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If you’ve seen a photo of a monkfish and unexpectedly gasped, we don’t blame you. Monkfish’s large brown bodies, tiny eyes and sharp teeth are reminiscent of a deep-sea monster from the movies. And the more you know about them, the more that monster image applies. These fish don’t even swim. Monkfish are bottom feeders that “walk” on…

The first time the phrase “May the Fourth be with you” appeared in the world was in 1979. May 4 of that year was the day Britain’s first female prime minister was elected to that office and the phrase was in a newspaper ad congratulating Margaret Thatcher on her historic victory. The phrase has come a long…

In the United States, pumpkins go hand in hand with the fall holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Harvested in October, this nutritious and versatile orange fruit features flowers, seeds and flesh that are edible and rich in vitamins. Pumpkin is used to make soups, desserts and breads, and many Americans include pumpkin pie in their Thanksgiving meals. Carving…

Get the facts about John Jacob Astor, America’s first multi-millionaire. 1. Astor tried several different careers before entering the fur business. After working alongside his father in the family’s dairy business for several years, Astor left Germany at the age of 16 to join his brother in London. For five years, he helped his brother…

Diplomacy through gift-giving has a rich and storied history in the world. It’s been in practice for thousands of years, with one of the oldest stories of all time centering around a deceitful gift: The Trojan Horse. Not all diplomatic gifts are harboring an elite force of soldiers trying to overthrow your city, though. Here…

Art Nouveau was an art and design movement that grew out of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th Century. Art Nouveau highlighted curvaceous lines, often inspired by plants and flowers, as well as geometric patterns. Art Deco was a sprawling design sensibility that wound its way through numerous early 20th Century art…

Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, though it may strain definition that we can count a 6-year-old throwing a temper tantrum at elementary school among them. Yet … welcome to America. In late September 2019, a Florida cop arrested two grade schoolers, slapped a pair of handcuffs on at least one of them and sent them off…

If there’s a lawn in your neighborhood that’s greener, thicker and generally more luxurious looking than everyone else’s, chances are it isn’t Bermuda or fescue, but zoysia (pronounced ZOY-shuh). In addition to giving your lawn a lovely look, zoysia is drought-tolerant and can stand up to heat and heavy foot traffic. It does well in the Southern U.S. and…

Freemason secrets allegedly lurk behind everything from the planning of our nation’s capital to murder. Members of the enigmatic Masonic brotherhood include prominent politicians, Founding Fathers and titans of business. In modern times, Masons are known for donating millions to charity. But who are the Freemasons and what do they stand for? Is there really a secret Freemason handshake? Here…

Asian American women played a critical part in America’s war effort during World War II. Coming from diverse backgrounds—including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino—they served in important roles ranging from pilots and translators to factory workers and guerrilla fighters. Yet they worked on behalf of a country that was far from welcoming. From the time of their arrival…

As the official workplace and executive residence of the president of the United States, the White House stands as one of the most famous, and recognizable, buildings in the world. But behind its stately neoclassical facade, details of its construction and history are far less well known. Below, find answers to six common questions about the iconic…

On July 9, 1962, a little-known artist named Andy Warhol opened a small show at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. His head-scratching subject: Campbell’s Soup. Each of his 32 paintings portrayed a different flavor in the lineup, from Tomato to Pepper Pot and Cream of Celery. For Warhol, not quite 34 years old, it…

When the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met in 1787 to debate what form of government the United States should have, there were no contemporary democracies in Europe from which they could draw inspiration. The most democratic forms of government that any of the convention members had personally encountered were those of Native American nations. Of particular…

Diplomacy through gift-giving has a rich and storied history in the world. It’s been in practice for thousands of years, with one of the oldest stories of all time centering around a deceitful gift: The Trojan Horse. Not all diplomatic gifts are harboring an elite force of soldiers trying to overthrow your city, though. Here…

These days, it’s become increasingly common for police officers to record interactions with the public using cameras they wear on their bodies. While current numbers are difficult to come by, a 2015 survey found that 19 percent of police departments across the United States were using body cameras, and another 77 percent had plans to do so. There’s…

We don’t usually think about fruit being that expensive. In fact, I can typically find a banana for less than a dollar in most places! Fruit is meant to be a good part of a balanced diet, so even if you do end up spending a few bucks more on your favorite fruit, at least it’s for…

