Big Questions Answered, How and Why

You may have been taught that Earth has seven continents. Or is it six? Or eight?

Returns can be a costly proposition for retailers.

The fate of your unwanted air fryer, explained.

Members of Robert Falcon Scott's 1910-1913 expedition to reach the South Pole.

Here's how to tell frostbite symptoms from hypothermia symptoms.

They are several differences between the two.

Tsunamis and tidal waves may look similar, but they differ in crucial ways.

They come in handy in more ways than one.

Whether you’re trying to get rid of wrinkles or reduce static electricity, dryer sheets can be useful in more ways than you might expect.

There are several important factors to take into consideration. And if your dog does wear a collar, you need to make sure it fits well and is safe.

A dish of homemade cranberry deliciousness.

Your Thanksgiving cranberry sauce—be it homemade or Ocean Spray’s canned classic—is all part of America’s history.

There are several reasons why cats have this adorable habit.

Spoiler alert: They’re not just sitting around.

As anyone who has seen ‘A Christmas Story’ knows, licking a cold metal object can be dangerous. Here’s why you should never stick your tongue to a metal pole in winter.

Mary Janes have an early-20th-century comic strip to thank for their name.

A 1920 mural by paleoartist Charles Robert Knight depicting Cro-Magnon people painting on cave walls at Font-de-Gaume, France.

These prehistoric members of our genus, ‘Homo,’ occupy different branches of the human family tree.

As with many words, we have Latin to thank.

Grandfather clocks often become family heirlooms.

The imposing clocks have an origin story, but it doesn't have much to do with any actual grandfathers.

“Fido” is a name that has become synonymous with all things dog. But where did the name come from?

Alexander Hamilton argued that lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court were the only way, but some modern scholars disagree.

Here are the differences between green onions or scallions (left) and chives (right).

One of these things is not like the others.

A hearse with S-shaped bars in place of back windows.

Those evocative scrolls you see on hearses actually have a name—and going back in the 1800s, they actually served an important purpose.

It’s common for many little kids to go through a “dinosaur phase.” Here’s why.

One theory suggests that we call liquor “spirits” because of alcohol’s association with one spirit in particular: the Holy Spirit. But there are other possible origins.