Lists and Stories

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  Who Founded Chicago? To early writers of Chicago’s history, John Kinzie, a white Protestant involved in trade and politics, was the embodiment of a founding father—so they designated him the city’s first citizen. Yet these writers overlooked Jean-Baptist-Point Du Sable, the man who is thought to have first occupied the...
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  Who Invented the Internet? What most of us think of as the Internet is really just the pretty face of the operation—browser windows, websites, URLs, and search bars. But the real Internet, the brain behind the information superhighway, is an intricate set of protocols and rules that someone had to develop before we could get...
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  Who Is Hanukkah Harry? Some Americans might be quick to say that Hanukkah Harry is the patron figure of Hanukkah, comparable to Santa Claus’s role for Christmas. However, Hanukkah Harry’s origins can be traced only as far back as 1989, when the fictional character first appeared in a Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch,...
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  Who Killed Tupac Shakur? Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996, six days after a gunman in a white Cadillac shot him four times while at a stoplight in Las Vegas. His murder was long believed to be gang-related, with Orlando Anderson of the Southside Crips widely suspected of being the trigger man. Shakur’s homicide...
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  Who Really Invented Baseball? You may have heard the charming tale of how war hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York. Unfortunately, that’s a bit of a myth. The true story of who invented baseball is a little more convoluted and a tad less romantic. Baseball likely had its origins in the early 1800s,...
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  Who Votes for the Academy Awards? After the glitzy red-carpet arrivals, the feel-good montages, and the host’s opening roast, the Oscars ceremony switches to its raison d’être: revealing the previous year’s highest achievers in cinema. One after another, the presenters list the nominees, open a lavish envelope, and reveal the...
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  Who Was the First Person to Survive Niagara Falls in a Barrel? Let’s say you’re looking to get rich quick. Would you sell your belongings? Play the lottery? Head to Las Vegas? Would you jump off Niagara Falls? In 1901 62-year-old dance teacher Annie Edson Taylor was looking for cash. The method? Performing a daredevil stunt so fantastic that she’d be...
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  Who Was the First Woman to Run for President of the United States? When Hillary Clinton, running as the first female presidential candidate of a major political party, won the popular vote but lost the electoral college vote in the 2016 election, the glass ceiling preventing women from reaching the White House’s Oval Office trembled but didn’t break. Kamala...
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  Who Was the Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty? The Statue of Liberty is one of the most iconic sculptures in the Western world and is often seen as a symbol of American freedom. Designed and sculpted by French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, France donated this colossal statue to the United States in 1875 to commemorate their alliance...
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  Who Were the Assassins? In 1167 CE Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish rabbi, visited Syria on a 13-year journey through the Middle East and Asia. His description of Syria includes what is probably the first European account of a group that would provoke horror and fascination in the West: the Assassins. Benjamin described a...
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  Who Wrote the King James Bible? “Let there be light.” “My brother’s keeper.” “Fight the good fight.” A number of the most well-known phrases in the English language originated not in novels, plays, or poems but in a seminal translation of the Bible, the King James Version (KJV), which was published in 1611 at the behest of King...
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  Why Are Basketball Hoops 10 Feet High? Throughout gyms, parks, and driveways around the world, basketball hoops are almost always 10 feet (3 meters) off the ground. Some leagues for young children play on shorter hoops, but from junior high schools through the professional leagues, the game is played on hoops of the standard 10-foot...
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  Why are cicadas so noisy? Ah, summer. In many parts of the world, summer is the time of year when the cicadas are buzzing so loudly that you can hardly hear yourself think. Amid the din, two thoughts come to mind: Why are the cicadas carrying on so loudly? And how on earth are they able to achieve such an ear-shattering...
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  Why Are Elephants’ Ears So Big? An elephant’s large ears serve several purposes. Thermoregulation—an organism’s maintenance of its own body temperature within an optimal range—is likely the primary purpose. The animal lives in a warm climate, and, to keep its body temperature from rising too high, it needs to transfer excess body...
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  Why Are Flamingos Pink? Flamingos are long-legged wading birds that are usually covered in bright pink feathers. With a name that derives from the Spanish or Portuguese word meaning “flame-colored,” the birds are known for their vibrant appearance. The pink of their feathers, though it is their most famous quality, is not...
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  Why Are People Afraid of Clowns? Coulrophobia is no laughing matter. This irrational fear of clowns can cause panic and nausea. Although it’s a rare phobia, many people find clowns creepy if not downright scary. Why? The answer lies partly in the prevalence of evil clowns in popular culture—think Pennywise in Stephen King’s It...
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  Why Are Planets Round? The Sun and all eight planets of the solar system are round. Why? The gravitational force of a planet’s mass pulls all of its material toward the center, smoothing out any jarring non-roundness. Many of the smaller bodies of the solar system are not round because their gravity is not enough to...
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  Why Are Pterodactyls Not Dinosaurs? No matter how much you like pterodactyls, you’ll want to think twice before telling someone that they’re your favorite dinosaur. Since as early as 1834 the scientific community has considered pterodactyl an outdated informal name for members of the order Pterosauria, which includes all flying...
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  Why Are Roads Made of Asphalt? When you think of a long stretch of road, you probably imagine a black thoroughfare fading into the distance. Asphalt is a ubiquitous material for road construction, and that’s because it is usually the most economical option. Not only is asphalt generally cheaper than concrete, but asphalt...
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  Why Are Sloths So Slow? “Sloth” is considered one of the seven deadly sins because, according to Catholic tradition, it hinders spiritual progress. It’s also the name of a group of six living species of mammals that are known for their slowness, but in their case slowness is beneficial. The slowness of sloths is...