Three Oklahoma athletes were penalized for eating too much pasta at a team banquet

New rules introduced in 2021 let college athletes profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL)

The NCAA’s 2021 policy shift allowed athletes to earn money through endorsements, sponsorships, and personal branding—transforming the college sports landscape and changing the dynamic of what it means to be a student-athlete.

Eating competitions can ruin a stomach's elasticity

Competitive eaters make room for all that food by toying with the stomach's ability to expand and contract. Still, doctors warn that repeated stress can destroy that ability, leading to further issues.

'Pastafarians' have used their pasta-strainer-wearing faith to test the legal limits of what counts as religion

Founded in 2005 to mock the teaching of creationism in public schools, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has led to real First Amendment cases—over driver's license photos, courthouse statues, and prison rights. Courts have generally ruled it as satire rather than religion.

The betting scandal that rocked college basketball

In the 1940s and '50s, illegal bookmaking in college basketball was rampant at Madison Square Garden. In the 1949-50 season, City College of New York players shaved points during games, though they played honestly in the NIT and NCAA tournaments, winning both. This OddsShark.com article explores how the points-shaving scandal was exposed, who went to jail, and its impact on the NIT and CCNY.

The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

Is it possible to out-eat the price you pay for a buffet? How do these places make money? We looked at the dollars and cents behind the meat and potatoes.

Axelle Berthoumieu bit Ireland's Aoife Wafer during the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter‑final in 2025

Biting, waxing pool balls, and modifying ski suits are just a few of the various instances of bad sportsmanship in 2025. It appears that cheating is much harder to get away with in the era of smartphones.

Gladiators followed a mostly vegetarian, high-calcium diet

Analysis of skeletons from a gladiator cemetery at Ephesus by researchers at the Medical University of Vienna found little meat consumption but unusually high calcium levels—likely from drinking wood ash mixed with water to promote weight gain and protect vital organs.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl ends with its mascot being eaten by the winning team

In one of college football’s quirkiest traditions, the Pop-Tarts Bowl concludes with the victorious players taking bites out of the giant Pop-Tart mascot.

Chemistry-informed advice for cooking pasta, including how to prevent clumping noodles

On a molecular level, pasta dough consists of protein structures that hold starch molecules, and the starches absorb water during cooking, forming a gel that softens the pasta. Pasta should not be rinsed after cooking. Instead, some of the pasta water should be added to the pasta sauce, as the gelatinous starch will help the sauce stick to the pasta.

A couple was once sent to prison for running a $31.8M extreme couponing fraud scheme

Investigators found fake coupons in “every crevice” of husband and wife duo Pacifico Talens Jr. and Lori Ann Talens’ home. The couple was sent to prison and are serving a combined 19 years.

The James Beard Awards consider character as well as cuisine

In 2018, the foundation announced several changes to the nomination and judging process. One of them was the directive to consider nominees’ behavior, which came after several prominent previous winners were accused of sexual harassment.

Rising fracking rates have increased prices of some food products

Every fracking well uses approximately 20,000 pounds of guar gum, a thickening and stabilizing agent commonly used in ice cream, salad dressing, and baked goods. The polysaccharide is also a key component in some cosmetics and explosives.

Bow ties became a Bill Nye wardrobe staple after he took part in an athletic banquet

In high school, boys served as waiters during a ceremony where girls would receive awards for gymnastics, lacrosse, and other sporting events. Wanting to fit the role, Nye's father helped him dress like a waiter, and he continued wearing bow ties upon seeing their practicality in the lab.

In 1927, Oklahoma’s governor was criticized for his associations with yoga

Governor Henry Johnston was already dealing with criticism regarding his administration. When it was revealed that he'd attended a lecture on “Divine Yoga,” given by Deva Ram Sukul, a traveling guru, his opponents leaped at the opportunity to use Johnston's budding interest in non-Western traditions (and, in some cases, the occult) against him.

The story of the 1945 Minnesota Starvation Experiment

Amid the severe conditions of World War II, researchers were eager to learn the effects of starvation in a controlled study. This podcast dives into a yearlong study of 36 men at a Minneapolis college who endured a six-month period of semi-starvation, where their caloric intake was halved. Results from the experiment became a landmark study in human starvation.

Shohei Ohtani's interpreter allegedly stole $16M for gambling debts

Ippei Mizuhara first met Shohei Ohtani during the two-way star’s rookie year in Japan. Ten years later, Mizuhara, who had become a trusted friend and confidant to Ohtani, is alleged to have stolen $16M from his employer to repay gambling debts.

Michigan's pasty is sometimes referred to as a 'Yooper burrito'

The pasty is a signature dish of the state's Upper Peninsula. Because it's a handheld food, the item is sometimes called "the Yooper burrito," referencing the slang ("Yooper") for someone who lives in the area.

The sports competition developed on the Alaskan tundra

Alaska's NYO Games invite high school athletes from the state's over 270 indigenous tribes to compete in numerous events based on survival tactics developed by their ancestors. This short documentary from Great Big Story walks through some of the more grueling events and speaks with the Games' coaches and young athletes about how the event preserves their shared culture.

Some say baseball's drug problem goes back to the late 1800s

At age 32, pitcher James “Pud” Galvin was feeling tired and decided to take "the Brown-Séquard elixir," which contained a testicular fluid from dogs and guinea pigs, believed to invigorate tired bodies. It might've worked: Galvin pitched a two-hit shutout the next day.

TikTok is obsessed with weird cottage cheese recipes

Cottage cheese “cookie dough.” Pizza cottage cheese bowl. Cottage cheese queso dip. TikTok influencers are suddenly posting nonstop cottage cheese recipes. It might be echoes of the 1990s weight-loss obsession, when diet culture encouraged the consumption of questionably tasty low-fat foods and not much else. Now, cottage cheese’s high protein content has made it an intriguing prospect for online fitness gurus who say that it’s the key to building muscle.

The average cost for an in-state, public university is close to $30K per year

To cover the cost, students turn to a variety of sources. Parental contributions plus savings funds cover about half of the expenses on average, with students relying on other sources—typically federal aid, in the form of scholarships and loans—to cover the rest.

In 1995, Hakeem Olajuwon won NBA Player of the Month while fasting

When Ramadan began on February 1, 1994, Olajuwon fasted every day of the month while playing for the Houston Rockets. He still won Player of the Month. His story is a fascinating look on how world-class athletes stay competitive while observing their religious obligations.

The ancient Games at Olympia ended after 1,500 years due to economic issues

The ancient Olympics came to an end in 393 CE, and some historians point to Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I's ban on celebrating pagan festivals. This article explores an alternative theory: a bad economy. The writers cite the Theodosian Code, which makes no mention of the Olympics, and multiple records that mention the Olympics after Theodosius' death.

Over the years, the USDA has changed its definitions of healthy eating

The US Department of Agriculture began offering eating advice in 1894 and has updated its guidance as both science and politics have evolved. In the early 20th century, its guidance emphasized recommended minimum servings of important foods; in later decades, its visual guides became more nuanced, illustrating the composition of a healthy diet and encouraging exercise.

Tribal lenders have charged up to 600% APR on short-term loans

Some Native American tribes use their exemption from state legislation to bypass regulations on usury laws. Similar to payday lending, some tribal lenders have charged up to 600% APR on short-term loans.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.