By Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU German home prices will fall more than previously thought this year and next as

Amouranth will make her boxing debut at Spanish streaming star Ibai Llanos' La Velada del Ano 3 event this summer

Fans of The Simpsons have been left baffled by the revelation that the creator Matt Groening named the characters after his real-life relatives. Groening is an American cartoonist who famously created the iconic TV series in 1989, which follows the antics of the Simpson family – husband and wife, Homer and Marge, and their three children, Bart, Lisa and Maggie – and other residents of Springfield. The long-running show is much-loved by a loyal fanbase, but it appears some have only just realised Groening’s inspiration for the famous yellow characters came from very close to home. On X/Twitter, one fan seemed to stumble upon the revelation when having a browse on Groening’s Wikipedia page. The page revealed that Groening’s younger sisters are named Lisa and Maggie, his mother is named Margaret (aka Marge) and his father’s name is Homer. Groening also has an older sister named Patty – the same name as one of Marge’s twin sisters in the show. They wrote: “Can't believe I never knew the names of Matt Groening's family members.” One fan commented on the fact Groening appears to have another older brother named Mark, writing: “Looking this over again, Mark got kind of screwed on the deal.” Another asked: “Matt Groening's self-insert was Bart???” Season 35 of The Simpsons is expected to air on 1 October 2023. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A natural phenomenon consisting of polka-dot-style formations has been cropping up around the world, and scientists are baffled as to why. The circular-shaped patches of ground have been seen in deserts in Australia and Namibia but now experts believe they are more widespread than originally thought. Known as “fairy circles”, there are now 263 known sites across the globe where they can be found, according to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). They have been documented in 15 countries, across three continents, including the Sahel region of Africa, Madagascar, and in Middle-West Asia. And yet, despite the spread of these anomalies, scientists are still none the wiser about how they actually form. A team led by environmental scientist Emilio Guirado, of the University of Alicante in Spain, explained in their paper on the "intriguing" phenomenon: “We conducted a global and systematic assessment of fairy circle-like vegetation patterns and discovered hundreds of [fairy-circle]-like locations on three continents. “Our study provides insights into the ecology and biogeography of these fascinating vegetation patterns and the first atlas of their global distribution.” The mysterious circles appear in desert regions and can be as wide as 12 metres (39 feet) in diameter. They are almost always spaced out and rarely connect or overlap with one another. Several theories have been put forward as to what causes them, including, tiny insects, termites, and plant toxins. But, none have been accompanied by any significant evidence and some have been debunked completely. One significant factor limiting their study is they are often found in places that are difficult to access and are inhospitable. Locating the 263 different sites of “fairy circles” involved analysing high-resolution satellite imagery. Guirado and his team wrote in their paper: “[The sites] include those already identified in Namibia and Western Australia, as well as areas never described before, including the Sahel, Western Sahara, Horn of Africa, Madagascar, Southwest Asia, or Central and Southwest Australia. “By doing so, our study provides a global atlas of areas showing FC-like vegetation patterns and expands the known existence of this vegetation type to new countries and continents.” The team hopes that locating new sites will enable them to find common traits that may point towards their cause. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was accused of inappropriately touching women by grabbing their breasts without their consent

Investors in mainland China appear unconvinced that a rebound in Hong Kong’s shares can sustain, underscoring doubts on

The possible showdown between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg will be streamed on X, formerly known as Twitter, according to Musk.

Fox News sent Tucker Carlson a “cease-and-desist” letter over his new Twitter series, Axios reported Monday, amid reports of a contract battle between the conservative network and its former prime-time host

A police official in Honduras says a riot at a women's prison northwest of the Honduran capital has killed at least 41 women, most of them burned to to death

The EU's milestone legislation, known as the Digital Services Act, demands digital giants crack down on...

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 31, 2023--

TL;DR: The Microsoft Office Professional for Windows 2021 and Premium Microsoft Office Training Bundle is