How a voting dispute created France's National Assembly

A fight over voting rules helped create a revolutionary government

France's Estates-General became stuck over a basic question: should each social group get one vote, or should every representative get a vote? The Third Estate responded by declaring itself the National Assembly and refusing to leave until France had a constitution. A fight over voting rules became a fight over who had the right to govern.

Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage despite voters’ opposition

In a 2018 referendum, voters opposed same-sex marriage. Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that the marriage laws violated the Constitution and required lawmakers to act. Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019, becoming the first country in Asia to do so.

Neptune has violent storms despite receiving almost no sunlight

~1/900 of Earth's sunlight

Neptune receives only about one nine-hundredth as much sunlight as Earth, yet its atmosphere contains enormous storms and some of the fastest winds measured in the Solar System. Heat escaping from the planet's interior helps drive its weather. Neptune demonstrates that sunlight is not the only energy source capable of powering a turbulent atmosphere.

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How a voting dispute created France's National Assembly

A fight over voting rules helped create a revolutionary government

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