Home / Categories

General

A little of everything: the facts that do not fit a single shelf.

8 Common Myths About the Human BodyGEN · 6 MIN
Latest in General

8 Common Myths About the Human Body

Eight things you were told about your own body — the 10 percent brain, the eight glasses of water, the tongue taste map — gently set straight by the science.

Read now
9 Everyday Habits With Surprisingly Old OriginsGEN · 6 MIN
General

9 Everyday Habits With Surprisingly Old Origins

From “bless you” to the clink of a toast, nine small things you do without thinking carry roots that run back centuries — some documented, some pure legend.

6 min read
The Surprising Reasons Behind 8 Everyday DesignsGEN · 5 MIN
General

The Surprising Reasons Behind 8 Everyday Designs

The clock on your wall, the keyboard under your fingers, the round window on a plane: eight everyday designs and the surprising, sometimes disputed, reasons they turned out that way.

5 min read
10 Gadgets From the ’70s and ’80s That Vanished From Our HomesGEN · 5 MIN
General

10 Gadgets From the ’70s and ’80s That Vanished From Our Homes

The '70s and '80s home had a soundtrack all its own — the clatter of a corded phone, the chunk of a cassette, a percolator on the stove. Here are ten gadgets that quietly vanished.

5 min read
9 Old-Fashioned Manners That Have Quietly DisappearedGEN · 5 MIN
General

9 Old-Fashioned Manners That Have Quietly Disappeared

Little kindnesses that once said 'I was raised right' -- from the handwritten thank-you note to giving up your seat -- and that you almost never see anymore. A wistful look at nine everyday courtesies that have quietly slipped away.

5 min read
8 Everyday Customs and Where They Really Come FromGEN · 5 MIN
General

8 Everyday Customs and Where They Really Come From

Clinking glasses, blowing out candles, knocking on wood - eight everyday customs and where they really come from, with an honest note wherever the "real" origin is just a good guess.

5 min read
10 Sunday Rituals That Defined American Family LifeGEN · 5 MIN
General

10 Sunday Rituals That Defined American Family Life

Church, the roast, the funny pages, the Sunday drive — ten rituals that once gave the week its quiet, unhurried shape.

5 min read
9 School Supplies From the ’50s and ’60s You’ll Instantly RememberGEN · 5 MIN
General

9 School Supplies From the ’50s and ’60s You’ll Instantly Remember

Fountain pens and inkwells, purple ditto worksheets you had to smell, the Big Chief tablet, a metal lunchbox, the wall-mounted sharpener — nine things from a 1950s and '60s classroom you'll know by heart.

5 min read
The Surprising Origins of 10 Famous Brand NamesGEN · 5 MIN
General

The Surprising Origins of 10 Famous Brand Names

You say them a dozen times a week without a second thought. But Google is a typo, Pepsi is named after indigestion, and Adidas is not the acronym you think. The true stories behind ten famous brand names.

5 min read
12 Slang Words Everyone Used in the 1960s (That Nobody Says Now)GEN · 4 MIN
General

12 Slang Words Everyone Used in the 1960s (That Nobody Says Now)

Groovy, far out, boss, bread, daddy-o — a dozen slices of 1960s slang that were everywhere for a while and have quietly slipped out of the language.

4 min read
Showing 10 of 12 stories
Free · every morning

One fact, one story, before your coffee cools.

A daily trivia question and a five-minute read worth knowing. Unsubscribe anytime.

By signing up you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.