As insults go, the backhanded compliment is a sophisticated weapon. It’s not as straightforward as simply tossing an insult grenade. Instead, it’s like setting and springing a trap, which is typically a two-part takedown: The setup (the compliment part), followed by the knockdown (the semi-veiled insult). Sometimes,...
In 2013, two doctors wrote a piece for TIME about our energy obsession (specifically, energy drinks and similar energy snacks), noting, “We have become obsessed with the concept of ‘energy’ and yet display a profound misunderstanding of what energy is.” But that’s not entirely accurate: We’ve been...
Anyone who’s ever been on the internet has experienced the utter, bile-filled hatefulness that goes on in the comment sections under any politically-charged news story — or just about any story at all, in fact. But surely, if any comment section could provide safe haven for those seeking refuge...
In this installment of our “What Makes Me a…” column, we asked seven people what makes them think of a person as a fully functioning adult. David Reyes, Professional Skateboarder: A grownup is someone who has experienced enough to learn from their mistakes, someone who knows right from...
Hitting below the belt (i.e., punching or kicking someone in the balls) is illegal in boxing, football, taekwondo, karate, mixed martial arts and Greco-Roman wrestling. You’ll occasionally see it in professional wrestling, but only administered by “heels,” and only as a last-ditch effort when they know there’s...
Recently, Jim Waterson of BuzzFeed UK posed a question for anyone with a doorbell. Someone in the office is claiming "millennials don't answer doorbells unless people text to say they're outside". Is this A Thing? — Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) August 2, 2017 As of this writing, the...
Hot tip: Women don’t typically say “I love you” first in a heterosexual relationship because we know men think we are going to say it first, so we wait and make you say it first because that way it will be more “real.” Lemme put it another...
Starting November 1, New Jersey will join two other states (Hawaii and California) and cities (New York, some communities in Massachusetts) in making it illegal to smoke cigarettes (or vape) until you’re 21 years of age. Smoking is, of course, terrible for you, but does raising the...
We all have one family member or friend in our lives who we don’t want to be seen with in public, even though we love them. Maybe it’s the dad with no volume control and a tendency to say problematic things in quiet restaurants. Maybe it’s the...
Who drives on a date — whether it’s the first, fourth or the 400th? The guy, duh. Even in these progressive times, this is undoubtedly chapter and verse. Some anecdotal evidence: Not one of our female writers drives when she’s in the car with a gentleman suitor, whether he’s a Tinder...
After I lost my virginity, I told my closest friend that I’d lasted for 10 minutes. By the following week, I’d told a variation of that same story to at least a dozen other friends. Years later, I ran into the woman at a party. At some...
Male friendship is a strange thing. It’s represented in most media as uncomplicated and easy — dudes like to hang out in man caves and talk about beer and chicks and football! — but the truth is more intricate and complicated. For many men, making friends—and even maintaining existing friendships — becomes extraordinarily...