Constructed at least as early as the Sui dynasty (A.D. 581-618), the Altar of Heaven is the oldest known altar used in Chinese state religious practice, more than 1,000 years older than a similar one in Beijing, it is the only altar found so far that predates the Qing dynasty (A.D. 1644-1912).

George Washington Carver dedicated his life to the economic strengthening of the South with improvement of soil and diversification of crops.

Regardless of their form or function, all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians ever since 1788, when Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney.

While Hans Holbein the Younger is most often identified with his English portraits, scholars have long been recognizing him as a superb draftsman and a remarkably versatile artist and who was fundamental in synthesizing the novelties of the Italian Renaissance with the rational tradition of Northern Europe.

During the last interglacial period, the climate on the Earth was warmer than it is today, and the consequent melting of the polar ice caps caused the sea level to raise about 60 feet over and above what its height presently is now.

In hoping to restrain economic growth, interest rates were raised by British policymakers, making it more expensive to borrow for businesses and consumers.

Astronomers have uncovered evidence that a star that was as bright as the full moon exploding into view 340,000 years ago, emitting dazzling radiation that could have disrupted Earth's protective ozone layer and sunburned our Stone Age ancestors.

The ivory-billed woodpecker, once the largest woodpecker in North America at a striking 20 inches tall, has moved in and out of the extinct category, with scientists consistently unable to find solid proof for the bird to still exist.

Unlike psychiatrists, who are trained as medical doctors, psychologists have historically been forbidden from prescribing their patients drugs, but in 2002 New Mexico began to grant the privilege of prescribing to licensed, doctoral level psychologists who complete an additional training and certification program.

In the United States, while the number of foreign-born residents and their children is higher than ever, the percentage of the population they represent is not; in 1910 this group made up 35 percent of the population when compared to 20 percent in 2000.