Federal and (depending on where you live) state incentives make installing solar panels on the roof of your house a fairly affordable, money-saving home improvement project. Not only will you reduce your monthly energy bills—perhaps even to zilch—but you may also recoup the up-front solar panel installation costs when the time comes to sell your home. 　　Does it make...

　　list of the smallest countries by area, How small is small? For some of the world’s countries, the answer is very, very small, even teeny tiny. Vatican City holds the title as the world’s smallest country, with an area of just 0.17 square mile (0.44 square km). As a point of comparison, the largest country in the world, Russia, is...

　　In full: bicycle motocross (Show more) BMX, cycle sport in which participants ride bicycles that are specialized for performance on dirt tracks built with features such as rollers, jumps, and banked curves or that are specialized for stunt riding. BMX includes recreational and off-road riding as well as competitive BMX racing and BMX freestyle. BMX is represented in international events,...

　　 　　Imagine two brands of home coffee makers. Both appliances go through similar steps in their production. Yet, according to customer reviews, one makes better coffee than the other. Regardless of their cost—whether one is more expensive than the other or whether both are similar in price—customers feel they’re getting more bang for the buck with the “better” machine. 　　If...

　　Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are coming into alignment. A solar eclipse will be happening near you. What do you need to do to view the eclipse safely? The first thing to know is you should not look directly at the Sun. You may think that much of the Sun is going to be covered where you are. Surely,...

　　The Château de Chambord is an immense castle in France’s Loire River valley that boasts a treasure trove of stunning artworks and architectural wonders. One of the most impressive of these is a 16th-century double-helix staircase, located at the heart of the château, that allows visitors to ascend and descend at the same time without encountering each other on the...

　　Return on investment (ROI) is a percentage that represents the net profit or loss (i.e., earnings) on an investment over a certain period of time. 　　In order to calculate ROI, you must first find the net profit or loss. Take the current or final value of your investment—including all the interest, dividends, and capital appreciation earned over time (but not...

　　Also known as: chatterbot (Show more) chatbot, computer program designed to have interactive or automated conversation with humans. Rudimentary chatbots were first developed in the mid-to-late 20th century and became more technically sound and widely available in the late 2010s and early 2020s, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) gained prominence in the technology sphere. The idea for the technology that...

　　 　　Remodeling your home may get you more money when you sell it, although some projects offer a better return on investment (ROI) than others. Replacing the roof could add big bucks to your home’s bottom line, whereas, depending on where you live, installing an in-ground swimming pool may send money down the drain. 　　Still, even remodeling projects that are...

　　periodical cicada, (genus Magicicada), genus of seven species of cicadas known for their unusual highly synchronized life cycles and raucous choruses. Periodical cicadas are native to the eastern and midwestern United States but are not present aboveground every year. In what are among the longest life cycles of any insects, periodical cicada broods emerge in spring only every 13 or...

　　Awards And Honors: Academy Award (Show more) There Will Be Blood, American period drama film released in 2007 that was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and is loosely based on the first 150 pages of Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil! The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis as silver prospector-turned-oilman Daniel Plainview, who relentlessly pursues profit amid the late 19th-...

　　 　　If you’re an active trader of stocks, commodities, forex—or any tradable asset, really—consistent profitability is the holy grail. Other than the style you use—technical analysis versus following the fundamentals, for example—one of your most important decisions is choosing the right time frame in which to trade. 　　Aligning your trading strategies with the right time frames, style, and technical indicators...