Decoder Ring

Look in the nonfiction section of any bookstore and you’ll find dozens of history books ma... more

Truck Nutz is a brand name for the dangling plastic testicles some people affix to the bum... more

In 1972, Jerry Lewis—the actor and filmmaker known for slapstick comedies like The Nutty P... more

You may never have thought very hard about scratch-off tickets, but that’s part of their p... more

When we got multiple listener emails asking about the swing revival of the late 1990s, hos... more

The storage container is a stealthy star of the modern home. It’s something we use to orga... more

People often say that money can't buy you happiness. Sometimes, if you ask them to tell yo... more

It’s our annual mailbag episode! We get a lot of wonderful reader emails suggesting topics... more

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle, is as associated with the 1980’s as Ronald Reag... more

In 1980, a variety show debuted on NBC called Pink Lady and Jeff. Its stars were a pair of... more

The fear that the Earth could be destroyed by a killer asteroid is an anxiety that pops up... more

There is a prominent bird in the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels that makes absolutely no sense... more

Whatever happened to selling out? The defining concern of Generation X has become a relic ... more

Oscar-winner Warren Beatty first secured the rights to the comic book character Dick Tracy... more

Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children’s literature. ... more

In the late 1970s, a new and unusual concept for a restaurant chain emerged in California—... more

“Hysteria” is an ancient word carrying thousands of years of baggage. Though the terminolo... more

If you’re lucky, it’s possible you’ve never thought much about sitting. It’s just somethin... more

Lawn ornaments are everywhere—but for something so ubiquitous, they’re also mysterious. Wh... more

Axolotls. Narwhals. Llamas. Sloths. Every few years, it seems like American kids and paren... more