BIG QUESTIONS

Why Do Clowns Wear Big Shoes?

Was Elvis Actually Any Good at Karate?

Is Speaking a Language Different From Being Fluent in It?

Are you bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual? A polyglot or hyperpolyglot?

If The United States Retires The Penny, Where Will All The Old Ones Go?

Why Does the Scent of Blood Attract Carnivores?

Why Do Trick Candles Keep Relighting?

For children of a certain age, there are few things more amazing than blowing out a birthday candle only to have it relight—as if by magic!—soon after the flame has been extinguished.

Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Brain Damage?

The lives and livelihoods of these birds revolve around slamming their heads into things. Does it hurt them? Do they benefit from doing so?

How Do You Calculate the Wind Chill?

What does it really mean when the weatherman says it feels like minus-20 today? Is there a wind chill thermometer somewhere, or is he just using a mathematical formula? Let's answer these and some of the other pressing questions about the ubiquitous winte

How Many Germs Are in a Kiss?

Who Invented the Brownie?

What Exactly Is a Pixel?

“Pixel” is a term derived from the words “picture” and “element.”

Who Had the First Jersey Number to Be Retired in Sports?

Why Does My Cat Bring Home Dead Animals?

What’s the Difference Between Hair and Fur?

The most common distinction between hair and fur that people tend to make is usually between you and your pet. You have hair on your head, and your dog Fido has fur all over its body. Easy enough, right? Wrong.

Where Does Bingo Come From?

Why Do Different Drinks Require Different Kinds of Glassware?

Why Were Chopsticks Invented?

But Seriously: Why Do We Drive on Parkways and Park on Driveways?

Next time someone makes that joke, here's what you tell them.

How is Blood Type Determined?

Why Do Car Speedometers List Speeds That Are Way Over the Legal Limit?

Where in the World is Kim Jong-un's Older Brother?

In 2001, Kim Jong-nam was busted with a fake passport while trying to sneak into Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland. What's he been up to since?

Why Do Witches Ride Brooms?

The popular image of a witch, which you can see everywhere right now in the form of Halloween costumes and decorations, is a woman with a pointy hat and warty nose stirring a cauldron or flying on a broom. How did that odd choice of transportation get tie

What's the Deal With "What's the Deal With..."?

The phrase, "What's the deal with..." is so synonymous with a specific brand of '90s observational comedy, I bet you just read those words in Jerry Seinfeld's voice. It's funny because he always said it! Or did he?

Is Kansas Really "Flatter than a Pancake"?

The Earth certainly isn't flat, but is the state of Kansas close to it?

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