The kids’ debit card, and why parents are signing up
A child with her first debit card quickly learns she can buy almost anything online — including a music subscription that bills every month, whether she…
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.
When the tooth fairy has to go digital
A crisp dollar bill under the pillow used to be magic. For a lot of kids today, it barely registers. They want Robux, V-Bucks, or in-game coins, and a…
Roller Coaster Nation
According to the Roller Coaster Database, about 6,200 roller coasters operate in roughly 4,500 amusement parks worldwide In the U.S. today, 854 roller…
Nobody got rich inventing the funnel cake
Nobody got rich inventing the funnel cake. That squiggle of fried batter under a blizzard of powdered sugar is a Pennsylvania Dutch folk recipe, carried…
This year’s fair food has gone gloriously off the rails
Somewhere between the Ferris wheel and the prize hogs, the American fair has become the place where dinner goes to lose its mind. Two exhibits star this…
The Indiana banana that rarely shares its fruit
The pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to North America, and it grows wild in the woods of Indiana — which is how it earned the nickname Indiana…
Watermelon was buried with King Tut
When Howard Carter opened King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the food left for the young pharaoh’s afterlife included watermelon seeds, sealed away more…
More ways to spot a ripe melon
The creamy yellow ground spot is the single best sign of ripeness. A few more cues stack the odds in your favor. Heft it. A ripe melon feels heavy for its…
There is no such thing as a male watermelon
One of summer’s most repeated bits of produce-aisle wisdom holds that round melons are “female” and sweet, while long, oblong ones are “male” and watery….
A small gland may hint at how you are aging
Tucked behind the breastbone sits a gland most people never think about — the thymus. New research suggests it may reveal something about how well a…