New Year's Celebrations from Around the World

How do you prepare for the New Year? Here are some interesting New Year's traditions from around the globe:

• In Siberia it is tradition to dive into a frozen lake while holding a tree trunk, which is placed underneath the ice.

The Runaway Bus Driver Who Made History

On Friday March 28, 1947, at 6:55 A.M., Bronx bus driver William Cimillo got into his bus to start his daily route. But then something happened. He decided ...

The Rise in End-of-the-World Films

The end is near, and it's coming to a theater near you, or right into your own living room. As of this writing, over 250 end-of-the-world movies have ...

Summarizing Your Life in Six Words

If you had to summarize your life in six words, what would they be? Several years ago an online magazine asked that question. It was inspired by a possibly ...

Samuel Johnson's Failed New Year's Resolutions

In 1738, the literary giant Samuel Johnson wrote in his diary: "Oh Lord, enable me to redeem the time which I have spent in sloth." Nineteen ...

Gym Memberships and Absentee Members

Every January, millions of Americans, brimming with optimism and a little extra belly from the holidays, commemorate the New Year by making an unfamiliar ...

86-Year-Old Marathoner Dies with Her Shoes On

Eighty-six year old Joy Johnson, a veteran of 25 New York City marathons, died with her running shoes on. Johnson, who was the oldest runner in this year's ...

Mythbusters: You Can Teach Old Dogs New Tricks

In 1523, an English animal trainer named John Fitzherbert said, "The dog must be trained when he is a whelp, or else it will not be [trained]; for ...

How Aging Became a "Disease"—and a Huge Business

Trying to look younger and prevent aging has become an $511 billion a year business [as of 2022]. According to a book by Arlene Weintraub titled Selling ...

How to Be Prepared for an Anaconda Attack

According to pastor and author John Ortberg, a fictitious manual for Peace Corp volunteers headed for South America offers advice on how to handle a chance ...