The mean height for men from Greece is 5 feet 10.59 inches (179.3 cm).

The mean height for women from Greece is 5 feet 5.28 inches (165.8 cm).

The mean height for men from Austria is 5 feet 10.28 inches (178.5 cm).

The mean height for women from Austria is 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm).

The mean height for men from Belarus is 5 feet 10.35 inches (178.7 cm).

The mean height for women from Belarus is 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm).

The mean height for men from the Cook Islands is 5 feet 10.19 inches (178.3 cm).

The mean height for women from the Cook Islands is 5 feet 5.87 inches (167.3 cm).

The mean height for men from Bermuda is 5 feet 10.75 inches (179.7 cm).

The mean height for women from Bermuda is 5 feet 5.39 inches (166.1 cm).

The mean height for men from Poland is 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm).

The mean height for women from Poland is 5 feet 5.28 inches (165.8 cm).

The mean height for men from Germany is 5 feet 10.98 inches (180.3 cm).

The mean height for women from Germany is 5 feet 5.43 inches (166.2 cm).

The mean height for men from Norway is 5 feet 11.06 inches (180.5 cm).

The mean height for women from Norway is 5 feet 5.51 inches (166.4 cm).

The mean height for men from Finland is 5 feet 11.1 inches (180.6 cm).

The mean height for women from Finland is 5 feet 5.55 inches (166.5 cm).

The mean height for men from Dominica is 5 feet 10.94 inches (180.2 cm).

The mean height for women from Dominica is 5 feet 5.71 inches (166.9 cm).

The mean height for men from Sweden is 5 feet 11.06 inches (180.5 cm).

The mean height for women from Sweden is 5 feet 5.63 inches (166.7 cm).

The mean height for men from Ukraine is 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm).

The mean height for women from Ukraine is 5 feet 5.59 inches (166.6 cm).

The mean height for men from Croatia is 5 feet 11.18 inches (180.8 cm).

The mean height for women from Croatia is 5 feet 5.67 inches (166.8 cm).

The mean height for men from Slovakia is 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm).

The mean height for women from Slovakia is 5 feet 5.79 inches (167.1 cm).

The mean height for men from Slovenia is 5 feet 11.26 inches (181 cm).

The mean height for women from Slovenia is 5 feet 5.83 inches (167.2 cm).

The mean height for men from Lithuania is 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm).

The mean height for women from Lithuania is 5 feet 5.98 inches (167.6 cm).

The mean height for men from Serbia is 5 feet 11.14 inches (180.7 cm).

The mean height for women from Serbia is 5 feet 6.26 inches (168.3 cm).

The mean height for men from the Czech Republic is 5 feet 11.34 inches (181.2 cm).

The mean height for women from the Czech Republic is 5 feet 6.14 inches (168 cm).

The mean height for men from Bosnia & Herzegovina is 5 feet 11.85 inches (182.5 cm).

The mean height for women from Bosnia & Herzegovina is 5 feet 5.94 inches (167.5 cm).

The mean height for men from Latvia is 5 feet 11.34 inches (181.2 cm).

The mean height for women from Latvia is 5 feet 6.46 inches (168.8 cm).

The mean height for men from Iceland is 5 feet 11.69 inches (182.1 cm).

The mean height for women from Iceland is 5 feet 6.5 inches (168.9 cm).

The mean height for men from Denmark is 5 feet 11.61 inches (181.9 cm).

The mean height for women from Denmark is 5 feet 6.73 inches (169.5 cm).

The mean height for men from Estonia is 5 feet 11.97 inches (182.8 cm).

The mean height for women from Estonia is 5 feet 6.42 inches (168.7 cm).

The mean height for men from Montenegro is 6 feet 0.17 inches (183.3 cm).

The mean height for women from Montenegro is 5 feet 6.93 inches (170 cm).

The mean height for men from the Netherlands is 6 feet 0.36 inches (183.8 cm).

The mean height for women from the Netherlands is 5 feet 7.09 inches (170.4 cm).

A note on mean versus average heights: Using mean heights instead of averages gives a sense of which countries have the most people who are tall. For example, many Icelandic men are 5 feet 11 inches. 

The list would look different ranked by average heights. The Federal Statistical Office of Germany calculates heights by average, for example, and the results would bump the country up several spots in the rankings. 

This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated on December 18, 2024.

Her wealth, in large part, comes from earning more than $94 million in career prize money — considerably more than any other professional women's tennis player. 

She's partnered with Nike, Beats by Dre, Gatorade, Subway, Gucci, JPMorgan Chase, Tempur-Pedic, Ford, Aston Martin, Audemars Piguet, Intel, and Wilson.

"I wanted to showcase a lot of fringe," she said, explaining the inspiration for her designs to Women's Wear Daily in 2015.

That year, she and the company conducted a survey looking at Americans' perceptions of the gender pay gap. On average, women continue to earn less than men, according to Pew Research.

Nike's headquarters, located in Beaverton, Oregon, includes a 1-million-square-foot building with 140 tennis courts, which Nike named the Serena Williams Building. Williams became a Nike athlete in 2003.

The movie dramatized the sisters' childhood, when their father served as their coach and helped them rise to tennis stardom. Williams hoped sequels would follow, focusing on the ways Serena's and Venus' stories diverged, she told Business Insider in 2022.

The two married in 2017, less than two years after they met and a month after the birth of their first child. 

Williams told Vanity Fair she knew he was going to propose when he asked her to fly to Italy. "I was like, 'Serena, you're 35, you're ready. This is what you want,' " she remembered thinking.

A year later, he sold the site to Condé Nast for $10 million. He was 23 years old.

Reddit is now worth billions. Ohanian later said the money was enticing because his mother was sick with terminal cancer at the time. 

"The deal was months in the making, and I wish I'd had more advisors around the table giving me more perspective on the sale," he wrote on Twitter, now X, in 2020.

After leaving Reddit in 2009, he had stints at various companies like the travel search site Hipmunk, the startup accelerator Y Combinator, and the social enterprise Breadpig.

His resignation was in response to the site's long reputation as a platform for racist and misogynistic content, as well as for misinformation. He urged the company to fill his seat with a Black candidate instead.

Michael Seibel joined as the company's first Black board member days later.

In 2020, Ohanian also left Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2011. 

A year later, he announced a new VC firm called "Seven Seven Six." 

The firm has invested in women's track and Colin Kaepernick's AI company. Previously, Ohanian pledged $1 million to Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp using his Reddit stock gains.

In 2019, Forbes estimated Ohanian's net worth was $70 million and put Williams' fortune at $260 million in 2022. 

Ohanian sat down next to Williams outside by the pool, Vanity Fair reported in 2017. After trying to get him to move to a new table, she and her friends invited him to join them.

Ohanian had never watched Williams play — and wasn't much of a tennis fan — but he agreed to come to her match that night.

The pair walked around the Jardin des Plantes, and Ohanian bought Williams some candy. 

Two chaperones accompanied them on their first date, Williams' agent and assistant, Ohanian recently said on TikTok. 

Ohanian then went to watch her play in the French Open later that week.

He got down on one knee at the same table where they had sat over a year before. 

To pay for the 17-carat diamond, Ohanian used part of the $50 million he got from crypto exchange Coinbase and other investments, he told Forbes in 2023.

Ohanian cheered on Williams, who won her 23rd Grand Slam and earned $2.7 million.

Following in her mother's footsteps, Olympia is a burgeoning fashion icon.

Olympia became the youngest person to grace the cover of Vogue at three months old.

At the time, Olympia, who was two, was the youngest owner of a professional sports team.

Williams wore an estimated $3.5 million worth of jewelry at the ceremony. For the reception, she changed into a pair of sparkly Nikes covered in Swarovski crystals.

Williams and Markle have been friends since 2014. 

"She quickly became a confidante I would text when I was traveling, the friend I would rally around for her tennis matches, and the down to earth chick I was able to grab lunch with just a couple weeks ago in Toronto," Markle wrote on her blog, The Tig, in 2014.

Williams and her sister, Venus, became partial owners of the Miami Dolphins in 2009.

"My dad had two nosebleeds for a number of years, and I upgraded his seats to four seats at the front row around the 50-yard line," he told CNBC in 2018.

The family purchased the 6,000-square-foot home in 2017. It has a bar, pool, and spacious kitchen but no tennis court. 

They spend most of their time in Florida, where they own a stunning property in Palm Beach Gardens. The house includes an art gallery and trophy room.

They also have homes in Paris and Bel Air. One of her houses has an entire closet dedicated to her shoe collection.

When she was Aston Martin's chief sporting officer, she was photographed with a $300,000 Vanquish. In 2018, she became a brand ambassador for Lincoln. 

Ohanian also buys comics and video games.

In 2011, the United Nations Children's Fund appointed Williams as a goodwill ambassador. UNICEF noted her work in Ghana in 2006, handing out anti-malarial nets and promoting vaccinations. 

When Colin Kaepernick's 2018 Nike ad sparked controversy, she tweeted that she was "especially proud" to work with the brand. She previously voiced her support for the NFL player's activism as well. 

In his 2013 book, "Without Their Permission," he imagined a dismal, not-too-distant future — in 2025 — where the notion of privacy had completely disappeared. 

He's also donated money to organizations working to diversify tech companies' talent pools. 

The tennis player posted pictures of herself and Ohanian on Instagram, writing: "Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the 3 of us to the Met Gala."

"Adira is a girl's name of Hebrew origin and means 'mighty,' 'strong,' and 'majestic.' The elegant name is popular in many cultures around the world," Williams wrote on Instagram on her daughter's first birthday. "Adira is the feminine form of the classic name Adir. It is a Biblical name, meaning 'Strong One.' "

Olympia accompanied her parents to the 2024 Olympics in Paris this summer and on an island-hopping vacation last winter.

Doctors feared the nodules on his thyroid might be cancerous, so they removed half of the gland. 

"The worst part tbh has been not being able to lift for 2 weeks but big fella will be back at it next week and I took my girls to Disney World this week so life is wonderful," he wrote on Instagram.

He urged other men, especially fathers, to go to the doctor for regular checkups. Earlier this year, Ohanian was diagnosed with Lyme disease as well.

