BIG QUESTIONS

Can You Actually Cough Up A Lung?

Nope. Fortunately, your lungs are too large to fit through your trachea, so they’re not going to come flying out of your mouth. However, they don’t necessarily stay where they belong.

Why is “Weiner” Sometimes “Weener” and Sometimes “Whiner”?

What Happens to Your Luggage if You Survive a Plane Crash?

Be sure to leave your paintings and priceless manuscripts at home.

What Causes “Old Person Smell”?

If you ever noticed an odd smell when around your grandparents, you're not alone. Like other body odors, this “old person smell” is produced when chemicals from the skin glands get broken down into small odorous molecules that waft away into the air.

How Do Muslims Fast for Ramadan if There's No Sunset?

What's a Muslim in Longyearbyen, Norway or Barrow, Alaska supposed to do when there's no sunrise or sunset to guide their fasting? Starve? Fly south for Ramadan?

What Are Smithereens?

“Blown to smithereens” is such a great, colorful phrase. Almost everyone knows exactly what you mean, without being able to define what exactly a smithereen is. What the heck are they?

Do Loose Lips Really Sink Ships?

What's the Difference Between Britain and England?

It’s a common misconception that has been going on for centuries, and it’s difficult to unravel.

Does a Refrigerator Make a Good Faraday Cage?

Why Do People Blush?

Blushing is an involuntary reaction that seems to serve no purpose beyond making an embarrassing situation even worse.

Are Wolves Really Howling at the Moon?

Will McGough answers today's Big Question.

Who Cracked the Liberty Bell?

Chalk the Philly landmark’s famous blemish up to faulty building materials from across the pond.

What Does Your Flight Number Mean?

While they might seem trivial to some degree in today’s world of technological check-ins, the numbers aren’t entirely random, and they aren’t meaningless. In fact, you can presume a lot about a flight just by its number.

What Causes Morning Breath?

Possibly the only thing worse than morning breath is the alarm clock itself, but no amount of brushing, flossing, or stinging mouthwash rinsing the night before seem capable of saving you from the stinking scourge. What gives?

Why Do Canadian Contestants Have to Answer a Skill-Testing Question?

Why do those living above the 49th parallel have to jump through hoops to win a prize?

Londoners undergo a gas exercise for civilians, using tear gas, in 1941.

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Tear Gas

Militaries have been messing around with tear gas—a chemical weapon that dates back to the early 20th century—since World War I.

Why Aren't Bidets Common in the U.S.?

When there is a porcelain toilet-side wash station installed in a U.S. bathroom, it is often an unexpected extra.

Why is Y Sometimes a Vowel?

A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. Why is that?

Who Invented the Little Black Dress?

The “little black dress,” quintessential staple of any woman’s wardrobe, isn’t as timeless as most people think.

Why Would Ecuador Appeal to Edward Snowden?

On Sunday it was reported that Edward Snowden, the whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor, would seek asylum in Ecuador.

Why Are We Still Looking for Jimmy Hoffa?

One of America's most intriguing cold cases heated up this week when a tip from a retired mobster sent FBI and Michigan law enforcement officials wielding shovels and bulldozers to a suburban Detroit field in search of the decades-old remains of former Te

How Do Whales Hold Their Breath for Such a Long Time?

It's not only because they have huge lungs.

What's the Origin of "Kilroy Was Here"?

Kilroy can be found all over the world, and went viral long before social media or the Internet were around.

Can We Determine the Sex of a Dinosaur?

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