(via Bad Menu)
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
How the Red Panda Got Its Name
The koala bear is not a bear, the raccoon dog is neither a raccoon nor a dog, and the horned toad is no toad at all. So is a red panda actually a panda? Yes! We call it a red panda to distinguish it from the giant panda, which is actually a bear. The giant panda was given its English name 40 years after the red panda was scientifically described, and besides it had already been called a panda for a long time.
The species name Ailurus fulgens means "shining cat." But we call them red pandas, cat bears, Himalayan raccoons, fire foxes, lesser pandas, or wahs. Wah is a confusing name, but probably as accurate as calling them pandas. It's sort of derogatory to call them lesser pandas, since the giant panda is the one that's not a panda. You have to wonder how these two very different animals were associated with each other in the first place. The Chinese name for a giant panda means big bear cat, which is two-thirds accurate. The red panda's name in Chinese is small bear cat, which is only one-third accurate. They are small, but they are not lesser. They are pandas. (via The Ark in Space)
Year-end Lists 2025: Personal
Princess and her kids stayed at my house for three months after the wedding, while the Captain went off to basic training. Life with a two-year-old and an infant was hectic, but fun as I got to spend plenty of time with my grandchildren up close and personal. That ended with a trip to Ft. Hood to see my son-in-law graduate.
It was a blessing that Princess was here in February, since that was when my first colonoscopy was scheduled months earlier. But the prep went sideways and I vomited the last of my body's fluids. I canceled the procedure, but went to a closer hospital when I lost my balance and my leg hurt terribly. It was my first ER visit for myself, and my first hospitalization. They kept me for three nights on an IV for dehydration. That wouldn't be so notable except that it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They did an MRI and found an aortic aneurysm that needed surgery. That took another six weeks and was postponed twice, while I pondered my death the whole time. My first surgery was done on April Fool's Day. They kept me in ICU overnight and then promptly sent me home, where Dr. Doolittle and Princess both pampered me for several days, while I just slept most of the time. And may I say, thank God for Medicare.
Thanks to DOGE, my new son-in-law's postdoc funding was yanked, and he found that energy research hiring was at a standstill, especially for immigrants. There are a lot of scientists and research engineers in the same boat. So Dr. Dolittle signed a year's contract at a vet clinic and he found a job outside his expertise (although his work at Auburn is still being published). They are in Nashville because she was spooked by my medical adventures and wanted to be closer to home. That wouldn't be my first choice for their futures, but she's only obligated for one year. They squeezed in a long-planned honeymoon in Hawaii between jobs. My son-in-law has a work permit and a pending green card application. His interview is in January, and is no guarantee of safety thanks to the ever-changing whims of the White House. An actual green card is no guarantee of safety, either, but it will give him a leg up in getting a position in his field of expertise. If he's rejected, America will lose two very skilled young people with expensive American educations. And I won't be able to live in a country with both my daughters.
My year-long stint as chairman of the board at my church finally came to an end after two years. I am still in charge of our charitable outreach. And I took on another role when I designed and launched a new church website, one that actually seems to belong in the 21st century. That turned out to be an ongoing job, as the site has a blog and I'm the only one who knows how to keep up with that (and no one else is interested in learning). I'm gradually using it as a digital archive of the church's history, along with posting sermons, testimonies, and activities.
Autumn was happy because the Captain became an American citizen! And my granddaughter turned one and took her first steps! It was also sad because I lost my sweet orange cat Apollo.
Looking forward to 2026, I am glad that my family is flourishing and doing well in whatever they attempt. Dr. Doolittle is going to Ecuador for a marathon spay-and-neuter mission. My grandson is starting preschool. Dr. Engineer may get his green card (pray for that). I am getting hearing aids, which everyone guarantees will improve my life. I may remodel the bathroom, which will mean an extensive post or two.
Meanwhile, I am very grateful for all of you who come to visit Miss Cellania, and for your comments, contributions, good wishes, and friendship. Thanks to everyone, and here's to a wonderful 2026!
See all the previous year-end lists here.