 In August 2022, she announced her intention to retire after the US Open. 

"If I were a guy, I wouldn't be writing this because I'd be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family," she wrote in an essay for Vogue.

In 2021, she made $45.9 million. Most of that money came from endorsement deals and other ventures.

"I've actually never played for money — I just thought you would go out there and hold a trophy," Williams said on "Kneading Dough," a personal-finance video series, in 2018.

She tried to deposit her first million-dollar check through a bank drive-thru before the teller told her she needed to come inside for such a large transaction.

Along with Alison Stillman, Williams launched Serena Ventures in 2014. The firm's goal is to fund women and other founders who are underrepresented. 

"I've invested in over 85 companies, and I also have about 14 unicorns," Serena said in an April TikTok video. Unicorns are privately owned companies valued at over $1 billion. 

Some of her investments include MasterClass, Tonal, Impossible Foods, and Noom, Vogue reported in 2022.

Williams told Forbes she had goals beyond just being an endorsement athlete, "I want to be in the infrastructure. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face."

One was a "Caddyshack" homage for Michelob ULTRA, and the other was a locker room pep talk for Rémy Martin.

She also recently started her own beauty line, Wyn Beauty, and signed a deal with Penguin Random House to write two books.

The first is a memoir about her life, and the second is an inspirational book highlighting what she's learned as a philanthropist and an advocate for women and in her career as an investor with Serena Ventures. 

This story was originally published on May 2, 2023, and updated on December 17, 2024.

Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer, née Puening, married the scientist in 1940, only two years before he joined the Manhattan Project.

Kitty had been married three times before, as she wed musician Frank Ramseyer in 1932 before their marriage was annulled in 1933. 

Shortly afterward, in 1934, she was involved with the Communist Party of America, and became John Dullet Jr.'s. common-law wife when they lived together in Chicago, before separating in 1936.

Kitty then married Oxford doctor Richard Stewart Harrison in 1938, but had an affair with Oppenheimer while Harrison was working in California. She divorced Harrison in 1940, and married Oppenheimer a day later. 

They remained married until Oppenheimer's death from throat cancer in 1967, and Kitty scattered his ashes into the water by the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands, where they had spent plenty of time with their children, Peter and Toni.

Kitty spent the rest of her life with Robert Serber, another physicist from the Manhattan Project, whose wife had died by suicide. Kitty died in hospital in 1972, just as the pair had set out to go sailing to Japan, the Galapagos Islands, and Tahiti.

Oppenheimer had two children with his wife, Kitty. Their oldest child, Peter, was born in Pasadena, California, in May 1941, before the family moved to Los Alamos for the Manhattan Project.

When Peter was just two months old, the Oppenheimers left him with friends Haakon and Barbara Chevalier, according to "American Prometheus." Robert said his wife was exhausted. The couple then spent two months at the family's ranch, Perro Caliente, in New Mexico.

According to the Nuclear Museum, Peter struggled with anxiety as a child and didn't have a good relationship with his mother. 

"Robert thought that, in their highly charged, passionate, falling in love, that Peter had come too soon, and that Kitty resented him for that reason," Oppenheimer's secretary, Verna Hobson, said during a 1979 interview.

When his father died in 1967, Peter moved back to the family's Perro Caliente ranch in New Mexico. He's worked as a carpenter over the years and has three children.

Toni Oppenheimer was born in 1944 and lived at Los Alamos until she was three. That's when her father became director of the Institute for Advanced Study and moved the family to Princeton, New Jersey.

As a baby, Toni lived with the Oppenheimers' friend Pat Sherr for several months. Robert visited regularly but asked if she wanted to adopt Toni, Sherr later recalled. When Sherr asked him why, he said, "Because I can't love her," adding that he wasn't "an attached kind of person." 

However, a childhood friend of Toni's described Robert as a "loving dad" in an April interview with The Winchester Star.

Toni had polio when she was young, which is largely why the family started visiting St. John in the Virgin Islands; the warmth seemed to help her condition.

Toni had a complicated relationship with her mother, largely because of Kitty's alcohol use. 

"She leaned on Toni an awful lot and it was difficult for her in that way, but she wanted only good and happiness for Toni," Hobson said of Kitty in 1979. 

Two years after Robert's death in 1967, the United Nations rejected Toni's application to become a translator. The FBI wouldn't grant her the appropriate security clearance for the job.

She struggled to cope with losing her father and her job opportunity, and after living on the island of St. John for a while, she died by suicide in January 1977, just a month after she turned 32.

Although Toni didn't have any children before her death, Peter Oppenheimer has three: Charles, Ella, and Dorothy. 

Dorothy Vanderford, who was born in 1973, is Oppenheimer's oldest grandchild. She works in the nuclear industry and has a PhD in English. 

In 2023, she spoke to KSNV about the film and said that Christopher Nolan didn't consult the family about making his movie.

After seeing the movie, she said, "There were a few things that I didn't agree with and didn't like, but overall I felt like it was a good movie."

Charles Oppenheimer was born in 1975 and has worked in software development for many years. 

The youngest sibling, Ella, keeps her life private. 

Both Dorothy and Charles took part in a lengthy interview in 2015 about their grandfather for the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

At the time, Charles said that many historians find his grandfather a mysterious figure.

"In particular, people are having a hard time pinning down who this guy was. I guess it's made it difficult to deal with for the family, for some people. Not for me," he said.

Charles has two daughters with his wife, Karen Pak Oppenheimer, which means that Oppenheimer has at least two great-grandchildren.

Both Charles and his wife are co-executive directors of the Oppenheimer Project, which honors Robert's legacy. 

In a recent essay for The New York Times, Charles wrote that nuclear war would end the world as we know it. "I'm not afraid to be the voice calling for increased unity in the world, even though my grandfather was eventually attacked for this," he wrote.  

This story was originally published in July 2023 and was updated on December 17, 2024.

During the Manhattan Project in the mid-1940s, Hanford was one of three main sites where thousands of workers developed and built the world's first atomic bombs.

The government wanted both secrecy and security and chose an isolated location, away from cities on the East Coast. It's about 150 miles southeast of Seattle.

The government wanted the site to be close to dams for electricity and near the river so it had a source of liquid to cool the reactors. The rural setting meant the operation would have to displace fewer people.

The government purchased the land in 1943 and gave about 2,000 locals, many of them farmers and Indigenous people, 30 days to leave, The New York Times reported.

One resident, Annette Heriford, later said the government paid far less than the land was worth, per the Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF).

They understood their work was related to the war effort, but the site's role in building a nuclear weapon was top secret.

There were so many workers that Hanford and nearby Richland swelled with thousands of new residents. Most were white men, but Hanford also employed Black, Indigenous, and Latino workers, in addition to white women, according to the National Park Service.

Hundreds of new buildings went up to accommodate the growing population, including banks, grocery stores, and cafeterias.

Some of these places were integrated, while others were segregated. Restaurants in the area barred Black workers from entering, Cascade PBS reported.

The area stretched along the Columbia River, covering hundreds of acres.

It was the B Reactor that produced the first plutonium in the United States. The first supply of plutonium was delivered to the Army on February 2, 1945, just four months after the reactor began operating.

The physicians working at Hanford reportedly knew radiation could cause illness, and they used dosimetry devices to monitor workers' exposure. They would wear badges containing photographic film that would develop an image of the protective case when exposed to radiation.

Fat Man, the nuclear bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945, also contained Hanford's plutonium.

The bomb killed an estimated 50,000 people in Nagasaki, The BBC reported. Another 135,000 people died in Hiroshima, Japan, where the US dropped a uranium bomb a few days earlier.

On August 6, 1945, Spokane, Washington, residents awoke to the news that Hanford was one of the secret sites responsible for the atomic bombs.

"Tongues wagged, workmen talked, nearly every truck driver who passed that way had his pet theory," The Spokane Daily Chronicle reported at the time. "Many may have guessed the correct answer. But still the riddle of Hanford remained — and the secret was kept."

This time it was to supply the US with a nuclear arsenal during the Cold War. Six more reactors were built by 1955. Production continued into the late 1980s.

The reactors weren't all built at once but over a 20-year period from 1943 to 1963.

That's a little less than the weight of 10 African elephants. Fat Man contained less than 14 pounds of plutonium, according to the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

The site was responsible for a large part of the 60,000 nuclear weapons the US had made by 1987.

Some serious accidents and secret human experiments showed how deadly radiation sickness could be, according to the AHF. US officials suppressed information about how the bombs were causing severe illnesses and deaths in Japan, according to JSTOR.

In 1954, Life Magazine profiled Hanford employee Homer Moulthorp, who had created plastic suits to combat radiation sickness.

His friends referred to it as "Homer's Hideous Hallucination." Before that, the employees had to wear heavy clothing that had to be buried after being used once.

The researchers were trying to determine radiation's effects on people. In 2007, 40,000 tons of dead animals and manure were uncovered from trenches in Hanford, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Most of the waste was manure, contaminated with radioactive strontium-90.

Even producing a small batch of plutonium would result in a huge amount of contaminated waste.

In a story for the Spokesman-Review, farmer Tom Bailie described the town of Ringold, Washington, about 11 miles southeast of the Hanford Site, as having unusually high rates of cancer.

The story's reporter, Karen Dorn Steele, later found the government had conducted a test in 1949 to learn more about how the radioisotope Iodine 131 moved through the air, per NPS. Thousands of Hanford Downwinders, as they called themselves, filed lawsuits against the government. All the lawsuits have since been either dropped or settled.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Washington State Department of Ecology signed the agreement.

"It was at the end of the Cold War that the site's mission shifted from production of plutonium and that material to environmental cleanup," Ryan Miller, a communications manager for the Washington State Department of Ecology, told Business Insider.

By then Hanford was no longer making plutonium. Reactors started shutting down in the mid-1960s; the last one closed in 1987. It was exclusively a massive environmental hazard that needed to be cleaned up.

There are a host of challenges when it comes to cleaning up Hanford, from contaminated buildings and groundwater to leaky storage tanks holding radioactive waste.

