Outside of Texas, the state of California has the largest prison population in the country, with just under 100,000 people serving time in state-run correctional facilities. That number actually represents a substantial reduction from…
Few foods are as versatile or as universally beloved as the sandwich. Whether it’s a simple school lunch of peanut butter and jelly on white bread or a gut-busting Philly cheesesteak oozing Cheez Whiz,…
When former U.S. president Donald Trump used an inverted red triangle in campaign ads on Facebook in 2020, it was immediately recognized as a symbol used by the Nazis to designate political prisoners and…
Oh, the days when it was socially acceptable to eat pure sugar in ice cold milk for breakfast. For those of us who grew up on breakfast cereal, the nostalgia runs deep for our…
Fish can be one of the healthiest foods there is. It’s low in harmful fats (counterintuitively fatty fish are considered a “lean” source of protein) and often high in nutrients, including beneficial Omega-3 fatty…
What makes a great military leader? According to retired Army Maj. Gen. John L. Gronski, senior mentor for the U.S. Army Mission Command Training Program, there are four basic qualities: “Attitude, work ethic, relationship…
“It is a hero among sandwiches, although it is not the one called a hero,” wrote critic Pete Wells in the New York Times several years ago. He was talking about the breakfast sandwich,…
Kidnappings have garnered massive headlines in the United States since the 19th century. The idea that we or our loved ones could be happily going about our day when we’re taken certainly strikes a…
Staying away from the fridge is a challenge for many, especially people working from home. Whether you are hungry or just bored, the result if often the same — you make yourself a snack.…
Are raw foods healthier than cooked foods? Some people believe they are — to the extent that they’ll eat nothing but. Raw foodists, as such folks are sometimes called, maintain that consuming only uncooked…
Etiquette — good manners — is a code of behavior, a set of (highly variable) rules governing how we should behave, theoretically at least, in order to bring the least offense to our fellow…
There have been more than over 34,000 deaths from gun violence in the United States in 2023, as of the middle of October. Included in that figure, which comes from data released by the…
Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned – or so the story goes. This common belief has its roots in an ancient Roman conspiracy theory. Because Emperor Nero had proposed knocking down part of…
Shrimp is the most popular seafood in America. According to the National Fisheries Institute, we consumed 4.7 pounds of the little crustacean per capita in 2019 — the latest year for which data is…
The history of Mediterranean Europe and the Middle East is one of conquest. Dozens of empires have come and gone, each leaving their mark on the places they’ve conquered. Many cities that still exist…
Drinking habits, like just about everything else, vary from place to place, and some cocktails and other types of beverages are more closely identified with certain states than others. People have probably been known…
Ever since the introduction of mechanized warfare during World War I, tanks have emerged as a fundamental component of contemporary warfare. According to British military consultant Nicholas Drummond’s 2020 assessment, it is estimated that…
Arsenic, cyanide, mercury…what do they have in common? These naturally occurring chemical elements and compounds can all be fatal if ingested in large doses. Chemicals found in certain plants (such as water hemlock and…
There are three main facets to the typical restaurant experience: ambiance, meaning the overall feeling of the place; food (obviously); and service. A good restaurant scores with all three on a reasonably consistent basis.…
The F.B.I. estimates that there are anywhere between 25 and 50 serial killers operating in the US at any given time. Because of high profile cases like those of Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer,…
