In honor of the handful of humans who have left the planet, here are some stories about the other unique experiences that astronauts have had. Space Gas As part of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972, astronaut John Young became the ninth person to ever walk on the moon. But he’s the first to have […]
Prince Philip of England has announced that he will retire from public life later this year. With more than 60 years in the public eye as the companion of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip had to find a way to personally distinguish himself. He did that in part by attending thousands of public events, meeting […]
Today is Star Wars Day. Why? Because it’s May the 4th…and May the 4th be with you. Get it? With the original trilogy, three prequels, a new trilogy of sequels, and an increasing number of standalone, offshoot films, the Star Wars movie universe is huge. But the first planned sequel was never produced. Here’s the […]
Professional athlete salaries are out of this world—they’re so huge that many of those professional athletes can retire with enough money to buy something really expensive. Like a professional sports team. Michael Jordan Michael Jordan is from North Carolina, and in 2006 he bought a portion of the state’s NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats. Now […]
Perhaps you know James Lipton as the pretentious, ultra-serious host of Inside the Actors Studio. (Or Will Ferrell’s impression of him on Saturday Night Live.) The bearded dean of the acting craft has lived a very colorful life, and here are some other ways he contributed to pop culture. Radio Actor Lipton is 90 years […]
You’ll probably want to read this article twice. (You’ll probably want to read this article twice.) Saving Daylight, Creating Confusion In November 2016, twins Samuel and Ronan Peterson were born at Cape Cod Hospital in Massachusetts. Samuel came into the world at precisely 1:39 a.m. on Sunday, November 6, while Ronan was born exactly 31 […]
It’s almost summer, so prepare for the good life with some of these mini-holidays coming up this month. May 1: School Principals’ Day There are several observances to celebrate teachers, as everybody can think back to at least one teacher who inspired them, or helped shape them into the people they are today. But you […]
It’s common knowledge that Japan has some of the weirdest game shows in the world…but these are all from the good ol’ U.S. of A. Repo Games (2011) It’s the spontaneous, surprise game show fun of Cash Cab…meets the exploitation of those affected by economic hardship. Repo Games was hosted by two repossession agents—or “repo […]
Video games have been a part of the culture now for more than 30 years. That means they’re old and established enough to have their own spooky myths and horror stories. Berzerk The story: In the 1980 arcade video game Berzerk, players traveled through a maze and had to use a laser to kill […]
Product placement is when a character in a movie or on a TV show conspicuously picks up a name-brand product, or walks past a giant poster bearing the name of a company. It’s a form of advertising, and corporations pay big bucks to movie productions to have their wares prominently featured. Usually just a character […]
Truth: There is a right way to hang the toilet paper. As for these other stories about bathrooms that seem too good to be true… Myth 1: In February 1983, the New York City sewer system crashed. Reason: It was the night of the last episode of M*A*S*H, at the time, the most watched program […]
One of the many perks of being a celebrity: you just might get a chance to play in a spring training or minor league baseball game. BILLY CRYSTAL Baseball, particularly the New York Yankees, often figures into the movies of Billy Crystal (he even directed the movie 61*, about the 1961 race between Mickey Mantle […]
Stop, yield, and try not to run over these stories. Stop In the early days of car travel in the late 19th century, driving was chaos—there weren’t many universal or codified laws related to traffic or safety measures in place. In 1900, a concerned citizen—meaning he didn’t actually drive a car—named William Phelps Eno published […]
You know him as the lead singer of Queen, one of the greatest voices in rock history. But did you know that Freddie Mercury loved his cats almost as much as he loves music? Mercury got his first two cats in the early 1970s. His girlfriend at the time, Mary Austin, brought home two felines […]
You can tell what NFL stadium you’re in by what song they play when the home team scores a touchdown. New York Giants When the New York Giants score, the P.A. pumps out “New York Groove,” the 1978 solo hit by Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles home stadium play two songs. […]
It shouldn’t be so pleasurable but it is: That bizarre taste sensation of super-sour and super-sweet that comes with sour candy. Here’s the science behind how candy makes can make things taste so sour. The main supplier of sour kick: citric acid. It’s found in, well, citrus fruits: lemons, grapefruits, limes, and oranges, for example. […]
How do you do? It’s so nice to see you! Now, won’t you sit down and read these origin stories about common American English greeting words? Hello Going back as far as at least the 1400s, words like “hollo” and “holla” were used in England. A speaker shouted them out when they needed to get […]
Queen Elizabeth II is the longest serving monarch in the history of the U.K. She’s in her 90s now, and she’ll die one day, of course. Recently, some British media organizations unveiled part of the intricate and elaborate plan that’s been set into place (and extensively rehearsed) when that day arrives. If she falls ill, […]
