Pet Rock Inventor Regrets Invention

In the mid-'70s, an unknown editor named Gary Dahl was talking with his friends, who were complaining about all the work involved in caring for pets—feeding ...

Why a Popular Cheer Often Backfires

One of today's most popular sports cheers was first chanted in 1999 during the fourth quarter of an Army-Navy football game. The six-word cheer—I ...

The Potential Cost of Wi-Fi: YOUR FIRSTBORN

In an experiment in London, security firm F-Secure set up on open Wi-Fi network in a busy public area. But there was a hidden, devilish catch. When people ...

Poet Maya Angelou on Developing Courage

In an interview for Harvard Business Review, the poet Maya Angelou was asked about the most important lessons she learned from her mother. Ms. Angelou ...

The Real Story Behind the Remote Control

Eugene J. Polley lived his entire life in the Chicago area, where he worked for Zenith Electronics for 47 years. Hired as a stock boy during the Depression, ...

Cal Ripken on Doing Your Best

Major League Baseball's "Ironman," Cal Ripken, Jr., who holds the Major League record, for playing in 2,632 consecutive games, said:

"You ...

Working to Death

Sherman James, an epidemiologist [someone who researches epidemic diseases] at the University of Michigan, describes a personality type named John Henryism. ...

The Struggle of Prayer

The brethren asked Abba Agathon, "Amongst all our different activities, Father, which is the virtue that requires the greatest effort?"

He answered, ...

Labor Without Ceasing

Do not allow your eyes to sleep or your eyelids to slumber until the hour of your death, but labor without ceasing that you may enjoy life without end. ...

Rescuing Those in Peril

Roger Storms, pastor of First Christian Church in Chandler, Arizona, tells this story: "One Sunday, a car had broken down in the alley behind our ...