From moving stories of the Black American experience to imagined worlds of breathtaking vision, here are 13 books that had an influence Gen X—and help shaped the world as we know it today.

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These odd architectural features are remnants of a time when people had to pay if they wanted to look outside.
See if you can guess where class was in session.
Legal eagles like adding “Esquire” to their letterhead. But does it actually carry any meaning?
Long-distance bird migration is one of the natural world’s most inspiring phenomena—and how we learned about it is just as fascinating.
How the series—which ran from 2005 to 2020—came about, its nod to a literary classic, and more.
If you’re not originally from Tennessee, tunnel honking can be a mystery. Here's why drivers do it.
Drivers are constantly being reminded to buckle up. The same rule doesn’t seem to apply to busloads of children.
Has someone told you to “go to hell?” If so, let us direct you to these potential portals to the underworld.
More than half of all land managed by the National Park Service is in one state. How does your state measure up?
All five answers to the questions below have something in common. Can you figure it out?
Think rinsing with water in between uses counts as cleaning your sink? Think again.
If you can decode ’Dwindle Skillet,’ consider yourself a true Disney fan.
Labor Day falls on September 1 in 2025. While the exact date changes each year, its position in the week has stayed the same since the 19th century.
See if your favorite outdoor destination made the list.
It’s time to brush up on your vocabulary.