HowStuffWorks Newsletter
Jennifer Walker-Journey is a lifelong writer of most anything, including travel destinations, psychedelic and prescription medicines, public health issues and exotic foods. Aside from HowStuffWorks, her work has been featured in USA Today, Psychedelic Spotlight, PlanetSHINE, Better Homes and Gardens, Health, Shape, and Sea Island Life and Omni magazines. When she is not writing, she is running toward her last best time in hopes she'll be foolish enough to attempt another marathon.
The list of superstar athletes accused of — and admitting to — taking performance-enhancing drugs is almost as impressive as the number of sports that they compete in. And we're not just talking about steroids.
By William Harris & Jennifer Walker-Journey
Christmas wouldn't be the same without a bunch of candy canes. But how did these sticky, striped treats become synonymous with the holiday anyway?
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the challenge to the restrictive Mississippi abortion ban Dec. 1, 2021. What does it mean for Roe v. Wade? Could the landmark case be overturned?
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Recovering from any surgery is never as easy as you hope. But putting in some time to get fit before it could make healing a lot easier. Here's how.
The FDA fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and older, but that still leaves children under age 12 ineligible to get vaccinated. Should off-label use be considered to protect them?
Dr. Anthony Fauci has famously said he hopes the handshake never comes back. If it doesn't, is the elbow bump the most logical greeting to replace it? If it's not, what is?
The list of U.S. employers mandating vaccines is growing by the day. Is it even legal for your workplace to force you to take a medication to come to work? And what happens if you don't comply?
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Parosmia is a post-COVID-19 side effect that distorts your sense of taste and smell. But smell training (you read that right) can help most people get things back on track.
The wildly contagious delta coronavirus variant now accounts for more than 80 percent of cases in the United States. Does it pose a threat to eliminating COVID-19 across the globe?
We have mRNA technology to thank for remarkably successful COVID-19 vaccines. Can that same mRNA technology be used to help prevent or even eradicate other diseases as well?
The brief and disturbing life of Tarrare is a fascinating study of perhaps the most bizarre and disgusting eating disorder ever known, and one that remains a medical mystery some 250 years later.
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Recently, there's been a spike in UFO sightings — officially UAP, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena — all over the world and nobody seems to know why or what the objects we're seeing might be.
Runner's high is often attributed to a burst of endorphins our bodies release during a long run or even vigorous exercise. But is that feeling of euphoria we experience from a rush of endorphins or something else?
Deaths from cases of the flu have dropped a staggering amount during the 2020-2021 flu season, even while cases of COVID-19 soared. What does that mean and what can we learn for the future?
A perfect storm of circumstances combined to create what one pool industry expert is calling "poolmageddon." Why? Because there's a major lack of chlorine in the U.S. right now. How will it affect the pool season?
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The marshmallow test is all about delayed gratification in children, but can other animals pass it too? And why would they?
Adrenochrome has been linked to schizophrenia and the LSD counterculture movement. Now QAnon conspiracy theorists say it's part of a child sex-trafficking cult. So what's the truth behind this chemical compound?
Daydreaming is often how we escape the everyday mundane. But what happens when those fantasies start to replace your real desire for life?
Empty nose syndrome is a rare problem where patients have clear nasal passages but constant sensations of being unable to breathe. And worst of all, many doctors believe it's all in their heads.
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Xanthan gum is a flavorless food thickener that's been around for decades. Is it the pantry staple that's missing for your pantry?
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that grows on insects. It's been used in Chinese medicine for centuries and is said to fix a host of health issues. But is it too good to be true?
There are eight major blood types and some are more common than others. But what's the rarest of them all?
Proprioception refers to our ability to perceive our body's position and how we move through space. It's often considered our sixth sense because we do it without thinking about it.
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It's not the spots, but the mutation of a certain gene, discovered in 2013 by the Appaloosa Project, that makes a horse an Appaloosa.
We've probably all been breathing wrong our entire lives. Why is that? Experts suggest we should focus on breathing through our noses and most of us don't.
