From The Archive

6 Interns Who Ended Up Running the Company

Many of us started out at jobs way down at the bottom of the food chain. Getting coffee and stuffing envelopes isn’t exactly a dream job for most people, but if you’re doing it now, take heart in the fact that these people started out as interns as well –

The Birth of the Phillie Phanatic

Image credit: Temple University Libraries In the late 1970s, the Phillies’ mascots were two 18th-century siblings named Philadelphia Phil and Philadelphia Phyllis, but the duo did little to attract families wary of Veterans Stadium's rough-and-tumble ima

Messing with Mother Nature: Snakeheads

Fish normally are found in three places: in the wild water, in aquariums, and on our dinner plates. But fish can move from one of these worlds to another. Fish imported to eat or to keep as pets sometimes get into the local ecosystem, which is not their n

9 Controversial Magazine Issues Too Inflammatory for Newsstands

Whether it’s a racy photograph or an article that expresses an unpopular point of view, most magazines have been mired in controversy at some point (though we don't remember anyone yanking our Swimsuit Issue off the newsstand). But here are a few controve

Hanging Themselves was the Only Way to See How Hanging Works

Hanging is a pretty simple way to kill someone. All you really need is a length of rope, someone who can tie a decent knot, and something from which to hang the victim. But how is it so effective?

6 Times The Onion Had People Completely Fooled

Every now and then those misunderstandings have real world consequences.

5 Other Famous Transplants

Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s heart transplant has been getting a lot of attention lately. And, while the nature of Cheney’s political career makes him an obvious target for discussion and debate, the Veep is definitely not the first celebrity to un

15 Oscar-Winning Films Recreated With Peeps

Highlights from The Washington Post's Peeps Show diorama contest.

5 Silly Reasons People Decided to Duel

For thousands of years, men and women have risked their lives fighting duels for lofty reasons like honor, integrity, and justice. These are not those

How 5 Super-Rich Places Got Such Fancy Names

1. Martha’s

Can Gay Discharged Soldiers Get Back Into the Army Now?

© James Berglie/ZUMA Press/Corbis"Don’t Ask, Don't Tell" was the official U.S. policy on homosexuals in the military for the last 18 years. It barred open homosexuals from serving, but prohibited the discrimination, harassing or outing of closeted homosex

Why Are There Gideon Bibles in Hotel Rooms?

The Gideon Bible is not some special version or translation of the Bible that hotels really like (the books are usually plain old King James Versions); they're named for the group that distributes them.

"Luck of the Irish" is an Old Mining Expression

"It carried with it a certain tone of derision."

Hunkerin': America's Most Boring Fad

Okay, this actually happened. In 1959, a group of Sigma Chi brothers at the University of Arkansas elevated squatting to a sport -- and it went viral. They invented a supremely lame (but apparently popular) fad: hunkerin'. From the Scottish term "hunk

Why You Might Let Someone Crack a Coconut on your Head

It's amazing to me how many different types of Hindu ceremonies there are, and how many I'm not familiar with. This National Geographic video showcases an annual ceremony in Tamil Nadu, in Southern India, where priests break one coconut after another on p

What Happened to the NIT?

Although it will once again be overshadowed by March Madness, this year's National Invitation Tournament gets rolling tonight. You might not realize it, but the NIT wasn't always an afterthought. Let's take a look at how the New York tourney was eclips

The OTHER March Madness Tournaments

The NCAA basketball tournament starts today and lasts for the rest of the month. March Madness is not limited to basketball, however. All around the internet you'll find non-sports tournaments you can participate in yourself, filling out brackets, voting

11 Tweets That Led to a Whole Mess of Legal Trouble

While some might argue that 140 characters aren't enough to adequately express a thought or have a conversation, others have discovered that a tweet or two is all it takes to end up in a courtroom. Here are 11 great tricks for tweeting yourself into a hot

From Pennies to Chocolate: 11 Examples of Creative Flooring

11 Peculiar Meetings Between Famous People

You'd expect famous people to know other famous people. But maybe not these famous people.

Holy Foreskin! A Brief History of Stolen Catholic Relics

Last week a 900-year-old heart that allegedly belonged to St. Laurence O'Toole was stolen from a cathedral in Dublin. Although Rev. Dermot Dunne pointed out that the heart is “valueless” to others, the thief seems to have targeted the relic specifically,

TNG Season 8: The Best Twitter Feed for Star Trek Nerds

If you're a Trek fan, there's an embarrassment of riches for you on Twitter -- you can follow cast members including Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, heck -- even Shatner and Nimoy are tweeting! But while their feeds are great, they're not the be

9 Regular People Who Became Memes

We may never know the true identities of Annoying Facebook Girl and Good Guy Greg, but we do know a little bit more about the people who inspired these memes. 1. College

On This Date in 1975, Geraldo Aired the Zapruder Film for the First Time

We all know John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and we've all seen the Zapruder Film. But what you might not know is that the film didn't air on U.S. network television until 1975, when a youthful Geraldo Rivera debuted the footage on ABC's Good Nig

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