What do a sheet of paper being crushed into a ball and tossed into a wastebasket, the front end of a car deforming in a crash, and the Earth’s crust gradually forming mountains over millions of years all have in common? They’re all undergoing a physical process called crumpling, which occurs when a relatively thin sheet of material — one…

You probably have an intuitive idea of what a circle is: the shape of a basketball hoop, a wheel or a quarter. You may even remember from high school that the radius is any straight line that starts from the center of the circle and ends at its perimeter. Fig. 1. A unit circle. Radius = 1. A…

As we all know, elephants probably don’t brush their teeth. But if they did, they probably wouldn’t use elephant toothpaste. It’s really fun to make, though. Imagine shaving cream shooting out of a volcano you made for the science fair. That’s the satisfaction that comes with the foaming chemical reaction produced when you mix dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and…

If you’ve ever visited a bubble milk tea shop, there’s a good chance that you’ve sampled taro (Colocasia esculenta), a popular flavor among boba fans. But this sweet root vegetable has a long history outside the world of trendy beverages. Most people know it by its Polynesian name “taro,” but depending on the region you live in, you…

A Facebook engineer made headlines in January 2018 when he introduced a new unit of measuring time. It’s called a flick or “frame-tick,” and according to its chief inventor, Christopher Horvath, a flick is the smallest unit of time that’s larger than a nanosecond, precisely 1/705,600,000 of a second. Why do we give a flick? Because Facebook is investing…

The rest of the world is a bit spoiled by the outpouring of cultural contributions from the great country of Canada. To think, so many beloved people, products and treats come from there: baseball bats, Ryan Gosling, Swedish fish, poutine, Ryan Reynolds, maple syrup, Seth Rogen and British Columbia’s famed Nanaimo bars, to name just a few. Made exclusively…

It goes by many names — yard sale, garage sale, rummage sale, estate sale — and its purposes are many. Looking to rid your house of all that junk you’ve got in the attic? Sell it outside. Got an open weekend you’d like to fill? Set a couch, a blender and some booties on your…

There is a natural and unexplained phenomenon known as Ball Lightning. This is where a sphere of luminous, self-contained electricity occurs and can be seen either floating around, hovering from the ground, or moving with the wind. Scientists can create ball lightning. Until roughly 1960, scientists were skeptical over the existence of ball lightning, despite…

Snow leopards may be considered among the one of most beautiful creatures on this planet, but they’re also an interesting and special member of the cat family. Check out the facts below! Why are snow leopards so different? Snow leopards are unique and have many factors that separate them from the other big cats in the world.…

In 2010, the Colombian Army was facing a pretty serious hostage crisis, with several groups of kidnapped soldiers being held hostage by armed guerrilla fighters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC). The FARC sent a bit of grainy footage to Colombian Army Colonel Jose Espejo, a straight-talking gent coming up to his…

What are glow sticks I hear you say? Well they are plastic tubes which you shake and break, and then they will glow – they are fantastic for UV parties! Long, thin, glowwy and versatile. Typically, these are thin tubes between 10 and 14 centimeters long, although it varies with wearable glow sticks. You’ve probably…

There is the old saying “money doesn’t grow on trees” and we all know that, but where does money actually come from? There are many famous currencies around the world from the Euro to the British pound, but the most recognizable currency around the world would be the dollar. So where does the dollar bill come…

Floating into the sky via a cluster of balloons is a childhood dream for many kids! But put into real life circumstances, is it even possible? The idea was put back into many people’s minds when the popular movie “Up” was released and the main character floated his house with hundreds of balloons. Is any…

You may have heard people say that if you listen to classical music, it makes you more intelligent. But is this true or just a myth? It is said that music feeds the soul, so in this article, we will look at how classical music is the antioxidant of music. Why do we listen to…

One of the most infamous World War II inventions is the atomic bomb. In August 1945, the United States launched its first (and so far, only) nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing an estimated 110,000 to 210,000 people. While the bomb stands out for its devastating impact, there were many other nonlethal innovations during the war in the fields of medicine…

The world was glued to their screens for the much-anticipated wedding of Prince Harry to the American actress Meghan Markle, gushing at the castle-and-carriage-ride spectacle straight out of a fairy tale. Never mind that few people outside of the United Kingdom understand the first thing about the British Royal Family or the U.K. itself. For example, you…

There was once a traditional Dutch game known as Eel Grabbing, whereby a rope was strung up between two houses across a canal, and a live eel tied to the middle. Men in small boats would float under the string and try to yank the eel from it. The winner would often receive a hefty…

