Big Questions Answered, How and Why

Hardware store aisles are filled with light bulbs that promise cost savings. But what do these terms really mean?

They're both cute and fluffy with big ears, but that's where the similarities end. It gets even more complicated when bunnies and jackrabbits are thrown into the mix …

Cats are undeniably smart, but do they have an understanding of their own identity? Researchers in Tokyo may have found the answer.

A New York chemist found a way to make dry cleaning safer and faster, so of course he named the process after himself.

The Romans referred to the days of the month by their relation to the 'Kalends,' the 'Ides,' and the 'Nones.' If Caesar had been killed any other day, his famous warning might have sounded much less ominous.

Each year, more than 1 million people descend on New Orleans for Mardi Gras, an organized parade of debauchery and alcohol-induced torpor where plastic beads are tossed as a kind of currency.

Humans have been conditioned to say "bless you" after someone has sneezed for centuries. Why do we do it?

You'd be forgiven for thinking the two terms are interchangeable, but they actually refer to two different styles of shirt.

In 2013, the Academy Awards were officially rebranded as simply The Oscars, after the famed statuette that winners receive.

Tequila is always mezcal, but mezcal isn't always tequila. (And only one of them can come with worms, although it isn't exactly encouraged.)

A quick shopper's guide for telling the difference between queen and full mattresses, two of the most popular bed sizes.

You should probably understand the distinction between hotels and motels before booking your stay—and the answer is in etymology.

Punxsutawney Phil—the rodent version of Al Roker—gets trotted out every February to assess our chances of a long winter. Who gave him his meteorology degree?

You can thank the Germans.

If you can drink red wine without staining your teeth, you're one of the lucky ones.

The polar vortex is famous for blasting arctic air south to the U.S. But what exactly is happening here?

Martin Luther King Jr. earned a doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University in 1955. In 1989, archivists working with The Martin Luther King Papers Project discovered that King’s dissertation suffered from what they called a “problematic use o