Forty years ago, thanks to an organization founded by four high school friends, human rights beat out the free market—and now we can all pee for free.

Anglo-Irish satirist and essayist (1667–1745)

The infinite monkey theorem has been put to work

Proton-enhanced nuclear induction spectroscopy, also called cross-polarisation (CP), is a nuclear magnetic resonance technique invented by Michael Gibby and Alexander Pines while they were graduate students in the lab of Professor John S. Waugh at the Massachusetts…

Shooting locations and other tidbits.

21st-century kidnappings

Pacific War, major theater of World War II that covered a large portion of the Pacific Ocean, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, with engagements occurring as far south as northern Australia and as far north as the Aleutian Islands. Trace the course of the war…

Though he loathed it, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture won him fans the world over and made him a household name.

The quirky fictional world of author, playwright and cartoonist Shel Silverstein also brought us "A Boy Named Sue" and other country classics.

A long-hidden cache of Marilyn Monroe’s private letters and diaries answers many mysteries surrounding her legend. With an exclusive look at this discovery, Sam Kashner digests the revelations about Monroe’s life, loves, and shocking death.

American businessman

John Duncan Bulkeley (19 August 1911 – 6 April 1996) was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and was one of its most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was also the…

The inversion mental model is a powerful tool; solving problems backwards illuminates latticework-interaction phenomena like survivorship bias.

The inversion mental model is a powerful tool; solving problems backwards illuminates latticework-interaction phenomena like survivorship bias.

From an idiot teenager's mind to No. 1 on the charts.

Matthew Hogg suffers from auto-brewery syndrome, which means his body turns yeast into alcohol. His condition has made it impossible for him to live a normal life.

The crocodile has few natural predators, an armor of bony plates covering most of its body and strong jaws capable of crushing anything from bones to cast iron.

Loren Krytzer was scraping by on disability checks when he became a millionaire overnight, all thanks to a blanket from his closet.

statistical measure of how long a person or organism may live, based on factors of their life

Robert Brownlee told us how he shot an object into space before Sputnik.