What makes popcorn pop?

A popcorn kernel is actually a seed. At its center is a tiny plant embryo, a life form in its earliest phase. The embryo is surrounded by soft, starchy material that contains water. Surrounding the embryo is a hard shell. When the kernel is heated to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the water turns to steam. The pressure from the steam causes the kernel’s shell to explode and the starch to spill out. You have to add the butter!

More on Popcorn.

Here's a good one, still working on your spelling skills? Why not take the daily spelling quiz. It's good practice and you can think of it as a game.

Try it now! Fact Monster's Spelling Bee

Do you ever hear people talking about jazz, acid rock, New age, or new wave? What the heck are they talking about? I don't about you, but all these terms can be quite mysterious.

Here are some definitions of types of music that, you never know, you might be interested in yourself.

I just got back from a great vacation in California and I had a chance to visit Disney! Very exciting.

In my wanderings around the place I got to meet Aurora, Jasmine, Mulan, and Snow White. Just caught a glimpse of Cinderella. Very nice ladies, they all are. This made me think about a quiz we wrote a few months ago about the princesses.

Check it out: Disney Princesses Quiz.

Then drink lemonade. It's an old folk remedy for curing those annoying hiccups.

Want to whiten your teeth? Supposedly strawberries can help you with that.

Got a winter cold? Eat licorice. It's supposed to help!

Folk remedies may or may not work, but at least you can try!

Karl just added even more games for you. Word search, jigsaw puzzle, and a slider. Check out January Games.

Have you played Same Game yet? My high score is 3438!! Can you beat that?

Karl is trying to give us something to do over the holidays. Have fun with all these new games he made for you:

Holiday Sweets Word Search

Santa Claus Slider

Hanukkah Jigsaw Puzzle

Sneakers go back a long way. In the late 18th century, people wore rubber soled shoes called plimsolls, but they were pretty crude—for one thing, there was no right foot or left foot. Around 1892, the U.S. Rubber Company came up with more comfortable rubber sneakers with canvas tops, called Keds.

More on Sneakers!

Try these.

Knock knock
Who's there?
Rob
Rob who?
Robbers are chasing me,
open the door!

Want more? Read: Knock Knock Jokes

Here are some really good questions you can ask friends and family to test their trivia knowledge.

Is Greenland Green?

No. Much of Greenland is covered with a thick blanket of ice. The Viking explorers called it Greenland in order to lure settlers!

Is the Dead Sea Dead?

Find the answer on our Where the Name Fits the Place—or Does it? page.