The U.S. aviation industry got its start in the early 20th century not by transporting people, but by moving America’s mail. At first, airmail pilots flew in flimsy open-cockpit planes through every kind of weather—an experience that ranged from frequently harrowing to sometimes fatal. As routes expanded, airports proliferated and safer, more reliable aircraft were developed,…

It was an unlikely group to storm the streets of New York City’s Chinatown in the summer of 1982: Nearly 20,000 garment workers—mostly Asian American women—marched together in solidarity for better benefits. Clad in matching union caps, they carried signs in both English and Chinese, reading, “In union, there is strength,” and “Support the union…

The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. The newspaper Inverness Courier relates an account of a local couple who claim to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” The story of the “monster” (a moniker chosen by the Courier editor) becomes a media phenomenon,…

When the Great Depression hit its lowest ebb in 1933, the unemployment rate exceeded 20 percent and America’s gross domestic product had plummeted by 30 percent. Not everyone, however, lost money during the worst economic downturn in American history. Business titans such as William Boeing and Walter Chrysler actually grew their fortunes during the Great Depression. As…

Since America’s founding days, when voting was limited to white male property owners, to the transformative Voting Rights Act of 1965, to sweeping voting process reform introduced in the early 2000s, the right to vote in U.S. elections has seen massive change. The original Constitution left voting rights to the states for a range of reasons, including a compromise…

No one knows exactly where Captain E.J. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. But witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the Titanic just moments later, asking what the storied ship, making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, had struck. “An iceberg, sir,” First Officer William Murdoch replied. So began the worst…

When the men of the 42nd “Rainbow” Division rolled into the Bavarian town of Dachau at the tail end of World War II, they expected to find an abandoned training facility for Adolf Hitler’s elite SS forces, or maybe a POW camp. What they discovered instead would be seared into their memories for as long as they lived—piles…

On April 12, 1955, every American newspaper and TV set jubilantly announced that Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was a success. Just three years earlier, during the worst polio outbreak in U.S. history, 57,000 people were infected, 21,000 were paralyzed and 3,145 died, most of them children. Pools and movie theaters were shuttered, and panicked parents…

Riding around in a heavily armored limousine is one of the perks of being president of the United States. Though it’s fair to speculate that some American presidents, including president-elect Joe Biden, probably have some regrets about handing over their keys and precious time behind the wheel. President-elect Joe Biden has an affinity for Corvettes, especially his 1967 Corvette…

Scattered bones called out to her. On July 9, 1965, a visiting scientist — the late Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska — took a stroll through the Mongolian Gobi Desert. Little did she know she was about to discover one of the weirdest non-avian dinosaurs known to mankind. Her 2013 book “In Pursuit of Early Mammals” describes the scene: One…

We’ve all heard of boycotting events or places – in today’s world anyone will boycott anything for any reason! There’s boycotts at sport events, boycotts of TV shows, movies, political rallies – everything! Although, when you think about it, “boycott” is a little bit of a strange word. How does the word relate to the…

You pull up to a four-way stop, and the light is red. No big deal. You take this opportunity to change the radio station, pick a poppy seed out of your teeth from your morning bagel, and wait. And wait. And wait. You’ve been here through half of a song already. Oh no, you realize. The light is…

Have you ever wondered how a word gets into the dictionary? Does one person decide or does it have to go through a number of people before being granted permission to be published? In this article, we will be looking at how a word gets into the dictionary. So, how does it get into the…

Paddington Bear was voted the top animated character of television on March 16, 2012, and has truly become a national treasure! If you’re a fan of this lovable bear, check out these interesting facts you probably didn’t know! The man behind the bear. The man behind the lovable bear is Michael Bond, who first created…

Whenever you find yourself needing to glue something in a book, how often do you turn to the classical Pritt Stick? Almost every time is my answer. However before 52 years ago, people wouldn’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Here are 9 facts about the history of Pritt Stick Glue. The Pritt Stick…

I didn’t intend to run every day. In the 10 years I’ve been running, I’d come to appreciate the importance of taking a couple rest days within a week so my body could restore and repair itself. But in March, when news broke that the coronavirus had finally planted its foot on American soil, everything seemed out of control.…

Homelessness has always been one of society’s biggest problems. Wherever wealth pops up, so too does inequality. And that, sadly, leads to the most unfortunate of us falling into the despair of homelessness. Such was the case in London during the 1800s. With the Industrial Revolution taking place in the previous century and completely changing…

