Leading Off
Today is MLB’s opening day, that brief shining moment when the hopes of every fan seem possible and the possibilities seem endless. For one afternoon, every team has the same record, whether its payroll sits near $300 million (New York Mets) or below $50 million (Oakland A’s). But if your team looks glory-bound, or they play like a bunch of clowns today, try to take it in stride—there are 161 more games to go. The MLB season, more than any other professional sport, is a marathon, not a sprint.
An Interactive Guide to Baseball’s Rules and Roles
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski
Ohtani Starts Season Amid Scandal
© Masterpress/Getty Images
Discover More
Animals in the News
A few headlines from our friends in the animal world recently caught our eye, from a medical first to a Medieval cemetery.
Your dog knows
Dogs have long been trained to react to verb commands, including “sit” and “roll over.” But a recent study shows that our canine friends can also understand object words, nouns such as “ball” or “toy,” according to researchers at the Loránd Eötvös University in Budapest. The study, published in Current Biology, measured brain activity in dogs as they were shown objects by their owners. But if their owners held up a ball and said “Frisbee,” the dog’s brain activity would be markedly different than if the owner said “ball.”
Pig kidney transplanted
A medical first was recently made when a genetically modified pig kidney was used in a human kidney transplant on March 16. The procedure was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is no stranger to making history—it’s the same hospital that performed the first kidney transplant 70 years ago.
Horsepower
A Tudor-era horse cemetery that was uncovered 30 years ago in the city of Westminster, England, has revealed new details about the scope of Medieval horse trading, according to a new analysis of the remains. Researchers have been able to trace the origins of the exceptionally athletic horses found there—including three of the tallest animals ever found from the Medieval era—to Scandinavia, the Alps, and other European locations known for breeding the best horses for jousting.
Popular on Britannica
Features
- What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?
- Holi: Festival of Colors
- How Did Alexander the Great Really Die?
- Is It ISIS or ISIL?
- What is Holy Week?
- What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?
- Nostradamus and His Prophecies
- The Fermi Paradox: Where Are All the Aliens?
- Who Was the Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty?
- How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?
Lists
- 7 Deadliest Weapons in History
- 10 Important Dates in Pluto History
- The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
- 7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers
- The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses
- 7 Drugs that Changed the World
- 9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes
- 7 Women Warriors
- America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
- Art Abuse: 11 Vandalized Works of Art
Satoshi Nakamoto
The presumed pseudonym used by the person (or persons) who introduced the concept of cryptocurrency.
Upcoming Eclipses in 2024, 2025, and 2026
A comprehensive list of all of the eclipses set to occur in the next few years.
The Brat Pack
This group of actors often starred alongside one another in various coming-of-age films throughout the 1980s.
River otters vs. sea otters
While river otters and sea otters may appear similar at first glance, the two exhibit many striking differences.
Britannica Premium Subscription
Unlock Exclusive Content!
Britannica's content is among the most trusted in the world. Every article is written, and continually fact-checked, by our experts. Subscribe to Britannica Premium and unlock our entire database of trusted content today.
Subscribe Now!Explore Britannica
More From Britannica
ProCon.org
Award-winning ProCon.org promotes critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting the pro and con arguments to controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.
Britannica Money
Discover all you need to know about retirement, investing, and household finance, without the jargon or agenda. Get reliable guidance, insight, and easy-to-understand explanations, written, edited, and verified to Britannica’s exacting standards.
Advocacy for Animals
Presenting Advocacy for Animals, a blog focused primarily on animal rights, wildlife conservation, environmental health and safety, and the legal and cultural issues related to these topics. This blog is a source of information and a call to action. It is meant to be a provocation and a stimulus to thought regarding humanity’s relationship with nonhuman animals.
Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain has been writing a weekly interview column for the Italian newspaper La Stampa since 1989. His interviews celebrate some of the best known and successful personalities of the present day.