Hockey enforcers are players responsible for guarding against aggression from the opposing team

NHL players used to not wear helmets or masks

Until the 1970s, hockey goalies didn't wear masks to protect their faces with any regularity. Instead, they took pucks off their cheeks, foreheads, and mouths, resulting in serious scars. Any player who entered the league after June 1, 1979, was required to wear a helmet, but several players who'd started before then chose to continue playing without one.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman rejects ties between CTE and playing hockey

After multiple shocking deaths and several explosive studies, the NFL chose to embrace the league’s role in brain injuries related to concussions. But despite having concussion numbers similar to football and several studies on hockey players, the NHL has chosen to dispute the link.

In the 1970s, the NFL developed rules to protect players from injuries

It’s hard to imagine a football game without hash marks, but that’s how it was before Walter Camp and the rules committees changed the game. This NFL interactive deep dive goes into the evolution of the kickoff, the hash marks, and the chop block. Those rules committees are still in play today and are making the game safer for the next generation of NFL players.

NHL player Craig MacTavish was convicted of vehicular homicide in the middle of his career

In January 1984, Boston Bruins center Craig MacTavish was driving home after a practice while under the influence of alcohol. He struck a car driven by Kim Radley, who died four days later. MacTavish was sentenced to a year in prison before resuming his career in Edmonton.

A 2004 brawl led to a strict dress code for NBA players

After the Malice at the Palace brawl between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, Commissioner David Stern wanted to tamp down the league's bad-boy image, instituting a business casual dress code for all players on the sidelines and at team-sanctioned events.

See the “Miracle on Ice” through the eyes of a Soviet player

In this video, hockey legend Slava Fetisov reflects on the USSR’s powerhouse teams, his experience in the 1980 Olympic loss to the US, and his later move to the NHL—where Russian players became dominant forces.

Fantasy sports can have adverse health effects

Experts warn that fantasy sports, including fantasy football, can encourage obsessive use because they offer hits of dopamine. Daily fantasy games, which function more like gambling, are especially problematic.

How the Red Wings supported player Vladimir Konstantinov after a life-changing injury

A few weeks after winning the Stanley Cup in 1997, tragedy struck the Detroit Red Wings when star defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov was paralyzed in a car accident. The team dedicated the next season to him with a patch on their sweaters.

A history of the rare, chaotic moments when MLB batters charge the pitcher on the mound

They typically occur when a pitcher has slung a pitch a little too close to the batter—though the exact causes vary, from quick tempers to longstanding grudges. No definitive account of these infrequent but highly visible incidents has existed, so sportswriter Jon Bois compiled data on 264 such moments between 1950 and 2025. The resulting 23-minute video explores the rich narratives leading to these charged events.

67 US high school athletes died from exertional heatstroke between 1982 and 2022

Many of those deaths were from football specifically, where student athletes play in hot conditions while wearing heavy protective gear. Few states mandate heat guidelines for school athletes, and this article says that's of increasing concern with more high heat index days.

NASCAR’s SAFER barriers help reduce tragedies at races

Following the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 2001, NASCAR changed its culture to be safety-first. Part of its changes were to install barriers along tracks that would help absorb the majority of g-forces in a crash. This Daily Downforce article walks through the history of the SAFER barriers, why NASCAR originally chose concrete, and how much of the tracks are covered today.

Winter Olympic sports highlight various laws and principles of physics

Figure skaters leverage the conservation of angular momentum during spins by tightening their bodies, and the skintight suits used in ski jumping help reduce drag. Centripetal force allows speedskaters to make tight turns, while friction on skis helps ski mountaineers climb slopes. No action can violate the conservation of energy.

Hockey romance novels have become an unexpected sensation

The combination was not an obvious hit, but books like "Hockey With Benefits," "Body Check," and "Puck and Prejudice" (a Jane Austen fan fiction) have grown popular thanks to a romance novel boom and an interest on TikTok. Now, HBO and Amazon are taking note with streaming adaptations. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Explaining the 1985 Chicago Bears defense, the greatest ever

Led by coach Mike Ditka, the Bears' 1985 defensive unit led the league in total points allowed, yards allowed, and total takeaways. Throughout the season, the team maintained an average of 12.4 points per game, and during its last three playoff games, it only allowed ten points. Few teams have come close to such a defensive display.

A photo essay on 'French ring,' the storied sport for disciplined protection dogs

The sport dates back to the 1800s in France and tests canine agility, discipline, and aggression in protection dogs. This photo essay follows Judo de Loucyn, a 72-pound Belgian Malinois, the sport's preferred breed, as he competes in obstacle clearing, long jumps, and obedience and attack drills in the North American Ring Association Western Regional Trial in Arizona.

X Games emerged during “extreme” marketing boom in the 1990s

Launched as the “Extreme Games” in 1995, the event tapped into a trend from the '90s of brands labeling products and events “extreme” to appeal to youth culture—mirroring marketing in soft drinks, snacks, and video games.

Learn about the Black Bear Sports Group—a hockey conglomerate changing the ice rink industry

Ice rinks are notoriously difficult to operate, due to the complex cooling systems required to maintain the ice itself, and have an average operating lifespan of 25 years. However, Black Bear Sports Group has made millions by buying up failing ice rinks and running robust youth sports programming.

Vince McMahon played a villain in the ring—and was accused of abuse outside it

During his reign, Vince McMahon integrated himself into the organization’s fictional universe as the ultimate "heel," or villain. By the 2020s, sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations suggested McMahon's persona wasn’t all that different from reality.

Endurance art strains and exhausts the body

Artists like Marina Abramović are known for testing the limits of human endurance. Endurance art can involve carrying heavy objects or posing uncomfortably for long durations. (This resource contains some artistic depictions of violence.)

Arnold Schwarzenegger fueled a lot of the interest in strength training, beginning in the 1980s

This was notable because clinicians around the 1950s thought that lifting heavy weights was bad for health, dampening muscle-strengthening interest that dates back to the ancient Greeks. Beyond Schwarzenegger-inspired interest and the popularity of Venice Beach bodies, the weight training movement also later gained momentum due to accumulating scientific evidence and the rise of entities like Crossfit. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Minor Threat inadvertently created the straight edge movement

The DC hardcore band released the song “Straight Edge” in 1981, which detailed singer Ian MacKaye’s decision to abstain from alcohol, drugs and promiscuous sex. The track inadvertently inspired legions of young hardcore kids to similarly declare themselves “straight edge,” which eventually grew into its own subgenre.

The DEA enforces federal drug laws under the Department of Justice

Established in 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration directs federal efforts to fight illegal drug trafficking, oversee controlled substances, and dismantle large narcotics networks both within the United States and internationally.

Texas’ 1,600-pound longhorn mascot Bevo charged at Georgia’s Uga, a small bulldog, at the Sugar Bowl

During a pregame photo op at the 2019 Sugar Bowl, Bevo broke through a barrier and charged toward Uga, creating a chaotic scene that instantly became one of college football’s most viral mascot moments. Luckily, Bevo was stopped before reaching Uga.

Engrams are the specific pattern of brain cells that make up a memory

Memory isn’t stored in your brain in a neat little package but is instead spread across a pattern of cells in different regions. Understanding this process could lead to better treatments for conditions like Alzheimer’s or PTSD.

Multiple junior Bank of America employees have died on the job

Intern Moritz Erhardt died of epilepsy in 2013, after working through nights, and associate Leo Lukenas III died in 2024, from a blood clot after working more than 100 hours per week.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

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.

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.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

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.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

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

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

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.

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.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

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 power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

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.