From The Archive

Spies Like Us: Industrial Espionage

From homing pigeons and invisible semen ink, we turn to business spies. Trade secrets are just that, secrets, and they've been the target of spying even before the industrial revolution. Take, for example, the silk industry. Until the 6th century, only th

8 Wonderful Dog Stories

When I compiled the post 10 Stories of Lifesaving Dogs, I found more heroic dogs than I needed that day, plus quite a few other dogs that accomplished wonderful things. Here are the stories of eight more. 1. Cairo the SEAL

7 Different Ways to Say Hello

Greetings, earthling. People all over the world—from Albania to Zimbabwe, from Belarus to Vietnam—generally answer their phones using some variation on the standard “hello”: Hallo? Alo! Halo? A lô! Hola? Alio! But as far as international salutations go,

Those Aren't Your Father's Fireworks

When you’re a kid, the Fourth of July is devoted to finding a bigger, louder, awesome-r way to blow things up in a celebration of freedom. Sure, we happily played with the sparklers and the snakes and – if we were really lucky – Roman candles and bottle r

3 People Who Talked Down Potential Jumpers

It’s not always a trained negotiator who talks a potential jumper off the ledge. Sometimes it’s a shock jock, a rapper, or a hotel maid. 1. Howard Stern Keeps Caller On the Line, On the

8 Prehistoric Creatures from Your Nightmares

We see fossil reconstructions or illustrations of species that have come and gone and we sometimes say, "Come on now, that can't be real!" Or maybe you don't, but I have, because these creatures look like they came from a horror film or a child's most fri

Dietribes: A Big Pizza Pie, That's Amore

• Pizza is one food that will likely never go out of style. Since Gennaro Lombardi of Naples, Italy, opened the first licensed pizzeria in the United States (in Little Italy, Manhattan of course) in 1905, Americans haven't looked back. A market research g

Sometimes Love Smacks You on the Head

Oliver Hardy was the lovable 300-pound half of the famous comedy team Laurel & Hardy. While working on the film The Flying Deuces in 1939, the script continuity girl was a 30-year-old woman named Lucille Jones. (The script continuity girl made sure the sc

7 Curious Cases of Criminal Cats

Animals who steal are referred to as kleptomaniacs, or in the case of cats, "cat burglars," but they most likely just think of themselves as collectors -they find something they like and take it, with no consideration of the ethics involved. Cats are part

Real-Life Zombie Emergency Plans (and a giveaway!!)

Never fear, zombiephobes: actual zombie emergency plans are popping up across the world. Nevermind that the zombies you see in movies are totally fictional - respected instituions such as the University of Florida and even the Centers for Disease Control

10 Technology Prizes That Propelled Us Forward

Sometimes, people just need a little added incentive. Here are 10 technology-related prizes that helped move us forward. 1. Orteig

A Very Tiny Dollhouse with Very Big Treasures

I hate dolls. They just creep me out. But, as I’ve mentioned before on the _floss, I have a bizarre fascination with dollhouses. I’m in good company, though. Included amongst the millions of people interested in miniatures was Colleen Moore, a silent fi

The Quick 10: Itsy-Bitsy, Teeny-Weeny Trivia About Bikinis

1. The oldest documented bikinis—haute, bandeau-style little numbers—show up in a 1,700 year old Roman mosaic entitled Chamber of the Ten Maidens. A bevy of ancient, bikini-clad babes are depicted playing sports. 2. Earlier this year, Brooklyn-based d

The Worst First Pick in Basketball History

There’s not much we can say with certainty as Thursday's NBA draft approaches. Some team will get a terrific bargain in this draft. Some team will burn its pick on a colossal disappointment whose name will be whispered in the same breath those of uber-bus

Why Do Coins Have Ridges?

The rims on U.S. dimes, quarters, half dollars and some dollar coins are called reeded edges. They’ve been on American currency almost since day one as a way of keeping people honest.

Mo Willems and The State

Parents probably recognize Mo Willems as the animator and writer behind the award-winning Pigeon series of books. What they probably don’t know is that he played a role in the formation of one of the most beloved sketch comedy troupes of the 1990s. When

Unsung Dads of the Animal Kingdom

There are all types of different “fathers,” from biological dads to adoptive dads to foster dads to father figures. And there are also those unsung patriarchs of the animal kingdom... Their Mane

All Roads Lead to D.C.

Though the saying is “All roads lead to Rome,” if Washington D.C. architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant had his way, all roads would lead to the nation’s capital. L’Enfant wanted a column called “the Washington Meridian” erected a mile east of the U.S. Capit

10 Cultural Giants Who Died Coinless

The notion of the starving artist is nothing new, and whether it was because they toiled in obscurity, were swindled or the victims of financial mismanagement, some of the most famous contributors to culture sadly perished in poverty. 1. Vincent van Gogh

Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?

Queen of the Sun is a new documentary from Taggart Siegel, director of The Real Dirt on Farmer John among many others. The film is about the crisis of Colony Collapse Disorder, and how different kinds of beekeepers around the world are coping with it. I

Jaleel White Was Almost Rudy Huxtable

This news comes from a Q&A with Vanity Fair's Mike Ryan: Is it true that you were originally cast as Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby

Would a Dingo Really Eat Your Baby?

Every Seinfeld fan remembers the scene in which Elaine broke out her best Australian accent and dingo theory. Are dingoes really known for eating small children? And what was she referencing with the accent?

Nominative Determinism: Yes, That's His Real Name

Nominative determinism is the theory that a person's name has some influence over what they do with their life. Keep that in mind as you read this story. A young red-tailed hawk fell out of a nest that was being monitored by a webcam in Portland. A police

Battle of the Babies: a White House Brawl

In this corner: Baby Ruth Cleveland. If you're much of a presidential history buff (or into candy trivia), you've heard of Baby Ruth, who likely wasn't the source of inspiration behind the candy bar of the same name. Because she was born between her dad G

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