Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak cost him a sponsorship deal with Heinz

Talese’s story on Joe DiMaggio examined the sports star’s life post-retirement

The profile, written in the aftermath of his popular “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” similarly offered a close look at an American icon after their prime. In DiMaggio’s story, however, the Yankees player seeks to vanish into obscurity and live a quiet life, golfing and mourning his ex-wife Marilyn Monroe.

Catching up with hobby icon Sy Berger

In 1952 baseball card company Topps printed two series of cards. The first series sold well, but the late-season series, numbered 311-407 and included Mickey Mantle, didn’t. Read the first-hand account of how Topps couldn't’ even give the late-season series cards away and dumped an estimated 500 cases into the Atlantic Ocean in 1959. Decades later, it created a scarcity that drove the price of that Mantle card to $12.6 million.

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

How pitcher Pedro Martinez helped reverse the curse of the Red Sox

The team had not won a World Series for nearly 100 years—while their rivals, the Yankees, had won 26. The Dominican pitcher joined the club in 1997 and helped lead the team to reverse the curse.

Why ‘Shoeless Joe’ Jackson was banned from Major League Baseball

Few baseball stars are more infamous than "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, one of the game's greatest hitters. Jackson was part of the Chicago White Sox team (notoriously dubbed the "Black Sox") accused of fixing the 1919 World Series. This resource breaks down the criminal trial that investigated those allegations. Curiously, Jackson and his teammates were acquitted, but Major League Baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis still banned them from the league for life.

In 1970, Pittsburgh's Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter on LSD

It was the 174th no-hitter in MLB history, but the only one where the pitcher claimed to be high at the time. This animated video uses Ellis’ own comments from a 2008 NPR interview where he described why he took LSD that morning and the difficulty of pitching while tripping.

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.

JP Morgan Jr. once angered the nation with his zero-dollar tax bill

In the aftermath of the Great Depression, Congress learned that Morgan and his banking partners had avoided paying any federal income tax in 1931 and 1932. By claiming their losses in the stock market, they seemingly erased what they owed.

'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' was inspired by a billboard

If you’ve ever been to a baseball game, you’ve likely sung "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." The song was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth, a Tin Pan Alley musician inspired by a billboard advertising a game at the Polo Grounds in New York.

A $50 bet led to the first coast-to-coast road trip

In 1903, Dr. Horatio Jackson took a $50 wager that he could drive from San Francisco to New York. Soon after, Jackson and his mechanic set out on the cross-country voyage without a map. They arrived in New York 63 days later. The trip cost them $260K in today’s money.

Claims about 'Twenty-One' weren't taken seriously until other quiz shows were exposed

Contestant Herb Stempel alleged that “Twenty-One” was fixed after his loss to Charles Van Doren, saying that everything on the show was “carefully choreographed,” though his claims were dismissed as mere bitterness. In truth, Stempel had been promised a network job if he went along with the con and became outspoken when it didn’t materialize. Van Doren, meanwhile, became a celebrity, donning the cover of Time magazine.

Salvador Dalí once conned Yoko Ono

A quirky story often told about Salvador Dalí claims that in 1969, Yoko Ono offered him $10,000 for one of his famous mustache hairs. Allegedly wary of occult intentions, Dalí instead sent her a blade of grass. While the tale is debated, it fits neatly into Dalí's eccentric public image and his later-life reputation for turning playful stunts into profitable moments.

NFL quarterback puts mayo in coffee, scores deal with Hellmann's

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis went viral when, as Kentucky's quarterback in 2022, he was captured on video using mayo in his coffee instead of cream. Now an NFL pro, Levis was offered a lifetime contract with the mayonnaise producer...

Aaron Judge asks Yankees fans about Aaron Judge

In this 2017 clip from the Tonight Show, Aaron Judge asks Yankees fans what they think about Aaron Judge — and some of them don’t realize they’re talking to the actual Aaron Judge.

John Dingell Jr. was the longest-serving member of the House

John Dingell Jr. served 59 years in the United States House of Representatives, representing his Michigan constituents. This list highlights the 33 House members in US history who have served 40 years or longer.

The 'Seinfeld' characters would likely be financially successful today

Even though Kramer probably doesn't have a 401(k) plan, he also probably struck gold as an investor with many side hustles.

Ohio State’s 2003 Fiesta Bowl win ended Miami’s 34-game winning streak

In a thrilling double-overtime BCS title game, Ohio State defeated defending champion Miami 31–24. This snapped the Hurricanes’ 34-game win streak and delivered the Buckeyes their first national championship since 1968.

Ketchup, 101

Ketchup is a tomato-based condiment mixed with vinegar, salt, and spices. The word likely originates from Southeast Asia, where it was used for a common fish brine sauce in the 18th century. For a brief period in the early 19th century, ketchup was viewed and marketed as a medicine. Henry John Heinz formulated a standard recipe in the late 1800s.

Beer companies turned Cinco de Mayo into a mass consumer event in the 1980s

Starting in the early 1980s, breweries including Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors created Hispanic marketing departments and sponsored Cinco de Mayo events. By 2003, American beer companies spent over $5M annually on Cinco de Mayo advertising. Some users may experience a paywall.

Drake has more top-five Hot 100 hits than any other artist

In 2022, the rapper’s collaboration with DJ Khaled and Lil Baby, “Staying Alive,” reached the number five slot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That was his 30th track to reach the top five, surpassing the Beatles’ record of 29, which they achieved in 1970 with “The Long and Winding Road.”

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute guarantee was discontinued after a string of delivery-driver accidents

The chain's promotional gimmick offered customers free or reduced pizzas if their pizzas weren't delivered in 30 minutes or less. That policy led to the chain's popularity, but it also led to reckless driving: In the late '80s, the National Safe Workplace claimed its drivers had the same death rate as miners. After Domino's was found liable in 1993 for nearly $79M in damages, it discontinued the policy.

In one of Ogilvy’s most well-known ads, he put an eyepatch on the ad’s star for ‘story appeal’

A 1951 campaign for men’s clothing brand Hathaway’s shirts featuring a distinguished man … wearing an eyepatch. Ogilvy has said he added it for “story appeal,” the idea that an ad should make viewers want to know the full story. The campaign ran for more than a decade. Ogilvy explains story appeal and more of his creative principles in this video.

How Chef Boyardee fed America

Chef Boyardee wasn’t just a grocery store staple—it was once a key supplier for US troops in WWII. Founded by Italian immigrant Hector Boiardi, the company produced thousands of canned pasta rations daily.

Kanye abruptly left Nike in 2013 and took his Air Yeezys to Adidas for $10M

In 2009, Kanye West became the first non-athlete Nike produced a signature shoe for. However, Kanye left Nike for the company’s rival, Adidas, just a few years later. Kanye said Nike was stifling his creative vision, and he felt like he wasn’t getting enough royalties.

The most expensive Super Bowl ad cost $26M

Amazon’s 2022 “Mind Reader” ad with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost is the most expensive Super Bowl ad to date. The ad is a minute and a half long, which drastically drove up the price of the commercial.

GameStop stock began a meteoric rise in January 2021, rallying from a low of $2.57 to as high as $438 when Keith Gill helped mobilize retail investors to drive prices higher

Keith Gill was a financial advisor who posted on social media under usernames including "Roaring Kitty." Backing from Chewy founder Ryan Cohen, who became GameStop's CEO, took things up a notch.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

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.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

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.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

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

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

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

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.

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

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.'

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

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

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.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.