Officials don't even know where all the contaminated material is.

"One of the biggest challenges, at least back in the '80s when cleanup started, was documentation," Miller said. The agencies worked to figure out the scope of the problem, but they were hampered by poor record-keeping. "There's a kind of shroud of secrecy over the Hanford Site, especially during World War II," he added.

When Hanford first produced nuclear waste, workers buried contaminated clothes and tools in the desert, without recording the locations, The Daily Beast reported in 2013.

Across the reserve, there were nearly 1,700 waste sites.

During the production years, workers would dump barrels of waste and contaminated groundwater into unlined trenches, Miller said. The agencies have addressed over 1,350 sites so far, he added.

Liquid waste is usually contaminated water or sludge, which is described as having the same consistency as peanut butter.

The contaminated groundwater had a footprint larger than Boise, Idaho. Hanford set up pump-and-treat facilities to treat the water and then re-inject it back into the ground, Miller said. So far, the facilities have treated over 32 billion gallons of groundwater.

In 2017, the EPA said contaminated groundwater was flowing freely into the Columbia River. The river's hundreds of thousands of gallons of water help dilute the uranium, tritium, and other substances that seep in, according to Washington's Department of Ecology.

The first 149 tanks were built with a single layer of steel. In 1968, officials developed a new double-shelled model, storing waste in 28 of them.

Altogether, the tanks contain twice the radioactivity released by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Russia, The Atlantic reported. By 1989, 68 of the 149 tanks had leaked 900,000 contaminated gallons into the ground.

"This waste poses, arguably, the largest kind of cleanup effort being done at the Hanford site, and one of the biggest risks," Miller said.

In 2010, Robert Alvarez, a former Energy Department official, said the amount of plutonium buried at Hanford could fuel 1,800 bombs, as reported by The New York Times.

It was only after a million gallons of waste had leaked into the ground that the DOE said more information was necessary, The New York Times reported in 2010. A year earlier, a contractor fired an employee who voiced concerns about the issue "too vigorously."

"A lot of those tanks were built in the '40s, '50s, '60s," Miller said. "So all the tanks are well past their design life."

In 2013, new leaks were discovered in several underground tanks. While management already knew that one tank was leaking at a rate of up to 300 gallons of waste every year, the discovery that five more were also leaking was especially concerning, CBS News reported.

The treatment plant will turn the waste from the deteriorating tanks into glass, which can then be stored more safely for several thousand years. This process, known as vitrification, is expected to begin with some of the low-activity, less radioactive waste next year.

Once the vitrified waste is stored in steel containers, workers will dispose of the low-activity glass at a Hanford landfill, which has been engineered with barriers, Miller said.

There's currently no facility in the US capable of storing high-level waste long-term, so that too will stay at Hanford for the time being.

Strontium-90 is also called a "bone seeker" because it acts similarly to calcium — accumulating in bones — while increasing the risk of cancer.

Concerned about earthquakes, the DOE decided the capsules needed to be moved. In the next year or so, the agencies will start transferring them to dry storage, Miller said.

The nine reactors presented a challenge, Miller said, because they had big footprints. Workers removed hazardous materials and demolished supporting infrastructure and facilities.

In addition to the reactors, nearly 2,000 contaminated buildings covered the Hanford Site. The agencies have demolished almost half of them.

Crews demolished parts of the reactors, then encased the rest in giant steel structures. They will remain like this for at least 75 years, until radiation falls to a safe level and workers can dismantle the structures, though the method for full disposal isn't yet known.

One reactor still needs to be cocooned — scheduled to be completed by 2032 — while another will remain standing.

The B Reactor was the world's first full-scale plutonium production reactor. Instead of being cocooned, it was turned into a National Historic Landmark in 2008. Some areas are still radioactive but visitors don't have access to them, according to the tour's safety sheet.

As many as 15,000 people visit the National Historical Park at Hanford each year. Most visitors to the site don't need to wear dosimeters or other special equipment.

Instead of farmers and ranchers developing the land, it's been left untouched for over 75 years, and wildlife has boomed. In 2000, President Bill Clinton made the 195,000-acre area a National Monument.

There are herds of elk and mule deer. Chinook salmon breed in stretches of the river in autumn, and it's home to an abundance of birds, including burrowing owls, Swainson hawks, and sagebrush sparrows.

Not all animals are thriving, though. The agencies have found issues with radioactive wasp nests, fruit flies, and rabbits.

When radioactive rabbit droppings were found in the area, it was protocol to set traps to kill contaminated rabbits, The Seattle Times reported.

Recently, some populations, like the ground squirrels and burrowing owls, have been declining and specialists aren't sure why.

As for radiation on and in the river, health officials said fish tested for radiation posed no health risk.

Earlier this year, Hanford workers pumped out contaminated water nearby that threatened to leak into the river, according to the Tri-City Herald.

In 2000, wildfires threatened the complex, and Washington's Department of Health reported a rise in plutonium levels in the area, thought to be spread by dust and ash.

Some Hanford workers say they have lung-related illnesses, like COPD or cancer, that they attributed to the time at the site, OPB News reported in 2016.

When affected Russian thistle decayed and broke from its roots, the radioactive tumbleweeds could roll for up to 4 miles and spread a year's dose of radiation, The Washington Post reported.

Hanford radiation experts said if it had been a windy day, radioactive particles could've blown around and made the situation much worse.

The DOE's own experts had warned the tunnels might collapse for decades, KING 5 reported in 2017. The EPA said more tunnels would collapse as the equipment deteriorated.

In 2016, 61 employees were exposed to vapors from leaking tanks, two years after a report found a "causal link" between the vapors and lung and brain damage.

A 2021 Washington State Department of Commerce survey of over 1,000 current and former Hanford workers found that 57% had been exposed to hazardous materials.

The area is prone to wildfires and possible earthquakes.

The last big earthquake in the area was in 1936, but another sizable one could release radiation. That's what happened with the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011.

Miller said Hanford is on track to start the vitrification process in the summer of 2025. Workers have already started making test glass.

But not all the waste will undergo vitrification. Instead, some will go through a different process, grouting, which makes the waste more like cement than glass. It's less expensive and quicker, but the method hasn't been as thoroughly tested as vitrification, Cascade PBS reported.

While the agencies say the deadlines haven't changed, the agreement does update the Tri-Party Agreement.

Some stakeholders, like local tribes and environmental groups, said the agencies didn't include them in the meetings about the new plans, OPB News reported.

New estimates are closer to 2069 or later. In 2002, the Government Accountability Office estimated the price to clean up Hanford at between $300 billion and $640 billion. The office put the timeline at a vague "decades."

In March, President Joe Biden gave Hanford its highest cleanup budget yet, $3.05 billion. Things could change under the next administration.

During his first term, President Donald Trump proposed cutting Hanford's budget and floated the idea of reclassifying high-level waste as less dangerous to lower costs, per The Los Angeles Times.

Miller said less funding could ultimately make cleaning up Hanford longer and more expensive.

"Every year that Hanford cleanup is underfunded, that can actually push the ultimate lifespan of the project out further," he said. "It could actually balloon the cost by tens of billions of dollars if it's not funded appropriately now."

Tom Carpenter, executive director of the watchdog Hanford Challenge, told The Atlantic in 2018 that the majority of Hanford's waste was going nowhere. "Hanford is going to be a national sacrifice zone for hundreds of years," he said.

Sources used for this story include the Hanford Site, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the US Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Parks Service, the Atomic Heritage Foundation, the Government Accountability Office, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

This story was originally published on September 23, 2019, and updated on December 17, 2024.

Polio mainly affects children under the age of five. Most people only have mild symptoms, but one in 200 cases causes irreversible paralysis. Between 5% and 10% of paralyzed patients die when muscles used for breathing can no longer move, according to the World Health Organization. 

Polio was first identified in 1909, though it had been around for centuries, and the US had a serious outbreak in 1916, which started in New York. 

At the time, doctors understood very little about the disease, including how to treat and prevent it. 

An estimated 6,000 people died and 21,000 had resulting paralysis from the 1916 outbreak.

The number of polio cases rose from eight per 100,000 in 1944 to 37 per 100,000 in 1952, according to Yale Medical Magazine. During that period, about 60,000 children were contracting the disease each year.

There was an increase in people over the age of 10 getting the virus, too. 

Early on, some doctors would put patients in full-body casts, which could make paralysis permanent. 

Roosevelt sought relief by taking dips in Georgia's warm springs. 

During a 1940s polio outbreak, the Hickory Emergency Infantile Paralysis Hospital in North Carolina tried treating patients with boiled wool "hot packs" for the skin and physical therapy.

Bellows inside the large metal box provided suction to help patients breathe when they could no longer do so on their own. The device was first used to save the life of an eight-year-old patient in 1928. 

Farrow, the daughter of director John Farrow and the actress and Tarzan-girl Maureen O'Sullivan, became ill during an LA polio outbreak in the summer of 1954.

"What I saw will never leave me — in the hospitals and in the public wards for contagious diseases," Farrow said in 2000. 

Roosevelt founded the organization with his former law partner, Basil O'Connor, to help fund research into a polio vaccine. 

Roosevelt knew the effects of polio first-hand. He was diagnosed with polio in 1921 at the age of 39 and used a wheelchair, mainly in private, while he was president. 

These campaigns helped raise half of all donations to health charities in the US, PBS reported.

At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Salk began developing a vaccine in the early 1950s.

He grew polioviruses on cultures of monkeys' kidney cells and then used formaldehyde to kill the virus.

When he injected the dead virus into live monkeys, it protected them from the disease, according to the Science History Institute.

Salk first injected children who had already had polio. He noted that their antibody levels rose after vaccination, a promising sign that it helped the body fight the infection. 

In the early 1950s, over 220,000 children were injected with gamma globulin, proteins in blood plasma that are rich in antibodies. The hope was that the serum would boost kids' immune systems and keep them from contracting polio. 

After looking at the data, though, a committee of epidemiologists and other experts concluded that gamma globulin wasn't effective. 

In 1954, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis sponsored a trial to test Salk's vaccine. 

Nearly 2 million children between 6 and 9 years old participated. They were called "Polio Pioneers."

