HowStuffWorks_Culture

Creating an earthquake is more than just a great weekend for a Bond villain. In fact, studies indicate that human beings may potentially be able to create genuine earthquakes. Tune in to learn how.

Lamenting their physical presence in the neverending meeting, Chuck schools Josh on the surprisingly early historical instances of the "videophone."

If you've ever been suspicious of photos of the Milky Way, you are pretty smart. How can we take pictures of a galaxy we're located within if our farthest-traveled spacecraft is only now passing out of our solar system? Turns out we can't.

Death is one of life's very few absolute certainties. But while the bell eventually tolls for everyone, some of us get a little something extra up front. This week, Josh gives you the low down on the harbinger of mortality known as the death rattle.

How did Shark Week begin? Josh and Chuck take a look at the origins of the cable ratings juggernaut known as Shark Week in this video from Stuff You Should Know.

Although well-documented when they do occur, feats of hysterical strength are not recognized by medical science. Josh and Chuck from Stuff You Should Know talk about this interesting phenomenon.

Japanese stragglers were loyal to a war that, unbeknownst to them, had ended. Join Josh and Chuck from Stuff You Should Know as they explain how it is possible for a solider to be ignorant of a war's end.

Fossils can tell us about how life on Earth has evolved over time and also how the climate has changed. Find out what fossils are and how fossils formed in this video from Stuff You Should Know.

You may have heard that Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of France, was a short man. But that's all wrong. Learn where this longstanding discrepancy came from.

Placebo surgeries might sound like the exclusive domain of quack doctors and scam artists, but as Josh tells Chuck this week, they're actually a real thing in mainstream medicine (and highly controversial at that).

You wouldn't think you could drown in space, but this past summer one Italian astronaut nearly managed to do just that. Confused? Find out the full story on today's Trapped in a Meeting.

There are people dedicated to studying how much personal space you need and how to design environments around it. Join Chuck and Josh as they discuss the field of proxemics during this episode of Trapped In A Meeting.

October 1st is National Fire Pup Day, which by our reasoning makes it a frontrunner for cutest holiday, period. Josh and Chuck discuss the history behind this day to honor our firefighting canine friends.

As the meeting wears on, Josh and Chuck discuss news that the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be Christ's burial shroud, does in fact date from the same period of history. Chuck recounts the history of bogus religious relics through the ages.

It makes sense that a meteor would be hot when it reaches Earth's surface after it's traveled at thousands of miles per hour through Earth's atmosphere, generating intense heat on its way to the ground. Sure it makes sense, but it's wrong.

Have you heard that sharks like to eat people? This is patently untrue. Sharks don't eat humans and there are a lot fewer shark attacks than you might think. Learn why you should lay off sharks for once in your life right here.

Have you ever heard that the blood in your veins is blue and turns red when it's exposed to oxygen in the air? This couldn't be wronger. Josh Clark explains why your veins sometimes look blue.

In case you didn't know, November 5 is election day and Josh and Chuck get busy explaining why it matters, historically-speaking.

Sometimes nature offers us a natural laboratory in which to test our theories. Join Josh and Chuck this week on Trapped in a Meeting for the story of how some displaced lizards in the Caribbean offered scientists just that.

On today's episode, Josh and Chuck present a veritable smorgasbord of off-kilter holidays: National Tortilla Chip Day, National Cupcake Day (Canada), and Bartender Appreciation Day. Tune in to learn more.

Have you ever worried that if you were ejected into space, your body would explode? Well, it wouldn't. But something else bad would happen instead, so it's still not recommended. Find out the gory details with Josh on another Don't Be Dumb.

Have you ever knocked on wood to indicate you were lucky that something did or did not happen? Did you ask yourself where such an odd tradition could come from? Josh has the answers in this week's Don't Be Dumb.

Here's an urban legend for you: There are strangers out there who poison Halloween candy or spike it with needles and hand it out to random trick-or-treaters. That's confabulation, but that doesn't mean something like it hasn't happened.

Even Ozzy Osbourne has a birthday and today is it. Learn about the birth and life of the original lead singer for Black Sabbath on This Day In History.

You've probably heard that depending on which hemisphere you're in, your toilet will flush clockwise or counterclockwise. This is so wrong. Learn about why that's untrue with Josh here in this Don't Be Dumb.