Big Questions Answered, How and Why

The far-fetched plots were designed to keep viewers wanting more.

How did daytime dramas like “Guiding Light” and “General Hospital” become known as “soap operas”? It's all thanks to commercials.

Do you often mix up antiques, memorabilia, and collectibles? If so, it‘s about time you learned the difference.

Beef tallow (not the best for an apple pie).

What it is, what it's used for, and whether it lives up to the hype.

Space shootouts are possible. The Soviets proved it.

The days of police badges and lightsaber spoons lurking in boxes are over. Kids now get QR codes. What happened?

Astronauts Piers J. Sellers (left) and David A. Wolf in the midst of a pre-breathe exercise in preparation for a spacewalk.

Engineers have had to come up with some interesting ways to generate oxygen for astronauts in the vacuum of space.

You can always avoid the issue by spelling out “St. Patrick’s Day,” but here’s how to properly abbreviate it.

The SAT and ACT are both standardized tests, but what‘s the difference between the two?

Learn about the SAT and ACT differences, including test format, scoring systems, and duration.

Everybody gets to be Irish after they smooch this stone.

This St. Patrick’s Day, discover the origins of this old Irish idiom and how it all ties back to the Blarney Stone in Ireland.

Easter always happens sometime in March or April—but the date is never the same each year.

A mass of shipping containers at the port of Shenzen, China.

Tariffs are a means for one country to wrangle better trade terms with another country and to protect domestic manufacturing. Unfortunately, they don’t always deliver.

Room temperature is a frame of reference.

Misunderstanding room temperature can have some surprisingly serious consequences.

This is a scene you might recognize from every police procedural ever.

And how you can tell a two-way mirror from a standard one.

Believe it or not, soda containers can change how the product tastes.

Ever wondered why canned soda tastes different from one in a plastic bottle? Learn how container materials impact flavor.

Aldi has a good reason for charging a quarter to use carts.

Find out why Aldi‘s quarter system is a smart way to save money and ensure carts are always available.

People with mind blindness cannot visualize things in their minds.

Aphantasia is a little-understood phenomenon that affects about 4 percent of the population. There are several theories behind what causes it.

Think of them as shields for your wheels.

Hubcaps might seem purely decorative, but they serve an important purpose for your car.

You can avoid brain freeze with a couple of easy precautions.

Here's what’s happening in your body when you eat ice cream or drink a chilled beverage too fast.

It’s easier to forecast earthquakes than predict them.

To predict quakes, scientists have to understand how they occur, what happens just before and during the start of one, and whether it shows signs that movement is imminent. So far, none of those things is known.