Big Questions

Big Question

Why Are School Buses Yellow?

Big Question

Will a Nightcap Really Help You Sleep Better?

Big Question

How Did Wolves Evolve into Man's Best Friend?

Implausible as it may seem, your harmless little maltipoo puppy descended from a fearsome line of bloodthirsty wolves. And thanks to a new discovery, scientists now have a better idea of how exactly that happened.... READ ON

Article

Has a U.S. River Run Backwards Before?

Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that if water in Lake Michigan drops below the level of the Chicago River, the River could reverse course and begin flowing backward to its source. Has an American river ever done an about-face like this before?... READ ON

Big Question

How Many Words Do Eskimos Really Have for Snow?

There are three answers to this question: a heck of a lot, not that many, and a whole heck of a lot. Or, if you want specifics: 5, 2, and 99. Confused?... READ ON

Big Question

How Are Shrunken Heads Made?

Head shrinking is rumored to have occurred all over the world, but documented only among a few indigenous South American tribes living in Peru and Ecuador. How do you take a flesh-and-bone head and shrink it?... READ ON

Big Question

Why is a Fake Doctor Called a Quack?

Quack, in the sense of a medical impostor, is a shortening of the old Dutch quacksalver (spelled kwakzalver in the modern Dutch), which originally meant a person who cures with home remedies, and then came to mean one using false cures or knowledge.... READ ON