One of the most poisonous plants ofAsia, the pong pong—or suicide tree—is getting its 15 minutes of fame in the West thanks to the disturbing finale of the third season ofMike White’s acclaimed comedy-dramaThe White Lotus (aired April 6). While Hollywood is known for taking creative liberties with scientific topics, little elaboration was needed to capture the pong pong’s swift lethality. It really can kill a person (or several people), depending on the dose.

As theNCAA basketball tournament came to an end earlier this week, so too did ourMarch Madness Mascot Challenge. And althoughthe Florida Gators took homethe title on the men’s side and theUConn Huskies were victorious on the women’s side, the results of our challenge didn’t include either of them. After more than 2,800 votes, the winner of the2025 March Madness Mascot Challenge was the MichiganWolverines, followed by the ArizonaWildcats and the MarylandTerrapins. Thank you to everyone who cast a vote.

Encyclopædia Britannica is proud to announce that our video “How are sports chosen for the Olympics?” is a finalist in this year’sWebby Awards—and voting is now open, running through April 17. You can help put us over the top byvisiting this page and casting your vote.