Participants were divided into three groups: the first group received the vaccine, the second received a placebo, and the third received neither the vaccine nor a placebo. 

The following year, in 1955, the vaccine was declared 90% effective against Types 2 and 3 poliovirus. It was 60% to 70% effective against Type 1.

At a press conference, Thomas Francis Jr., director of the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Evaluation Center at the University of Michigan, called the vaccine "Safe, effective, and potent."

It was headline news. "The story has blanketed the front pages of all the papers I have seen along a 1,600-mile route from New York to Saint Louis, to Memphis and Dallas," Alistair Cooke reported for The Guardian at the time. 

It took mere hours for Salk's vaccine to be licensed for use after the announcement of its efficacy.

NFIP had already funded facilities that could start producing the vaccine right away. The US sent some vaccines to Europe, and some countries started up their own productions. 

Children needed three shots, each costing between $3 and $5 (around $35-$59 today), according to The Conversation.

One of the facilities manufacturing the vaccine, Cutter Laboratories, had kept the live polio virus in hundreds of thousands of doses.

In April 1955, over 400,000 children received the improperly prepared vaccines. The mistake led to 260 cases of polio-based paralysis and several deaths, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

The incident at Cutter Laboratories panicked many parents and the vaccine was pulled from the market on April 27, 1955. 

However, after a massive effort to recheck all the vaccines confirmed they were safe to use, immunization resumed on May 15, 1955. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of children received the vaccine. 

If people were hesitant to have their children vaccinated, Elvis may have helped persuade them. After he got the jab in the fall of 1956, many followed suit. 

Within six months, 80% of America's youngest generation were vaccinated, Scientific American reported in 2021. 

Roosevelt's foundation was heavily involved in promoting the vaccine and recruited celebrities like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald for their campaigns.

"There was a very early recognition that you couldn't just have white people talking about the vaccine,"  Stacey D. Stewart, former president and CEO of the March of Dimes, told NPR in 2021. 

Between 1953 and 1957, cases in the US dropped from 35,000 to 5,300 a year, according to the BBC.  

Sabin disagreed with Salk's method of using a vaccine with a killed virus. Instead, he preferred a live, yet weakened form that could be taken by mouth instead of injected. 

Once Sabin showed his version was effective using a trial in the Soviet Union, it was approved for use in the US in 1961.  

Because Sabin's vaccine was inexpensive and easy to administer many countries began using the oral method. In fact, the song "A Spoonful of Sugar (Helps the Medicine Go Down)" in the 1964 film "Mary Poppins" was inspired by Sabin's polio vaccine.

During the 2010s, the world eradicated polio Types 2 and 3. Only Type 1 remains. The World Health Organization hopes to wipe out the final strain by 2026, but that goal is impossible without polio vaccines. 

This story was originally published on August 13, 2022, and updated on December 16, 2024. Jake Johnson contributed to a previous version of this post. 

Saying "for the plot" is a fun way for Gen Z to encourage each other to do the wild, fun things that make storytelling fun when you're older.

Influencer Serena Kerrigan has been credited with popularizing the phrase, saying, "this is your reminder that if something works out, great, and if it doesn't, it's for the plot." In other words, your highs and lows are all shaping and contributing to your life story.

Whether you swipe right on Tinder or go out spontaneously on a Tuesday night, it's all about the plot.

It's true; Gen Z has an affinity for abbreviations.

A person with "rizz" is confident, charming, and generally successful in romantic endeavors. The phrase officially reached the boomer generation when the Golden Bachelor announced he had rizz.

Ah, the ick. "Love Island" contestant Olivia Attwood (now Olivia Attwood Dack) helped popularize the phrase during season three, but "the ick" remains a staple in Gen Z's vocabulary.

If someone gives you "the ick," it means they've turned you off, either through their actions or words.

"Icks" can arise from small offenses, such as using the "wrong" emoji in conversation, or from larger issues, such as being rude to a barista.

It's all about personal preference.

When someone or something constantly occupies your thoughts, they've taken up residence in your head without paying you a dime. In 1999, one reader attributed the phrase living "rent-free" to advice columnist Ann Landers.

Though often associated with specific people like a crush or celebrity, the phrase can also apply to positive and negative events, like an epic concert or a ridiculous AI image.

"Mother" is a woman deserving of your respect who's had a profound influence on your life.

For some, that's Diana Ross. For others, it's Rihanna. Reneé Rapp, Mariah Carey, and Lana Del Rey have all been called mother, too.

Last year, The New York Times reported that people in the Black and Latino LGBTQ+ ballroom scene coined the term, which stemmed from the "queer subculture in which members are organized into so-called houses often led by a 'mother.'"

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, who played a house mother in the groundbreaking series "Pose," told The New York Times that "anyone should be able to use a term that is trending" but that it's important to know and acknowledge where it came from.

Often associated with fashion and beauty, saying someone "ate" is a way of expressing they look amazing and did a great job.

Look at almost any picture of Zendaya on the red carpet, and it'd be correct to say, "She ate."

If you hear "she ate," you may often hear "and left no crumbs" immediately after.

The additional phrase helps emphasize how perfect the person's execution was, though it can be used on its own, too.

For example, "Entrepreneur Mona Patel ate and left no crumbs at the 2024 Met Gala." That means she executed the theme perfectly — everything from her dress to her glam to the presentation on the red carpet was flawless.

Often used to describe food, "bussin'" originated in the Black community and means extremely good or delicious, per Merriam-Webster.

So if your kid says tonight's dinner was "bussin'," just know you did a great job.

Whether it's a dress on the red carpet, a new TV show, or a pasta recipe, something that's "mid" is mediocre.

BI reported that Kaley Cuoco's 2024 Critics Choice Awards gown missed the mark, so it could also be described as mid.

You can "lock in" on an assignment, cleaning your apartment, or even a video game.

While NC State ultimately lost to Purdue in the Final Four, DJ Burns, Jr. was a standout in the 2024 March Madness tournament.

His coaches clearly saw how well he was performing and decided to "let him cook," giving him more playing time in their five tournament games, per ESPN.

As we've already established, Gen Z loves abbreviations.

"Delulu" simply means delusional, but in a way that's wacky instead of worrisome, according to The New York Times.

If you're hoping to elope with the lead in your favorite romance novel, you might be a bit delulu.

It sounds a little sus, but this term dates back to the 1920s, per Merriam-Webster. The term originates from suss, as in, suss out whether someone is trustworthy or not.

Recently, the word reemerged thanks to the online game "Among Us," in which players try to determine who is an imposter working to sabotage their progress.

A kind of cosmic, karma-esque rating system of cool, aura points are won and lost through a variety of impressive and embarrassing deeds. Talked to your crush with spinach in your teeth? Your aura points just took a hit.

"It's tongue-in-cheek, and it also seems to be a sort of weird contemporary honor code," philosopher Julian Baggini told The Guardian.

The phrase "no cap" has been around for decades and has roots in Black communities.

People often use it for emphasis, similarly to "for real." For example, "My cat is smarter than Einstein, no cap."

"No cap" is basically the opposite of "cap," which is short for "capping."

"Cap or capping has referenced bragging, exaggerating, or lying since the early 1900s," Kelly Elizabeth Wright, a language professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told TODAY.com.

Population of the metro area: 320,154

Median home price: $331,000

Median monthly rent: $1,600

Median household income: $66,392

Climate Vulnerability Index: 58th percentile (average vulnerability). This index shows areas of the US most likely to face challenges from climate change.

Known for: Home to over 450 horse farms, Lexington is known as the horse capital of the world. While it doesn't have the Kentucky Derby, Keeneland Race Track holds its own horse races twice a year.

Population of the metro area: 280,305

Median home price: $415,000

Median monthly rent: $1,700

Median household income: $70,484

Climate Vulnerability Index: 6th percentile (lowest vulnerability)

Known for: Wisconsin's capital is also the state's second-largest city. Madison is a college town, offering plenty of chances to see concerts and sporting events.

Population of the metro area: 155,369

Median home price: $617,500

Median monthly rent: $2,800

Median household income: $89,083

Climate Vulnerability Index: 55th percentile (average vulnerability)

Known for: With its cobblestone streets and 18th- and 19th-century buildings, Charleston is a dream for historic-architecture buffs. Plus, miles of beachy coastline are just a short trip from downtown.

Population of the metro area: 105,744

Median home price: $318,000

Median monthly rent: $999

Median household income: $66,950

Climate Vulnerability Index: 15th percentile (lowest vulnerability)

Known for: Wisconsin's oldest city is home to the Green Bay Packers, a storied NFL team. Nature lovers can make the most of Green Bay's 25-mile Fox River State Trail, even in the winter.

Population of the metro area: 57,602

Median home price: $488,500

Median monthly rent: $2,800

Median household income: $68,870

Climate Vulnerability Index: 24th percentile (lower vulnerability)

Known for: Sarasota earned the nickname the Circus City because Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus moved its winter quarters to the beachy town in 1927. These days, the weather, leisurely pace of life, and lack of income tax all attract people to Florida. Sarasota, in particular, has become a magnet for workers, according to a January LinkedIn report.

Population of metro area: 105,898

Median home price: $945,000

Median monthly rent: $2,995

Median household income: $75,923

Climate Vulnerability Index: 12th percentile (lowest vulnerability)

Known for: Not far from the Rocky Mountains, Boulder is known for outdoorsy activities, including rock climbing, hiking, skiing, and cycling. The city's median age is 28.6, giving it a youthful, lively energy.

Population of metro area: 979,882

Median home price: $484,900

Median monthly rent: $2,000

Median household income: $91,501

Climate Vulnerability Index: 20th percentile (lower vulnerability)

Known for: An artsy, contemporary city, Austin is known for its vibrant nightlife, live music, eclectic cuisine, and college scene. It also has a long history of attracting tech giants, and even more companies have opened offices there since the pandemic. West Coasters in the industry have moved to the city, lured by the booming job market and comparatively low cost of living.

