John Donovan

John Donovan

Contributing Writer

John is a freelance writer based in the suburbs of Atlanta. A longtime sports scribe with too much time covering college sports, the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball, he now writes on science, health, history, current events and whatever other weird non-sports stories that he and the editors at HowStuffWorks dream up. He has a journalism degree from Arizona State, a wife, a son, a dog that sheds too much and a bad case of eyestrain.

Recent Contributions

Humans are a diverse lot. And although we sometimes confuse ethnicity, race and nationality, they are not the same.

By John Donovan

When it comes to water witches we're faced with two distinct possibilities. One, they're either really good, at pulling a fast one on desperate landowners looking for groundwater. Or, two, they actually know what they're doing.

By John Donovan

It's easy to equate Caucasian with white. But the word Caucasian touches on issues deeper than skin color. HowStuffWorks looks at its true meaning.

By John Donovan & Austin Henderson

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The MOAB is the largest nonnuclear bomb ever used by the U.S. So what makes it OK to drop this bomb and not a nuclear warhead? We dive in to find out.

By John Donovan

You probably recognize these right off the bat: Andrew, Katrina, Sandy and Sally. But when and why did we start giving hurricanes names?

By John Donovan

Even though Hurricane Florence was downgraded to a Category 2, the storm could still unleash an historic amount of rain.

By Sarah Gleim & John Donovan

Israel's Iron Dome defense system is capable of intercepting — and destroying — thousands of incoming rockets targeting civilian areas. Here's how the sophisticated system works.

By John Donovan

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These intense snowstorms can come out of nowhere. They may not last long, but their rapid snowfall and whipping winds can make them disastrous.

By John Donovan

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was just named world's busiest airport, again. What lands the ATL in the No. 1 spot again and again?

By John Donovan

Many of Sigmund Freud's well-known theories have been discredited by modern psychiatry. Does that include the Oedipus complex?

By John Donovan

Sinking a hole-in-one is way more difficult than Tiger Woods and those other professionals make it look.

By John Donovan

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Emmett Till's vicious kidnapping and lynching still stands out among the thousands of lynchings in the U.S. after the Civil War. What was it about his murder that made the world stand up and take notice?

By John Donovan

Part of the fun is trying to finagle a spot at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park viewing site in late spring.

By John Donovan

In fascism, the State is all that matters, and constant conquest is necessary to glorify that State. But how do you convince people to support a philosophy that denies their personal value? Is fascism really still alive today?

By Julia Layton & John Donovan

John Adams was the first vice president of the United States, a role he thought was contrived and insignificant. But the VP function has changed, and Adams played a huge part in that. He also became the second president of the U.S.

By John Donovan

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Super Bowl Sunday is a football fan's nirvana. It's when the NFL champion is decided once and for all. But the day is about way more than just football.

By Kevin Bonsor & John Donovan

Want to see Super Bowl LVII in person? It won't be easy. But we'll show you how to get into the best position to catch a Hail Mary ticket or two.

By Thorin Klosowski & John Donovan

The Select Committee investigating Jan. 6 just subpoenaed former president Donald Trump. What happens if he ignores the subpoena?

By John Donovan

Jim Thorpe overcame almost insurmountable obstacles, from a rough childhood to racial discrimination, to become one of the world's greatest athletes of all time.

By John Donovan

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College sports just wouldn't be the same without those silly costumed humans (and live animals) parading around the sidelines pumping up the fans.

By John Donovan

Though it's been around for more than 150 years, Juneteenth was still a mystery to many. But now, it's the newest federal holiday in the U.S.A.

By John Donovan

The soldiers who stand vigil over the Tomb are the Sentinels of The Old Guard, a hand-picked group dedicated to honoring the memory of those who gave their lives for their country.

By John Donovan

Arne Johnson stabbed a man to death in 1981. His intended legal defense? Guilty by reason of demonic possession. Did it work?

By John Donovan

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Magda Herzberger was just a teen when she and her family were sent to Auschwitz. It was the last time she saw her father. Now 77 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we tell her story of survival and why we must never forget.

By John Donovan

He's the most decorated American Winter Olympics athlete, with eight Olympic medals. But after he retired from skating at age 28, he had to make a hard pivot and reinvent who he was.

By John Donovan