The Dogs of 2025
Here's the video I've been waiting for, and maybe you have, too. It's the We Rate Dogs megamix of the Dogs of 2025, guaranteed to put a smile on your face and maybe a tear in your eye. If you want to know more about some of the stories contained in this video, they also did a Top Ten Dogs of 2025 video that you can see at Neatorama.
New Year's Eve
Follow me for more ideas how to bring in the new year 😜🫢
— Scott (@scottbluewave.bsky.social) December 29, 2025 at 6:19 PM
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Year-end Lists 2025: Miscellaneous
2025 Goals
Tom Whitwell's 52 things I learned in 2025.
What Did We Get Stuck in Our Rectums This Year?
The Best Food and Dining Trends of 2025, According to Eater Editors. And the worst.
The McMansion Got a New Look This Year. Enter: the McModern.
The top 100 names for both boys and girls in 2025.
And the Word of the Year for 2025 Is...
More words that became big in 2025.
2025 was the year comedians defended comedy from itself.
10 Artworks That Spoke Truth to Power in 2025.
37 Pop Culture Moments From 2025 You Probably Forgot Even Happened This Year.
Rejected Illinois Vanity Plates 2025
The Best Food and Dining Trends of 2025, According to Eater Editors. And the worst.
The McMansion Got a New Look This Year. Enter: the McModern.
The top 100 names for both boys and girls in 2025.
And the Word of the Year for 2025 Is...
More words that became big in 2025.
2025 was the year comedians defended comedy from itself.
10 Artworks That Spoke Truth to Power in 2025.
37 Pop Culture Moments From 2025 You Probably Forgot Even Happened This Year.
Rejected Illinois Vanity Plates 2025
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Miss Cellania's Links
Cat uses his massage skills where they are needed the most.
Former Models for Donald Trump’s Agency Say They Violated Immigration Rules and Worked Illegally. This article from 2016 may throw some light on Trump's current issues with immigration and underage girls.
A lesson they'll never forget. (via Memo of the Air)
The Real Johnny Shiloh, Civil War Drummer Boy.
The Generosity of Billionaires. Not that it's a real sacrifice for any of them. (via Fark)
It turns out that sloths do fart after all.
15 Classic Songs That Sure Seem Like Ripoffs. You know, the ones that brought the lawsuits.
She Tried to Kill a President. He Loved Her Anyway. (via Damn Interesting)
Tips for a Fun New Year’s Eve
New Year's Eve is the one occasion where you might feel an obligation to party. Everyone else is celebrating, and it may be the only opportunity to let your hair down for a long time. It doesn't always turn out how you expect it to. That's the point of this video from College Humor.
In fact, New Year's Eve rarely turns out to be the happy celebration it's portrayed to be in movies, your friends' stories, or even in your fuzzy memories. There's nothing more traditional than starting out a new year with profound disappointment, loneliness, and regret. Look at it this way: if you spend New Year's Eve watching TV or even by going to bed early, it won't make a bit of difference in what's going to happen in 2026. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Between Christmas and New Year
you’re so right, comic from 1925
— lacey (@byelacey.bsky.social) December 29, 2025 at 10:18 AM
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You don't know what day it is. You're eating countless meals a day with lots of snacks in between. You're napping throughout they day. Either it's the time between Christmas and New Year or you're a cat.
— Larry the Cat (@number10cat.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Year-end Lists 2025: Best of Blogs and Websites
GoPro's Best of 2025
The best of reddit, 2025.
Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2025, From Eerie Clay Puppets With Detachable Heads to a New Look at the American Revolution.
Here are some of the NPR stories that had a big impact in 2025.
Our World in Data: our most popular work in 2025.
The Saturday Evening Post's Most Popular Articles of 2025.
Outside magazines' Top Stories of 2025.
The Top 22 Rolling Stone Stories of 2025.
Jezebel’s Top 25 Stories of 2025.
Colossal's Favorite Stories of 2025.
Moss & Fog's Best Architecture Posts of 2025.
Guinness World Records' best of 2025.
A look at National Geographic's 'Pictures of the Year'
Fewer and fewer websites are reporting their top stories or posts of the year anymore, and the ones who do are either paywalled or get around to it in January. I'm probably going to retire this category next year, and fold the most interesting lists into other categories or the regular link lists.