Population of metro area: 453,649

Median home price: $384,500

Median monthly rent: $2,195

Median household income: $91,141

Climate Vulnerability Index: 18th percentile (lowest vulnerability)

Known for: Boasting a beloved boardwalk, Virginia Beach has miles of beaches, delectable seafood, and a mild climate. Murals, museums, and shops in the ViBe Creative District give the seaside destination some arty flair, too.

Population of metro area: 225,564

Median home price: $315,000

Median monthly rent: $1,465

Median household income: $73,319

Climate Vulnerability Index: 54th percentile (average vulnerability)

Known for: Since the start of the US space program in the 1950s Huntsville has been a hub for the aerospace and defense industries. Today it's bursting with startups, alongside long-standing workplaces like NASA and Boeing. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin also has a facility for building rocket engines in Huntsville.

Population of metro area: 482,295

Median home price: $450,000

Median monthly rent: $1,826

Median household income: $86,309

Climate Vulnerability Index: 13th percentile (lowest vulnerability)

Known for: This capital city has a busy downtown, free museums, and miles of hiking trails. Part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, Raleigh has a long history of fostering technology and science companies, creating a strong local economy.

Population of the metro area: 911,311

Median home price: $424,900

Median monthly rent: $1,950

Median household income: $80,581

Climate Vulnerability Index: 35th percentile (lower vulnerability)

Known for: Second only to New York, Charlotte is a bustling banking hub. Locals can root for the city's professional basketball, football, and soccer teams or soak up the art and food scenes.

Population of the metro area: 72,824

Median home price: $366,500

Median monthly rent: $1,725

Median household income: $73,536

Climate Vulnerability Index: 55th percentile (average vulnerability)

Known for: In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville attracts new residents with its moderate climate, burgeoning food reputation, and natural beauty. Greenville is also home to several major corporations, including Michelin, GE, and Lockheed Martin.

Population of the metro area: 488,664

Median home price: $440,000

Median monthly rent: $1,873

Median household income: $83,215

Climate Vulnerability Index: 34th percentile (average vulnerability)

Known for: The US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center is located in Colorado Springs, making the city especially attractive to athletes. There are hundreds of miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking, and white water rafting is a popular summer activity. From the Garden of the Gods to the iconic Pikes Peak, gorgeous natural sights adorn the area.

Population of the metro area: 235,421

Median home price: $472,500

Median monthly rent: $1,774

Median household income: $79,977

Climate Vulnerability Index: 9th percentile (lowest vulnerability)

Known for: Thousands of new residents flocked to Idaho's capital in the past decade, making it the US's fastest-growing city in 2018. Boise blends sought-after amenities such as microbreweries and cider houses with nearby scenic state parks full of rivers, canyons, and mountains.

Population of the metro area: 19,704

Median home price: $629,500

Median monthly rent: $6,100

Median household income: $135,657

Climate Vulnerability Index: 32nd percentile (lower vulnerability)

Known for: Located on Florida's Gulf Coast, Naples is like a postcard come to life, with white-sand beaches, luxurious residences, and over 1,350 holes of golf. The city has long attracted wealthy residents who can afford the high housing costs. Right now a $295 million compound is up for grabs, the most expensive home for sale in the US.

Sources: Population and income data are from the US Census, median home price from Realtor.com, median rent from Zillow, and climate information from the Climate Vulnerability Index.

This story was originally published on May 15, 2024, and most recently updated on December 4.

Montana's Glacier National Park sprawls over 1,500 miles, encompassing mountains, valleys, and glacial lakes. Even if you've never visited, you might recognize the park's Going-to-the-Sun Road, which was featured in the 1980 movie "The Shining."

Throughout the park, grizzly bears graze on huckleberries. Little rodent-like pikas, lynx, and Harlequin ducks are also adapted to the area's chilly weather.

The park once held 80 glaciers. In 2015, NPS estimated only 26 were left. Satellites have captured the remaining few as they continue to shrink.

Warming temperatures are driving the glaciers' disappearance, which will impact the plants and animals that live there.

For example, mountain goats rely on snow patches to stay cool during the summer. In the winter, the snow helps keep tiny mouse-like rodents, called pikas, insulated from the bitter cold.

Together the Denali National Park and Preserve are larger than New Hampshire, stretching nearly 9,500 square miles of Alaskan terrain. Winter days there are short and cold, with temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The park originally began as a way to protect Dall sheep. Today, an estimated 2,000 big-horned sheep brave the chilly climate. Red foxes, snowshoe hares, and dozens of bird species are also around, in addition to grizzlies, wolves, and moose. Even a small wood frog, the park's only amphibian, can survive the subarctic environment.

In the 1960s, the Pretty Rocks landslide began cracking the road leading to the park. In 2014, the landslide was moving a few inches every year. By 2021, it was moving a few inches per hour. The road is now closed at about its halfway point, cutting off vehicle access to sites like Wonder Lake.

While the annual average temperature of the park was once well below freezing, it's now close to 32 °F, according to NPS. The warmer weather and melting permafrost is making the landslide move more quickly. The road is cut into a rock glacier, "and little bits of climate warming are causing this big kind of slump, and the road is falling off the cliff," said Cassidy Jones, a senior visitation program manager with NPCA.

At Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, visitors can enjoy over 1,300 square miles of trails, trees, foothills, and lakes. Groves of sequoia trees dominate some parts of the landscape, including the famous General Sherman tree towering almost 275 feet high. With its 100-foot circumference, it's one of the largest trees by volume in the world.

Closer to the ground, vivid flora like Evalyn's jewel flower grow and kingsnakes slither. Gophers, skunks, and squirrels scamper about, along with larger mammals like black bears, mule deer, and mountain lions. The parks span a range of habitats, making it a bird-watcher's paradise.

In 2021, lightning struck several areas, igniting what became the KNP Complex Fire. A year earlier, the Castle Fire also ravaged Sequoia National Park. Fires over those two years killed between 8,400 to 12,000 sequoias. Some of the trees were thousands of years old.

Forest fires aren't uncommon, but the sequoias were already vulnerable after a lengthy drought. A combination of low humidity and high temperatures can be a dangerous combination when fires erupt. "Fires have gotten bigger and hotter," Jones said.

Sequoias have long been able to withstand fires, she said. "It tells you something different is going on in terms of just the way the fire is behaving, in the amplification of fire weather," she said.

Covering 3,500 miles, most of it in Wyoming, Yellowstone became the US's first national park in 1872. It's home to Old Faithful, as well as many more geysers and hot springs.

Visitors sometimes have to halt their vehicles for bison crossing the road, and moose, bobcats, badgers, bats, and the many other species that live in the park.

However, warmer temperatures are speeding up snowmelt, changing vegetation, and leading to less water in some areas — all of which will likely force some wildlife to relocate. Every year, pronghorn antelope migrate through the park, a journey that's already risky as they cross over roads and fences. A lack of water and food could alter their path.

A mix of rain and snowmelt caused severe flooding in June 2022. The rushing water damaged roads, structures, and trails. NPS called it an unprecedented, 500-year flood. While the disaster was rare, warmer temperatures are increasing snowmelt and rain is falling instead of snow. Floods could become more common as the climate continues to change.

Along the California-Nevada border, Death Valley draws visitors keen to see the salt flats, sand dunes, and craters. It's 3.4 million acres of wilderness, making it one of the largest national parks in the country. At night, its remote location and aridity make it ideal for stargazing.

The scorching desert climate might not seem hospitable to many kinds of life. Yet jackrabbits, bats, tortoises, and roadrunners have all thrived in the park.

Extreme heat is nothing new for Death Valley. But in recent years, temperatures regularly soar past 125 degrees Fahrenheit in July. Plus, triple-digits can extend into October, and the nights don't get as cool.

The sizzling weather can be dangerous for visitors and residents, and plants and animals have difficulty coping, too. Some animals may start migrating to cooler climates, but some species may not survive. For example, the extremely rare Devils Home pupfish population, found only in Death Valley, has been in decline since the 1990s.

Located in Southern Florida, the Everglades National Park is a patchwork of unique ecosystems, from mangroves to pinelands. With 1.5 million acres of land, it has space for estuaries, giant cypress trees, and marshy rivers.

With so many habitats, a huge range of species create the delicate web of life that is the Everglades. Dozens of species of lizards and snakes scuttle and slither, while ducks, doves, and nighthawks mingle not far from flamingos. River otters and manatees also swim through different parts of the park.

Elevated temperatures, more-intense hurricanes, and rising sea levels are among the challenges the Everglades face. When salty seawater seeps into the park's coastal landscape, it can harm rare tropical orchids and other vegetation that can't cope with increased salinity.

Cape Sable lies at Florida's southwestern tip. Sea levels have risen at an accelerated pace over the last 100 years, according to NPS. Hurricanes and tropical storms have washed seawater into what was once freshwater marshes and lakes. The incursion threatens not only mangrove forests but wildlife like the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, which is only found in this unique habitat.

From the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Mediterranean coast, Spain has a diverse landscape with bustling cities and charming towns in between.

Compared to other European countries, its cost of living is relatively low. Vibrant nightlife, sunny beaches, high-quality healthcare, and a relaxed lifestyle all make Americans' lists of reasons to move to Spain, while some retirees find their money goes further in Spain.

Non-Spanish and non-Catalan speakers may have trouble navigating some parts of the country, and smaller homes, a slower pace, and unfamiliar bureaucracy all take getting used to for some Americans.

Spain offers a yearlong digital nomad visa. Retirees can apply for a non-lucrative visa (or NLV), which allows them to live, but not work, in the country.

GDP: $1.73 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #15

Japan has a population of over 124 million people, and just a tiny fraction of that number are US citizens.

Because the country's population is over 97% Japanese, Americans tend to stick out.

"It was a culture shock to see only one type of ethnicity all around me at all times," Genie Doi, who is Korean-American, recently told BI.

However, Japan's safety, scenery, and quality of life can be huge incentives to move there.

"I was very concerned about gun violence, which is almost nonexistent in Japan," Floridian Alex Evans told BI in 2023. He and his family moved to Mukaishima Island, Japan, in June 2022.

Other US citizens have said some challenges living in the country include a lack of size inclusivity in clothing, difficulties with the language — even with years of study — and the time it takes to travel to other countries from an island nation.

