Big Questions Answered, How and Why

This American icon has become a rare sight.

Consumer tastes have shifted over the past 20 years.

You ‘aught’ to know the answer of this question.

Suggestions for what to call the period of time from 2000–2009 ranged from ‘the nillies’ and ‘the oh-ohs’ to ‘the double zeroes’ and ‘the noughties.’ So how’d we land on ‘the aughts’?

He's spreading one helluva message, alright.

Some dogs lift their leg to pee as a way of marking their territory. But they also do it as a way of letting other dogs know they're the baddest canine in town.

Pick-up truck beds have surprising versatility.

Pick-up truck beds are here to make your life easier—if you know how to use them.

The U.S. government has some ideas.

It's what every shower-taker dreads—but it doesn't have to be this way.

Even this cricket wants to know the answer.

Cricket chirps can reach 100 decibels. So why do we use them as a byword for ‘silence’?

Ancient Romans were the first to adopt the practice.

You’d be laughed out of the wedding party for suggesting garlic for a bridal bouquet today, but it used to be pretty common.

Tennis balls are always under pressure to perform.

The key to holding court? A fresh can of tennis balls.

Astronauts spending time at the International Space Station stay hydrated with a refreshing, filtered blend of recycled shower water and pee.

Jacqueline Anders/Moment/Getty Images (cat), Jon Mayer/Mental Floss (thought bubble)

According to experts, the answer is a lot shorter than you may think.

Code-switching goes beyond language—here's what it means and why it happens.

The concave circles built into the sides of plastic milk jugs are an important part of their design.

Horizontal lines run across the rear glass on most cars. Here's why.

British people probably pronounced their ‘R’s back in the day.

Did 17th-century immigrants to the 13 colonies have modern British accents? First, we need to figure out what a “British accent” is.

Grasshopper on the left, swarm of locusts on the right

All locusts are grasshoppers, but not all grasshoppers are locusts.

As brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie on ‘SCTV,’ actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas made ‘hoser’ popular—and there are plenty of theories about the word’s origin.

Chris Evert at the 1978 Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Chris Evert’s tennis bracelets made tennis bracelets a thing. But the origin story gets mistold quite often.

The adorable bear honey bottle design helped launch Dutch Gold Honey to national success. Here’s how it came to be.

If you’re eating a healthy and balanced diet, you may not need extra vitamins.

Too much of anything, even a helpful or healthy thing, can hurt you. Medication? Definitely. Water? Absolutely. Exercise? You bet. Vitamins? Quite possibly.