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Berry Bars
Mary Berry is an English chef and writer who's been on British TV for many years, including as a judge on The Great British Bake Off. Here she smoothly raps about anything and everything, thanks to the magic of editing. Listen carefully, and you'll hear a coherent story emerge.
Now, I wasn't familiar with Mary Berry until today, but this is a video by master editor Swedemason, who can make anything interesting with his judicious cuts and deft timing. He's been absent from YouTube for seven years, due to the fact that he got a real job doing this. But his creative job was "indirectly" taken by artificial intelligence, a story that is referenced in the lyrics of this video. Bad news for Swedemason, but good news for us in that he's back making the video he wants to in order to entertain us. It shouldn't be long before some other company snaps up his skills. (via b3ta)
Year-end Lists 2025: Internet
Google's Year in Search for 2025
Google's Year in Search video addresses what the world was doing on the internet in 2025, from record-breaking achievements to K-Pop Demon Hunters to artificial intelligence to big news stories you may have forgotten since the beginning of the year. Overall, the video is rather positive.
On the other hand, Google's 2025 Year in Search statistical report offered just the very top of lists, then a button to "Catch Me Up in AI Mode." No thanks.
The 8 Most-Searched Terms of 2025 (That Were Searched for the First Time).
The Webby Awards' Best of the Internet in 2025.
10 Best Podcasts of 2025.
The best video essays of 2025.
‘Meme depression,’ Ghibli-gate, 6-7: An internet-culture roundup for 2025.
Look Back at the Top Viral Moments of 2025
From Labubus to the Coldplay kiss cam: See the most viral moments of 2025.
Rolling Stone's 25 Best Memes of 2025.
Hyperallergic's Memes That Defined 2025.
Mashable's best memes of 2025.
(Pope Leo is the only one to make all three of the preceding lists.)
The 8 most wholesome internet moments of 2025.
The 20 Worst Things On The Internet In 2025.
Best of the Internet
30 minutes.
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Simon's Cat's Guide to New Year's Resolutions
The new year is a time to start fresh, which is why we make resolutions to improve our lives. While our record for keeping those resolutions is pretty poor, there's nothing wrong with starting off with a new calendar and good intentions. Simon Tofield brings us some of the more common and useful New Year's resolutions illustrated by the cat. You and I know full well that cats don't change. But sometimes they can inspire us to change by being a good example or a bad example. Simon's Cat is both.
Monday, December 29, 2025
Year-end Lists 2025: Politics
aThe nation’s cartoonists look back on the year that was.
The year Trump broke the federal government.
Trump's 2025 Executive Orders.
How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?
The Whoppers of 2025. Falsehoods and distortions could have gone under news, but it's all political now.
Analysis: Donald Trump’s top 25 lies of 2025.
Year in review: Congress' successes & failures.
Trump’s Policy Failures Are Even Worse Than We Realize.
The Wildest Political Moments of 2025
The year Trump broke the federal government.
Trump's 2025 Executive Orders.
How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?
The Whoppers of 2025. Falsehoods and distortions could have gone under news, but it's all political now.
Analysis: Donald Trump’s top 25 lies of 2025.
Year in review: Congress' successes & failures.
Trump’s Policy Failures Are Even Worse Than We Realize.
The Wildest Political Moments of 2025
Gallup poll: Americans End Year in Gloomy Mood.
"No Kings" Protests, And 9 More Wins From 2025.
Jon Stewart's Best Trump Takedowns of 2025. 49 minutes.
Top moments in US politics in 2025
"No Kings" Protests, And 9 More Wins From 2025.
Jon Stewart's Best Trump Takedowns of 2025. 49 minutes.
Top moments in US politics in 2025
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Year-end Lists 2025: Animals
We Rate Dogs' 10 Favorite Dog Stories of the Year
I've been waiting for We Rate Dogs' annual musical Dogs of the Year video, which is always special. But this is good, too. When that video comes out, I will post it separately.
From 13st dog to tallest donkey: the amazing animals of 2025.
50 Cutest Cat Posts of 2025 to Cozy up With and Smile All the Way to Next Year.
The Internet’s Most Famous Cats of 2025. Links are in the cats' names.
