Food

Big Question

Do Lobsters Really Mate for Life?

We already learned over the summer that watching Friends is not the best way to learn about wildlife or first aid. Recently, in one of those instances where I was unable to wrest control of the remote from my girlfriend, I caught another animal myth.“Come on, you guys,” Phoebe says. “It’s a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You know what? You can actually see old lobster couples walkin' around their tank, you know, holding claws.”While there are plenty of animals... READ ON

Big Question

Where Did the Term "Booze" Come From?

Daven Hiskey runs the wildly popular interesting fact website Today I Found Out. To subscribe to his “Daily Knowledge” newsletter, click... READ ON

Big Question

Why Did Humans Start Eating Cheese in the First Place?

By Chris... READ ON

Big Question

Does One Bad Apple Really Spoil the Whole Bunch?

We’ve all heard the saying "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch," and have probably seen instances where it does apply to people, but does it actually happen with... READ ON

List

17 Amazingly Geeky Wedding Cakes

We’ve covered all sorts of geeky wedding topics, including invitations, dresses and rings, and cakes celebrating all kinds of occasions (including divorce). Now, it's time to take on geeky wedding cakes (which should not be confused with cake toppers). Here goes! 1. Castle on a... READ ON

Big Question

Why Do Chile Peppers Make People Cough?

In my house, we really like Mexican food. And Thai food. Oh, and Chinese food. We like all food, I guess, but that’s sort of beside the point. The point is that, because of our tastes, I wind up handling a lot of chile peppers (some people refer to hot peppers as chili peppers, but I prefer to use the Spanish spelling favored in Mexico and the American Southwest, so as not to confuse the peppers with that dish you often put them in). Sometimes these chiles are dried, or in the form of powders, pastes or... READ ON

Big Question

Why Do We Wish on the Turkey’s Wishbone?

Although Thanksgiving is a North American holiday and a recent invention in the grand scheme of things, the tradition of breaking the wishbone comes from Europe, and is thousands of years older.A bird’s wishbone is technically known as the furcula. It’s formed by the fusion of two clavicles, and is important to flight because of its elasticity and the tendons that attach to it. Clavicles, fused or not, aren’t unique to birds. You and I have unfused clavicles, also known as collarbones, and... READ ON

Big Question

Why Are Dried Coffee Stains Darker At The Edges Than In The Center?

FlickrIf you spill coffee anywhere near as often as I do, you may have noticed something peculiar: When a puddle of coffee is allowed to dry undisturbed, the brown sediment collects almost entirely on the edge of the spill rather than being spread out evenly. It was not until recently that we could explain why a drop of coffee (or wine, or ink) dries this way. The theory of coffee ring formation was published in 1997 by a group of University of Chicago physicists. Lest you think it entirely academic,... READ ON

Big Question

How Happy Are Clams?

Wikimedia Commons"Happy as a clam" is one of those expressions that makes you wonder: Does this phrase come from an actual measurement of the happiness of... READ ON

Big Question

Has Anyone Ever Really Handed Out Poisoned Halloween Candy?

When kids start wolfing down their Halloween treats, there’s always one grim specter lurking in the back of parents' minds: what if some madman had filled their candy with poison, razor blades, needles, or some other decidedly terrifying foreign substance? But has this actually ever happened? Let’s take a look at how realistic these fears... READ ON