BIG QUESTIONS

Waterbeds were once a coveted "fluid fixture" of bedrooms—until, suddenly, they weren't. So who or what led to their demise?

Why does using less of your eye help you see something more clearly? There's a pretty simple explanation.

Legend tells of St. Patrick using the power of his faith to drive all of Ireland’s snakes into the sea. It’s an impressive image, but there’s no way it could have happened.

It’s the Council of Elrond, not the Counsel of Elrond (though counsel was definitely given during proceedings).

‘Macaron’ and ‘macaroon’ aren’t just two versions of the same word. These days, anyway.

In 1975, a woman found her husband dead in a chair after watching a BBC sitcom. He had been laughing for almost a half-hour. Was it merriment that killed him?

Corned beef and cabbage has beef, cabbage, and not a speck of corn. What gives?

If you know the meaning of ‘consort,’ you can probably guess what a queen consort is.

The signs and menus look exactly alike, down to that cheery little star. Are they the same restaurant?

The story behind which orange came first involves Arab trade routes and a bunch of old phrases that mean 'orange apple.'

Many people use the terms interchangeably, but there’s a substantial difference between the two methods of incarceration.

It’s another in a long line of etymologies that doesn’t have one clear-cut answer, but a few plausible (and interesting) possible explanations.