How C.S. Lewis Critiqued and Improved Tolkien's Work

In June of 1938, J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings author) wrote a letter to his editor Stanley Unwin explaining why he was behind ...

Athletes Blame Woes on Defective Soccer Balls

During the 2002 Soccer World Cup, Adidas introduced their Fevernova soccer ball, which featured a new design that was supposed to make the ball follow ...

Joke about Holding Onto Grudges

An old joke. A letter to a neighbor reads:

Dear Frank. We've been neighbors for six tumultuous years. When you borrowed my tiller, you returned it ...

New Parachute Inventor Plunges to Death

On February 22, 1911, Gaston Hervieu climbed the Eiffel Tower to test a new parachute for pilots. He checked the wind, took a nervous breath, and began ...

Harry Potter's Friend Holds Him Accountable

Toward the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, there's a scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are about to break the rules and leave ...

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Researchers are tracking down a cure for something that has been plaguing students and workers alike for centuries—procrastination. Psychologists ...

Cartoonist Gets Published After 610 Tries

Up to his neck in debt, directionless, feeling lost, Tom Toro moved back into his parents' place and slipped into a dark depression. But things started ...

Workers Fake Happiness Around the Boss

An article in The Wall Street Journal points to research that proves what many workers already know: employees fake a positive outlook when the boss is ...

Spider-Man and Elmo Arrested in New York City

Costumed street performers in New York City's Times Square have fallen on hard times. The ordinary folks dressed up as Spider-Man, Elmo, Cookie Monster, ...

Expert on Bull Runs Gets Gored By Bull

Every year revelers from around the world head to Pamplona, Spain to take part in the running of the bulls glorified by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel ...