A History of Shoe-Tossing: Why Do People Throw Shoes Over Power Lines?

April 24, 2021

Three pairs of shoes hang from power lines near 19th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via G...

The History of the Word "Okay/OK" And Why The World Uses It

March 23, 2021

Chou "An" Chun-An makes an "okay" sign with his hand at the League of Legends World Championship in San Francisco. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games via G...

How Time Travel Works, Theoretically, In Less Than 1000 Words

March 16, 2021

Simulation of two black holes colliding. (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes/Wikimedia Commons) Science-fiction writers and readers have dreamed about traveling...

H.B. Reese, Inventor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Worked At Hershey's First

March 9, 2021

Candy has a bit of a complicated history to it because a lot of the same people were doing the same things at around the same time and you can ...

The Culper Ring: George Washington's Real Secret Spy Organization

March 2, 2021

George Washington may be one of the Founding Fathers of America, but he's also the first member of the U.S. government to take America into the spy game. I...

Brassicas That Come From The Same Plant: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprout...

February 26, 2021

Woman holding seed tray of black kale plant seedlings. (Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) You may have heard t...

Black Day: South Korea's Anti-Valentine's Day Where Singles Gather In Black And Eat Together

February 14, 2021

Are you single and tired of the empty calories, cartoon hearts, and permanent glitter that bombard your senses every Valent...

Human Evolution: Things You Didn't Know About How We Evolved

February 6, 2021

The size and shape of the skull changed over time. The leftmost, and largest, is a replica of a modern human skull. (Carolyn WIlczynski/Wikimedia Commons) M...

Supernatural Laws: Real World Policies And Laws To Protect Against Witches And Other Mystical Cre...

February 2, 2021

A tongue-in-cheek sign warning of Bigfoot crossings on Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado. (Gnashes30/Wikimedia Commons) ...

Do Ghosts Exist? History May Say Yes. Here's Why Apparitions Are Likely 'Real'

October 29, 2020

What happens after we die? It's a question that's haunted humanity since we became aware of the concept of death, with answers ranging fr...

History Of The Curfew: Etymology, Brief History, And How It Involved Fire

June 3, 2020

British paratroopers enforce curfew in Tel Aviv after King David Hotel bombing, July 1946. (Hans Pinn/Wikimedia Commons) In response to the rec...

Elizabeth Báthory: The West's Most Legendary Serial Killer

May 15, 2020

One of the most prolific alleged serial killers who's ever lived, Elizabeth Báthory, had the perks of timing and aristocracy on her side. This Hungarian nob...

Cultural PTSD: How Societal Trauma Drastically Changed Older Generations

April 14, 2020

Every generation has its defining moments. It can be war, famine, illness, or a combination of these things that shocks a group of people and drasti...

Gas Mask Island: Inside The Place Where Residents Are Required To Carry At All Times

April 7, 2020

For the most part, the island of Miyake-jima is like many of the beautiful enclaves of Japan. Its flora and fauna are awe-inspiring, and...

Why The Past Smelled Absolutely Horrible

March 19, 2020

It's time to face facts: People are disgusting. It's not that you're a lazy or unhygienic person, it's just that the human body is a cesspool and there's nothing to be done about i...

Loofah Quiz

February 22, 2020

Newsflash: Loofahs aren't harvested from the bottom of the ocean like some kind of sea sponge. They're actually grown in giant, cucumber-like pods. Once they're dried and peeled and the porous webbing is remov...

Loofahs Are Actually Gourds? You Can Eat The 'Luffa' Plant Like A Cucumber

February 22, 2020

If you've been scrubbing up with a loofah, not one of those things that you buy in the discount aisle that's made from an unknown synthetic substa...