8 Best Pop Culture Cat Moments of 2025.
101 Hilarious Pet Photos From 2025.
The American Humane Society's Hero Dog Awards for 2025.
Meet the Winners of the 2025 Good Dog Photo Contest.
10 Dog Influencers Shaping Social Media In 2025.
See 14 of the National Zoo’s Most Adorable Giant Panda Photos From 2025.
A spectacular showcase of animal pictures from 2025,
Amazing animals: The ‘tails' of pets and wildlife that made 2025 memorable.
These are Science News' favorite animal stories of 2025.
The World’s Most Endangered Animals in 2025 — and What’s Being Done to Save Them.
Top animal victories of 2025.
Meet 14 of the New and Unusual Species of 2025 — From Death Ball Sponges to Pumpkin Toads.
The Best Bird Cams Highlights of 2025 from Cornell Lab
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Year-end Lists 2025: News
2025 Year in Review, Month by Month
Events From 2025 That Will Most Likely Make It Into History Books.
The Council on Foreign Relations' Ten Most Significant World Events in 2025.
Look Back at the Biggest News Stories that Defined the Year 2025.
The US stories everyone was talking about in 2025.
Top 10 Worst Things that Have Happened in 2025.
TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2025.
See photos that defined 2025 in USA TODAY's Pictures of the Year.
Associated Press 100 Photos of 2025: AP photos that defined the year.
A look back at the events that defined 2025, from the Associated Press
The Guardian's best of the long read in 2025.
How Project 2025 Kneecapped the US Press.
The Jealousy List 2025. Outstanding journalism that Bloomberg writers wished they had written.
Dave Barry's Year in Review.
What went right in 2025: the top 25 good news stories of the year.
Some Global Good New from 2025
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Miss Cellania's Links
“Construction can’t continue”: South Texas builders say ICE arrests have upended industry. (via Fark)
The Crazy True Story of The Madagascar Man-Eating Tree. (via Strange Company)
A mime is a terrible thing to waste.
Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death. Shirley Jackson fan fiction with sadly contemporary language. (via Metafilter)
12 Foods With Shady Origin Stories.
Human Morality Made Simple. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
The Sad Fate of the 2025 Gävle Goat.
Why ice skating is a miracle of physics. While ice itself is slick, slippery, and difficult to navigate across under most circumstances, skaters easily glide across the ice.
The Null Hypothesis
You may have heard about the null hypothesis, but what does it mean? It means that you need to begin an experiment with the idea that nothing will happen, like there will be no changes in what you're studying when you change variables. Tom Scott explains while following an experiment, which has to do with reading brain waves in zero gravity. Remember, when you do an experiment and nothing happens, it's not a "failure." You've learned that something doesn't make a difference. Yet that lesson isn't sexy enough to get publicity or encourage further funding, which in itself is a variable that affects scientific research.
Sunday, December 28, 2025
The Princess and the Goblins
The Princess and the Goblin by Scottish poet and novelist George MacDonald was first published in 1872. There was a low-budget film of the story that came out in the 1990s. But we can all enjoy this Fractured Fairytales version that was part of season two of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends in 1960. (Thanks, WTM!)
Year-end Lists 2025: People
It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans. 🧵 1 of 9
— Rick Steves (@ricksteves.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 9:51 PM
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Click through to read the whole story.
And the CNN Hero of the Year is...
We can be heroes: the inspiring people we met around the world in 2025, part one and part two.
The 2025 winners of the Chick-fil-A Everyday Heroes award.
Rings, Flings, Weddings and More! The Best Couple Moments of 2025.
All the celebrity couples who announced their breakups in 2025.
The 67 Most Stylish People of 2025.
People's Worst and Most Oops Moments of 2025.
9 Influencer Moments From 2025 That Were So Out Of Touch, I Actually Gasped.
15 Times Being A “Karen” Didn’t Go As Planned In 2025.
The 10 Most Hated Billionaires in 2025.
Here Are The 50 Most Disliked Celebrities Of 2025.