Foreigners who want to live in Japan for six months can apply for a "digital nomad" residence. Those looking to stay even longer can look into visas on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site.

GDP: $4.07 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #4

From 1954's "Sabrina" to "Emily in Paris," Americans' fascination with France has existed for decades.

US citizens who immigrate there rave about everything from the food to the fashion to the art and architecture.

However, at least a few US citizens have found the visa process tricky and had difficulty finding housing.

Particularly in Paris, some Americans said racism is prevalent. Others had trouble making friends or experienced a language barrier if they didn't speak French.

Filling out lots of forms and waiting for answers isn't uncommon. "The bureaucracy is unbelievably frustrating," Rick Jones, who moved to Paris in 2018, told BI in July.

Francophiles hoping to work or attend school can apply for residence cards or student visas.

GDP: $3.17 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #7

Visitors flock to South Korea to revel in the land of K-pop and K-dramas or to experience the food, shopping, museums, and natural wonders.

US citizens who stay longer have touted universal healthcare, a good quality of life, and convenient public transportation as reasons to love Korea. The high-speed trains cover much of the country, making it easy to travel between big cities.

Among the challenges new residents to Korea face are difficulty with the language, high housing prices, finding employment, and the distance from the US.

Moving to South Korea requires a visa, with most requirements involving work, school, or family. Job hunters can stay for six months with the possibility of extending the visa to a year.

GDP: $1.87 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #12

Australia is known for its beautiful beaches and gorgeous weather. For those looking to live there permanently, though, it also boasts a solid economy, good healthcare, childcare stipends, and perks like retirement assistance.

Melbourne and Sydney are among the top 10 most livable cities in the 2024 Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index. The country is also one of the most welcoming of migrants, based on a 2019 Gallup survey.

However, for Americans, it is very far from home. It can take nearly 24 hours to travel from the East Coast of the US to Australia.

Another potential downside is that the country's drier, hotter weather is expected to worsen due to the climate crisis, according to the Australian government.

There are visa options for people who want to call Australia home. However, its immigration laws tend to favor the wealthy, giving preference to individuals with education qualifications, professional experience, and who are English-speaking. The Global Talent Program offers visas to "exceptionally talented and prominent individuals."

GDP: $1.8 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #14

For decades, Germany has been Europe's economic powerhouse. Many American immigrants to the country found job opportunities, reliable public healthcare, affordable childcare, and a generous amount of time off from work.

Weeks of vacation time allowed them the opportunity to travel around Europe. The country shares a border with Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland.

Recently, Germany's economic growth has slowed, the Associated Press reported in 2023. This fall, the government announced tighter border controls and some political analysts are concerned about the re-emergence of far-right politics in recent elections.

Skilled workers can apply for visas and stay for 12 months while looking for a job. The country also recently eased some of its rules around obtaining citizenship, the AP reported in January.

GDP: $4.71 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #3

Over the years, Israel has attracted high-tech startups and wealthy individuals, fueling a luxury real estate boom in some cities.

However, Israel's conflict with Hamas and the continued invasion of Gaza have slowed the inflow of millionaires who no longer consider the country a safe haven, according to one investment migration advisory firm.

While many US citizens move to cities far from the conflicts, others are living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Some have blamed these settlers for increased violence against Palestinians over the past year.

Those wishing to move to Israel need a visa. The country's Law of Return allows those with Jewish parents or grandparents to apply for citizenship.

GDP: $528 billion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #30

Like Canada, the UK is full of native English speakers, which can ease the transition to living in a new country.

The financial website Investopedia found that prescriptions, groceries, and rent are often cheaper in the UK compared to the US, but gas and energy prices can be higher depending on where you live.

Americans living in the UK who spoke with BI have cited its National Health Service, proximity to the rest of Europe, and work-life balance as benefits of their new home.

These perks can offset lower wages and homesickness.

"Despite lower take-home pay, I'm way less stressed," Wales resident Regina Beach told BI in 2023. "The five-weeks paid holiday — that everyone actually takes — certainly helps."

Some potential downsides, which Americans may struggle to adjust to include smaller homes and the rainy weather. The UK's pub culture isn't for everyone, either.

You can apply for work and study visas to start living in the UK. The government's website provides information on settlement, which allows you to live, work, and study there for good.

GDP: $3.59 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #6

The US's neighbor to the north has scenic beauty, vibrant cities, a large English-speaking population, and universal healthcare. These are all attractive reasons for Americans to relocate, though temporary or permanent residency is a little more difficult to attain than in Mexico.

Americans won't necessarily find affordable housing in some of the country's larger cities, like Toronto and Vancouver. But for some, Canada offers a feeling of safety, especially with the US's high rates of gun violence.

Despite the benefits of universal healthcare, some transplants from the US found that there can be long waiting lists for specialists and certain treatments.

While the country does offer paths to becoming a permanent resident or citizen, they're often tied to work or family connections. Skilled workers and entrepreneurs can apply for visas, and relatives can sponsor certain family members so they can live, study, and work in the country.

GDP: $2.21 trillion

Economy ranking based on GDP: #9

Mexico draws many Americans who want to stay close to friends and family while settling in a new country.

The ability to hop across the border to use their Medicare is also important for many retirees, she said.

Housing, groceries, and healthcare are typically less expensive than in the US, though the influx of newcomers is causing rising rents and housing shortages in some areas like Mexico City.

Many US citizens obtain a temporary resident visa that allows them to live in Mexico for up to four years. Retirees looking to stay can apply for a permanent resident visa, which allows them to stay indefinitely.

GDP: $1.85 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Economy ranking based on GDP: #13

Before chemist Claude-Louis Berthollet's realization, the concept that chemical reactions could be reversible wasn't universally accepted.

However, Berthollet found strong evidence to support the idea while studying the salt deposits in the lakes of the Natron Valley.

Natron, a naturally occurring salt, covered the limestone in the lakes. Ancient Egyptians had used the substance to preserve mummified bodies because it absorbed moisture and dissolved fat.

Berthollet observed that the limestone, which contained calcium carbonate, chemically reacted with salt, aka sodium chloride, to produce natron, made of sodium carbonate.

In laboratory conditions, chemists knew that the exact opposite reaction was possible, which led Berthollet to reasonably conclude that chemical reactions were reversible and that heat and different amounts of a substance could determine which way the reaction went.

In Napoleon's time, archaeology wasn't yet a formal science. Most savants had little experience with artifacts. Sand still buried some temples that had yet to be excavated.

Dominique-Vivant Denon, an artist and writer, was awed by the ancient monuments he saw. He went back to France with Napoleon and quickly published a book with his descriptions and drawings, "Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt."

At the time of Napoleon's invasion, travelers had long known of Alexandria, Cairo, and other parts of Lower Egypt. The Great Pyramids and Sphinx were famous. But Upper Egypt wasn't as well known.

That changed when the savants arrived. "The whole army, suddenly and with one accord, stood in amazement... and clapped their hands with delight," Denon later wrote.

His drawings and descriptions of the temples and ruins at Thebes, Esna, Edfu, and Karnak proved immensely popular. Many were depicted in fashionable paintings and inspired decor trends.

Since he'd had to capture everything in short bursts of time, Denon had pushed for two commissions of savants to return and better document the monuments.

Napoleon's architects and engineers made careful drawings and took measurements of a large number of monuments. Others attempted to measure the pyramids. (Napoleon never shot them with cannons, in case you were wondering.)

Just 21 and a botanist by training when he arrived in Egypt, Jules-César Savigny collected invertebrates like worms, bees, spiders, snails, and flies. He also took specimens of starfish, coral, and sea urchins.

When he was back in France, Savigny needed to organize the 1,500 species of insects he'd brought from Egypt. There didn't yet exist a systematic way to distinguish one species of moth or butterfly from another. So Savigny invented one.

Surprisingly, the bugs' mouth parts had sufficient differences to allow Savigny to separate them into species. He pored over the tiny jaws of the insects. He drew over 1,000 images of specimens, some of which were only a centimeter long.

Savigny applied the same rigor to arachnids, worms, and other animals that lacked backbones. Some of his classification methods are still in use today.

Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire was convinced there were two species of crocodiles in the Nile.

Like Savigny, Geoffroy was a prolific collector. While in Egypt, he studied bats, mongooses, tortoises, and more.

One reason Geoffroy was able to dissect and stuff so many specimens was he had purchased an 11-year-old enslaved boy, whom he trained to help with his work.

Geoffroy closely examined so many different kinds of animals that he started to see patterns between even very different species. It led to his theory of a "unity of plan" or "unity of composition" a kind of quasi-evolutionary idea that Charles Darwin would reference decades later.

Geoffroy's theories often irritated his fellow naturalists. That includes when he attempted to demonstrate a mummified crocodile he'd taken from Egypt represented a separate species.

Its jaw was completely different from the Nile crocodile, Geoffroy said. Plus, it was less aggressive. One had even been on display in Paris. "It took pleasure in being patted; and anyone might, without the least danger, open its mouth, and place his hand between its teeth," according to one account.

His colleagues didn't believe him. However, over 200 years later, biologist Evon Hekkala and a team of researchers analyzed the DNA of modern crocodiles and some of Geoffroy's mummies to confirm his suspicions. Indeed, they showed two separate species swam in the Nile: Crocodylus niloticus and Crocodylus suchus.

The French physicians who accompanied Napoleon encountered unfamiliar illnesses in Egpyt. One disease that traveled with them back to Europe was something they called Egyptian ophthalmia. Now known as trachoma, it can cause itchy, swollen eyes and lead to blindness.

It became so prevalent that physicians all over Europe started studying the disease. Geoffroy, who contracted it, was "totally blind" for weeks, he wrote.

Up to that point, ophthalmology wasn't a formalized branch of scientific research, but the race to find the origin of this disease laid the groundwork for its creation.

Eventually, British physician John Vetch realized the pus from an infected eye could spread the disease. Knowing it was contagious, Vetch developed methods of prevention and treatment that are considered milestones in the history of ophthalmology.

For centuries, no one could read hieroglyphs, the pictorial writing that covered many Egyptian monuments.

