The famous commercial didn't follow the script.

Your dog’s motivations for licking you range from adorable to disgusting.

We know brownie points are something we can earn with spouses or superiors. But where did the term come from?

Whether you’re at a hotel on a trip or crashing at a relative’s house for the holidays, getting quality sleep on the first few nights can be a challenge.

When you’re drifting outside our planet’s magnetosphere, things get complicated.

Using someone else’s toothbrush is really no different than kissing that person ... right? Wrong!

Experts say you shouldn't skip cleaning new cookware.

From a 19th-century tale of catastrophe to a modern-day classic made into a film, these are books you’ll want to add to your TBR.

‘Venomous’ versus ‘poisonous.’ ‘Hominin’ versus ‘hominid.’ Scientific terms can be confusing to non-specialists—so here's how to use them correctly.

‘Tis the season for cozying up with a maple latte on a fall morning.

To this day, no one knows who “The Thing” might have been.

Not all tales of poisoned Halloween candy are mere legend.

For every speech, there are a bunch of versions that ended up in the shredder.

Crossing these bridges are moments that stick with you, when the journey itself becomes the event.

For at least 500 years—and maybe more—pigeon fanciers have bred wonderfully bizarre-looking pigeons.

You’ll probably find more than one of these books on Gen X shelves.

The “little apple of death” is the true forbidden fruit.

Legal eagles like adding “Esquire” to their letterhead. But does it actually carry any meaning?

Is ‘The Dusk Area’ on your list of favorite TV shows?

Just underneath the surface of many paintings, both famous and obscure, is a hidden painting that could have been.

Every birthday counts when you just have one life.

Can't remember the last time you washed the handles or the interiors? That’s a solid sign that it could be time to give your suitcase a good scrub-down.

The Garden of Earthly Delights is a piece so ripe with symbolism that it inspires intense curiosity more than 500 years after it was painted.

It’s easily confused with another snake-and-staff symbol from ancient Greece.

No one knows why they were painted—or what they mean.

You may already have a favorite, but do you really know what’s in each soft drink?

‘Home Alone and ‘Home Alone 2’ didn’t meet Ebert’s approval, but he showered praise on the mostly-forgotten ‘Home Alone 3.’

There are a few reasons why a closed door may drive your cat a bit crazy.

Even the mighty Romans couldn’t bring these peoples to their knees.

The imposing clocks have an origin story, but it doesn’t have much to do with any actual grandfathers.

Here’s another reason to rethink bringing your phone into the bathroom with you.

The origins of the term come from the Irish word for “ring.”

Astronauts have left behind abandoned spacecraft as well as golf balls, fine art, and a message from Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1981, 58-year-old Polly Melton went for a hike in a well-traveled national park. She never returned.

One atomic bomb was used in a test explosion. Two more bombs were deployed over Japan. That left a mysterious fourth bomb in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

There’s a great deal of feminist inspiration to be taken from the author’s novels, life, and legacy.

These odd architectural features are remnants of a time when people had to pay if they wanted to look outside.

A look at some of the OG fashion influencers.

There are a handful of sinister suggestions—ranging from a Viking invasion to human sacrifice—about the rhyme’s inspiration.

Turns out, Salvador Dalí might have held the “key” to a good nap all along.

How expensive is your architectural taste?

Several factors led to the huge real estate bargain, including (at least indirectly) Thomas Jefferson’s obsession with mastodons.

Tossing old vapes out in the trash could actually be more hazardous than you thought.

The public once made the rock anthem a chart-topping hit. Then we all seemed to change our mind.

One hundred years ago, John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first clear TV image:  the unsettling grin of Stooky Bill.

The holiday toy craze of 1983 inspired a line of counterfeit Kids that were stuffed with flammable rags. Collect 'em all!

Wearing your favorite old pair of camouflage shorts on a Caribbean cruise could put a real damper on your vacation.

Blame it on two particular factors.

Cockroaches have a reputation for being indestructible. But they may not be as totally immune to radiation as people think.

See if your favorite made it to the list.