Haley Sweetland Edwards
Joined: Nov 21, 2012
51 Wonderful Words With No English Equivalent
11 Successful Products Originally Invented for Something Else
The Best and Worst Political Campaign Songs (But Mostly the Worst)
A Brief History of the Plastic Pink Flamingo
From the plastic bird's birth to its modern perch atop the pyramid of campy Americana, here’s the quick-and-dirty on the hot pink queen of kitsch.
6 of the Oldest Trees in the World
The oldest known trees are thousands of years old. The ancient plants have witnessed the rise and fall of multiple civilizations.
It's Complicated: 5 Puzzling International Borders
Most of us think of international borders as invisible, but clear-cut, lines: stand on one side, and you’re in one country; stand on the other, you’re in another country. But here’s a list of five international borders that, for one reason or another, are
Why Do They Call It Trinidad AND Tobago?
Christopher Columbus did a lot of naming in his day. As it turns out, he had a hand in naming four of the five island-nations with two names. Is that an obscure enough fact for you? Still, this is definitely the kind of fact that shows up on pub trivia ni
7 Political Disagreements Settled With Fists and Hair-Pulling
Anyone with even a fleeting relationship to political news these days has probably noticed that partisan bickering in the U.S. Congress has reached a bit of a crescendo of late. So we got to thinking: When do politicians just give up on the vitriolic rhet
A Brief and Incomplete History of Launching Animals Into Space
Pretty much ever since humans discovered flight, we’ve been strapping animals into our new devices just to see what would happen. Over the last 330 years or so, we’ve launched dogs, cats, chimps, monkeys, roosters, ducks, spiders, fruit flies, silk worms
Test-Tube-to-Table: 11 Up-and-Coming Genetically Engineered Animals
© Najlah Feanny/CORBIS SABA It's been almost 16 years since Dolly the cloned sheep was born. As she fades from our cultural memory, here’s a look at 11 up-and-coming (and often controversial) genetically engineered animals that might start appearing in b
11 Obscure Regional Phrases We All Should Start Using
Work these into conversation.
11 Product Names That Mean Unfortunate Things in Other Languages
Here are some tragic, hilarious, and off-color examples of products that really exist—and don’t always mean what their manufacturers think.
19 Obscure Regional Words All Americans Should Adopt Immediately
When traveling across the United States, it sometimes feels like the locals are speaking a whole different language.
40 Years Ago, Iran Was Hit by the Deadliest Blizzard in History
Blizzard image via Shutterstock Forty years ago this week, the deadliest blizzard on record ripped through the lower Caucasus and into Iran, where it left 4,000 people dead. The Blizzard of 1972, as this hellish storm has come to be known, wasn’t your ru
10 Other Organizations "Without Borders"
Most of us have heard of the international NGOs Doctors Without Borders and Engineers Without Borders, and you might know about Reporters Without Borders. But what about Monks Without Borders? Or Clowns? Here's a list of borderless organizations you real