“I, Simon Whistler, in the presence of these my betters and my equals in my Calling, bind myself upon my Honour and Cold Iron, that, of the best of my knowledge and power, I will not henceforward suffer or pass, or be privy to the passing of, Bad Workmanship or Faulty Material in aught that… Read More »
Looking back at the long and storied history of literature, film, and other narrative art forms, one trend becomes abundantly clear: writers love mental illness. From depression to bipolar disorder to schizophrenia, psychiatric disorders have been used by artists for hundreds of years to heighten drama, make heroes more heroic, villains more villainous, and allow… Read More »
Jean D. asks: Why do we need oxygen to live? Take a deep breath. Now repeat. Do this about 16 times per minute and you usually get all the oxygen your body needs. Every wonder why you need oxygen to survive in the first place? All life as we know it occurs because of how… Read More »
Laura A. asks: What exactly do Scientologists believe? Oh boy, we can already tell that the comment section for this one is going to be a ton of fun, so let’s just get straight to it. The Church of Scientology has a reputation as an infamously secretive and litigious organisation that hides its inner workings far… Read More »
Ashley K asks: How dangerous are rubber bullets? Utilised the world over, rubber bullets and stun guns are controversial additions to the arsenals of police forces and militaries due to their tendency to do the exact opposite of what they’re designed to do, rather than be non-lethal, occasionally killing the people they are leveled at.… Read More »
Dignified, loyal and, above all, very fury, guide dogs are a vital tether to the outside world for many blind and visually impaired people that allow them to live more independent, if dog hair covered, lives. As you’d expect, training one of these wonder-dogs is no easy feat and requires teaching the canine in question… Read More »
Nick G. asks: Please do one on the myth of people sticking small rodents up their anus. Few people are more creative than horny men and if you’ve searched around online for the more… unusual ways people get off, like we’ve had to do EXTENSIVELY in researching this article… only for that reason…, you may… Read More »
Contrary to popular opinion the $2 bill is neither rare nor out of circulation, with millions of them being printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing each and every year. Despite this, you’ll occasionally get cashiers who refuse to accept them, thinking them fake, and even the occasional news report of the cops… Read More »
In the summer of 1940, Britain stood balanced on a knife edge. The British Expeditionary Force had narrowly escaped the beaches of Dunkirk, and on July 10 the German Luftwaffe launched a massive air assault, starting what became known as the Battle of Britain. As the bombs fell, the nation braced for the inevitable German… Read More »
In the era of Big Data, few figures are more divisive as that of the hacker. On the one hand, malicious or “black hat” hackers cause billions of dollars of damage every year, breaking into private and public networks to steal money or personal data or simply to create chaos. On the other hand, so-called… Read More »
On May 30, 1806, Andrew Jackson dueled with famed marksman Charles Dickinson, killing him, after Dickinson insulted Jackson in a variety of ways including calling Jackson’s wife of bigamist. This latter point was a sore spot for Jackson as his wife really had married him while she was still married to her former husband. She… Read More »