Chris Barker's Sgt. Pepper Salute to Those We Lost in 2025
Chris Barker has compiled a collage of famous people who died in the previous calendar year arranged into a recreation of the iconic cover for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. You can swipe right and see a legend and a list of who all these people were. It may be a little larger at Instagram.
From Pope Francis to Charlie Kirk, many deaths in 2025 had a wide impact.
In Memoriam 2025: The Musicians We Lost.
Paying Tribute to the Celebrities Who Have Died in 2025.
Remembering the Athletes Who Died in 2025.
Deaths that came too late to be included in the tributes: Brigitte Bardot and Annette Dionne.
In Memorium
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Swiftie Dads
In 2023, millions of fans went to stadiums to see Taylor Swift's Eras tour. Most of the fans were young ladies, many of them too young to drive to concerts. Tickets were very expensive, and often out of reach for entire families. So the fathers of fans who were lucky enough to get tickets took their daughters to the arena, and then waited in the parking lot for hours to take them home. With so many other men in the same boat, they had a community of sorts in the parking lot. After all, they had a few things in common.
Hearing the music through their children, some of these dads are Taylor Swift fans themselves, and some are not, but they all love their daughters. Paul Scheer noticed the parking lot phenomenon and spent several evenings outside Swift's concerts in Los Angeles talking to these dads, 50 of them, to see who they were and how they felt about what they were doing. You might need to grab a hankie. (via Metafilter)
Year-end Lists 2025: Movies & TV
Rolling Stone Ranks the 5 Best Movies of 2025
Rolling Stone's 20 Best Movies of 2025.
Time Magazine's 10 Best Movies of 2025.
Variety's Best Movies of 2025.
The 25 Best Movie Performances of 2025.
Best New Movies of 2025, Ranked by Tomatometer.
Dancing! Fighting! Impregnating! The best movie moments of 2025.
The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2025.
10 Best Romantic Movies of 2025, Ranked.
13 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of 2025.
Best Superhero Movies & TV Shows of 2025.
The Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Films of 2025.
The Best Kids' Movies of 2025 to Watch With the Whole Family.
The Best Film Cinematography of 2025.
The 10 most controversial movie sequences of 2025.
IMDb's 40 Worst Movies of 2025.
Variety's Worst Movies of 2025.
10 Horror Movies That Flopped Hard In 2025.
2025 in Film
This is a fast-moving mashup. Hover over the progress bar to get the titles.
NPR: A top-10 list can't contain all the great TV of 2025.
Variety's Best TV Shows of 2025.
The A.V. Club's best TV shows of 2025.
TV Guide's 10 Best TV Episodes of 2025.
The biggest TV controversies of 2025. It's a slideshow.
8 of the biggest late night moments of 2025.
The 10 Worst TV Cancellations of 2025, Ranked.
The i-Paper's 11 worst TV shows of 2025.
The Best Anime Series of 2025
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Space Mountain with the Lights On
Theme Park University got the opportunity to ride through Space Mountain at Walt Disney World without the special effects. All the lights are on! You get to see how closely the tracks are wound up. Try to coordinate in your memory where things happen. This makes clear how much the darkness and light effects add to the ride. One commenter said,
Im laughing at all the trash cans and ladders everywhere as if this is just some warehouseIf you've never been on the Space Mountain roller coaster, there's a comparison video showing what the ride normally looks like at Laughing Squid.
Circle
Math. Geometry.
— Cliff Pickover (@pickover) December 26, 2025
Your partner at a romantic candlelit dinner shows you the following curious map, and whispers, "Germany's three biggest cities lie on a CIRCLE." Are you intrigued? What's your response?
(Meme going around – credit to the original creator wherever they are.) pic.twitter.com/QV5LmTtckm
Saturday, December 27, 2025
A Mighty Wind
The 2003 film A Mighty Wind was written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, which gives you some idea of what you're in for. They also star in it, along with Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Catherine O'Hara, and the other usual suspects. It's sort of like giving the Spinal Tap treatment to the folk band revival of the 1960s, although it wasn't such a big hit because the humor is more subtle and that era is not quite as relatable as that of This Is Spinal Tap.
Year-end Lists 2025: Sports
21 iconic sporting moments on TNT Sports in 2025
The moments, teams and fans that defined sports in 2025.
