Big Questions Answered, How and Why

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.

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.

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

‘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.

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

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.

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

Taco Bell's Nacho Fries often pull a disappearing act.

When it comes to making their wildly popular Nacho Fries widely available, Taco Bell is nacho friend.

ZIP codes hold the answer to getting you your junk mail as quickly as possible.

The five- to nine-digit code that gets letters to their destinations started with a man who would become known as "Mr. Zip."

Cats never look more majestic than when they're sunbathing, but there's a practical reason for this behavior.

Dogs have a tendency to preface their bowel movements with a bit of rotating before getting down to business. Is there evolution behind their revolution?

Unclear whether this is a memoir or an autobiography.

What’s an autobiography? The story of someone’s life as told by them—which isn’t exactly the same thing as a memoir.

Cheesemakers have been adding yellow and orange food dye to their cheese products since the 17th century.

Kissing is a New Year's Eve tradition. But...why?

End-of-year smooching has roots in the parties of ancient Rome, but Thomas Edison had a part to play, too.

It's true that wine starts to oxidize the moment you uncork it, but that's no reason to pour the leftovers down the drain.

The names ‘18-wheeler,’ ‘big rig,’ and ‘tractor-trailer’ aptly convey the size and scope of the vehicle. ‘Semi’ seems a little misleading. What gives?

Semi trucks’ tire spikes mainly protect the wheels’ lug nuts. They also offer drivers a chance to give their trucks a bit of personality.

What color are a zebra's stripes? Though it may sound like a philosophical query, it is possible to answer this question with science.

Turkey is good enough for your holiday dinner, but the eggs are a bit too pricey for your omelet.

Turkey eggs are perfectly edible, but you definitely won't find them at your local grocery store. Here's why.

What does ‘chip on your shoulder’ mean? These days, nothing literal. But actual chips and shoulders used to be involved.

Queen Victoria visits the HMS Resolute, a British naval ship used for Arctic exploration, in December 1856.

The Victorian era brought changes that reached far beyond England’s borders. In fact, England’s borders also reached far beyond what we now know as England’s borders.