We'll be back next week with an all-new episode - until then, enjoy a popular one from the archives! 

You’ve probably noticed novelty popcorn buckets tied in with select blockbuster movies. If you miss them in the theater, you can always take out a loan to buy one later.


Screen time and its potentially harmful side effects are a real concern - even at zoos. 


Okay, so he’s not sued EVERYone, but Jonathan Riches has filed more lawsuits than anyone you've ever met.

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Why do some things (kids growing up 🥺) feel like they happen quickly, while others (DMV visit) creep along slowly?

Gone since 2013, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back the presidential physical fitness test. Cue collective dread.

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A clever crime ring in Bali has been successfully operating for decades and authorities are unable to stop it. The members of this crime syndicate are… monkeys.

Some people get selected for jury duty so often they could teach a course on it, while others have never been called. What’s the story behind this (supposedly) random system?

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We do it enthusiastically at concerts, politely at ceremonies and awkwardly at meetings.  Why do we clap? How did we start?

The frozen crust-free peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the preferred snack of five-year-olds … and professional football players. 

Sources:

https://foodinstitute.com/focus/the-incredible-uncrustable-how-the-frozen-pbj-won-over-the-nfl/

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240523-why-do-we-clap

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The fastest-growing segment of video gamers isn’t kids, teenagers, or guys in their mom’s basement—and they usually have grandkids. 

During the Cold War, the CIA’s most highly trained spies weren’t that good—and they weren’t human, either. 

Sources:

https://www.history.com/articles/cia-spy-cat-espionage-fail

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-interactive/2025/jul/14/video-games-older-adults-data

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We’re all on the big round earth at the same time, but our clocks say different times. How we got time zones. 

A thumbs-up good is always good…isn’t it?  Why has emoji use become difficult to decipher?

Sources:

https://www.vox.com/2014/8/5/5970767/case-against-time-zones

https://theconversation.com/thumbs-up-good-or-passive-aggressive-how-emojis-became-the-most-confusing-kind-of-online-language-259151

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How true are movies that claim to be true? And does it even matter?

The color red is most often associated with danger - how did that happen?

Sources:

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Vanilla sounds bland but the flavor is anything but basic. This week we’ll tell you where it comes from. (Hint: you’ll never think about beavers the same way again.)

Independence Day fireworks fun can hide a grim reality: it may end up at the ER … or even the morgue. 

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/does-vanilla-flavoring-actually-come-from-beaver-butts-180983288/

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/how-dangerous-are-fireworks-injuries-by-the-numbers

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Did basketball begin when Dr. James Naismith nailed up two peach baskets or with a teenage YMCA director lobbing cabbages?

The “IKEA effect” says sweat equity adds worth. There’s science behind the lopsided bookshelf that you still consider priceless.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2024/06/12/a-psychologist-explains-the-ikea-effect-how-labor-leads-to-love/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/nyregion/basketball-herkimer-ny.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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Why do toddlers experience an event but lose the memory? This week we explore why our youngest years vanish - and what we can do to make those earliest moments stick.

How a tree nearly started WWlll. 

Sources:

https://www.thehindu.com/children/operation-paul-bunyan-when-a-tree-sparked-a-military-standoff/article68763759.ece/amp/

https://www.popsci.com/health/why-we-forget-our-childhoods/#:~:text=This%20suggests%20the%20issue%20is,that%20prepares%20humans%20for%20adulthood

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