When the French found the Rosetta Stone during their invasion, they knew it could serve as a kind of translation key.

Deciphering hieroglyphs would allow scholars to read the writing on scores of other Ancient Egyptian texts and monuments.

In 1801, the British were negotiating for France's surrender. One stipulation was that the British would take the antiquities and the savants' collections, which included the Rosetta Stone.

Geoffroy told the British that the savants would "destroy our property, we will disperse it in the Libyan sands, or we will throw it into the sea" before they handed it over. They were allowed to keep their notes and collections. But not the slab.

Three texts were inscribed on the stone in Egyptian hieroglyphs, an Egyptian cursive script derived from hieroglyphs, and Ancient Greek. Since the three were identical, the Greek writing could help researchers decipher the hieroglyphs.

It took two decades for French scholar Jean-François Champollion to translate them. Champollion made use of a copy the French savants had taken of the slab and published.

The Rosetta Stone is currently in the British Museum. Egypt has been trying to get it back, calling it a "spoil of war."

When the savants returned to France, many worked on compiling the multi-volume book "Description de l'Égypte," which amounted to 7,000 pages encompassing what they'd seen and studied in Egypt.

To save some of the laborious work of engraving, engineer Nicolas-Jacques Conté created a machine that automated part of the process.

To print the hundreds of illustrations, engravers first had to transfer them to copper plates.

For plates with monuments, Conté's machine could engrave the sky in the background. The engraver could program it to create clouds as well.

What originally would've taken six to eight months could be completed in just a few days.

It was still a massive undertaking and considered to be the most ambitious work of France in the early 19th Century. The first volume wasn't printed until 1809. The final volume came out in the late 1820s, nearly a decade after Napoloen's death.

Many savants were tasked with documenting the natural history of Egypt. Mining engineer François-Michel de Rozière had the difficult job of describing the country's rocks and minerals.

Decades before Napoleon's invasion, many naturalists started adopting Carl Linnaeus' two-word system for naming plants and animals. But rocks and minerals lacked a similar widely accepted language.

To accurately capture the nuances of the granite or shells he saw, Rozière painstakingly described their textures, layers, and colors. One description referenced "transparent quartz, yellowish feldspath, and black schist."

He also understood the importance of including illustrations of the rocks, which made them much easier for other savants to identify. In the Description de l'Egypte, his fifteen plates contained over 100 colorful illustrations of porphyry, basalt, and other rocks and fossils.

Though Napoleon didn't use the geological knowledge his savants gathered in Egypt, some argue that his invasion spurred the creation of military geology. Soon, scientists were surveying unfamiliar terrain during campaigns and using their knowledge for engineering projects.

In the midst of his work on the Rosetta Stone, Champollion decried the removal of another piece of Ancient Egyptian history from the country.

During a quick visit to the Dendera temple, Denon had sketched the ceiling, where Ancient Egyptians had carved zodiac signs, Egyptian constellations, and other figures into the stone. Other engineers made more detailed drawings of the intricate design.

In 1821, a French expedition dynamited part of the temple and took the zodiac ceiling to France. Champollion worried the removal of the zodiac would lead to the "complete destruction" of the rest of the ceiling and stripped the artifact of important context.

French scholars debated whether they could use depicted features like eclipses to date its creation. At the time, no one knew exactly how far back in time human history stretched. Some estimated the zodiac was older than 5,000 years BCE. Others suggested more recent dates such as 800 BCE. Champollion thought deciphering hieroglyphics would offer a more reliable dating method than an interpretation of the ancient sky.

More recent dating techniques put the Dendera zodiac at around 50 BCE, around Cleopatra's era. One researcher called it "the only complete map that we have of an ancient sky" from that era. It remains in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

This story was originally published on December 2, 2023, and most recently updated on November 14, 2024.

About 190 miles east of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, lies the island of Great Abaco.

"The really dramatic thing about The Bahamas in general, and Abaco in particular, is how much the land area changes during ice ages," Steadman said.

Thousands of years ago, Abaco was 10 times as big as today, but as sea levels rose following the last Ice Age, water flooded the island, shrinking its shores.

Abaco is made of limestone. So when the island floods, groundwater flows through the porous rock, causing caves to collapse into sinkholes, which then fill with water forming blue holes — like Sawmill Sink.

Sawmill Sink dips 150 feet below sea level and has a vast network of underground passages that extend for miles.

In 2005, diver Brian Kakuk descended into some of those passages and spotted a wealth of bones that opened a door to the island's ancient past.

Some of the bones belonged to tortoises and crocodiles. These animals no longer live on Abaco, so their bones offer a peek into a vastly different time.

What makes Sawmill Sink unique is how well it's preserved the island's natural history.

"The conditions there are in part what saved this site from being either looted or somehow vandalized through time because it was just too difficult a place for cave divers to get access," Steadman said.

It's dark with narrow crevices and passages in the limestone that are a tight fit for anyone to shimmy through. There are stalactites and stalagmites from when the cave was above the water, with ribbony helictites and hollow tubes known as soda straws jutting out from the walls.

At the hole's surface, a float of freshwater extends down 30 feet. Below that lies 20 feet of a toxic brew of hydrogen sulfide and freshwater that stinks of rotten eggs and burns the skin.

Under the opaque and corrosive layer was saltwater, devoid of oxygen and UV light, just right for preserving the fossils.

Kakuk, an experienced diver, made sure his skin was covered and used scuba equipment like rebreathers to safely navigate the dangers.

Once Kakuk found the bones, he got in touch with geologist Nancy Albury.

Albury was a cave diver, too. Her interest in caving and background in geology helped her quickly realize how special Sawmill Sink was.

One of the first blue hole fossils Albury saw was a tortoise that turned out to be of an unknown species, Chelonoidis alburyorum, that's now extinct.

It's pretty clear how their remains ended up in the blue hole. "If something like a tortoise fell in, it would be a one-way trip," Steadman said.

The hole's vertical walls would be impossible for the animal to climb out of.

The experts dated the crocodile and tortoise fossils to between 1,000 and 5,000 years old, after the sinkhole flooded.

Below these fossils were more bones that showed Abaco's rich wildlife before it sank beneath the sea.

Back when sea levels were lower thousands of years ago, Sawmill Sink was a dry, cave-like sinkhole where a rich, diverse collection of animals lived from roosting barn owls to crocodiles.

Many of these animals were present as far back as 15,000 years ago. With the fossils, the scientists could see which animals adapted to the climate shifts during the Ice Age.

Many of the blue hole's fossilized animals are now extinct on the island.

As scientists sifted through the bones from the sinkhole, they started to find patterns in when the animals disappeared.

They learned that 17 bird species didn't survive the rising sea levels 10,000 years ago.

But other bird species, along with reptiles and mammals did survive until about 1,000 years ago when humans landed on the island and wiped them out.

The Lucayan people, part of the Taíno culture, may have arrived on Great Abaco from Hispaniola and Jamaica as early as 720 CE.

Archaeological evidence suggests that these new residents ate the large tortoises that lived on the land.

The hutia, a rodent similar to the capybara but smaller, was another common food source. Like the tortoise, it disappeared from Abaco.

Even animals that humans may not have eaten were affected by their presence.

One species of bird, the Bahaman caracara, went extinct, probably because its diet was similar to the humans' and there was too much competition. Additionally, some bats died out when residents started clearing their habitats.

At the same time, humans might not have been at the top of the island's food chain.

"The crocodiles, we know, were stalking the tortoises," Albury said, "possibly the humans as well."

This species, the Cuban crocodile, is now critically endangered, with only a small population left in Cuba.

"They're very aggressive, very smart crocodiles," Albury said. Unlike some species, they live in freshwater and hunt on land.

"It would've made it a pretty interesting place in The Bahamas at one time," Albury said.

Eventually, the crocodiles disappeared from the island. The Lacayan people did, too, after Christopher Columbus mistakenly found his way to The Bahamas.

For years, Albury, Steadman, Kakuk, and others were involved in a long campaign to turn Abaco Island's blue holes into an underwater national park.

Development and pollution threatened the sinkholes, which had remained undisturbed for so long.

The goal was two-fold: to keep the blue holes' environment stable to preserve the fossils and keep the source of freshwater pristine, Steadman said.

Albury started curating a branch of the National Museum of The Bahamas/Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation on Abacao to help store the group's growing collection of fossils.

The museum opened in January 2018, with exhibits on the blue holes, the island's wildlife, and the Lacayan people.

By September 2019, the museum was completely destroyed.

In early September 2019, Hurricane Dorian stalled over The Bahamas, killing dozens of people and destroying thousands of homes.

It was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic.

"Our house blew up with us in it," Albury said. "Literally, the roof exploded with us sitting there."

The museum she had spent years curating was destroyed, too. Walls had toppled, and water had flooded the museum and Albury's lab.

"It was the first and only natural history museum in The Bahamas, and two years later it was gone, just destroyed," she said.

About a week after the storm, Steadman came to the island to help Albury and Kakuk assess what remained of the museum's collection.

"We scraped up and collected all that we could collect," Albury said.

"It was still really hot and wet and stormy," Steadman said — not exactly an ideal environment for fragile fossils.

"All day long you're dealing with trying to recover the collections, and then in the evening, you're just trying to live and get by and figure out what you're going to do next," Albury said.

There was no running water or electricity. Albury had lost her home, her clothing, and any place to cook or store food and water.

Fortunately, she found her catalog of the collection, which she'd stored in plastic bags and boxes. Most of her electronic backups were destroyed, but a company managed to recover her photographs of the fossils from a water-logged hard drive.

These records helped them figure out what they still had and what was missing. Amazingly, much of the collection survived, between 80% and 90%, according to Albury's estimates.

Steadman packed up bins of fossils and took them to the University of Florida's climate-controlled storage.

In the five years since Hurricane Dorian, the island's infrastructure has taken a long time to recover.

Albury and her husband have only recently finished rebuilding their marina business, but she has no plans to reopen the museum.

"I'm approaching 70 in a couple of months, and I am tired," she said.

