All Stories

Walter Matthau in a scene from 'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974).

Make a list of the greatest movies ever set in New York City, and it should include ‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.’ Discover more facts about the 1974 crime drama here, including how producers got the MTA to let them use real subway trains.

Volleyball doesn’t have goalkeepers, but it does have liberos—and the rules are a little different for them.

Countries were ranked by the average number of hours a person worked, not how many meetings they had to attend.

Americans tend to work more and longer days than many of their industrialized counterparts, yet eight countries work harder than the U.S.

See if you can figure out this twisted tune.

In Tune Twist, we run the lyrics of a hit song through multiple languages, then translate them back into English. Can you figure out what the song is, or who performed it?

'Stump Speaking' by George Caleb Bingham, 1853.

Some stumps were involved in the making of the stump speech.

Léon Marchand at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

There are several reasons why a host country might see a boost in the Olympics medal count.

‘Twilight’ made Stephenie Meyer a killing.

It pays to have a vivid imagination.

The song may not actually have much to do with a weasel at all.

You may think you know the words to “Pop! Goes the Weasel.” The tune is everywhere from jack-in-the-box toys to Data and Riker’s first encounter in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’. But it may not even be about a weasel at all.

A fragment of an arm bone found on Flores, Indonesia, suggests that some of our human ancestors were even smaller than we thought.

From the most commonly used movie title to the most reused prop.

Tourists will notice something different about their soda cans when visiting Hawaii.

Sodas in the Aloha State look a little different from what you’re probably used to.

Howard Dean, Gary Hart, Richard Nixon, Rick Perry, and more made some pretty big mistakes during their presidential campaigns.

Unless you have a dishwasher with a self-cleaning filter, you should do this kitchen chore roughly every two months. Here’s how.

Richard Nixon flashes his trademark “victory” sign.

Although the Watergate scandal tends to overshadow much of his legacy, Richard Nixon almost forced a mistrial for Charles Manson.

Mercury in seafood is another growing concern thanks to global warming.

Where did this summertime trend come from?

There’s no tradition more satisfying than cracking open a good book on a sandy beach. Here’s how it all started.

Think you know your favorite author’s bibliography by heart? Don’t be so sure: See if you can figure out which of these obscure book titles belong to which renowned author in this quiz.

The expression—which can be used for all things adorable—dates back to the early 20th century.

The words ‘galaxy’ and ‘lactose’ have a surprising connection.

The connections between words aren’t always as straightforward as the link between ‘run’ and ‘runner’; often, figuring them out requires the subtle unraveling of linguistic evolution, the kind of detective work that makes etymology so fascinating.