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sony pictures

From Dartmouth style beer pong to on-set head butts, here are 10 things the directors and cast told us about making '22 Jump Street,' out today.

Erin McCarthy




Thinkstock

These days, pants are our garment of choice. But for years, our ancestors draped themselves in tunics, robes, and gowns, until someone decided they were tired of having the wind up their skirt. So, what prompted the change? When, exactly, did two-legged t

Jessica Hullinger


Lessons in the Art of Acting by Edmund Shaftesbury

Webster Edgerly had developed a system for “the management of the body and its members” that if carefully studied and committed to memory would turn anyone into “the PERFECT ACTOR.” Here are explicit instructions from “the Shaftesbury Method” on how to pe

Arika Okrent


getty images

It’s no surprise that not every hugely popular retail giant was an instant success, but it may be a little shocking to realize that plenty of well-known stores didn’t even start out selling the stuff they’re best known for now.

Kate Erbland

The book provides advice in the form of example letters for all sorts of situations. But it is the many matters of the heart that come across as particularly dated and worthy of unraveling more than a century and a half later. Let's take a look at some of

Hannah Keyser




Andrew Burton / Staff / Getty Images

What starts with a C and wakes you up first thing in the morning? If you said coffee, you’re half right. But the other half you may not have considered.

Rachel Poletick






Use anguilloform to describe something eel-shaped.

Circle, square, triangle—boring! There are so many more shapes than those in nature. Good thing there’s a rich vocabulary of fancy scientific words for shapes. Most of them don’t get much use, which is a shame. Get to know a few of these, and describe you

Arika Okrent


Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Scientists and animal rights activists have long wondered if wheel running was a neurotic behavior exclusive to captive mice. But new research on mice in the wild shows that it's possible these rodents run for fun.

Erin McCarthy


ABC15

It’s happened to all of us. You ordered a Big Mac at the McDonald’s drive-thru, but when you got home and opened the bag, you discovered a Filet-O-’Fish in its place. When this conundrum arises, most people choose between three options: toss the offending

Stacy Conradt


Library of Congress

On September 11, 1937, the Washington Post reported that "D.C.'s Lone Girl Motorcyclist Stormed Loudly To Get Permit." The girl was Sally Robinson (married name: Halterman, as she is identified in photo archives) and after nearly a decade of operating mot

Hannah Keyser
ThinkStock

A few years ago, Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson pointed out that the best way to expose a German spy would be to ask them to say the word “squirrel,” because “no German, no matter how well they speak English, can say ‘squirrel.’” So naturally, someone test

Arika Okrent