ArcaMax

Fad diets come and go ... There've been ones focused on grapefruit, cigarettes (Lucky Strike's "Keep a Slender Figure"), and even parasites (banish fat with "sanitized tapeworms in a jar").

But over time, extreme diets (and, boy, are those extreme) don't help you maintain a healthy weight or achieve a younger RealAge. That's why "The Dr. Oz ...Read more

It seems the pelvic exam to check a woman's vagina and uterus for medical problems has been done for millennia: There are versions of the speculum (a device that aids in the examination) in textbooks from the time of the famous Greek physician Galen in 130 AD. In the 20th century, the exam was often an unwelcome rite of passage for teenage girls...Read more

In 1/10,000 of a second your brain can respond to input and generate an action. Although it accounts for only about 3% of your body weight, it uses 30% of the blood your heart pumps, and burns 300 calories daily. Plus, it takes your whole brain to make sense of what's being said: While speaking and comprehending languages is mainly a left-brain ...Read more

The term "charley horse" has been around since the 1880s, when players on the Chicago White Stockings went to the racetrack and everyone bet on a horse named Charley -- except for one player named Joe Quest. When the horse the others bet on came up lame after the last turn, Quest is alleged to have told his teammates, "Look at your old Charley ...Read more

In 2010, a 2-year-old Indonesian boy, Aldi Suganda, made headlines when a video showing him smoking went viral! The poor kid was reportedly so addicted to nicotine that he was smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day, and would throw tantrums and hit his head against the floor whenever his parents tried to get him to cut back. Although this is a more-...Read more

As Adam Sandler wrote in his lyrics for the "Pot Heads Anthem" (sung to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner"): "Oh say I can't see/Where the heck's my Visine?/And my eyesight's not keen/I hope you're not driving."

Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that during 2018, around 12 million U.S. residents 16 and ...Read more

People love Top 10 lists, like Billboard's Year-End Top 10 songs, Listverse's 10 Hilarious Historic Predictions of Life in the 2000s and Google's Top 10 searched-for health topics of 2019.

This year's Google 10 included topics we've covered recently, from how to lower blood pressure (No. 1), to how to get rid of hiccups (No. 3) and what causes ...Read more

Tech innovator Elon Musk launched Neuralink in 2017 to develop implantable electrodes that can directly link your brain to computers' vast knowledge base. This neural lace technology is supposed to make us one with the digital world, but if the way people are interfacing with their smartphones is any indication of how well humans handle such ...Read more

"Two Joes" is a fan book about two of The Three Stooges, Joe Besser and Joe DeRita, who stepped into the madcap act many years after it first debuted. Besser arrived in 1955 after the death of an original Stooge, and DeRita followed Besser 15 years later.

The two Joes' longevity echoes what researchers found in a study published in the Journal ...Read more

Variety may be the spice of life, at least folks have been claiming that since William Cowper coined the phrase in his 1785 poem "The Task." But in 2019, science may have changed the saying by proving that spice itself is the heart of life.

Italian researchers have found that eating chili peppers four or more times weekly reduces your risk of ...Read more

In the sitcom "I Love Lucy," a very pregnant Lucy sends her husband Ricky out to buy whatever foods she craves. In one episode, Lucy inhales a dill pickle dipped in a papaya milkshake. In another, she chows down on pistachio ice cream topped with hot fudge and sardines. Funny, and not entirely unrealistic. But occasional cravings aside, it's ...Read more

This from the Department of Over-the-Top: In 2015, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., suggested that restaurants be allowed to "opt out" of certain regulations, such as employees washing their hands. "I don't have any problem with Starbucks if they choose to opt out of this policy [of employees washing hands] as long as they post a sign that says, 'We ...Read more

Ancient Egyptians -- both men and women -- smudged dark kohl under their eyes and applied henna to their skin. Ironically, while a lot of this makeup contained toxic levels of lead, the heavy metal also helped ward off bacterial infections and may have kept King Tut from getting sick.

Today, things are reversed. While cosmetics are lead-free, ...Read more

Lithium-ion batteries show up in electric cars, Segways and even hearing aids. But not only can they catch fire (think Hoverboards), they use rare earth minerals and are toxic to the environment. That's why it's so cool that the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow has developed a high-capacity, high-power battery that's made ...Read more

Actress Blake Lively, mother of three kids under the age of 5, says she'll sleep when she's dead! While we sympathize with the grueling routine that motherhood demands, we hope she's finding a way to get more rest! Her health, longevity and happiness depend on it.

We have a theory about what -- besides her active trio -- may be contributing to ...Read more

On World Kindness Day lots of stories were told about the joys of giving and receiving affection: One was about a young man named Francis who is colorblind. A dozen or more of his college friends pooled their money and bought him a pair of EnChroma glasses so he could see the world in full color for the first time. Just watching the video of ...Read more

In the film "Parenthood," Mr. and Mrs. Buckman (Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen) show up for a meeting at their son's school and are told he has behavioral problems and needs remedial education. Angered by the news, Martin's character accuses his wife of marijuana use while she was pregnant.

Laws around cannabis use have changed drastically ...Read more

Political activist Angela Davis in the 1960s, writer bell hooks in the late 1990s (she wrote "Happy to Be Nappy"), and singer/actress/dancer Zendaya today (check out her "Curly Wavy Hair Routine" video on YouTube) all embrace naturally curly hair. Smart moves.

A new study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reveals that...Read more

When the Cleveland Browns' team captain Christian Kirksey, 27, was sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle after game two last September, he was in prime condition to make it through his operation and post-op recovery. His regular offseason workout includes mind-boggling exercises that strengthen his back, abdominals and arms (Google "Christian ...Read more

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Penn and Teller. Bert and Ernie. These dynamic duos make it clear that a twosome can become even greater than the sum of its parts. The same holds true for the food on your plate.

Pairing certain foods brings out their best nutritional powers by improving your body's ability to absorb the nutrients they contain. ...Read more