Letters Archive

What if a kid's mistake led to a popular frozen treat? Frank Epperson's accidental discovery shows how sometimes the best inventions come from unexpected places.

What if getting lost isn't about the maze you're in, but how you handle it? The story of Theseus and the Minotaur reveals a powerful lesson about having a plan instead of trying not to get lost.

How did a team with no money use math to change baseball forever? The Oakland A's discovered that seeing numbers differently could reveal hidden patterns that everyone else had missed.

What makes a place feel welcoming or unfriendly? A Zen master's wisdom reveals how our expectations shape what we find in new places - and how changing our outlook can transform any situation.

What if your birthday shares a day with one of humanity's brightest inventions? A story about how different kinds of light - from Edison's bulb to the iPad - changed our world.

Have you noticed how amazing you feel after swim practice? The story of how scientists discovered our brain's natural feel-good messengers reveals why exercise makes us feel so good.

Did you know today is National Nothing Day AND National Fig Newton Day? The strange story of how we end up with overlapping holidays reveals something surprising about how traditions really start.

Would you spend thirty years building a bridge? In the mountains of India, people grow bridges from living tree roots - a process that takes a generation but creates something extraordinary.