Posts by Melinda Sineriz

As a woman, I’ve gotten the message that I need to be cautious my entire life. I’m careful about walking alone at night. I’m always aware of my surroundings and where I could go if I need a safe haven. If someone’s giving me the creeps, I speed up or cross the street. With that...

Do you enjoy shows like 20/20 and Dateline? Especially when they send folks undercover to expose some corrupt organization? Then you should take a second to think about Nellie Bly, because those shows owe a serious debt to her. Nellie Bly essentially invented modern investigative journalism with an embedded 10-day investigation inside an insane asylum....

When you think of the drug crisis, you probably don’t think of shrimp. Why would you? Except an environmental study of freshwater rivers in Suffolk, England, showed cocaine present in every single shrimp they tested. We know the effects of cocaine on humans: increased body temperature and blood pressure, erratic and violent behavior, among others,...

It’s happened to all of us. You weren’t able to see that episode or movie right away, and you’re innocently scrolling through your newsfeed or your tweets. Suddenly, it happens. A spoiler. You could just avoid social media for a bit, but that’s impractical if you need it for work or just want to stay...

Alex Trebek has long been a consistent, calming presence in American television. He hosts Jeopardy! with charm, wit, and a wry sense of humor – but there’s more to him than just being the public face of one of the longest-running shows in TV history. Here are nine essential facts about one of America’s most...

It’s true that Americans have a bit of a reputation, globally. We’re not always the quietest or the most polite travelers. Our culture is unique, and we take a lot of pride in being from the US of A. This gives our friends overseas an interesting impression of us – and sometimes they pick up...

I’m usually diligent researching items online before I buy something. It’s obnoxious, really. Sometimes, though, I’m in a hurry and I just click, click, click and hope for the best. Often it works out, but sometimes… Here are 14 poor souls who wish they’d looked at what they were buying a little more carefully: 1....

It’s common knowledge that reading to children is critical to their development, and a recent study out of The Ohio State University delves into exactly why it’s so important. The study, which will be appearing in a future print issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, looked at how many words children were...

Shirley Temple was immensely talented and won audiences over with her charm, singing, and adorable curls. Although she stopped performing at age 22, she continued to make waves, becoming an accomplished diplomat. Here are seven essential facts you should know about the legendary Shirley Temple: 1. She was incredibly popular With today’s multiplexes and numerous...

Kids are fascinating. Sure, they can drive you crazy sometimes. But other times, they pull a really genius move. Here are 13 tweets that show kids being full-on awesome: 1. That puppy is so focused This little guy told his Dad that he wanted to learn how to train his dog and his Dad said...

We know everybody wants to rule the world, but that isn’t exactly the reality for most of us. If you’re itching to be in charge, though, the town of Story, Indiana is for sale. It’s not just any town, though—according to Atlas Obscura, current owner Rick Hofstetter has turned the town into a historic tourist...

Rose Marie Bentley lived a rich, full, but relatively ordinary life, according to ABC News. She raised a family and volunteered during World War II, according to CNN. All the while, she never knew that she was a living medical rarity. Bentley’s unique medical condition was discovered after her death. She, like her husband who...

The Louvre is home to thousands of incredible pieces of art, including the Mona Lisa. It’s also home to the Louvre Pyramid, which is turning 30 this year. To celebrate the pyramid’s 30th anniversary, artist JR created a unique optical illusion that covered the Napoleon Court. Here it is: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvoETyYn-Bw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link All this was created with...

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably seen at least one man complain about how hard and confusing life is in the #MeToo era. I’ve seen comments like, “No one can take a compliment anymore,” “I guess I can’t flirt anymore,” and (my personal favorite) “Blah, blah, blah #NotAllMen.” Like many women, comedian...

The “Toy Story 4” trailer has fans of the series buzzing. Just take a look at the movie franchise’s Twitter account to see how excited fans are for the release: the trailer has more than 4,000 comments and almost 275,000 likes. Eagle-eyed fans have noticed something interesting about the trailer, though. Andy doesn’t look quite...