40 Million Russians in Drills for Possible Nuclear Strike
The drills were part of a disaster exercise, not an indication of an imminent nuclear war.
View ArticleMalawian Minister Sent Pornographic Video to Beyoncé?
A report that the defense minister of Malawi sent a lewd video of himself to American singer Beyoncé reads like satire.
View ArticlePluck Yew
The 'middle finger salute' did not derive from the defiant gestures of archers whose fingers had been severed at the Battle of Agincourt.
View ArticleThe Definition of ‘Trumpery’
Spoiler alert: The dictionary definition of the word 'trumpery' employs such expressions as 'deceit,' 'fraud,' and 'showy but worthless.'
View ArticleEtymology of Sirloin
The cut of steak known as "sirloin" is not so named because an English king once knighted a piece of beef.
View ArticleOrigins of the Guillotine
Dr. Joseph Guillotin neither invented the guillotine nor was executed with one of those machines.
View ArticleThe Origins of 420
The story of how the code '420' entered drug parlance as a term signifying the time to light up a joint.
View ArticleIs ‘Covfefe’ a Word in Arabic? Yiddish? ‘Antediluvian’?
After President Donald Trump mistyped (then deleted) a tweet, some hurried to ascribe meanings to the mistyped word "covfefe."
View ArticleEtymology of ‘News’
The English word 'news' is not an acronym formed from the words 'north,' east,' 'west,' and 'south.'
View ArticleDid the Phrase ‘a Shot of Whiskey’ Originate in the Old West?
Anecdotal reports say the expression "a shot of whiskey" came into being when cowboys traded bullets for liquor in Old West saloons.
View ArticleWas the Missing Titanic Submersible Relying on Satellites from Elon Musk’s...
The submersible went missing in June 2023 with five people on board during a dive to explore the Titanic wreckage.
View ArticleIs Google Maps Adding Feature That Lets Drivers Challenge Each Other To a Race?
"Tom wants to race," a mockup appeared to say.
View ArticleDid Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter Appear on the Cover of a Serbian Biology...
The book's designer told a reporter in 2011 that the use of the photograph was an honest mistake.
View ArticleDid Denzel Washington Say He Hoped 'Morals, Respect, and Intelligence' Would...
While the quote might sound like something one of the actor's characters might say, the real question was whether he truly said it.
View ArticleDoes This Image Show a Deceased Grandmother Encased in Resin?
We invite readers to follow along as we document our entire research process.
View ArticleCan Amputees Take Their Limbs Home?
A Reddit user's account of his post-amputation experience of bringing home his leg and making tacos out of it is decidedly uncommon, but at least part of his story is not unheard of.
View ArticleWhat Does a Blobfish Look Like in Its Natural Environment?
The "world's ugliest fish" isn't as ugly in its natural environment.
View ArticleAre U.S. Railroad Gauges Based on Roman Chariots?
The eventual standardization of railroad gauge in the U.S. was due far less to a slavish devotion to a gauge inherited from England than to the simple fact that the North won the Civil War.
View ArticleDid Quaker Oats Fund MIT Research That Fed Radioactive Cereal to Kids?
The experimental subjects, from the Walter E. Fernald State School in Massachusetts, had been deemed "mentally retarded."
View ArticleDid 3 Men Die After Being Trapped 16 Days in Sunken Pearl Harbor Battleship?
Navy personnel reported hearing tapping sounds apparently coming from the forward hull of the sunken vessel.
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