About 550 million years ago, an organism containing a genetic modification resembling an eye first appeared. In the ensuing half billion years, the eye has transformed into a strikingly impressive

The Alamo Mission was founded along the San Antonio river in the early 1700s by Catholic missionaries. At the end of the century the mission would be secularized and then

The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was asked why he wore only black turtlenecks and Levi 501 jeans. A similar question was posed to former US President Barack Obama as

In 1905, a young Frank King studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He was a talented, somewhat unremarkable artist who eventually found his calling as a cartoonist with

First-year chemistry students often learn how scientific knowledge is applied, particularly around specifics such as the building blocks and phases of matter, the basics of thermodynamics, and the intricacies of

In the Spring of 1970, at the age of 27, Janis Joplin first sang the lyrics to a song that would make her an international superstar. The tune was called

Be impeccable with your word is sage counsel for everyone. And certainly the inverse of such wisdom serves no one well. But what does it actually mean in practice? Impeccable

Beginning around ages 2 or 3, children attempt to satisfy their worldly curiosity by asking “Why?” Why is she sad? Why can’t I have this? Why do I have

In the late 1980s, a woman in New Jersey played the lottery and won $4 million. She played again four months later and won another million dollars. What are the

The Roman poet and lyricist Horace is best known as the world’s first autobiographer. His words are delightfully soaring in scope, often stirring the emotions. And rousing the intellect.

A peculiar tradition occurs at many weddings: the tossing of a bouquet, and the mad scramble to claim ownership. Yet even stranger than the ensuing melee is the sordid history

No one likes paying taxes. I doubt even government workers, whose salaries in part derive from taxes, enjoy paying them. Not only are taxes complicated, time-consuming, and stressful - but