Complex's 25 Biggest Sports Moments of 2025.
Top women's sports moments of 2025.
Reuters' Top Sports Photos of 2025.
The BBC's Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2025.
2025 Awfulies: The best sports newsmakers.
Twelve Biggest Lessons From the 2025 College Football Season Beyond the Playoff.
Top 3 Craziest NBA Moments of 2025.
2025 WNBA Recap: The Biggest Surprises of the Season.
The 10 biggest Major League Baseball stories of an incredible 2025.
The best tennis players of 2025.
ESPN FC Women's Rank: Top 50 soccer players of 2025.
8 most heated moments from the 2025 pro golf season.
Boxing year-end awards 2025: Best fighter, knockout, event and more.
Best Goals of the 25-26 Season So Far
See all the previous year-end lists here.
The Scariest Alien Race Ever Imagined
In 1989, Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced us to the Borg, a collective of cyborgs that work together as one unit to capture and assimilate the universe's beings and technology for their own purpose- which is to capture and assimilate others. They are soulless, relentless, more powerful than Starfleet, and growing more powerful all the time. A truly frightening nemesis.
In later episodes, the philosophical question of individualism, free will, and the hive mind are explored. However, over time and multiple appearances in later movies and series of the Star Trek universe, the Borg lost their horror because they were always ultimately thwarted. We also got to know a few individual Borg drones, and they became sympathetic. This video is 20 minutes long, but it's from The Art of Storytelling, so you know it's going to be riveting. (via Laughing Squid)
Year-end Lists 2025: Tech and Video Games
2025’s Tech Breakthroughs
Tech 2025: The AI Year.
From experimentation to infrastructure: the AI shifts that defined 2025.
Elon Musk, AI and the antichrist: the biggest tech stories of 2025.
The most outlandish tech CEO quotes from 2025.
A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs.
10 Breakthrough Technologies.
From robot 'girlfriends' to AI lipstick: The weirdest and most wonderful tech of 2025.
The Best Inventions of 2025.
The Top 6 Robotics Stories of 2025.
Gizmodo’s Best Tech of 2025 Awards: Our Favorite Phones, Laptops, Gaming Gear, and More.
The 2025 Esquire Gadget Awards.
CNET Readers Shared Their Top 100 Tech Products of 2025.
The Best Nintendo Games of 2025
Rolling Stone's 25 Best Video Games of 2025.
GamesRadar+ GOTY: The 25 Best Games of 2025.
Inverse's 25 Best Games Of 2025, Ranked.
The video games you may have missed in 2025.
The 20 Worst Games Of 2025.
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Year-end Lists 2025: Science
The Best of MBARI 2025
The Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) uses Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to go deeper than divers can to send back amazing video of sea life in its native environment. You can hover over the progress bar at the bottom of the video to see the names, and there is a legend with linked timestamps at YouTube.
The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical Breakthroughs to an Interstellar Visitor.
Frontier of the Year 2025. Click the + signs for more.
The 50 greatest innovations of 2025.
Nature’s 10: Ten people who helped shape science in 2025.
L'Oréal USA Announces 2025 For Women in Science Awardees, Underscoring Commitment to Advancing Careers in STEM.
10 scientific truths that somehow became unpopular in 2025.
Trump’s second term is reshaping US science with unprecedented cuts and destabilizing policy changes. h
A huge rupture in everything’: US science faced major upheaval in 2025.
The Biggest Junk Science of 2025.
The Strangest Scientific Discoveries of 2025: Changing Our World.
The best science images of 2025.
The Biggest Breakthroughs in Mathematics 2025. A 20-minute video.
The Year in Physics.
The Biggest Breakthroughs in Cell Biology in 2025.
Harvard Medical School’s Top Science News of 2025.
NASA's 2025 in Review.
The Planetary Society's Best of 2025 Winners.
The Best Dinosaur Discoveries of 2025.
Archaeology Magazine's Top 10 Discoveries of 2025.
The top nature and climate stories of 2025.
What 2025’s Weather Revealed
See all the previous year-end lists here.
