaps best known for its endless expanse of ice and snow. But what many people don't realize is that hiding beneath its frosty facade are dozens of volcanoes. In fact, under the continent's massive western ice sheet sits what is considered the largest volcanic region on Earth, with as many as 138 volcanoes. Of those volcanoes, 91 were...

　　Born: May 20, 2002, Newport Beach, California, U.S. (Show more) Trinity Rodman (born May 20, 2002, Newport Beach, California, U.S.) is an American professional football (soccer) player who is a forward for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and is on the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT). She was the NWSL Rookie of the Year...

　　Born: December 24, 1997, Panipat, Haryana, India (Show more) Neeraj Chopra (born December 24, 1997, Panipat, Haryana, India) is an Indian track-and-field athlete who shot to fame after earning a gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and further secured his position as a leading athlete by winning the men’s javelin throw event at the...

A section of the San Andreas fault where earthquakes occur regularly may give off a distinct signal before it trembles to life, new research finds. The signal hints at the opening and closing of cracks beneath the subsurface. This section of faultline, known as Parkfield in Central California, shakes regularly about every 22 years. It last ruptured in 2004, so...

　　Also called: the Triple Seven (Show more) The Boeing 777 is a family of wide-body twin-engine commercial jet aircraft with variants for both passenger and cargo transportation. The 777 was first flown on June 12, 1994, and commercial service commenced on June 7, 1995. It is the world’s largest two-engine jet (twin jet), and more than 1,200 777s were in...

　　stochastic terrorism, the repeated use of hate speech or other vilifying, dehumanizing rhetoric by a political leader or other public figure that inspires one or more of the figure’s supporters to commit hate crimes or other acts of violence against a targeted person, group, or community. In legal terms, stochastic terrorism generally does not constitute incitement or solicitation to violence,...

　　Egyptian kings were first divided into their traditional dynasties by an Egyptian priest named Manetho about 300 bce. Manetho gave each of these dynasties a number, starting with the unification of Egypt and ending when Egypt fell to the Persian king Artaxerxes III. Scholars have discovered the names of several regional kings who predate Egypt’s unification, whose years of rule...

　　fediverse, decentralized group of social media platforms in which each independent platform can interact freely with any other platform that is part of the group. Users from one platform can therefore accrue followers and connect with others who are using a different platform. The name fediverse is a portmanteau of federated and universe. In computing, the term federated refers to...