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In Mexico and parts of Central America, el Día de los Muertos, or "the Day of the Dead," is a time when families and friends gather to pray for and remember loved ones who have died. Altars made of flowers, sugar skulls, and the favorite foods of the dead are often erected for the holiday, observed on the first two days of November to coincide with the Christian All Saint...

In the Pacific Ocean, there is a vortex of ocean currents that occupies an area of approximately 10 million square miles (26 million sq km). Called the North Pacific Gyre, it has a relatively stationary center whose circular rotation draws in waste material, leading to a massive, floating accumulation of debris known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Though such debris has his...

The third largest lake in Africa and ninth largest in the world, Lake Malawi is bounded on the west and south by Malawi, on the east by Mozambique, and on the north by Tanzania. Also known as Lake Nyasa—so named by Scottish missionary David Livingstone in 1859—it is approximately 360 miles (580 km) long with an average width of 25 miles (40 km). Fed by 14 rivers, it is home to m...

The use of crowns as symbols of royal rank is an ancient tradition that dates back to Achaemenid Persia and Pharaonic Egypt. Crowns in ancient Greece and Rome—wreaths of leaves or ribbons—were awarded to victors of contests or bestowed upon citizens to recognize acts of public service. In medieval and more modern times, crowns were generally made of metal, often gold inlaid with...

Bred as work animals for at least 3,000 years because of their ability to withstand harsh conditions, mules are the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. The less common cross of a female donkey and a male horse is called a hinny. Hinnies are more horselike in appearance than mules, but are often considered inferior. Like mules, they are sterile, since their uneven numb...