3 Halloween Candy Origins
How the stuff you steal out of your kid’s treat bag came to be. Here are 3 Halloween candy origins.
Weird, Wonderful World
3 of the World’s Most Spooktacular Bars
Are you looking for a ghoulish watering hole to spend Halloween? Here are 3 spooktacular bars.
Impossible Questions: Canned-Do Spirit (Answer)
It sounds easy enough but of course, the answer isn’t quite so simple. That’s because if you buy canned pumpkin this time of year to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, or other baked goods, in all likelihood, you aren’t buying a can of soft, cooked pumpkin at all.
Ask Uncle John Anything: Blue By You
Where does the phrase “blue haired ladies” or “blue hairs” to describe prim and proper older woman come from?
No, you weren’t born so late that you missed a time period in which senior citizens dyed their hair strange, shocking, or unnatural characters like they were punk rockers or Marge Simpson. From the 1930s through to about the mid-1970s (or so), it was common to see women with silver hair streaked or dotted with blue.
Ask Uncle John Anything: Nailed It
The purpose of our fingers and toes is fairly self-evident: the better differentiation of digits makes for better dexterity. This allows us to grasp small objects, or climb and walk, respectively. But why do we have these hard little disks on top of all of our digits? Surely there has to be more of a reason beyond painting them so we can show off our “nail art” on Instagram.
Some Weird European Beers
Keep these strange brews in mind when you get bored with all that pumpkin ale you’ve been drinking this season.
Here’s Why Americans Love Pumpkin-Flavored Things
It started with the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Now, it seems like everything is pumpkin-kissed this time of year.
Fake It Until You Make It
Backpacking through foreign lands has long been a right-of-passage for graduates. But instead of doing that, a Dutch student pretended like she did…to see if anyone could tell.
Let’s Get Wild (With Some Wild Rice Facts)
How wild are these facts about wild rice? Pretty wild! Okay, they’re not that wild, but they are pretty interesting.
A Virtual Vacation
In Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger took a virtual trip to Mars that nearly destroyed his brain. Now you can do the same, through Marriott’s virtual vacation.
Scandal at Ben & Jerry’s!
In February, Ben & Jerry introduced a line of “core” ice creams, in which a pillar of fudge, chocolate, or jam runs through the middle of a carton of frozen dessert. The “Hazed & Confused” variety combined hazelnut (the “haze”) and chocolate ice creams with a core of Nutella-like fudge.
A Few Festive Oktoberfest Factoids
It’s everybody’s beer-soaked holiday! (Next to Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day.) Here are some Oktoberfest facts to share after clinking your beer steins.
The Atomic Amusement Park
Like most theme parks, Wunderland Kalkar features lots of fun attractions and rides. Unlike the average Six Flags, however, it’s located on the grounds of what was once a nuclear power plant.
The Weirdest Japanese Fast Food
The U.S. invented fast food, but Japan has taken things to another level—a very strange level.
3 Fictional Cafes That Became Real
Have you ever wanted to visit the places where some of your favorite characters have grabbed a bite to eat or once sliced off an alien’s arm with a lightsaber? Now you can!
Jellies and Jams and Marmalades and Preserves and Butters and…
It’s almost time for the fall harvest here at BRI headquarters, and there is so much fruit around these parts that there’s only one way to keep it all: make it into jam! Or jelly. Or preserves. Or fruit butters. Now we’re confused. What’s the difference between all of those anyway?
ROBOTICA Invasion: Cruising With the Booze Bots
This November, the maiden voyage of the Quantum of the Seas will revolutionize the way that vacationers journey across the oceans. The ship features a sleek lounge with robotic bartenders.
3 Ways to Hack Your Coffee
As the temperatures start dropping and the stresses of the season start to rise, you’re going to need all the energy you can get. When the line at Starbucks is too long and a cup of Folgers just isn’t going to do the trick, keep these handy-dandy coffee hacks at the ready.