Britain’s Northern City of Sheffield is known across the United Kingdom as “The Steel City.” Sheffield’s high number of steelworks earned it this nickname, and as such it was a vital city to the British war effort in both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War, the sheer number of steel…

Siberia’s Lake Baikal is not your average lake. At 49 miles (78.8 kilometers) wide and 395 miles (635 kilometers) long, it’s the world’s largest freshwater lake. And, with a history that dates back 25 million years, it’s also Earth’s oldest. But size and age aren’t the only things that make this lake special. Lake Baikal also…

Did you know the third largest bird to currently walk our Earth is the cassowary? What makes the cassowary so scary? They can reach up to 6.5 ft (2 meters) in height and can weigh nearly 133lbs (60 kg) – that is the same weight as the average person. They’re also the most dangerous bird…

If you’ve seen the 2000 movie “Cast Away,” you probably remember the scene in which Tom Hanks’ character, who survived a plane crash and found refuge on a desert island, struggles to crack open coconuts before finally figuring out how to tap into one and drink from it. That moment is fairly commonplace desert-island-survival-movie stuff, but just…

By no means was Jack the Ripper the first serial killer. However, until this madman struck, his was the first case to stir up a worldwide media frenzy. Even over 100 years later, everyone knows his nickname, and the mystery surrounding these attacks are scrutinized. And that’s the million-dollar question: Who was Jack the Ripper?…

Found in North America, the Brontosaurus is known to us as one of the biggest dinosaurs ever to walk the planet. Throughout history, it has been a mysterious species of discovery. With its tiny head and long neck, the beefy Brontosaurus had a large, sturdy body and long tail. Its appearance and name have been…

One of the three astronauts who made up the historic Apollo 11 crew, NASA veteran Michael Collins passed away today, April 28, 2021, at the age of 90. “NASA mourns the loss of this accomplished pilot and astronaut, a friend of all who seek to push the envelope of human potential,” said Steve Jurczyk, the agency’s acting administrator, in a statement. “Whether…

You open up your car door and it hits you like a freight train of funk — the unmistakable stench of death. The source, most likely, is a small animal that crawled into your engine for warmth and got ground up in the works. But getting rid of the odor is going to require a…

There’s a reason that chocolate was a prized part of Mesoamerican culture dating back thousands of years. It was referred to as the “food of the gods,” according to “The True History of Chocolate,” because of its use in sacred ceremonies and even as medicine. Battles were fought for control of the places that grew cocoa pods, extending…

It’s believed the tailless breed originated on the island but then bred with cats brought along by Nordic explorers – you know, Vikings. Because of the island’s isolation and the dominance of the gene, taillessness became a dominant trait among the island’s cat population. Here’s what happened: The gene, labeled “M,” caused abnormal development of the…

Medicine has come a long way over the years. The development of the vaccine kicked off an era of illness prevention unlike anything the world had ever seen. In fact, vaccinations are largely viewed as the most successful medical advancement in the history of public health. Before vaccines were introduced, smallpox killed millions, nearly 20,000 were paralyzed…

Whether you’re putting your green thumb to use in your garden or home landscaping, you’re no doubt in a battle against weeds. Those pesky pain-in-the-you-know-whats for both people and plants cause many of us to turn to hardware store shelves for chemical-based weed killers. While it’s true they pack a strong punch and do the trick, they…

Dark sunglasses, unsmiling mugs, a head on a swivel, the surreptitious earpiece, black suit, maybe the hint of a bulge under the jacket. Everybody knows a Secret Service agent when they see one, right? Ah, but the United States Secret Service is way more than no-nonsense automatons packing heat and putting their lives on the line to…

It’s true we should all know a lot more about the foods we eat, but usually we focus more on the fat content or the sugar levels not whether consumption will harm or kill us. There are however plenty of so called foods that will do just that, from simply giving you stomach problems to…

Satan, also known to many as the devil, is known as the representation of evil in the world. For thousands of years, this character has been written about across various religious texts as the enemy of God. But does Satan represent a person, or is he just a fictional character, and how did he end…

s there any other candy that says “Halloween” as much as candy corn? Every adult and every child recognizes this multi-colored sweet treat! Read on for a brief history of candy corn – and some interesting facts you probably didn’t know. Candy corn has been around since 1880. Adults will find the still popular candy…