If you vote, you just might be a robot. I have the math to prove it. — If you’re American, there’s a good chance you are not going to vote in the upcoming presidential election. In 2016, only 58% of the electorate actually voted. Compared to other democracies, voter turnout in the United States doesn’t even break the top 20. Americans just don’t vote. …

At the height of its success, there were over 9,000 Blockbusters around the world. Now there is only one. — At one point in Earth’s history, Blockbusters inhabited every continent on the planet except Antarctica. At their peak, the Blockbuster population was over 9,000 and their bright blue and yellow plumage was a common sight in cities around the world. The brand first arose in Texas — through the unlikely…

In 2005, an infectious disease killed thousands all over the world — World of Warcraft, that is. Even though it wasn’t real, the Corrupted Blood Incident has been used a model for real pandemics — including this one. — Scientists traced the origin of the plague to the vast and remote jungles of Stranglethorn Vale. The outbreak began in the troll city of Zul’Gurub, unknowingly carried back to the four corners of Azeroth by brave bands of unstoppable heroes. They may be some of the mightiest warriors in all…

How long can a Twinkie REALLY last? — If we could step outside the universe and somehow inspect its packaging, we’d find a shelf life of something on the order of a 100 trillion years. After that, all the heat in the universe will be exhausted. Life and all energetic processes will hit their thermodynamic expiration dates. But…

And Helped Beat The Nazis. — 150 hot meals an hour. 20 million meals nationwide. Delivered while navigating an active war zone. They called it a mobile canteen — belying its military status. It looks like any delivery truck you’ve ever seen. But this was the first of its kind. The primordial pizza delivery. Amazon Prime…

Because they were slaves. — In 1725, there were no elephants in America. Not anymore anyway. So when enslaved Africans found gigantic teeth buried in a swamp on the Stono Plantation in South Carolina, the white owners thought they must come from giants wiped out during the biblical flood. That’s what they told the English…

You don’t want to kill anyone. It’s not really your style. But the urge hits you as a call to adventure of sorts. It begins as an amorphous desire to shake up the relentless monotony of your life and resolves itself as something sweet and frosted, and possibly jelly-filled. You…

Experts predicted a computer apocalypse in the year 2000. But nothing happened. Did a multibillion dollar global effort save us or was it all a waste of time and money? — 20 years ago, our world almost came crashing down. Financial markets were preparing for an economic meltdown. Countries around the globe were bracing for a worldwide shutdown. All because of a bug. The bug was a computer error. Experts had warned about it for years. Called the Year 2000 problem…

The Waffle House fast food chain is legendary for never closing — even in the worst of weather. But how is it doing up against a pandemic? — When one of the most powerful storm systems the Earth’s atmosphere can summon is bearing down on a populated area, it’s customary for a typical roadside fast food chain to close up shop and wait for the storm to pass. But not Waffle House. A Waffle House never closes. They…