BIG QUESTIONS

It doesn't matter if you're wearing your shoes or someone else's—but it does matter how tall you are.

How Many Steps Are in a Mile?

How many steps it takes to walk a mile depends on your height and speed—but there is an average number.

Should You Really 'Rinse and Repeat' When Shampooing Your Hair?

Shampoo bottles tell you to 'rinse and repeat,' but washing hair twice in a row only makes sense for some people.

Why Do Trucks Use Diesel Fuel Instead of Gasoline?

Fasten your seatbelts—this gas-vs.-diesel answer involves compression ratios, spark plugs, and torque vs. horsepower.

Gotta pee but don't have a bathroom handy? Try dancing.

Why Do Some People "Dance" When They Have to Pee?

Busting out your best dance floor moves when you have to pee may actually prevent you from soiling yourself.

Does Breathing Into a Paper Bag While Hyperventilating Actually Help?

The next time someone hands you a paper bag to breathe into during a panic attack, you’ll know what to do—or what not to do.

Pennsylvania state capitol building in Harrisburg.

What’s the Difference Between a State and a Commonwealth?

Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Massachusetts are technically commonwealths, not states. Here's the meaning behind the term.

That wallpaper is giving us the willies.

Why Do We Say Something Gives Us 'The Willies'?

To get the willies is to feel a sudden onset of nervousness or skittishness. But why 'willie'? It may have something to do with itchy underwear.

Cheese wheels are more than just fancy--they make cheese tastier.

Why Is Cheese Made in Wheel Form?

A round cylinder of cheese can influence its taste and overall quality, but old-school grocers just wanted something they could roll on the ground.

What Is Imitation Crab Made Of?

When imitation crab appears in dishes like California rolls and crab rangoon, its true identity is rarely advertised. So, what is the product really made of?

Stuffed animals are common sights on trucks and other vehicles.

Why Do Truck Drivers Attach Stuffed Animals to the Front of Their Vehicles?

The next time you see a garbage truck with a stuffed penguin strapped to its grille, know the driver has a good reason—one that may or may not involve warding off ghosts.

Why Are Most Jeans Blue?

Blue may seem like an odd choice for a pair of pants that many people wear every day, but there's a good reason it became the standard color for denim jeans.

Is “As I Lay Dying” Grammatically Incorrect?

Musician Sufjan Stevens recently jumped on the “open letter to Miley Cyrus” bandwagon with a tongue-in-cheek critique of her grammar in the song “Get It Right.”

Where Does NFL Fine Money Go?

The NFL has a reputation for being a little overzealous in levying fines against its players and coaches. But just where does the money go?

Where Do Hamsters Come From?

Even if you've never owned one, you've surely seen Golden Hamsters available for sale in pet stores, or scurrying around in a glass tank in a grade school classroom. But how did they get there?

What's the Origin of the Phrase "The Eleventh Hour"?

Why Do Some Trucks Have an Extra Set of Wheels?

The wheels attached to “tag axles” or “lift axles” on a dump truck aren’t spare tires—and they don’t always float above the road.

Nothing says love like a gift that will wilt and die in a few days.

Why Do We Give Red Roses for Valentine's Day?

The tradition of handing out roses that will die in a few days to express everlasting love is the result of 19th-century flower theory, class status, and good old commerce.

Why Do Dogs Have Tails?

Dogs wag their tails to show you how happy they are that you’re finally home from work. But the furry appendages serve other purposes, too.

A circumhorizontal arc, or "fire rainbow," in Japan.

What Causes a Rainbow If There Isn’t Any Rain?

As the saying goes, you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain. But you can have parhelia and circumhorizontal arcs.

How do I tell if thee is a sonnet? Let me count the lines.

Poem vs. Sonnet: What’s the Difference?

Plenty of poems are love poems. Why aren’t all of them considered sonnets? In short, rhyme scheme, length, and structure.

Why Are Online Scams Called ‘Phishing’?

‘Phishing’ has become a catch-all term for basically any internet scam. When it was coined in the ’90s, that wasn’t the case.

This is actually frosting—not icing—on the cake.

What's the Difference Between Frosting and Icing?

There’s a reason people refer to “buttercream frosting” but don't often say “buttercream icing.”

Is Catnip Bad for Dogs?

Cats on catnip can be quite fun to watch. Can dogs get in on the action? Yes, but it probably won’t be as entertaining.

Why Does Fake Jewelry Turn Your Skin Green?

Learning how to stop a ring from turning your finger green is easy. So is understanding why it happens in the first place.

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