Patty Rasmussen is a freelance writer based in the Atlanta area. She’s written about everything from Major League Baseball to economic development to the reason why calico cats are almost always female. Patty enjoys writing for HowStuffWorks because it means she’s usually picked first for trivia teams.
Recent Contributions
Paprika comes from the dried Capsicum annuum variety of red peppers, and can range in flavor from sweet to very hot.
It's all-but-certain Aaron Judge will hit at least 61 home runs this MLB season, solidifying his place in American League history and Yankees baseball lore.
This Georgia baseball team has become a viral phenomenon. How? By changing the rules and making the game fast, fun and wildly entertaining.
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The ice giant planet Neptune will be at opposition beginning Sept. 16, giving you the best chance to see this mysterious planet. When will other planets be at opposition in 2022?
They look like giant marshmallows and are disliked by many NFL players, but may be just what the doctor ordered to protect them against concussions and other head injuries.
Arizona isn't all desert. Take Grand Falls, aka "Chocolate Falls." It is dry most of the year, but when it rains, this waterfall pours.
Graham crackers were invented by Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham as part of a radical 19th century diet. His goal? To curb joy and sexual desires.
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Sorry to disappoint, but they won't be C-3PO's in dark slacks and chest protectors behind home plate. But 'robots' could be the future of calling balls and strikes.
Nope, the "dog days" have nothing to do with your pooch lying around panting, but everything to do with the dog star, Sirius.
It's a big old world and the number of countries it contains changes all the time. So, do you know how many there are? It's not an easy question.
Ugliness, like beauty, may be in the eye of the beholder. A 17-year-old dog with tumors and a sweet disposition won the annual contest.
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First of all, who is Stanley? Also, why is this trophy so dang big?
In some U.S. states, half of the stores are out of baby formula. How do parents feed babies if they can't get formula? We have some tips.
At age 23, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, aka Annie Londonderry, set out on an around-the-world cycling adventure. Why did she do it and did she make it?
The Venice Biennale, the oldest biennial art exhibition in the world, is a showcase of all that is new in the world of art, attracting over 500,000 people during its 7-month run.
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Standing 1,428 feet tall and just 60 feet wide, Steinway Tower in New York City has earned the nickname, "The Coffee Stirrer."
The meeting of a group of abolitionist activist women at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 became the starting point for the women's rights movement in the U.S., but what brought these women together in the first place?
A brilliant political strategist and Putin critic, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been poisoned, imprisoned and recently ended a hunger strike. What's next for him?
Abigail Adams was the first second lady and second first lady of the United States. But her legacy goes much beyond being wife to President John Adams. See why what made her known as one of the "founding mothers."
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Marmosets are some of the smallest monkeys in the world and are found primarily in the forested areas of central Brazil. And the males support their mates in a very unique way.
These intelligent, friendly creatures have a life span of 15 to 20 years and make great pets.
Luge is one of the fastest — and most dangerous — sports in the Winter Olympics. The athletes race down the icy, high-banked tracks at up to 90 miles per hour (140 kilometers per hour). How do they do it safely?
Betty White died at the ripe old age of 99. We look back on her life and amazing television career.
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Edward Osborne "E.O." Wilson never grew out of his "bug period" as a child and, as a result, became one of the world's foremost experts on the subject of ants.
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