Stuff You Should Know

How Buffets Work

Buffets are every kid’s dream – until they grow up enough to realize how gross communal spreads of food...

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SYSK Selects: The Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978

Long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, George Lucas allowed the Star Wars Holiday Special to be made. What happened...

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Aspirin: The Wonder Drug

Humans have been using a form of aspirin for pain relief since at least the Sumerians. But in recent years...

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Short Stuff: Modern Funerals

The way we deal with our dead has changed a lot over the past 50 years. Learn all about it in 12-15 minutes right...

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Joseph Merrick, aka "The Elephant Man"

Joseph Merrick was known as The Elephant Man because of his suffering from what we now know was Proteus Synrome....

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SYSK Selects: What is a hangover, really?

After a night of heavy boozing, many partygoers find themselves the victim of a hangover. But what exactly is a...

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The Taliesin Massacre

Everyone knows who Frank Lloyd Wright is, but did you know there was a grisly massacre at his home in 1914?...

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Short Stuff: Cramming

Cramming is no way to study. Learn why in today's short stuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at...

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How Class Action Lawsuits Work

Class action lawsuits seem a little odd – a bunch of people get together for a sue-fest against somebody...

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SYSK Selects: How Chaos Theory Changed the Universe

Since the age of Descartes, science has put all of its eggs in the basket of determinism, the idea that with accurate...

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John Lennon and the FBI

Did you know that Richard Nixon had a FBI case file open on Beatle John Lennon? Well he did! Why? Listen in to find...

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Short Stuff: Pimento Cheese!

Pimento cheese was originally nothing like it is now: It was mass produced, it was made from cream cheese and it was...

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Cabbage Patch Kids: Must-Have Toy of the Century

Surprisingly, Cabbage Patch Kids have turned up on SYSK almost as much as the Nazis or Seinfeld. It’s finally...

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SYSK Selects: How Tea Works

Legend has it that tea was discovered by a curious Chinese emperor after leaves blew into his boiled water. Now tea...

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Short Stuff: How Eyes In a Painting Follow You

Ever noticed how eyes in a painting sometimes follow you around the room? It’s weird! But it’s also fully...

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Patty Hearst: Brainwashed or Bandit?

Patty Hearst was a young heiress living a quiet life studying art history at college when one Monday evening her home...

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SYSK Selects: Whatever happened to acid rain?

Along with the hole in the ozone layer, acid rain was one of the first international environmental threats. It's...

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The Great War of the Worlds Panic Myth

On Halloween 1938 young radio star Orson Welles scared the pants off of America with a fictional news bulletin...

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Short Stuff: Squirrel Nuts

We know squirrels hide nuts. But it's actually more complex a system than you think. Learn more about your...

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How Pain Works

In recent decades we’ve come to understand that there’s a lot more to pain than: touch hot stove/feel...

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