Neither she nor Kakuk dives at Sawmill Sink anymore. Plans to turn the blue holes into a national park, too, have stalled.

"People have bigger fish to fry, just surviving and getting their lives back together," Steadman said, though he's hopeful that as conditions improve on Abaco the government will start looking into the proposal again.

And there's plenty more to be found in the blue holes. "Each little piece tells you more of the story," Albury said.

She thinks the research should continue, even though she and Steadman are both retired.

"It was a great story, and it still is, and there's still more to be told about it, I think," she said.

Prior to rocking out and pretending to be Mr. Schneebly in "School of Rock," Jack Black already had an impressive career.

He'd been acting since 1984 and was known for films like "The Cable Guy" (1996), "High Fidelity" (2000), "Orange County" (2002), and "Ice Age" (2002).

The actor also starred on HBO's "Tenacious D," which chronicled a fictionalized version of his rock duo with Kyle Gass.

After "School of Rock," Black went on to star in major films like "King Kong" (2005), "Nacho Libre" (2006), "Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny" (2006), "The Holiday" (2006), "Tropic Thunder" (2008), the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, and the "Jumanji" reboots.

He's also made several TV appearances on shows like Fox's "The Simpsons," Nickelodeon's "iCarly," and HBO's "The Brink." 

Outside of acting, Black and Gass have released several Tenacious D albums and videos. The duo recently suspended their 2024 tour after Gass joked about an attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

In 2023 alone, Black appeared in Hulu's "History of the World: Part II," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and Disney+'s "The Mandalorian." 

In March, Black told Ireland's JOE he'd love to work on a "School of Rock" sequel but said that the original screenplay's writer, Mike White, might be too busy with his huge hit "The White Lotus."

Miranda Cosgrove played the precocious band manager Summer Hathaway in "School of Rock."

Her only acting credit before the film was a brief appearance on The WB's "Smallville."

After the movie, Cosgrove landed a leading role on Nickelodeon's "Drake and Josh" before starring on the network's "iCarly." 

She's also worked on movies like "Yours, Mine and Ours" (2005), the "Despicable Me" franchise, "3022" (2019), and "North Hollywood" (2021). 

Cosgrove has released albums and singles in between acting roles as well. 

The actor reprised her starring role in the recently canceled Paramount+ "iCarly" revival series and was a lead alongside Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt in Netflix's "Mother of the Bride" (2024).

Joey Gaydos Jr. played Zack Mooneyham, a shy student who's coaxed out of his shell to play guitar for the band. 

This was his only acting role. He went on to release a self-titled rock album in 2004.

He has also had a few legal troubles over the years. 

In 2009, Gaydos was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence at 17 years old. In 2019, he was arrested after he was accused of stealing several guitars in the state of Florida, authorities said at the time. 

He still makes music and released a few EPs in 2020, including "Dogtopia" and "Calm Weather." He regularly posts videos of himself playing guitar on Instagram.

Robert Tsai played Lawrence, the band's demure yet talented pianist.

"School of Rock" was Tsai's only acting credit.

After the film, he went on to study at Dartmouth College where he continued performing as a pianist.

Rivkah Reyes' first acting role was as bassist Katie in the film. They landed the role after playing classical bass on an episode of NPR's "From the Top."

Since "School of Rock," the actor has been open about experiencing the negative effects of child stardom. In a 2020 Medium article, they wrote about developing an eating disorder; turning to drugs, alcohol, sex, and self-harm; and attempting suicide. 

They said they entered recovery for alcoholism and addiction in 2018. 

After taking a hiatus from acting, Reyes moved to LA and started working for a skincare company while performing gigs. They also traveled as a stand-up comedian and competed on NBC's "Bring the Funny."

The actor went on to appear in several movies, including "Bad Animal" (2021), Lifetime's "A Picture Perfect Holiday" (2021), and "A Holiday I Do" (2023).

In recent years, Reyes hosted a podcast where they interviewed former child stars, gained a following on TikTok, and performed live play readings with Acting for a Cause.

Their latest acting credit was an episode of the OUTtv series "Off Shoot"  (2024). Reyes also continues to perform music and recently released a single titled "another vice."

Kevin Clark played Freddy Jones, a rebellious student who played drums for the band. 

"School of Rock" was Clark's only acting credit. 

After filming the movie, he pursued a full-time music career and drummed for Chicago-based bands Dreadwolf and Jess Bess and the Intentions. 

He also taught students at a local "School of Rock" location, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In 2021, Clark died at 32 after a driver hit him while he was riding his bike.

Costar Reyes recalled that Clark suggested the film's ending, with the band losing the contest but winning over the audience and getting to play an encore.  

Aleisha Allen played Alicia, one of the band's singers.

Before lending her vocals for the film, the actor voiced Sidetable Drawer on Nick Jr.'s "Blue's Clues." She also appeared in "The Best Man" (1999). 

After "School of Rock," Allen starred alongside Ice Cube in the family comedies "Are We There Yet" (2005) and "Are We Done Yet" (2007), and she appeared in "Young Adult" (2011).

Her last acting credit on IMDb is "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You" (2012).

In a shift from her acting career, Allen attended Pace University and Columbia University, and she's now a speech-language pathologist.

Maryam Hassan played Tomika, another one of the band's singers who surprised everyone with her powerful voice. 

Like many of the young stars, "School of Rock" was her only acting role. 

Since then, she's been working as a singer under the name Mayhrenate. Her latest song, from 2022, is called "Feel a Way."

In 2021, Hassan told Vulture that over a dozen members of the cast remained close.

"We have a group chat," she said. "We keep in touch pretty frequently and drop in our projects. I drop my music in, Miranda drops her acting projects in, stuff like that. Others have left the industry and talk about their families."

Caitlin Hale played Marta, the band's third singer. 

Hale voiced a character on two episodes of "Blue's Clues" before joining "School of Rock."

After the film, she left Hollywood and became a registered diagnostic medical sonographer and an OB-GYN ultrasound technologist.

Hale is also currently dating her "School of Rock" costar Angelo Massagli.

Brian Falduto played Billy, the fashion-forward costume designer for the band. 

"School of Rock" is one of the young actor's only credits on IMDb. After the role, Falduto said he was in denial about his sexuality. "I didn't come out until my senior year of college," he said on the "Cooper and Anthony Radio Show" in 2021.

He pursued degrees in theatre performance and arts administration at Wagner College before landing a number of off-Broadway and regional theater roles. 

He also launched a career as a country musician, releasing an EP in 2017 and an album in 2018. His most recent single, "Same Old Country Love Song," came out in 2023. Earlier this year, he covered Dolly Parton's "Why'd You Come Here Lookin' Like That." 

Outside of performing, Falduto is a life coach, primarily for LGBTQ+ individuals. He launched a podcast, The Gay Men's Self-Help Book Club, and The Gay Men's Mindfulness Collective.

He was also the first guest on Reyes' "Where Are We Now" podcast in 2021.

Cole Hawkins played Leonard in the movie, one of the students in the class. 

Before "School of Rock," he appeared in "Big Daddy" (1999), "Meet the Parents" (2000), and "Kate and Leopold" (2001).

But he wasn't a musician. "The only thing that they had taught us to play in a New York City public school was a recorder, so I faked it," he told Rolling Stone in 2023.

Hawkins went on to appear in NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie" (2005), and "The Water is Wide" (2006).

His last acting credit on IMDb was in 2006 on NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

Angelo Massagli played Frankie, another student in the class. 

Before "School of Rock," the young actor had a few film and TV credits, including CBS' "Cosby" and "Stuart Little 2" (2002). 

Between 2002 and 2007, he played Bobby Baccalieri Jr. on HBO's "The Sopranos." 

Massagli graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 2019 and works as a music product counsel for TikTok, according to his LinkedIn page. He is dating his "School of Rock" costar, Hale.

Before filming "School of Rock," Joan Cusack was well known for blockbusters like  "Addams Family Values" (1993), "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997), "Runaway Bride" (1999), and "Toy Story 2" (1999).

She also acted in "Working Girl" (1988) and "In and Out" (1997), both of which earned her Academy Award nominations for best supporting actress. 

On TV, Cusack had roles on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and ABC's "What About Joan?" before joining the cast of "School of Rock."

After the movie, she continued to star in family films like "Ice Princess" (2005), "Chicken Little" (2005), "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" (2008), the "Toy Story" sequels, and "Klaus" (2019). 

She also went on to roles in "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009), "My Sister's Keeper" (2009), "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012), "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" (2016), and "Instant Family" (2018).

Cusack also continued her TV career on Showtime's "Shameless," Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," and, most recently, Amazon Prime's "Homecoming" in 2020.

Mike White played Ned Schneebly, the friend and teacher that Dewey impersonates throughout the movie. He also wrote the film's screenplay.

Prior to "School of Rock," he wrote and appeared in movies like "Chuck and Buck" (2000) and "Orange County" (2002). 

Since the film, White has been a writer for several movies, including "Nacho Libre" (2006), "Pitch Perfect 3" (2017), and "Despicable Me 4" (2024).

He's also written for several TV series throughout his career, such as The WB's "Dawson's Creek," NBC's "Freaks and Geeks," HBO's "Enlightened" (which he also acted in), and Nickelodeon's "School of Rock" series. 

White recently won several Emmy Awards for his HBO series "The White Lotus."

Sarah Silverman played Patty Di Marco, Ned's responsible girlfriend. 

The comedic actor got her start writing and performing on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1990s before landing roles in films like "There's Something About Mary" (1998), "The Bachelor" (1999), and "Heartbreakers" (2001).

After "School of Rock," Silverman continued to work on TV, starring on Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program" and voicing characters on Fox's "Bob's Burgers."

She also worked on "Rent" (2005), "The Muppets" (2011), "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012), "A Million Ways to Die in the West" (2014), "Battle of the Sexes" (2017), "Space Jam: A New Legacy" (2021), and "Marry Me" (2022). 

Most recently, she returned to her cartoon role in "The Bob's Burgers Movie" (2022), starred in "Menorah in the Middle" (2022), and appeared in the 2023 Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro." 

This story was originally published on May 22, 2021, and most recently updated on November 19, 2024.