'Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always a high priority in whatever I was doing.'

1928: A quote from Amelia Earhart

"Ours is the commencement of a flying age, and I am happy to have popped into existence at a period so interesting."

'We are more fulfilled when we are involved in something bigger than ourselves.'

- Astronaut John Glenn (1921–2016)

'Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don't anymore. I realized it was killing conversation. When you're always trying for a topper you aren't really listening.'

- Comedian Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

A quote by Howard Hughes

"Do the impossible, because almost everyone has told me my ideas are merely fantasies."

'Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.'

- Legendary athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956)

'Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.'

- "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

'Pioneering is never done in front of cheerleaders urging on a roaring grandstand of popular approval.'

- "Star Trek" actor George Takei (1937-present)

Meet Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space

In addition to being the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin was a charismatic propaganda icon and a diplomatic headache for the West. This article examines why his image—and legacy—endured long after he died in 1968.

64-year-old accidentally ejects himself from fighter jet

A surprise company outing to an air base caused a 64-year-old French man so much stress that he flung himself from a fighter jet in mid-air, grabbing the ejector button in a panic and tumbling through the skies above France before landing in a field.

'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'

- Jackie Robinson, the first Black MLB player (1919-1972)

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

Orville and Wilbur argued over everything, likely accelerating their progress

The two never married, and focused solely on their goal of achieving flight. While both were socially reserved, they were passionate about their project, regularly debating—even shouting—over the details of propellers, engines, wings and more. This video explores how their culture of open argument likely fueled their discoveries.

'Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.'

- Cherilyn "Cher" Sarkisian (1946-present)

'Fear of life closes off more opportunities for us than fear of death ever does.'

- Actress Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974)

'The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.'

- Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

'No big challenge has ever been solved, and no lasting improvement has ever been achieved, unless people dare to try something different.'

- Apple CEO Tim Cook (1960 - present)

The usual rules of fate do not apply': Race car driver-turned-ace WWI fighter pilot survives being lost at sea

Eddie Rickenbacker had an amazing career as a World War I hero, fighter pilot, and race care driver, among other accomplishments. This restored footage of an short 12-minute documentary about his early life, war stories, and survival at sea for 24 days provides amazing insight on a truly American character.

'Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I'm concerned, that's success.'

- Musician Tom Petty (1950–2017)

Eleven deaf men played a pivotal role in America's human spaceflight program

In the mid-20th century, 11 deaf men volunteered for a series of experiments that offered unprecedented insights into the effects of weightlessness on the human body. Most of the men had become deaf in early childhood as a result of spinal meningitis, a condition known to damage the vestibular system and make them less susceptible to motion sickness. For a decade, these men participated in extreme motion sickness situations, including living in a slowly spinning room, spending time in centrifuge pods designed to simulate hypergravity, and flying in parabolic flights sometimes referred to as the "Vomit Comet." (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Famously frugal Warren Buffett owns a private jet

Buffett still lives in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31.5K. He has pledged to donate 99% of his fortune to charity. Yet he owns a private jet called "The Indispensable" (formerly called "The Indefensible" because he had no defense for buying it).

Commercial air travel's early days: Flights were short, cold, depressurized, and generally comfortable

After World War II, airlines competed for their high-end passengers by offering cocktails, meals, and plush seats, cultivating the image of the elite "Jet Set." By the 1960s, air transport was completely changing global trade and offering big profits to companies able to ship via plane.

How Chuck Norris 'Facts' gave birth to the modern meme

In the early 2000s, anonymous, absurdly hyperbolic jokes about one B-level action star suddenly appeared everywhere on the internet. "Chuck Norris Facts" were spawned by a high school senior, who'd noticed something funny online and taken it to the next level. As Ryan Hockensmith shows in this detailed history, Spector's joke laid the groundwork for the modern meme.

'Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.'

- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his uncompromising personality and visionary architecture

Written the year of his death, this article reflects on Wright’s notorious arrogance and difficult personality that kept him at odds with his contemporaries and the architectural establishment of the time. However, his boldness was an essential trait that helped define his legacy.

‘The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby’ mapped a major transition

The hilarious 1963 story offered insight into how Americans were shifting away from elite interests to “low culture” by focusing on customized cars and their teen enthusiasts in Southern California. Wolfe pokes fun at the trend while also recognizing young people’s post-war desire for freedom, individualism and creativity.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

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.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

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

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

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.