You can’t improve your life if you don’t understand it. Here are the best of our explainers from 2017 to help you make sense of the news and all the weird little things that happen in your life.
Snow Forecasts Are Hard
There was a snowstorm in the Northeast this week. Or maybe that supposed storm was just a light dusting. It depends on who you ask. Having grown up in the mountains of Colorado, I am well aware at just how terrible these forecasts tend to be. That’s because snow is especially difficult to predict.
The Biggest Misconceptions About VPNs
Have you heard? Internet service providers want to sell your data and a virtual private network (VPN) is the best way to tell them to shove off. There’s a problem though. VPNs are notoriously shady, are more complicated than they look, they’re unregulated, and can be more of a security risk than they’re worth if you don’t set them up correctly.
Your Guide to All the Devastating Weapons You Hear About In the News
Check the news and you’re guaranteed to hear to about conflict in some part of the world. But there are a lot of weapon terms getting thrown around without explanation, and even people in the public eye are totally clueless about what these weapons do. Here’s everything you need to know about the MOAB, Tomahawk missiles, barrel bombs, chemical weapons, and more.
Can You Really Blame Your Problems on Mercury Being in Retrograde?
No.
What Happens When You Get Shot and How to Survive It
If you’re afraid of being shot, you’re not alone, and your fears are, unfortunately, justified. Guns kill almost 100 people in America every single day. Even worse, guns and the bullets they fire are not the hyper-precise weapons Hollywood makes them out to be. They’re messy, and they do a lot of damage you can’t see. This is what happens if you take a bullet, and what you can do to possibly save your life or someone else’s.
What You Need to Know When Recording Your Enemies
Trump was in the news recently for possibly taping conversations in the oval office. But can you do that? Turns out the answer is kinda complicated. If you’re thinking of secretly recording a conversation with someone, you should probably read this first.
What ‘Classified Information’ Means, and What Happens If You Divulge It
The media is ablaze over President Trump sharing classified information with Russian foreign officials—but what is classified information exactly? And what happens if you disclose it? Good news: You’ve been granted clearance to acquire this not-quite-top-secret knowledge.
8 Reasons You Should Care a Lot About the 2020 Census
Do you care about the 2020 census? You should. We all probably should care more about the 2020 census, because John Thompson, the director of the Census Bureau and the man in charge of running the 2020 census, stepped down last week. It’s hard to overstate what huge news this is, and yet the story isn’t getting a ton of attention—possibly because there’s a lot of other huge news too, and, well, the human brain can handle only so much.
What Homeopathy Is, and Why It’s Useless
Echinacea is not a homeopathic remedy. Neither are essential oils, neti pots, or visits to the chiropractor. If you have a vague sense that homeopathy is outside the mainstream and that I’m about to pooh-pooh it, you’re right, but the weirdness goes farther than most people realize.
What Exactly Is Collusion?
If you’ve even glanced at the news lately, you’ve probably seen or heard the term “collusion” when referring to President Trump’s senior staff being accused of shady dealings with Russia. But what is collusion? And is it actually a crime?
What It Feels Like to Die
Death comes for us all here on Earth at a rate of nearly 7,000 people every hour. Yet, despite its inevitability, most of us know very little about the experience. This is what happens to your body and mind as you slip away—and it’s not as frightening as you might think.
All About CTE, the Brain Trauma Common in Football Players
Aaron Hernandez, the former Patriots tight end who died by suicide earlier this year while serving a life sentence for murder, is the latest football player to be publicly diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The condition is linked to depression, aggression, and problems with impulse control.
What the End of Net Neutrality Means for You
We knew it was coming, but on Tuesday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to gut net neutrality and hand over control of the internet to service providers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon (which also happens to be Pai’s former employer).
How to Reclaim Your Digital Privacy from Online Tracking
It used to be that tracking a person involved a deep knowledge of nature, a keen eye and maybe a dog or two. Nowadays it doesn’t involve more than a bit of code and a few mouse clicks.
Why You Have a Delivery Confirmation and No Package From Amazon
So you ordered that cool new doodad from Amazon and it was supposed to arrive today, but it didn’t. Yet you’ve been sent a delivery confirmation telling you it made it there on time. Was it stolen? Maybe! But here’s another possible explanation.