The Human Longing for a Meaningful Harvest

As tedious and tiresome as it can be, there's something soothing about the sound and smell of leaves as you rake, and something satisfying about seeing ...

Inventor a Victim of His Own Invention

Several years after inventing radar, Sir Robert Watson-Watt was arrested in Canada for speeding. He'd been caught in a radar trap. He wrote this poem: ...

Waitress's Kindness Rewarded

Every day, for close to seven years, Walter "Buck" Swords cursed and stomped his feet in his favorite restaurant, Luby's Cafeteria, demanding ...

Jack Nicholson on Life and Death

In the 2007 film The Bucket List, two terminally ill men—played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman—take a road trip to do the things they ...

Teenager Escapes Jail in Friend's Suitcase

There is a huge difference between being smart and being wise.

Exhibit A is the story of Steffi Krause, age 17. She and her 19-year-old friend were in ...

Technician Accidentally Erases Billions

While most office workers will admit to making mistakes on their computer in the routine hustle and bustle of a workweek, it's doubtful many make ...

Tongue Piercing Is Source of Teen's Pain

Stefania Fraccalvieri now knows that tongue piercing costs a lot more than expected. Just after she had a metal stud put through her tongue—a popular ...

Beethoven Unknowingly Poisoned Himself

In 2000, an Illinois scientist named William Walsh studied strands of hair from the body of famous classical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven. By studying ...

Human Beings Are Poor at Risk Assessment

As human beings, we pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk. Yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about ...

Man Blessed by Returning Stolen Money

"After I robbed the place I went to get some dope, and I couldn't even get high. I couldn't even enjoy it." These words come from John ...