We walk on sidewalks all the time, so much so that we usually don’t ever think about the stuff we’re stepping on: the rigid, smooth, gray hard stuff under our feet. But, have you ever stopped to wonder what the proper name for that stuff is? Is it concrete, or is it cement? And, what’s…
In the past 2 days, I’ve heard 4 different people say, “Welp…I’ve already blown my New Year’s resolution!” Which got me thinking: why do we make these sweeping annual promises to ourselves? Where did this tradition come from? And why does this tradition continue when so many people fail? Well, to start, we have the…
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Whoops, I let the cat out of the bag” when someone accidentally reveals a secret. But where did that phrase come from? And who put that cat in a bag to begin with? The phrase’s first documented usage was in a book review in The London Magazine back in 1760:…
The other day, as I was trying to describe to someone the difference between my current & past mothers-in-law, I began to wonder: “why do we call our spouse’s relatives ‘in-laws’ in the first place?” It’d be easy to assume that it’s because your spouse’s family members are related to you by law, not by…
While you might be proficient in the kitchen, you could potentially find yourself with a deflated cake or bone-dry brownies if you happen to go bake in Aspen, CO. Because an oven at high altitude can, very often, wreak havoc on your baked goods? But, why does altitude affect baking? It boils down to air…
How each of us sees the world is, of course, subjective. But, some colors are meant to be constant. Oranges are forever orange. Fire engines are always red. Tennis balls are always yellow. Or…are they green? Which is it? According to the International Tennis Federation, a tennis ball should be yellow in color, a mandate…
Each & every Christmas Eve, Santa Clause sets out across the world, delivering toys to good little girls & boys. And, along the way, his yuletide mission is fueled by everyone’s traditional offering of cookies & milk. With all those goodies at every single stop, just how much weight would St. Nick pack on? There’s…
As we get ready to celebrate the holidays, you might be around friends & family (please be safe). And, if/when you are, you might want to share the latest “scuttlebutt”. But, have you ever wondered what that exactly is, and why we want to hear it? When we make conversation, we use a variety of…
Unless you’re very lucky, or very well-organized, your Christmas lights are likely all tangled up when you get them out of storage. One way or another, you’ll eventually end up on your hands & knees, fighting to untangle that seasonal snarl. And you’re not alone: a few years ago, even the British grocery chain Tesco…
Each December, we throw a big shindig in celebration of the anniversary of Jesus’s birth. But, without a birth certificate or other official record of His actual birthdate, December 25th seems like it’s an arbitrary date for our Christmas traditions. So, how was it chosen as THE date? The Bible doesn’t name a month, day,…