ArcaMax

In 1977, Mel Brooks made a parody of Alfred Hitchcock suspense films (Hitchcock worked with Brooks on the screenplay) called "High Anxiety," in which Brooks played Dr. Richard Thorndyke of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous. It's a ridiculous send-up, and the film certainly doesn't take itself seriously.

But if someone you...Read more

The tampon was invented in 1929 by Dr. Earl Haas, and many women immediately found it to be a more convenient option than pads. But having your period was a taboo topic; when buying tampons or other menstrual products, women had to deposit money in a box elsewhere in the store rather than interact with a salesperson.

While periods aren't quite ...Read more

The 2007 "Nova" episode "The Ghost in Your Genes," delivered big news: Your DNA contains chemical markers that allow genes to be turned on and off, meaning that, at least for some inherited characteristics, you're not condemned to their preprogrammed influence. That was dubbed "epigenetics," and it's now widely acknowledged that a person's ...Read more

"It's quarter to 3 and there's no one in the place, but you and me ... One for my baby and one more for the road." That's the chorus of the hit song "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)," originally performed by Fred Astaire in the 1943 movie "The Sky's the Limit," and popularized by Frank Sinatra in the 1950s.

The supposed coolness of ...Read more

On an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," curmudgeon Larry David has an "incident" on a city bus: Taking public transportation, he successfully navigates a transfer for the first time. He then refuses to be seated and, as he tells the driver to go faster and ignore yellow lights, the bus clips a parked car and the driver has to pull over. "The ...Read more

When Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong advocated growing your own, they almost got it right. Turns out, folks who cultivate vegetables (not weed) transform their diet -- and their risk for obesity, cancer and cancer reoccurrence. Now, that's not blowing smoke.

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers worked with 46 cancer survivors ages 60-...Read more

Manny Ramirez let it flow behind the Green Monster while playing left field for the Boston Red Sox. Michael Phelps did it in the pool, of course, and a "slow release" is the favorite of many an NFL player. "Every single athlete has to deal with this," said U.S. women's national hockey team forward, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson. "No one ever talks...Read more

In the 2007 film "Bee Movie," Barry B. Benson, a bee, discovers that humans actually steal bees' honey. He befriends a florist, Vanessa, to whom he reveals he can talk, but he and Vanessa's boyfriend, Ken, don't get along. In one scene, Ken yells at Vanessa and then turns to Barry: "For your information, I prefer sugar-free, artificial ...Read more

In the movie "Pitch Perfect," the captain of the a capella group the Barden Bellas decides they all need to get in shape, so she has them run around the gym. She comes over to one of the Bellas, Amy, to ask why she's lying on her side. "I'm doing horizontal running," Amy responds, lazily cycling her legs in the air.

If you're a horizontal ...Read more

Elon Musk needed a boost (three boosters, actually) from one of the biggest rockets ever assembled -- the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket -- to get his cherry-red Tesla Roadster convertible launched into space and headed toward Mars' orbit. (Psst! It overshot that target.)

If you're looking for a less-costly boost to get you into a better ...Read more

Sam Cohn, the legendary talent agent and co-founder of ICM, was one of the infamous "10 percenters" who transformed Hollywood into a star-making machine. His 10 percent cut of the huge paydays for Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Robin Williams, Macaulay Culkin and many more transformed him into a wealthy man with a rich future.

But the 10 percenters...Read more

When the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a 130-103 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series this year, and the Cleveland Cavs were struggling to reach their potential, Dr. Mike looked around for a possible reason for the discrepancy in their performances. One theory he came up with: Philly has a soda tax that's ...Read more

In a 2008 installment of the comic strip Dilbert, Dilbert tells his doctor: "I'm addicted to the internet because it's more interesting than people. Is there a pill you can give to everyone to make them more interesting?" At home, he complains to Dogbert, "Doctors never want to treat the underlying problem."

While Dilbert's cure for internet ...Read more

The list of NBA players' injuries this season is astounding: Golden Stater Steph Curry (ankle, ankle, ankle, ankle, MCL of knee), Boston Celtic Kyrie Irving (knee), 76er Joel Embiid (broken eye socket) and many others.

They all must contend with post-op pain management and the challenges of rehab if they're going to get back into the game. That...Read more

Off-Broadway, "Sleepwalk With Me" was TimeOut's Show of the Year in 2008, and in 2012 the movie version won a Sundance Film Festival NEXT Audience Award. Seems everyone loved comedian Mike Birbiglia's tale of lost love and his ever-worsening REM disorder that caused him to engage in bizarre activities while snoozing: attacking a hamper, waltzing...Read more

"Toddlers & Tiaras" is the often-unsettling reality show about the competitive world of childhood beauty pageants and the fanatical parents who fuel the competitions. While we don't advocate parents putting kids under that kind of microscopic scrutiny, a recent Columbia University study shows the need for parents to be more vigilant about what ...Read more

In a scene from the show "King of Queens," Carrie comes home to find her husband, Doug, making breakfast. "Pancakes!" She exclaims. "Sausage too? What happened to your diet?"

"Uh, not sure," he responds. "I think it got lost in the shuffle somewhere around Tuesday."

She asks him to at least eat a light lunch.

"What is the point of that?" he ...Read more

After nipping Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup in 2014, Luis Suarez, aka the biting soccer player, was given a last chance to behave decently when Team Barcelona picked him up after his ban from the sport (it was Luis's third offense).

We certainly hope it's not as tough for you to learn that a bad bite can threaten your well-being!

...Read more

In 2014, former physical-training instructor Daniel Green was in for a shock when, at age 81, he went to his doctor in Sussex. His resting heart rate was 36 beats per minute. The doc took it again, and it was down to 26 BPM, one beat lower than the all-time low entered in the Guinness World Records. Green credits walking an hour every morning, ...Read more

In 1929, producer Hal Roach and director Robert McGowan had to hold a nationwide audition to find an obese child to play Chubby in the new sound version of "Our Gang." They eventually signed 12-year-old Norman Chaney -- who was 3 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 113 pounds -- to a two-year contract.

Today you wouldn't have to look that hard to ...Read more