view all in the news history thai king dies king bhumibol adulyadej of thailand the world s longest reigning monarch has died at age 88 . in the news arts & culture bob dylan wins nobel prize for literature the american singer and songwriter joins the ranks of william butler yeats t.s. eliot and samuel beckett . demystified literature & language why is there an r in mrs. there s no r in missus so what s it doing in the abbreviation spotlight history how the symbolism of the swastika was ruined how the swastika went from being a positive symbol to a negative one . in the news science silkworms spin tougher silk on nanomaterial diet silkworms fed graphene and carbon nanotubes spin extratough silk new research shows . explore encyclop dia britannica history afghanistan war sgt. derec pierson u.s. department of defense international conflict in afghanistan beginning in 2001 that was triggered by the september 11 attacks and consisted of three phases . the ... read more funky feathers 10 bizarre birds book report fact or fiction biography franz boas ap german born american anthropologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries the founder of the relativistic culture centred school of ... read more society randomizer bad words 8 banned books through time international literary tour 10 places every lit lover should see literary library fact or fiction 7 puzzling plane disappearances a book review fact or fiction animals kangaroo veer john giustina photonica getty images any of six large species of australian marsupials noted for hopping and bouncing on their hind legs . the term kangaroo most specifically ... read more the human mind is inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors ; it is when it tries to invent a heaven that it shows itself cloddish . evelyn waugh science prenatal development age fotostock superstock in humans the process encompassing the period from the formation of an embryo through the development of a fetus to birth or parturition . the human ... read more trending articles umayyad dynasty iroquois confederacy black panther party code of justinian millennium dome hillary clinton american civil rights movement intolerable acts matthias jacob schleiden massachusetts bay colony trending lists 10 inventions that changed your world 10 devastating dystopias brain games 8 philosophical puzzles and paradoxes trending quizzes literary character study fact or fiction test your literacy rate fact or fiction wimbledon welcome experts join britannica s publishing partner program our community of experts and gain a global audience for your writings photographs and multimedia . become a britannica member activate premium membership now featured blog advocacy for animals tripadvisor to stop selling tickets to cruelty by world animal protection our thanks to world animal protection formerly the world society for the protection of animals for permission to republish this article which originally appeared on their site on october ... read more featured blog 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 . learn more encyclop dia britannica by category animals art and music astronomy biological sciences chemistry countries of the world earth and geography government law and politics health and medicine history life and the biosphere literature mathematics philosophy physics plants religion society sports and recreation technology our sites britannica kids merriam webster school & library britannica store advocacy for animals quizzes image galleries escola britannica english arabic spanish centralnglish sp en translation mobile iphone app ipad app britannica kids apps international australia brazil china india japan latin america united kingdom content & editorial publishing partner program syndication international publishing webmaster site map new articles stay connected newsletters about us about our ads partner program contact us privacy policy terms of use 2016 encyclop dia britannica inc. email this page email to email from subject comments cancel send