You get paid royalties if you own the rights to something, whether that’s a physical asset, a song, even a name, and someone else wants to use it commercially. If someone else is making money off of something that’s yours, you are probably owed money for it. But it’s not as cut and dry as…
Author: Ian Fortey
People like different foods, even foods you might consider weird or unappetizing. You probably like at least one thing someone else thinks is awful. It’s fine that people like different things, the world would suck if we all wanted everything the same. And with that in mind, here are some obscure street food delights from…
Facial recognition technology can trace its roots as far back as the 1960s. The ability to implement it large scale and ubiquitously only really came into being in the modern computer age, of course, and in the present it seems to be nearly everywhere, with fears that it will become even more widespread in the…
When you have a great idea, a patent can help you preserve and secure it so that the world knows it’s yours. Of course, not everyone wants a patent on something they created. For instance, Coca-Cola never patented their original formula because they were afraid someone could check out the patent and reverse engineer their…
If you ever want to waste a few hours of your day on a frustrating task, try to find the last time in history during which no wars were being fought anywhere in the world. It’s extremely hard to do and some folks suggest there actually hasn’t been a time when there was no war.…
Some people see a coincidence and believe it’s a sign of something more. Maybe divine intervention, aliens, fate, or who knows what. They want there to be order in the chaos and to find meaning in seemingly unrelated events. Others see it as just a weird twist of luck, something uncanny that defies the odds.…
Most of us know the Amish exist and think of them as people in old timey clothes who travel by horse and buggy. But there’s a lot more to Amish life than many people realize, not the least of which is the fact they’re often confused with Mennonites who are similar but definitely not the…
Do you think cancel culture is a real thing? Have you gone out of your way to either protest a ban or take part in one? Sometimes it’s good to exercise your right to free speech and share your thoughts on something you think is an injustice. That could mean protesting or just no longer…
Typos can be frustrating at the best of times. So can simply not knowing how to spell a word, even though it’s understandable. There are literally hundreds of thousands of words to know and not all of them are intuitive when it comes to spelling. A bigger problem, however, is when you spell something wrong…
Have you noticed in the last couple of years that the media has explained things with preposterous measurements? Instead of trying the metric system, or even sticking with imperial measurements, they’ll tell you how big a stingray is compared to Travis Kelce. Or that an asteroid is the size of 69 alligators. Humans love a…
Humans have long prized uniqueness. Many people wear it like a badge of honor if they are “not like other people” and march to the beat of their own drum. If you have a unique skill or ability, this is even more highly prized. After all, who wouldn’t want to be the best at something?…
A wise man once said that time keeps on slippin’ (slippin’) into the future. On the other hand, he may have had that backwards and time is heading into the past. Or you could believe those who think time is cyclical and the present and the past are the same thing. For practical purposes it…
Food occupies an unusual place in our lives. It’s a basic human necessity, of course, but there’s so much more to it. Some of us don’t have enough, some of us have an abundance. Some don’t care either way. We have turned food into art, into an expression of wealth or creativity, and have made…
New York. They call it the Big Apple because of racing. It was the big city with the big prizes and stable hands in New Orleans called it the Big Apple because of it. A New York reporter overheard this and liked it. He started using it in his racing beat articles and the name…
Ahh, torture. That timeless art of inflicting pain on someone in terrible and creative ways. As a people we’re very good at being awful and our seemingly endless torture techniques have proven this time again. While many kinds of torture are well known or at least obvious, no one needs to claim to have invented…
Making movies isn’t always fun and games. Actors are often put through the ringer and have to endure extreme conditions. James Cameron famously pushed his actors so hard on the set of The Abyss that they broke down in tears and Ed Harris punched him after a scene in which he almost drowned. Stanley Kubrick…
Across the history of our world, from the beginning to this day, life has not had a good run. Sure, the planet is teeming with it, but relatively speaking it’s the barest hint of what has been. 99.9% of all life that has ever existed has gone extinct. We’re holding onto a tiny sliver of…
From the moment you’re born you’re on a one way street towards death. No one has avoided it yet, so there’s no reason to be too worried. Realistically, you probably avoid dozens if not hundreds of potential ways to die every day. From car accidents to falls to choking on a chicken bone, you could…
Every day we run across things that are perplexing in some way. Maybe it’s a complex idea or a strange new gadget. Even if we don’t understand a thing, however, there’s always the hope that it makes sense to someone. That there’s a purpose behind it. It actually does something. Depending on your outlook you…
Most of us are likely to think of a science lab when we hear the term “chemical reaction.” In reality, nature is full of endless chemical reactions occurring all the time. We either just don’t see them, like the ones that take place in our own bodies all day long, or we don’t even think…
Parents in public are often very different from parents in private. The internet is rife with parenting blogs and TikToks dealing with parenting tips, funny anecdotes, gushing praise and feel-good parenting moments that make it seem like being a parent is the best thing a person could ever be. The truth is being a parent…
Being a teacher is, for many, a calling. Helping educate children is a tremendous responsibility. It’s not a job just anyone can do or, at least, it’s not a job just anyone should do. But sometimes beggars can’t be choosers and school boards hire whoever shows up with a diploma. That has led to several…
“If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime” is a fairly well known saying that dates back some years now. The meaning of the idiom is simple enough – be prepared for the consequences of your actions. That sounds straightforward on the surface, but sometimes the consequences are curiously off balanced compared to…
If you make it through life without ever getting sick or injured, you may be entirely fictional. It’s nearly impossible to live without needing medical help at some point. If you’re lucky, you’ll only need minor help. For more in-depth issues, medical science has all manner of treatments and procedures that may be able to…