All Stories

Find out what book was a best seller the year you were born—and add it to your TBR pile.

Can you guess which author spent the most time on ‘The New York Times’ bestseller list? (Hint: It isn't J.K. Rowling or Stephen King.)

Koala bear, mantis shrimp, maned wolf, and king cobra are all misnomers.

With dolphins masquerading as whales, lizards as toads, and marsupials as bears, it can be tough to keep track of which animals are which.

The definition of a continent isn't as concrete as you might expect, but a few qualities help earn Australia that distinction.

From record-breaking plants and incredible animal news to space superlatives and the awesome power of Taylor Swift fans, here’s the long list of things we learned in 2023.

There's more to the job than meets the eye.

Car salespeople use a number of tricks to make a sale.

'I see, sir. And when did you order the Uber Eats?'

Losing your nose ring in the shower is a bummer. It’s not an emergency.

These unusual animals are in the same taxonomic group as cats, but there isn’t much family resemblance.

Astronaut Kellie Gerardi conducts research aboard the Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

Bioastronautics researcher Kellie Gerardi envisions a future when space is open to all.

Fire trucks are a common sight at ambulance calls.

Why does the fire department show up for emergency calls if nothing is on fire?

The dialects of the two countries have been diverging.

The two dialects have transformed to the point that North Korean defectors often struggle with unfamiliar language when arriving in South Korea—so much that the South Korean government publishes a list of commonly confused words to aid new defectors.

In for 2024: kabocha squash with seaweed butter.

This soy and mirin braised kabocha squash with seaweed butter is both healthy and decadent.

Willis Gibson, an Oklahoma teen, just beat 'Tetris.'

The first full moon of 2024 is on the horizon.

The wolf moon—the first full moon of 2024—is a great chance for astronomy enthusiasts to ring in the new year.

Portrait of Alexander Hamilton by Thomas Hamilton Crawford.

Even if you've seen the Broadway musical 'Hamilton,' there's probably a lot you don't know about this enigmatic founding father.

An illustration of the Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fete.

The Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fête was inspired by a popular Victorian science fiction novel—and introduced the world to Bovril.

That delicious bowl of cheddar soup is really a big bowl of (good) bacteria.

Barack Obama giving his inauguration speech, 2009.

Listen to inaugural addresses and other speeches from each president from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama.

Deciding to write 'disc' or 'disk' depends on what kind of disc it is. Sometimes.

You may know Austin, Texas, as the Live Musical Capital of the World that’s devoted to keepin’ itself weird—but you might not be familiar with the city’s many slang terms.

Eating good food can leave you lighter in the wallet.

Eating well often comes at a premium price. Here’s why.

Worried about pressing strange buttons in your new car? Us, too. But you'll probably like this one.

American writer Gertrude Stein left a profound mark on 20th-century modernism through her literary work and her enthusiastic patronage of avant-garde art. Read on for more facts about her idiosyncratic life.

It‘s best to have dry oven mitts before taking anything out of the oven.

Oven mitts allow us to handle delicious hot things, but using one that's not totally dry can result in kitchen mishaps.

The Amish aren't known for their bawdy senses of humor, but try telling that to the couple snapping a photo under the sign announcing they've arrived at Intercourse.

What Was the Bestselling Book the Year You Were Born? This Online Tool Tells You

15 Animals With Misleading Names

Why Is Australia Both a Country And a Continent?

100 Things We Learned in 2023

10 Confessions of Car Salespeople

Canada’s Worst 911 Nuisance Calls Include Complaining About a Bad Haircut

8 Close-But-Not-Quite Cats

“Humanity’s Next Giant Leap”: Citizen Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Envisions the Future of Spaceflight

Why Do Fire Trucks Come When You Call for an Ambulance?

13 Words That Differ in the North and South Korean Dialects

Want to Eat More Veggies in the New Year? Start With This Soy-Braised Kabocha Squash

A 13-Year-Old Just Became the First Person to Ever Conquer ‘Tetris’

Kick off 2024 with January’s Wolf Moon, the First Full Moon of the Year

11 Surprising Facts About Alexander Hamilton

The Strange Story of the Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fête, the 'World's First Sci-Fi Convention'

The Scientific Reason Cheddar Cheese Tastes So Good

Listen to Some of the Most Famous Presidential Speeches From History

Disc vs. Disk: What’s the Difference?

14 Austin Slang Terms You Should Know

The Reason Healthy Food Is Often More Expensive Than Junk Food

Here's What the 'A' Button Does in Your Car

13 Fascinating Facts About Gertrude Stein

Why You Should Never Use a Wet Oven Mitt

From Blue Ball to Intercourse: Why Pennsylvania's Amish Country Has Such Lewd-Sounding City Names