After Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, the world started seeing a lot more sunflowers. Here's the symbolism behind Ukraine's national flower explained.
The true rulers of Earth are not humans but plants. And some plant ancestors were involved in Earth's mass extinctions. Imagine if some were around today.
The English language has a knack for using the same word to describe different things. The word orange is a perfect example. Did the fruit or color come first?
To-may-to, to-mah-to -- however you say it (or slice it), it's still delicious, full of nutritional benefits. Fruit or vegetable? Does it matter? Legally, yes.
When did people start trying to patch up their bodies with the body parts of animals? This is the history of animal-to-human organ transplants explained.
For millennia, Christians have deemed the existence of the Holy Spirit, and its presence in the life of the believer, as a key point of Christian dogma.
Some credit Martin Luther with Christmas tree ornamentation. Others date it back to ancient Egypt, or Rome. Whatever the roots, it's a widespread custom today.
The island has a modest and largely Polynesian population, but it's best known for some of its other residents: the iconic and mysterious Easter Island heads.
Some plants are delicious, but others will kill you if you eat them, some don't like being touched, and there's one tree that doesn't even like being looked at.
Today, plants are also going extinct at an alarming rate. Let's talk about a handful of the plant species that are facing extinction — you might be surprised.
The lighting of the Christmas tree in New York City's Rockefeller Center has been a holiday tradition since 1933, but the origins of the tree itself go back two years earlier. In 1931, with the country in the grips of the Great Depression, Center employees decided to spread a little holiday cheer.
As the domestic goddess (and apparent fruitcake lover) herself, Martha Stewart, explained on her website, it's a sinfully rich dessert filled with dried fruits and nuts. The fruits have to be soaked in a sugar syrup before being dropped into the batter. Fruitcakes are typically very dense cakes.
Throughout the later 90s, it seemed The Wallflowers and frontman Jakob Dylan were everywhere, after bursting onto the scene in the with songs "One Headlight". If you ask some people, they'd say the band was a one-hit-wonder. But The Wallflowers are still alive and kicking -- even touring.
In the wild, wasabi grows exclusively on the rocky banks of cold, freshwater rivers. The plants are as finicky as pandas: the water has a temperature range of only about 9 degrees; sun is important, but not too much sun.
Sadly, you won't find many real-world examples of giant Venus fly traps snacking on demented dentists and convincing Rick Moranis to keep quiet about it.
Who knows why you're hellbent on nabbing the world's biggest flower? Maybe you need to apologize to your significant other for making the world's biggest mistake. But here it is. Meet Rafflesia arnoldii, heavyweight champion of the world of flowers.
What would happen to life on Earth if plants suddenly disappeared? Well, no one would ever have to eat Brussels sprouts again, that's for sure. But for the most part, the outlook for planet Earth in the absence of plant life is pretty terrible. Worse yet, Nature tells us we're already halfway there.