MF Explains It All

Phone numbers with letters look like gibberish to most people making a phone call today.

You may have noticed these weird phone numbers while watching reruns of your favorite ’50s-era TV show—and though they look like gibberish to modern phone-users, they were perfectly normal at the time.

Turn left for endurance, right for enthusiasm.

You can’t spell ‘hearty’ without ‘heart,’ or ‘hardy’ without ‘hard.’

It's no secret that most fast food "secret sauces" are a riff on Thousand Island dressing.

‘For Pete’s sake’ originated around the early 20th century, but the Pete in question may have lived long before that.

It's a wheel. Also a tire. With a rim. And a hubcap.

Get up to speed on your car lingo.

The answer is a bit complicated.

There‘s a scientific reason you love the smell of gas so much.

If you find the pungent aroma of gas pleasant at the pump, you're not alone. Here's why fuel tickles your brain.

‘Of course’ is one of the most versatile ‘yes’ synonyms we have. But what does it actually mean?

Spoiler alert: This ladybug isn’t actually a bug.

The difference between bugs and insects comes down to more than just semantics. Both terms have scientific definitions.

A baby corn plant and a corn plant are one and the same.

We’re all familiar with the feeling of having an idea or subject stuck in your head that makes it difficult to think about anything else. But why (and when) did we start comparing that experience to a bee buzzing around in your hat?

Airports are not exactly laptop-friendly.

TSA agents need a closer look at your computer. Here's why.

You may have never noticed the extra holes on the sides of your Chuck Taylor All-Stars, but they serve a clever purpose.

Here's how to figure it out once and for all.

All you need for this easy grammar check is a couple of pronouns you already know how to use correctly.

Here’s how to nail the pluralization of your name—even if there’s a possessive involved.

Pluralizing a last name can seem confusing—and it gets even more confusing when you want to make a name both plural and possessive. Here’s how to correctly do both.

A strong El Niño in 2016 appears like a red tongue in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

How can warm water in the Pacific Ocean affect the weather thousands of miles away? Everything is connected.

Don't press this button unless you're sure it's necessary.

The big red triangle should only be pushed in case of emergency. (And no, double-parking doesn't count.)

Bats are homographs, homophones, and homonyms.

Here’s why some homophone examples also work as homograph and homonym examples.

Plastic bags are an environmental disaster.

Technically, they really don't.

If you’re wearing jeans, you’ll probably spot some tiny metal rivets surrounding the front pockets. Like a lot of details in life, we’ve become accustomed to seeing them. So why are they there?