It has been said that Britain and America are two countries forever divided by a common language. It should also be said that neither Britain nor America are actually countries; but you know the saying refers to the U.K. and the U.S. Differences in the meanings of words in British English and American English can cause confusion on both sides of the pond, so Bigstock blog posted a helpful list of twenty words that you should learn. For example, if you are in England and you want American potato chips, ask for potato crisps. If you say chips, you'll be given fries. If you ask for a biscuit, don't put gravy on it, because it will be a cookie. What others would you add? -via the Presurfer

The controversy over the debt ceiling is related to, but not the same as, the federal budget and government shutdown. The concept was created 115 years ago, and a look into the history of U.S. government debt can give you a better idea of what it's all about.

Writer Mike Duncan and illustrator Jason Novak put the short version into cartoon form, which makes it much easier to get through. In the small portion shown here, most Americans of a certain age would recognize President Lyndon Johnson even without the hat because of his colorful language, but relevant figures are labeled anyway, because the timeline starts at the beginning of the Spanish-American War. -via Digg

On the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, cave tombs were cut into the rocky hills around 5,000 years ago by the Ozieri people. The nickname "house of fairies" is modern nickname; they are officially named Domus de Janas, derived from the Roman goddess Diana. The 2,000 tombs come on all sizes.

Although now mainly used by shepherds as sheep pens, the caves cut into the rock faces of the mountains were once sealed and elaborately adorned with red paint and bulls’ heads, representing male fertility and regeneration. Vague outlines of horns and spirals still remain on the walls of some of the Domus, although the reuse of the tombs for burials into Roman times and the Middles Ages has left few of the original sites undisturbed.

See more pictures, including an interior view, at Atlas Obscura. Link

(Image credit: Wikipedia member Giovanni Seu)