Brits uncover hidden note
John Sainsbury got the last word. Thirty years ago, the British supermarket mogul funded a new wing of London’s National Gallery. The new wing had been…
Author: The Smart Reader Staff
Briefs and quick reads selected and edited by The Smart Reader's editorial team of Rick, Allyson, and Ryan Good.
2024 Hambone Award goes to shepherd dog who dabbled in home remodeling
Luca, a Massachusetts Shiloh shepherd dog, did a little remodeling one day when his owner Lori was running errands — and the consequences were bad for…
How to defuse an argument
Your spouse is making you mad. Voices are getting louder. Tensions are high. What do you do? Take five seconds. You don’t need 10 seconds. You don’t need…
North Korea commits high-tech fraud
When you encounter a technology problem on the job and reach out to the IT department for assistance, it probably never occurs to you that the friendly…
Federal judge: Google is illegal monopoly
Ninety-one percent of people who use search engines — literally any person on Earth — use Google. In comparison, the second most widely-used search…
Gorillas love their screen time
When zoo visitors pull out their phones to capture a video, they have an eager audience for the replay — and no, it’s not through Tik Tok. In fact, the…
Safe travels: Safest cities ranked
If you prefer to travel with safe destinations where emergency services are easily accessible, Singapore is the place to go. Singapore, the city/state of…
Japanese cities turn to matchmaking
With catastrophically low birth rates, Japanese cities are getting into the matchmaking business. Unlike dating apps, these city initiatives have one…
Redefining brat
In the world of upside-down pop culture lingo where hot means cool and bad means good, there is a new entry: brat. Brat doesn’t mean a spoiled,…
Suburb in a pickle
We pause during this era of dramatic political pronouncements to bring you some real news: There is a jar of pickles on the median of a busy highway exit…