Posts by Adan Mathews

Despite the fact that we are not very far removed from their heyday, we know very little about Maya civilization. And it’s not because the Maya weren’t into recording their history. The Maya were prolific writers and actually evolved from using scrolls to a form of folded paper called the codex right around the same time...

Social media was invented to bring us together. But it’s definitely found ways to pull us apart. Sometimes, jobs and social media just aren’t a good mix. Here are 16 examples from AskReddit: 1. Volunteer to get fired… I had to fire someone for one. He was a volunteer firefighter and left for a call,...

Thanks to all  of our readers who responded to Renée Blinn’s “Last Words” article. There were so many wonderful anecdotes and stories that we felt like we just had to collect and share them: 1. “Okay Cakie…” My Husband, Jay, was dying after a 2 1/2 year battle with a type of Leukemia. His nickname for me...

Is global warming a hoax? Are we just experiencing a “warming cycle?” Do you like infographics? One of those answers is an easy “yes.” Randall Munroe at xkcd.com has compiled climate change research into a handy and exhaustively scrollable infographic that charts the average global temperature over the last 22,000 years: SPOILER ALERT: It doesn’t seem to end...

We were absolutely moved by so many of your amazing responses on Facebook to our 25 Last Words From Patients That Will Make You Smile, Shiver, and Laugh Out Loud article. In many ways, I found your comments to be even more visceral and touching than the original article. Thank you to all of our fans who shared such...

Imagine that it’s 1942, and you’re a British park ranger going about your business patrolling India’s Nanda Devi National Park at about 16,000 feet, when you stumble upon a glacial lake: Maybe you go a bit closer to these crystal clear waters: Because this is a beautiful moment. A gift from nature that you want to explore…...

Marley’s prison-turned-pot-farm became an overnight success pretty much as soon as the sale went through in the fall of 2016. By the time the city of Coalinga decided to sell the former prison – closed in 2011 – it had already accumulated over $3 million in debt. The sale to Damian Marley and his partner Ocean Grown Extracts not...

You might not get all of these jokes at first. That’s OK. You’ll probably get some, and you might have to google a few others, but it’ll be worth it. This list does finally answer the question we’ve all been asking: “Can a smart joke still be dumb?” The answer is absolutely yes. But they’re also...

There’s really no way to guess how a given set of parents are going to react to their LGBTQI child coming out. There are just so many variables, it’s impossible to tell. Maybe that’s why it can be so scary. Times are changing, and some parents are changing with it, but, as these 18 AskReddit...

Coming out to the parents can be a pretty heavy-duty ordeal, and age doesn’t seem to be much of a buffer. Even if it goes well, there’s still a ton of weight involved: stress, tension, etc. And, unfortunately, it doesn’t always go well. These 19 stories from AskReddit run a pretty full range of the potential reactions...

The sexual history question is supposed to be routine. It’s there to cover bases and help doctors and nurses check off boxes and eliminate variables, or lead them to the source of a potential problem. But, as these 12 stories from doctors, nurses, and patients can attest, when the subject of sex is invoked, the routine...

Your English teacher hates(ed) the word “very.” Frankly, it’s lazy, and there are just sooooo many better options out there. She wasn’t alone. Mark Twain agrees: I like to go with fucking as a default. But to each their own. Twain actually wasn’t a fan of adjectives in general; the above quote is actually suggesting that...

It’s absolutely true. We caught a bit of grief in the comments section of the original Fact Snack on this one. Seems that some folks from Germany took exception to this fact, as they don’t remember getting any checks in mail. Perhaps that’s because most of us only get a bill every month, and this only...

What’s the worst gift you ever gave to or received from someone on Valentine’s Day? You ever buy somebody a mop? How about accidentally getting a gift meant for someone else? Ever have a contest to see who could get the WORST gift? Check out these 21 tales of Valentine’s gone awry from AskReddit: #1. The...

One man. One wheel. Three flaming pipes. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to make the world weird: These are tense and troubled times. Keeping Portland weird just isn’t enough. We need a cosplayer with a bagpipe that shoots fire. And we need that costumed crusader on no more than one wheel at a time. He...