Many chain restaurants constantly reinvent themselves with rebranding, redesigns, new technology — and perhaps most of all, new menu items. From Taco Bell to Jamba to Applebee’s, things change. Offerings disappear or temporarily cycle…
Names wax and wane in popularity and it isn’t always obvious why. Sometimes they suffer from negative associations with unpopular people or unfortunate events — but they might also just come to seem dowdy,…
With over 100 acting credits to his name and no shortage of peripheral endeavors, Dwayne Johnson is arguably the hardest-working man in show business right now. He has also been Hollywood’s highest paid actor…
Action movies have been around almost as long as the cinema. The celebrated 12-minute Western short “The Great Train Robbery” is cited by some historians as being the first example of the genre. Others…
Millennials have a reputation for being beer snobs. They’ve been credited with bolstering the craft beer movement, preferring the adventurous realm of flavorful micro-brews over dad’s favorite lager. It’s no surprise then that the…
It’s no secret that ‘90s kids are wildly nostalgic for all things from that era. The decade that saw the rise of the internet also raised a generation of children that grew up to…
We’ve all sat through movies so witless that we wished we could buy back the time we wasted watching them. Modern parents may have this experience often, as they endure programming meant to appeal…
Summer is here. That means it’s almost grilling season — a time to fire up the backyard barbecue, whether it’s fueled by charcoal briquets, hardwood, or propane. The term “barbecue” sometimes causes some confusion.…
If you want to produce a top-grossing film nowadays, make it animated and about superheroes, wizards, vampires, and pirates doing battle in the dystopian future in Middle Earth in a galaxy far, far away.…
Sleep is critical for maintaining good mental and physical health. Poor sleep patterns are associated with serious health problems, as well as increased stress and risk of accidents. With more than 1 in 3…
Beverage bottles, food packages, and shopping bags are among the most common plastics that wind up in garbage bins — and eventually the oceans — after only one use. While the world has long…
The United States is a big country, full of constantly evolving cultural microcosms. Most big cities and even many smaller towns have an identity of their own, based on historic sites, characteristic architecture, great…
As travel restrictions and quarantine mandates have largely lifted across the United States and Americans are starting to travel again, many are undertaking road trips, and setting their sights on National Parks. Many of…
We love chicken in America. According to the National Chicken Council, our per capita consumption of the bird in various forms reached 96.5 pounds last year — up from 80 pounds just 10 years…
Every individual is unique, so why shouldn’t everyone have a unique name? That seems to be the reasoning of today’s parents who want their child’s sobriquet to be one of a kind, or at…
It’s summertime and the drinking is light and cool and often fizzy. When the weather heats up, nothing is more refreshing than an icy cocktail sipped at brunch or a casual lunch or dinner,…
Although the percentage of U.S. adult smokers has declined in recent years, states still rake in enormous revenues from cigarette sales. According to SmokeFree.gov, the average retail cost of a pack of cigarettes now…
The United States is grappling with growing income inequality, but the widening chasm between these two Americas isn’t always easy to see. Even at the state level, the wealthiest can live in posh incorporated-township…
What makes a rock star? Selling out stadiums and destroying hotel rooms in a drug-fueled craze? Shredding guitar solos and a strong disdain for authority? Many of the bands here fit the archetype, but…
The cost of gasoline has been rising in 2021 as the United States emerges from a pandemic-era slump in prices at the pump. That means that many consumers will be shopping for fuel efficiency,…
