Americans have stopped cooking
Americans now spend more on dining out than on groceries, by a wide margin. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, food-away-from-home spending…
Author: Rick Good
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader's money, real estate, and business coverage.
He’ll be visiting: Meet the brown marmorated stink bug
If you grew up not knowing what a stink bug was, congratulations, you are old enough to remember a better time. The brown marmorated stink bug…
The founder who actually freed all slaves
As part of its preparations for America’s 250th anniversary, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has elevated the story of a forgotten Virginia planter…
What Frederick Douglass asked of America
In the summer of 1852, the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society invited the country’s most famous former slave to deliver what has come to be called the…
America 250
Ocean ships at the front door In colonial Virginia, you did not need to live near a port. The port came to you. According to Virginia Places, the deep…
Even the nails came on a ship
The houses in colonial America were built by local hands, but with hardware from somewhere else. According to multiple maritime histories, nearly every…
Tall ships return to New York Harbor
For one week in July, New York Harbor will look the way it did 250 years ago. According to America250.org, the official 250th anniversary commission has…
Oatmeal: Why some swear by it and some swear at it
Is oatmeal a superfood or poison? It just depend who you ask. The pro-oatmeal camp follows traditional cardiology and nutrition science. Oats contain…
Test your balance
Stand on one foot with arms at your sides and eyes open. A healthy adult under 50 should hold this for at least 30 seconds per leg. Under 20 seconds…
Check your back fitness
Bend forward and try to touch your toes without bouncing. You don’t have to reach them. What matters is whether the movement is smooth and pain-free….