As a precocious child growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, Molly Edmonds would often prepare miniature school lessons for her younger brothers. If her brothers didn't want to play school, Molly sat on them to prevent possible escape and continued with her lesson. Fortunately for the readers of HowStuffWorks and for the listeners of the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast, which Molly started and co-hosted with Cristen Conger, Molly has learned over the years that physical harm is not a good way to provide information. A graduate of Emory University, where she majored in creative writing and political science, Molly spends her spare time seeking out good books, live music and people who will cook for her.
Recent Contributions
Sharks have a bad reputation, but is it warranted? Maybe for these 10, which are considered the most dangerous of all.
Like the members of an ill-fated rock group, the seven continents struck out on their own hundreds of millions of years ago. But what caused the breakup? And is a reunion tour in the works?
By Molly Edmonds & Talon Homer
Making love. A roll in the hay. The mattress mambo. Doin' the deed. Ready to test how much you know about sex? As Marvin Gaye would say, let's get it on.
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Today's version of marriage looks very different from the unions enjoyed by our ancestors. For most of human history, marriage was more akin to a business deal between men, and the bride in question had very few rights or other options. So how did marriage become associated with love?
Is the angel shark the holiest fish in the sea? Their name certainly seems to indicate a pure and pious air, and some seafood connoisseurs say that a bite of an angel shark is like a little taste of heaven.
By Molly Edmonds & Sascha Bos
You've heard the stat. You're more likely to be struck by lightning than be attacked by a shark. Still, wouldn't it be nice to know that your next aquatic destination doesn't fall on this list?
It's commonly believed that that grandpa has more knowledge than his young whippersnapper of a grandkid. But do wrinkles on the face really relate to wrinkles on the brain?
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How does a laughter milkshake sound? What about a joy cocktail? Though the former may sound like part of a kid's meal and the latter like a happy hour order, they're both related to laughter yoga.
Cell suicide sounds unpleasant, but this programmed cell death is the reason your fingers and toes are no longer webbed. What's the story behind apoptosis, and what does it have to do with curing disease?
Car dashboard displays are useful tools, but they're increasingly complicated. Let's take a look at what you need to know about car dashboard displays.
Clowns might seem to have more foes than friends, but these entertainers are a key part of laughter therapy in hospitals. There is increasing evidence that a few hearty chuckles can help you along the road to recovery.
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Hefting a sofa up a flight of stairs can take a lot of logistics. So what does moving thousand-ton buildings across cities -- or even oceans -- entail?
The great bullies that have graced the movie and television screen are mostly males, from Bluto to Biff Tannen. We tend to expect boys to throw the punches. But just because girls aren't bloodying noses on the playground doesn't mean they aren't fighting dirty.
Believe it or not, the walls of that cozy house pictured are made of the ground beneath your feet, albeit with a little modification. But does this alternative home design practical or comfortable?
Though they're indispensable to any construction project, nails have a nasty habit of getting hammered into thumbs and puncturing tires. Is a rusty nail even more dangerous?
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By the end of the 20th century, female inventors held 10 percent of all patents, a disparity indicating the hurdles women faced in receiving credit for their ideas. The inventors on this list overcame those obstacles.
Wouldn't it be nice to have your favorite song start up the moment you walked in the house? Or to get the coffee brewing from bed? Smart homes can do all those tricks, and you might be able to afford one, even if you're not Bill Gates.
When you get sick, your illness can be caused by several different factors. Learn why you get sick at HowStuffWorks.
When asked to name a Black American inventor, many people might think of George Washington Carver and peanut butter. But this is actually a myth. There are hundreds of other unsung Black inventors who have shaped the world with their innovations.
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Why was the eccentric heiress Sarah Winchester consumed with transforming her six-room farmhouse into a creepy labyrinth?
Most of us are accustomed to watching 2-D films with flat images. But when we put on 3-D glasses, we see a world that has depth. We can imagine existing in such a world because we live in one. What about another dimension altogether?
E=mc2. The theory of relativity. An understanding of the speed of light. These ideas all came from the brain of one man: Albert Einstein. But what happened to his brain after he died?
If bigger is better, then some of us have the advantage when it comes to brainpower. Human brains (and noggins) don't all look the same. Does size really matter? And if it does, who comes out on top?
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We've been raised with the belief that death is inevitable, so we must consider the legacy of what we'll leave behind. But what if you had unlimited time to pursue your life's work? What if you didn't have to die?
We don't admit to breaking up with someone because of his looks, or that we've read our boss's private e-mails. We answer "fine" when someone asks how we are, even if we're not fine at all. Why is polite society all about the big fib?