Having to pay a traffic fine can put anyone in a bad mood. Fines are regularly $150 or more, plus you could have to make a court appearance, and you’re likely to see a bump in your car insurance. And, since they’re costly & time-consuming, we do our best to avoid getting traffic citations…or are…
Happy “Uncle Sam Day”! September 13th actually is “Uncle Sam Day”. And, while it may seem like just another one of those made-up holidays, there really was a very real Uncle Sam. But who was he? The real “Uncle Sam” was actually a guy named Sam Wilson. Born on September 13, 1766, Sam Wilson became…
We’ve all made a late-night refrigerator raid to snag a snack. It’s a black-ops mission, during which you try to not wake up the rest of the house by tip-toeing through the dark to the kitchen where, thankfully, there’s a built-in fridge light that enables you to see & survey your spread. But what if…
Among the things you should rightly check when grocery shopping (price tags, nutrition labels, ingredient listings), there’s one other packaging point to consider, namely when you’re in the bakery section: the color of the tag or twist tie on the bag of your loaf of bread. Why? Because it can actually tell you whether a…
While no one’s totally sure exactly when or why the fashion rule of wearing white only during the summer became a thing, the most probable reason is that it was due to late 1800s snobbery. Following the Civil War, mega-rich guys’ wives ruled over high society with an iron fist. But, as more & more…
Why is Labor Day Monday a day off for many Americans? And why does it land on a Monday each year? If you’re one of the lucky ones who get to enjoy a 3-day Labor Day weekend, you can thank activists & politicians for that. Labor Day goes back to Tuesday, September 5, 1882. That’s…
Anyone who’s ever had or used a set of Venetian or mini window blinds (y’know, the ones made of horizontal wood, aluminum, or plastic slats), has, at one time or another, wondered whether the blinds should be turned so that they’re either facing up or facing down. Convex (curved) blinds look more uniform when they’re…
Polka dots are a fashion staple, and have been for a while. But why do we call them “polka dots”? Polka dots originated around the same time as polka music & dancing. The term “polka” comes from the Czech word for “half” (as in, the half steps you would do to perform the dance), which…
Our bodies are scientific marvels…that also produce tons of gross stuff through the process of just being alive. Think: belly button lint…boogers…and earwax, that weird material that can sometimes reduce your hearing & make you dig into your ear canal to get it out. So, what is this earwax stuff, really? Medically, it’s known as…
Ever notice how coffee seems to make some people sleepy? Why is that? I mean, with all the caffeine that’s in coffee, providing coffee with its reputation as a way to jolt yourself into staying awake, feeling sleepy after a cup of coffee doesn’t really make sense. But plenty of people swear their afternoon espresso…