Posted inLifestyle
The U.S. law that once banned Christmas celebrations
In 1659, Massachusetts fined anyone celebrating Christmas. Learn why Puritans banned the holiday and how long the ban lasted, as well as when it ended.
Posted inLifestyle
Why smoking was marketed as a cure for asthma
Cigarettes as medicine? That's right. Doctors once encouraged them for asthma relief. The story of why it all went wrong is almost unbelievable.
Posted inLifestyle
The fading pride of owning a set of encyclopedias
Encyclopedias ruled living rooms for decades. Then something unexpected knocked them off the shelf. Here's the lowdown on what exactly happened.
Posted inLifestyle
10 things people buy just to seem busy
Some office gadgets aren’t meant to improve your work at all. People buy them just to look busy. See which ones are secretly pointless, and why.
Posted inLifestyle
11 forgotten ways people paid fines in the 1800s
From livestock to hard labor, the 1800s had some unusual ways of clearing debts. Discover 11 forgotten fine-payments that reveal just how quirky justice once was.
Posted inCareer
Why company loyalty faded over time
Once, a career meant loyalty and guarantees. Then the rules changed. See how and why the old deal between workers and companies collapsed. What changed?
Posted inHealth & Fitness
How mustard gas research accidentally led to chemotherapy
A deadly war gas wiped out soldiers’ blood cells. Decades later, it became the unlikely key to the world’s first chemotherapy treatment.
Posted inHealth & Fitness
The time America banned alcohol but prescribed it as medicine
During Prohibition, whiskey was outlawed yet still legal with a doctor’s note. How did this strange loophole work? And who got the bottles?
Posted inLifestyle
The strange panic over Japanese gardens during WWII
Fear turned peaceful Japanese gardens into symbols of suspicion. They were renamed, and the original owners were sent to incarceration camps. Find out more.
Posted inLifestyle
10 things people do to look in control
They straighten papers and lower their pitch. They'll also sip their water just so. Learn about the hidden tricks some people use to look in control.