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Shakespeare Coined More Than 1,700 Words We Still Use Today
When people think of William Shakespeare, they picture bloody tragedies, fallen kings and doomed lovers. Rarely do they consider a simple fact
Why the QWERTY keyboard wasn't designed to slow typists down
Almost everyone has heard, at one point or another, this seemingly logical explanation for the QWERTY layout on our computer keyboards: it
Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime
It's hard today to imagine the art world without the blazing sunflowers or the swirling starry night of Vincent van Gogh. His
The Pirahã people of the Amazon have no words for numbers
Deep in the Brazilian rainforest lives a small people whose language has, for decades, unsettled some of the most firmly established theories
The World's Oldest National Anthem Dates Back to the 16th Century
When people think of national anthems, their minds spontaneously turn to relatively recent compositions, often born during the great waves of national
Sushi Was Invented to Preserve Fish, Not to Eat It Raw
When people think of sushi today, the image that immediately comes to mind is that of raw, fresh fish, precisely sliced by
The Legend of the Margherita Pizza Created for a Queen
Few dishes in the world carry an origin legend as famous as the Margherita pizza. This founding story holds a special place
In the 19th Century, Ketchup Was Sold in Pharmacies as a Remedy
It's hard today to imagine that ketchup, that everyday sauce found on every fast-food table, was once sold as a miracle remedy
The Mona Lisa Is Much Smaller Than People Imagine
Every year, millions of visitors crowd into a room at the Louvre Museum to see the most famous painting in the world.