Invention Tech

When you use a jumble of symbols in place of a curse word, it's perfectly clear what you mean (and certainly how strongly you feel). But what you might not know is that those symbols used in this particular way are called a grawlix.

The term was coined by late cartoonist Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey, although the use of grawlixes in comics preceded him.

Even though the mighty bird of prey is the national bird of the United States, there are only two species of Eagles living in North America: the bald eagle (which is the national bird and the national animal) and the golden eagle (the national bird of Mexico). There are more than 60 species of eagles on Earth and you can find various groups living on every continent, except for Antarctica.

It may still be a few years until we land on Mars, but when we do, explorers will have the option to proudly wear the planet's own tartan if they'd like. Designed by Geoffrey (Tailor) Highland Crafts, the pattern was inspired by the colors and history of the Red Planet, according to The Scottish Register of Tartans.

And here's what it all means: "The red background depicts the surface of Mars, the Red Planet; blue depicts the water-rich past of Mars and the presence of water, mainly as ice, on the planet today; the four green lines represent Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, the presence of habitable conditions on the planet and the possible future presence of life in the form of human settlement; the thick white line represents the Martian poles, visible from the Earth, a conspicuous and important feature of the planet and its long-term climatic cycles."