1

Everybody plays make-believe as a child, but for some animals pretending to be something else is not just a fun escape—it’s a matter of survival. Scientists discovered that the greater mouse-eared bat deceives predators by mimicking the buzzing sound of stinging insects like hornets, warding off owls that might otherwise eat them.

2

Global tourism plummeted because of COVID-19 shutdowns, but that didn’t stop people from enjoying the outdoors. Last year saw record crowds at some of the best-known parks in the United States, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which led all national parks with more than 14 million visits in 2021.

3

The average temperature on Mars is -81 degrees Fahrenheit.

4

In May, Andy Warhol’s 1964 silk-screen Shot Sage Blue Marilyn sold for $195 million to an unknown buyer, making it the highest price achieved for any American work of art at auction.

5

California wildfires are threatening some of the planet’s most ancient trees, including a bristlecone known as Methuselah, estimated to be the oldest in the world at 4,853 years. But fire isn’t the only threat to its top standing. Researchers in Chile this year discovered a Patagonian cypress that they estimate to be more than 5,000 years old, although scientists are divided over the legitimacy of that claim.