MF Explains It All

Deserts either want to broil you alive or force you to put on layers. It's a fascinating ecological condition with a simple explanation.

It wasn't a product of your young imagination: Chalky, white dog poop really was everywhere in the 1970s and '80s. Here's why it went away.

Greeters can mean increased profits for stores.

Having a person stand at attention at the entrance to a store makes shoppers feel welcome, but there's also a financial benefit for retailers.

Carpeting in cars provides a real benefit.

They collect dirt, grime, snow, and assorted gunk. They stain. So why do car manufacturers insist on carpeting floors?

Honey can spend years in a pantry without spoiling because bees are very diligent when it comes to food safety.

Rock salt can damage concrete driveways.

Millions of people treat slippery surfaces with rock salt, but it can wind up doing your driveway a lot more harm than good.

Public bathrooms are uncomfortable for a reason.

The design of public restrooms guarantees you'll never be all that comfortable. Blame Frank Lloyd Wright.

If they're not sitting at a desk all day, they might be a blue-collar worker.

White collar jobs are purportedly better paying and more respectable than blue collar jobs—here’s how that came to be.

JLGutierrez/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When you have a great idea, do you copyright, trademark, or patent it? Well, it all depends on what kind of idea it is.

As potholes go, this one is pretty photogenic.

Potholes are the bane of drivers everywhere. Unfortunately, not much can be done to prevent them from forming.

A hissing or noisy throne is usually an easy fix if you know what to look for. Here's how to stop a running toilet.

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), NOAA

Nor’easters have earned their reputation for wreaking havoc on land. But what qualifies a storm as a nor’easter?

If you call a buzzard a vulture in the UK, be prepared to get some strange looks. There is a difference between the two birds of prey.

Chains hanging from service vehicles serve a purpose.

Like a cat on a perch, the chains on school buses and ambulances seem to dangle with no apparent purpose. Their true mission is actually pretty clever.

This confounding cat behavior is mostly because our furry friends love warm spots and attention from you.

Miranda is an important character in Shakespeare's The Tempest, but she's not the titular role.

The definition of ‘eponymous’ has changed over time, and ‘titular’ has more than one. Here’s how to use each word correctly.

Those white spots on your teeth might be trying to tell you something (like that your mouth is suffering a plaque attack).

You can chalk it up to hormone changes, but your genes aren’t so innocent when it comes to hair color.

Bagels and bialys are often lumped together. They're both round, chewy, and are sold in shops around New York City. But these two staples of Jewish delicatessen cuisine differ in some major ways.