When it comes to shopping for school supplies, one of the most basic items also has one of the most specific requirements. Teachers request No. 2 pencils by name. Standardized tests also warn against substituting another type, with generations of students having filled in those little test bubbles with No. 2 pencils. But why No. […]
You’re not the only one who might fall asleep while cozying up on the couch — your feet are also prone to a quick snooze. Feet are finicky about sitting positions, causing them to doze off momentarily when you trade proper posture for a more comfortable lounge position. Your foot isn’t sleeping of course, and […]
Remember when you were a kid and a friend or sibling poked and wiggled their fingers into your ribs? Before you even had time to think, you were laughing. Not just smiling — real, uncontrollable laughter that came out in bursts while you twisted away, tried to block their hands, and maybe even protested that […]
The next time you’re settling into a flight, perhaps with your forehead resting against the glass, admiring clouds floating by or peering at tiny farms and towns 35,000 feet below you, take a look at the window. Not through it, but at it. We’ll bet all our frequent flyer miles that it’s round. Airplane windows […]
It’s lunchtime, and without thinking you grab last night’s aluminum-wrapped leftovers and toss them into the microwave. Big mistake. Soon, you’re treated to a sparking, plasma-filled light display that has you rushing for the “stop” button. When you heat food in a traditional oven, aluminum is highly valuable because the material is a strong heat […]
When you visit the doctor for a yearly checkup, pre-op appointment, or really anything else, one of the first things you can expect they’ll do is check your blood pressure. And when they do, you’re given two numbers as a result (X over Y). The top number is your systolic blood pressure, and the bottom […]
You take what you think is a great photo, only to see you’ve got the red, glowing eyes of a demon. While increasingly less common in the age of smartphones, the notorious red pupil likely appears multiple times in your scrapbook. The good news is that it’s not a sign of demonic possession. It’s also […]
Even if you’ve had seven or eight hours of sleep, when that alarm goes off or your eyes blink open first thing in the morning, you may still wake up feeling sluggish and disoriented. Unlike a brand-new Porsche that can go zero to 60 nearly immediately, we’re more like a beat-up — but beloved — […]
If you’ve ever taken an important test such as the SAT, you know just how valuable a pencil eraser can be. Without one, you’d be stuck with an answer you quickly realized was incorrect, or perhaps a multiple choice bubble you’ve filled in by mistake. It’s easy to take the little nub on the end […]
The party is over, and it’s time to put that leftover charcuterie in the fridge. Sure, you could break various meats and cheeses into several small containers, but why not just reach for cling wrap, cover the whole thing in plastic, and call it a day? For more than 70 years, cling wrap — introduced […]
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