Most people don’t keep their New Year’s resolutions

30% of Americans make New Year's resolutions

The practice is more popular among younger people: In a Pew Research Center study, nearly half of people under 30 reported making at least one resolution. The majority of Americans (of all ages) who didn’t make resolutions said they simply don’t like the tradition.

A failed resolution still defines directional exploration

The new year practice of making resolutions is so popular it can often inspire ironic dismissal from those all-too-aware of how many fail. This piece argues failure doesn't matter: Making the resolution itself helps define one's focus in life, arguably more important than racking up achievements.

No, 90% of restaurants do not close in their first year

Although opening a restaurant has long been considered a financial gamble, industry publication Datassential found that less than 1% of restaurants opened in 2025 closed within their first year. A Bureau of Labor Statistics report from 2014 had the number slightly higher—at 17%—though it was still significantly lower than the 90% figure most people cite.

43% of Americans don't have savings to pay for a $1K emergency

That's according to data from January 2026 shared by US News. Among those who did have an emergency fund, the median balance was $5K.

Inside the first year as a CEO

The CEO role is a complicated one, especially for those who haven't held it before. A recent study found that among CEOs who left their jobs in the first quarter of 2024, 15% held the job for less than 24 months. That's up almost 10% from 2019. This article highlights the challenges CEOs face in their first year on the job, and describes how they can overcome them. Read more here.

One New Yorker saved $1,600 during her 'no-buy January'

A social trend in recent years encourages participants to buy essentials only for the month (an abbreviation of the even more radical no-buy year). Hannah Marder gave the fast a go, fastidiously dividing her purchases into wants and needs and managing to save roughly $1,600 over the month.

Americans think being informed is a priority for voting, but don't prioritize reading the news

Many Americans report feeling "news fatigue," finding much of the news they encounter irrelevant. Still, being informed is recognized as a major civic duty. Many Americans have stopped seeking out the news or are far more selective about where they receive it, and an increasing sense that its up to individuals to confirm the facts they're being told.

Over one-third of Americans have lost money on a gift card

They've done so by letting it expire (20%), losing the card (17%), or due to a retailer going out of business before they could redeem a card (12%). That's according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited Bankrate research from 2024. This article explains how to maximize your gift card's value.

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

75% of venture-backed startups fail

Startups are inherently risky ventures. Successful startups are relatively rare due to factors including cash flow drying up, marketing issues, and more.

Thousands of constitutional amendments have failed

Of nearly 12,000 proposed constitutional amendments, only 27 were ratified. This article highlights radical failed proposals that would have renamed the country, abolished the presidency, capped personal wealth, or fundamentally rewritten how American democracy works.

Research shows that termed-out lawmakers become less active

A University of Chicago and Stanford study found that state legislators barred from reelection sponsor fewer bills, serve on fewer committees, and skip more votes. The research suggests lawmakers are more productive when future elections remain possible.

Retirement expectations versus reality

There's a big gap between what many Americans expect to happen during retirement and what actually happens—at least according to one financial planner. In this article, the financial planner in question explores how retirement expectations can differ from reality, exploring financial considerations such as how long people expect to work part-time during retirement, and more. Read the article here.

What do people do once GLP-1 medications succeed at weight loss?

The drugs have been adopted by 1 in 8 Americans, with many achieving their prescribed weight loss. They now face the question of how to keep the weight off, the key issue with any weight loss program that researchers have known about for decades. Each case is unique. Some folks continue to use GLP-1s like Ozempic in minuscule doses, while others taper them off over time.

Many shows close without earning a profit

Broadway is a tough market, and a show closing early is relatively common, especially in the winter: Between December 2024 and February 2025, 17 shows closed. It's more than just low ticket sales: Broadway shows face a number of hurdles to success, including stop clauses and bad reviews.

The history of the New Year's misunderstanding in England

In the mid-18th century, the legal system in England operated under the understanding that the New Year began March 25. However, the widespread custom remained a Jan. 1 celebration as the public had been practicing for years. Read along to discover the practical issues this discrepancy caused and how the English legal system ended up yielding to public belief.

The Occupy Wall Street protests lasted 59 days

After the 2008 recession, one of the main slogans of Occupy Wall Street was, “We are the 99%,” alluding to the wealth disparity between America’s wealthiest 1% of all households and the rest of the country.

Roughly one in every 250 has never remembered a single dream

Most people dream for about two hours every night and recall about two dreams per week, and memory encoding is especially fragile upon waking. Alarms can knock dreams right out of one's head, and dream recall may be influenced by personality, interest, and socialization.

The vast majority of federal criminal cases never reach a jury

In fiscal year 2022, nearly 90% of federal defendants pleaded guilty, and another 8% had their cases dismissed. This means just 2% went to trial at all, making a trial by jury a rare outcome in the modern federal court system.

What percentage of the world’s plastic waste actually gets recycled?

Despite growing awareness of the world’s plastic waste challenges, the numbers showing how much of the world’s plastic waste actually gets recycled are abysmal. Only 9% of the world’s plastic waste is properly recycled, and a significant portion remains landfilled, mismanaged, or incinerated. Read this article for further analysis of why this is and what can be done in the future to better manage plastic waste.

Science says being a jerk doesn't pay off

The evidence is in: Nice guys and gals don’t finish last, and being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead. A longitudinal study lasting for more than a decade revealed subjects who displayed manipulative, selfish, or combative behavior were less successful professionally than control groups—a finding that held even in highly competitive organizations.

As of 2025, most EV batteries retain 95% or more of their range after three years

Data from over 30,000 electric vehicles shows that their batteries are lasting much longer than initially projected, which researchers suggest is due to improved battery management systems and real-world use often being less rigorous than high-performance testing. Cars with 150,000 miles or more that have not had a battery replacement retain at least 83% of their original range.

The best New Year’s Eve drops

There’s more out there than the Times Square ball drop. This list ranks the best of the rest, including the Great Pinecone Drop in Arizona, the Lebanon Bologna Drop in Pennsylvania, and the Pickle Drop in North Carolina.

Sleep deprivation may slow metabolism

This article explains that, according to research from Penn State, restricting sleep for just a few days can affect how the human body metabolizes fats and change how satisfied people feel after a meal. The study found that people who don’t get...

One reason Americans are bad at math

The president of Barnard College explains why we need to better understand the links between math anxiety, math avoidance, and the US’s dismal test scores.

Alcoholics Anonymous leads to increased abstinence compared with other treatments

That's according to a 2020 meta-review of 27 studies. This large analysis found that Alcoholics Anonymous had between 22 and 37 percent abstinence numbers as compared to other treatments that had figures of about 15 to 25 percent. AA was founded in 1935, in Ohio, and depends on peer connections and consistent meeting availability. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

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

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

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

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.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

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.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

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.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

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.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'