Random Trivia: Why Some Foods Are “Deviled”
Some random trivia you ought to know. “Deviled” as a culinary term goes back to the 1700s, and it originally meant to cook something—anything—with lots and lots of hot and spicy condiments and seasonings.
Weird, Wonderful World
You’ll Have to Pardon My Turkey…
The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation takes place every year a few days before the holiday and involves the President of the United States “pardoning” one of the birds slated for slaughter. The turkey is then moved to a new home where it will, presumably, live a long and enjoyable life instead of winding up on a platter in the White House’s State Dining Room. The rather weird tradition is widely believed to have begun during the Truman administration but the real story is a bit more complicated.
6 Fruits and Vegetables That Aren’t What They Seem
Prepare to have your world turned upside-down.
What’s a Blue Raspberry?
Today, it’s a food industry standard. You can find “blue raspberry” flavors of everything from Jolly Ranchers to yogurt to bubble bum to Gatorade. Believe it or not, it’s a real fruit, not a lab creation. Well, sort of.
Inside the Country’s Most Imaginative Ice Cream Shop
We’ve tried the sea urchin flavor—it’s better than you think. Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek opened Salt & Straw in Portland, Oregon, in 2011—Kim handled the business, Tyler handled the ice cream. In just a few short years, it’s become a Portland institution and one of many reasons why the Rose City is now considered […]
Ask Uncle John Anything: Tangled Up, Blue
How do cords get tangled up all on their own? It’s the strangest phenomenon—you take out your earbuds, and being in too much of a rush to properly wind and tie them up, you throw them into a coat pocket.
3 of the Coolest Bars in the World (That Are No Longer Open)
We recently told you about some of the world’s scariest bars. While those may remind you of the dead, these dearly departed watering holes around the world are, sadly, truly and completely dead.
Four Princely Public Potties
These fancy public restrooms are truly unique and even fit for a king. Keep them in mind the next time you need to take care of official “royal” business.
The Library of the Future
There’s no telling what libraries will look like a century from now…or if they’ll even exist. Nevertheless, a unique project currently underway in Norway is ensuring that they’ll have a least a few new books on their shelves.
Two of the World’s Most Famous (Unhaunted) Pet Cemeteries
Stephen King made animal graveyards super freaky when he published Pet Semetary in 1983. Many of them are really quite pleasant, however, and you’re unlikely to come across any resurrected corpses while strolling past their tombstones.
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.
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.
