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
She was said to be the most beautiful woman in Greece and the bearer of the "face that launched a thousand ships." But who was Helen of Troy, really?
Frédéric Chopin gave only 30 public performances of his stunning piano works during his lifetime, but his influence on the soul of classical music was immeasurable.
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.
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An intrepid world traveler, skilled mountaineer and noted archaeologist, Gertrude Bell broke all the rules at a time when women lived under the oppressive thumb of Victorian-era England.
It may seem that the ouroboros came into existence with the flowering of tattoo culture, but in truth, this symbol is centuries-old and has a fascinating history.
Erosion and weather can combine to make rock formations look like all kinds of things, from human faces to animals. They're called mimetoliths and we've taken a look at four of the most famous.
The Venus de Milo is one of the most recognized statues in all the world, but why does she have no arms?
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Obelisks can be found in cities throughout the world, from Washington, D.C., to Paris, France. But what is the origin of these massive structures?
She was also the goddess of marriage, women, the sky and the stars of heaven.
We'll be blunt: Mary Edwards deserves mad respect. She was a feminist and abolitionist; the first female Civil War surgeon in the U.S. Army; and a Civil War POW. Plus she wore pants!
Many of us may have a passing familiarity with Norse mythology because of the 2011 film Thor, but there's a lot more to it than Chris Hemsworth's abs.
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The goddess of the hearth, Hestia set the Greek bar for perfection in domesticity, hospitality, the family, the home and the state.
Over 130 years after his passing, the story of Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man" can still teach us important lessons about acceptance and love.
Ever feel like others are out to get you, or that you're in danger even though there's no clear threat? Is this normal in today's crazy world or is paranoia creeping in?
On Sept. 5, 2020, a small crowd gathered in the St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany, to hear the first sound change in almost seven years to an organ piece by composer John Cage that will go on until the year 2640.
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By the time Richard Alpert died in 2019, he was better known as Baba Ram Dass and had become a spiritual teacher, psychedelic research pioneer, best-selling author and New Age guru to millions of followers.
Heuristics are rule-of-thumb strategies that help us shorten decision-making time and solve problems quickly and effortlessly.
Born in 1207 as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, the Sufi mystic and Persian poet wrote a staggering amount of verse, and is still beloved and widely influential to this day.
Their mamas may be the only ones who can tell them apart, but there are major differences between these cousins, one being the type of water in which they can survive.
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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wore her heart on her sleeve — or her decision on her neck, to be more precise.