World Otter Day – May 27
The otter who hijacks surfboards Something is happening at Steamer Lane, the famous surf break in Santa Cruz, California – and it is not what…
Category: Briefs
Virginia lit the fuse for Independence — 250 years ago this month
July 4th gets the fireworks. But the fuse of independence was sparked on May 15, 1776, 250 years ago this month, in Williamsburg, Virginia. That was the…
World Otter Day — May 27 The otter who hijacks surfboards
Something is happening at Steamer Lane, the famous surf break in Santa Cruz, California, and it is not what surfers signed up for. A sea otter has taken…
Costco membership earning its keep?
A Costco Gold Star membership costs $65 a year, which means it pays for itself the moment you’ve saved $5.42 a month. For families, that’s almost…
A raccoon’s excellent adventure
It started innocuously enough. A raccoon in Ashland, Virginia found a gap in the ceiling of a state liquor store, squeezed through, and helped himself to…
Expensive subscriptions
Americans spend an average of $200 a year on subscription services they are not actively using, according to research by the Motley Fool. Gym apps,…
America 250: The bookseller who saved the revolution
In the winter of 1775, George Washington had a problem. His ragged army had the British pinned inside Boston, but no artillery to force them out. Then a…
The cat who outlasted six prime ministers
At 10 Downing Street, British prime ministers come and go. Larry the Cat just stays. On February 15, Britain’s official Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office…
Lake cow bacon almost happened
In 1910, America had two problems: a meat shortage and a plague of water hyacinth choking the waterways of the South. A congressman from Louisiana had one…
A brief history of the Olympics
The first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. in the Greek city of Olympia. Olympia was the site of the main temple to Zeus, and where the Greek god was…