Big Questions Answered, How and Why

Shoes hanging from power lines have invited a lot of urban myths.

A dangling pair of kicks is sending a message. What is it?

Pills come in orange containers for a clever reason.

Those orange bottles are no accident—they were specifically designed to keep both medications and people safe.

Everyone from lexicographer Samuel Johnson to Prime Minister Winston Churchill has used the phrase—but where does it come from? Why a black dog?

Grocery stores are intentionally designed in a way that makes you want to spend more money. The long trek to the dairy section is part of it.

“Shoot, did that plant have leaves of three?”

Dogs can potentially have an allergic reaction to poison ivy, and they can also transmit the irritating oils to people. Here's what to do if you pet encounters the plant.

Centipedes and millipedes are actually quite different.

They have many more legs than any arthropod should need, but millipedes and centipedes are different in almost every other way.

The word dates back to the mid-19th century, and has taken many forms.

Having second thoughts about not wearing socks.

Brides or grooms with second thoughts are said to have chilly extremities. The origin of the phrase has a little something to do with poker.

Land Sickness can be just as unsettling as seasickness.

Seasickness happens when a person’s body struggles to grow accustomed to a boat’s motion patterns, causing them to feel unsteady and often nauseated. But land sickness happens in reverse.

Nothing says “springtime” like the maddening, irregular percussion of a bird’s beak rapping repeatedly against your window.

Just looking at this makes your skin crawl.

The telltale itch of a mosquito bite doesn’t actually come from the bite itself. It comes from something that’s a fair bit worse: literal blood-sucking.

Break out the dictionary and start counting.

It’s complicated—and there are more questions than answers.

Here's how the hamburger came by its misleading name.

A major thunderstorm is about to blow over this vineyard.

Meteorologists convey the chance of cloud cover or rain in percentages, but what those numbers mean in the real world isn’t always clear—so you’ll often hear terms like ‘scattered’ and ‘isolated’ to describe thunderstorms.

The open road is the last place you want to be during a tornado.

Overpasses are widely seen as safe shelters during a severe weather event. In reality, they're deadly.

A quick sales attempt is said to be an “elevator pitch.” But does it actually have anything to do with elevators?

So, you're dead. Do you still need sunscreen?

Squeaky shoes can happen for a number of reasons, including friction and moisture. But whether they fart or squeak, here are a few things you can do about that noisy footwear.