The necessity for toilet paper has existed since long before the invention of paper (or, indeed, toilets). Initially, the most common solution for bum-wiping was whatever happened to be within arm’s reach, and there was nothing, er, charmin’, shall we say, about the shells, snow, sheep’s wool,...
While people in medieval times weren’t quite as filthy as we tend to think, they certainly weren’t clean by today’s standards. Here’s what keeping clean looked like back in the olden days. Bathing: The Devil’s Work Prior to the Middles Ages, bathing was a pretty popular pastime....
For many of us, acne is a phase: Aggravating, sure, but once puberty comes to an end and our hormones settle down, our faces mostly clear right up. Not everyone is so fortunate, though, and while their teenage years may be long behind them, the same old...
The term “silent treatment,” chillingly, comes from 19th-century prison reform. Instead of physical punishment or grueling work, which was believed to do nothing to truly alter the character of the criminal, prisoners would no longer be allowed to speak to each other and rarely be spoken to. They’d be...
The scene is a familiar one: A teenager, a brand new driver’s license and dreams of the open road greet most parents around the time their child turns 16. But for Black parents in America, it marks a turning point in their child’s life. Known colloquially as...
Last week, #BlackoutTuesday started out as a day for non-Black allies to amplify Black voices and acknowledge the ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. But as the message went viral, it had the opposite effect: The black squares took over social...
When you’re a dad, parenting questions often come up that you struggle to find an answer to. Since other parents are the worst and Google will send you down a rabbit hole of paralyzing, paranoid terror, we’re here to help by putting those questions to the experts....
On a recent Sunday, the 17th of May, 2020, one of the greatest fights in internet history turned 12 years old. It started with an innocent question on bodybuilding.com about how many days a week you can safely work out. It concluded in an absolute bloodbath between two...
As someone who falls asleep while scrolling through Twitter only to start off the next morning the exact same way, it didn’t take long after the coronavirus pandemic hit to overdose on bad news and spiral my way into a 40-minute sit-down shower. Twitter, Facebook, conversations with each friend group on Zoom — everywhere I...
Being stuck at home for weeks on end can be hard on just about any relationship, romantic or otherwise. Combine that constant exasperation with the stress we’re all experiencing nowadays, and you may find yourself in constant disagreement with your quarantine partner, actively searching for a way...
Summer is supposed to be the best. Unlike winter, which is aggressively mad at you, summer thinks you’re great — it’s always down for a good time and loves hanging out with you. So when you’re depressed in the summer — because it’s summer — it’s particularly unbearable....
“Welcome to the Den of Horrors.” Leslie Knope, the go-getting super-administrator in the peppy sitcom Parks and Recreation is telling it like it is to a group of costumed children at the Parks Department Halloween party. “Where’s all the scary stuff?” asks one of the kids, perplexed. “The scary...