Michelle Konstantinovsky is a San Francisco-based journalist who's written on everything from the Beagle Brigade and border walls to cricket farms and TV scheduling for HowStuffWorks. She earned her master's degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and she's written on health and wellness topics for outlets including Cosmopolitan, O: The Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue and more. Michelle loves music, manatees and terrible teen movies from the early 2000s.

Recent Contributions

It's an odorless gas that's present in a variety of home products, cosmetics, car exhaust and even humans. But is it bad for us?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

These majestic trees send their roots down in pillars from branch to ground, can form a canopy over 80 feet high and can live to be 250 years old.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

You've probably heard of the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, but do you know the difference?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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You've probably heard of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but do you know the difference?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Cultures all over the world have treasured turquoise for its color and rarity for thousands of years — from Native American jewelry and Aztec and Mesoamerican art to King Tutankhamun's death mask.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky & Austin Henderson

Back in the 1930s, folks realized they needed a better way to cross the Golden Gate Strait between San Francisco and the Marin Headlands than by boat. Over eighty years later, the Golden Gate Bridge is the city's most prominent landmark.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Primary colors are the blocks from which all other colors are built. But there's a lot more to know about them than the basic red, yellow and blue we learned about in kindergarten.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky & Desiree Bowie

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As much as human beings have encroached on wildlife over recent decades, there are still several species of big cats living wild in the U.S. today.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

It's one of those words that might remind you of certain gender-bending musicians from the '80s, but what does it mean today?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

More than 2.3 billion people across the globe drink alcohol, but most don't consider it a drug. But if you've ever seen someone who's had too much, you know alcohol has profound effects on the mind and body.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Michelle Konstantinovsky

Heuristics are rule-of-thumb strategies that help us shorten decision-making time and solve problems quickly and effortlessly.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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June is Pride Month, when the LGBTQ community comes together to celebrate their struggles and to raise awareness of issues they still face.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

March 8, International Women's Day, has been celebrated around the world for more than a century. This year's theme is "Embrace Equity."

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Anna May Wong makes history as the first Asian American to be featured on U.S. currency; the U.S. Mint will start shipping quarters with her likeness Oct. 24. But who was this pioneering Chinese-American actor?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

HowStuffWorks talks to Jen Glantz about how she turned being a bridesmaid into a business.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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Just what is it that makes us unable to look away from da Vinci's Mona Lisa?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Today Americans mostly celebrate it as the start of summer. But the annual May holiday has a significant history that's worthy of acknowledgment.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

A Texas man caught an alligator gar estimated to be over 300 pounds in May 2022. The alligator gar is sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" and, while it may look threatening, it's harmless to anything larger than itself.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Lady Day, as her fans called her, had a captivating vocal style. But it's the way she poured her life into her songs that made her so memorable. Here are five songs you should know.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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This historic holiday (held the Thursday before Ash Wednesday) celebrates the day in 1824 when women decided they simply wouldn't take it anymore.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Floating in a sensory deprivation tank is a form of restricted environmental stimulation therapy. Studies have shown it can be good for your mind and body.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The famed New York City dance troupe has been kicking its way into our hearts since the early 1930s. But they didn't get their start in the Big Apple.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

We tallied up how much dough it costs the big guy to give every kid in the world toys. And it's way more than we expected.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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The price of the average American Thanksgiving increased about 14 percent over last year. Why so much? Blame the supply chain crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, of course.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Every year, the city of Santa Fe collectively shouts "Burn him!" and sets fire to Zozobra, the enemy of all that is good.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky