Toilets: Is there anything they can’t do? New York Harbor doesn’t exactly have the reputation of being the cleanest body of water in the world. It borders the overpopulated, smoggy, Big Apple, and for decades has been besieged by pollutants and poor sewage management. You wouldn’t find much fish in there today, but even if […]
The holiday honoring your parents’ parents falls on September 10. Here’s a look at some older folks who’ve made the news in some very quirky ways. Model Grandpa The fashion designer known professionally as Ms. Lv is a top up-and-comer in Chinese haute couture. But sales and attention really started growing after Ms. Lv’s fashion […]
College: home of higher education, world-class research…and fraternities
The new fall TV season is about to start, and while there will probably be some big hits in the bunch, there will also be some duds that will be quickly canceled. But will they be as swiftly canceled as these shows were? Do No Harm In 2013, NBC heavily promoted this modern retelling of […]
…and other myths, legends, and rumors you probably believe about video games. Mario from Super Mario Bros. is a plumber. Mario is probably the most famous video game character of all time. Even the casual video game fan—or non-gamer—could identify what Mario does for a living when he isn’t saving the princess or racing go-karts. […]
Steely Dan is one of the most innovative bands of all time, combining jazz themes with rock n’ roll and some of the darkest, funniest, and most literature lyrics ever attempted. Band member Donald Fagan credits that unique wordplay to bandmate Walter Becker, who died earlier this month at age 67. Here are some other […]
After Labor Day but before Columbus Day come all of these minor, made-up holidays and celebrations. Sept. 3: Skyscraper Day American architect Louis Sullivan led a revolution in construction: He was among the first to design skyscrapers. The development of cheap, readily available steel in the late 19th century allowed architects like Sullivan to create […]
The U.K.’s Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris 20 years ago this week at age 36. Here are some things you may not have known about “the People’s Princess.” Marrying a Commoner Royals don’t traditionally marry commoners, and Charles and Diana are no exception. When she was 14, her father inherited the […]
As summer winds down, here’s a look at the subtleties that separate two favorite treats of the season. Pretty much everywhere you go in the United States in the summer, it’s going to be hot. Fortunately, there are some coping mechanisms. Some are more appetizing than others: such as the wide variety of cold, sugary […]
The “song of the summer”—the one that’s dominated radio and the pop charts—is “Despacito” by singer Luis Fonsi. More than a simple catchy song, it’s making history. Here’s a look at the song all the kids these days are into. “Despacito” is the first song in the musical genre called reggaeton to hit #1 in the […]
Hollywood frequently looks to the bookshelf to find the next big blockbuster, and it often works out—classics like Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, and Doctor Zhivago all began life as books. And sometimes, something gets lost in the translation to the screen. The Scarlet Letter In case you don’t remember the plot from eleventh […]
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These products were once household names, until they slowly faded from public consciousness…except that they still exist. Encyclopedias For a kid writing a school report, their research options were limited: encyclopedias were the best bet. These attractively bound, multiple-volume sets of world knowledge were a fixture of libraries, schools, and the homes of families who […]
Tired of baseball, basketball, and football? Your worries are over—we’ve found some unusual alternatives for you.
We hope you have the time of your life reading these facts about Dirty Dancing, one of the biggest movie hits of 1987. The movie was filmed in the fall, but it takes place in the summer. The leaves had started to change color, so the crew had to spray paint trees and leaves green. […]
Lots of movies have inspired their own fan conventions. Let’s see, there’s Star Trek and Star Wars and…The Big Lebowski?
You have to be a little good to even make it into the major leagues. But once you’re there…all bets are off. Marv Throneberry The 1969 World Series champion New York Mets were nicknamed the “Miracle Mets” because they’d had one terrible season after another up to that point. The franchise’s first year in existence, […]
Think you’ve ever had a bad hair day? Just be glad you never had one like these folks.
