Kristen Hall-Geisler is a freelance writer and book editor living in Oregon. As an automotive journalist since 2006, she's honed her research and interviewing skills with HowStuffWorks, The New York Times, TechCrunch, Popular Science, US News & World Report and more. She loves falling down the rabbit hole of research and emerging with a book or article that others find useful and — she hopes — entertaining while still being based on solid sources. She is the author of the historical novel "Skull and Sidecar" as well as the nonfiction books "Take the Wheel: A Woman’s Guide to Buying a Car Her Own Damn Self" and "Lightning in a Throttle: Three Early Electric Vehicle Victories."
Recent Contributions
A 'suicide door' was the popular name for car door that opened from the rear rather than the front. Why were they called that, and do any cars have this feature?
We all became hyperaware of the utter importance of toilet paper in our lives during the COVID-19 lockdowns of the past year, but some earth-friendly options exist as well.
You might think it's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. But you're wrong. And anyway, that's a song, not a word.
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It's easy to take online comments out of context. Is it serious, or is it satire? That's where Poe's law (and a winking smiling emoji) comes into play.
A study using citizen science tries to help explain why cats love sitting in boxes — even ones that aren't there. What did they find out?
Haven't you ever wondered? It depends on how you look at it and we have two answers — the highest sticker price and the highest price ever paid. Both are stunning.
A multiplication table is an easy-to-use grid of numbers that can help you learn to multiply quickly by using the chart and, eventually, your memory.
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The UK is considering taxing frequent fliers to help lower airline emissions. But will a tax even help curb greenhouse gases?
Goatees have been growing on faces for, well, a long time. So has their time come and gone, or are they more popular than ever?
Surfboards, huarache sandals and endless sunshine? Yes. But throw in some Conquistadors, a trashy Spanish novel, Black Amazons, mythological creatures and, of course, Charlemagne and — voilà — the name "California" is born.
Showering every day is likely something you take for granted. But for astronauts on the International Space Station, it's not an easy task.
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President-elect Joe Biden has pretty much made 'malarkey' a household word, so we thought we'd do some research into its origin story.
Anyone who's been to the ocean has probably seen the foamy white stuff that clings to the sand after a wave breaks and recedes, but what the heck causes that bubbly foam and is it dangerous?
The Founding Father was a prolific writer during his day. He wrote so much, in fact, he required a steady supply of quills.
At-thay epends-day on-way at-whay ou-yay ean-may y-bay eal-ray.
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The Latin language may be dead, but this phrase, which originated 2,000 years ago, is still used in legal and financial docs. So what does it mean?
Dozens of wildfires have scorched millions of acres in the western U.S. this year. One Oregonian tells what it's like living through the record season and if it's a preview of what's to come.
If you've ever expressed the charming idea that you have a buttload of something – a buttload of laundry to do, a buttload of tacos to eat – you may have wondered what the measure of a buttload actually is and where the phrase came from.
If you've ever dreamt of living out 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' now's your chance — golden ticket hunt, winning a candy factory and all.
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Ever found yourself in a pickle and wondered, "Hey, why the heck do we call it a pickle?" Let's see if we can swim through the brine and find out.