How to Make an Elephant Explode with Science
We don't really want to see an elephant explode, unless it's in colorful yet fictional graphics from Kurzgesagt. In other words, we will learn how it's theoretically possible. This video explains the difference between how a small animal, such as a hummingbird, and a large animal, such as an elephant, deals with the physics of life. Animals of different sizes have to deal with energy, metabolism, and heat transference in a way that's optimal for their size. You can't just take a certain species and change its size without changing its design as well, despite movies like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman or Downsizing. We also hear the narrator say the word Kurzgesagt, or at least I think that's what they said. It's not pronounced anything like the way it looks to an English speaker.
Harsh
Morning.
— Frostbitten Flamingo (@flemtheparrot.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 1:01 AM
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Friday, December 26, 2025
Year-end Lists 2025: Music
United State of Pop 2025 (Talk to Me)
DJ Earworm's annual mashup of the 25 top songs of the year in the United States.
Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of 2025.
Pitchfork's 50 Best Albums of 2025.
NPR's Listener Poll: Your Favorite Albums of 2025.
The 13 Best Rock Albums of 2025 (Ranked).
The 15 Best Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 2025 (That You May or May Not Have Heard).
The 32 Best Rap Albums of 2025.
The 40 Best Country Albums Of 2025.
The Top 10 Worst Albums of 2025.
Worst Albums of 2025 by User Score.
The biggest music stories of 2025.
The Top 10 Live Music Controversies of 2025.
What 2025 Sounds Like
Adamusic's mashup of the music of the year features more than 150 songs from 2025. The Spotify list is here.
Apple Music’s Five Most-Played Songs Of 2025 Are All From 2024.
Spotify's Top Artists, Songs, Albums, Podcasts, and Audiobooks of 2025.
NPR's 25 Best Songs Of 2025.
The Worst “Country” Songs Of 2025.
Top 10 Worst Songs of 2025.
The Most Annoying Songs of 2025, According to the Data.
See all the previous year-end lists here.
Adulthood: US vs. Britain
In Britain, you are considered an adult when you turn 18. In America, that's true for only some things, like voting and signing contracts. You can drive at 16 (or younger in some states), but you can't buy alcohol or tobacco until you are 21, and some companies will not rent a car to anyone under 25. I once explained to some foreign visitor that Americans let their kids have jobs, date, and drive in high school to make sure a parent is available to help them learn those skills. The alcohol and tobacco laws were a response from the government to too many people dying.
Laurence Brown also covers the difference between other adult things like traveling, taxes, home ownership, and hosting holiday parties in this video about how the United States is an outlier in transitioning to whatever passes for an adult life. There's a 75-second skippable ad at 1:55.
Year-end Lists 2025: Books
Happy Hanukkah! Here are book recommendations to last you (at least!) eight days and nights.
— NPR (@npr.org) December 18, 2025 at 8:31 AM
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Slate's 10 Best Books of 2025.
Publisher's Weekly's Best 20 Books of 2025. Ten for adults and ten for kids.
The Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books 2025.
The New York Public Library's Best Books of 2025.
Book Riot's Best Books of 2025.
100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025.
Kirkus' Best Fiction Books of the Year.
Electric Lit’s Best Novels of 2025.
Electric Lit’s Best Nonfiction of 2025.
Gosh! Names their 2025 Best Comic Books for Adults.
The A.V. Club's best comics of 2025.
Gosh! Names their 2025 Best Comic Books for Kids & Young Adults.
10 Great Children’s Books You Might Have Missed in 2025.
The 10 best sci-fi and fantasy novels of 2025.
The Ten Best History Books of 2025.
The Ten Best Science Books of 2025.
The Ten Best Photography Books of 2025.
The Best Books of 2025: Crime Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers.
Five of the best sports books of 2025.
The Ten Best Books About Food of 2025.
The 26 Best Cookbooks of the year.
The 173 Best Book Covers of 2025.
The Ten Best Science Books of 2025.
The Ten Best Photography Books of 2025.
The Best Books of 2025: Crime Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers.
Five of the best sports books of 2025.
The Ten Best Books About Food of 2025.
The 26 Best Cookbooks of the year.
The 173 Best Book Covers of 2025.
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