Lastest Stories by Colman Andrews

Potato chips were apparently invented in 1853 by a cook named George Crum — possibly of African-American and Native American descent — who worked at Moon’s Lake House on Saratoga Lake in New...
French fries aren’t French, Swiss steak isn’t Swiss, and Mongolian barbecue isn’t Mongolian — or, for that matter, barbecue.  These are just three examples of foods with misleading names....
Americans last year still trusted the U.S. military more than any other public institution — as they have for two decades, according to a Gallup Poll. Every year since 1973 (and twice in 1991), the...
By now, presumably almost everybody knows about the dangers of second-hand tobacco smoke: Even if you don’t smoke, being around others who do can be seriously harmful to your health. And of course...
There’s no doubt that we love pizza in America. According to some studies, it’s our favorite food, enjoyed more than steak, hamburgers, tacos, or pasta. Statistics show that we eat an average of...
The decoration on some beer, wine, and spirits bottles contains potentially dangerous levels of such toxic metals as lead and cadmium, according to a report just released by a researcher at the...
What do Americans want to eat on the July 4th? You can probably guess most of the answers, but one will almost certainly come as a surprise. DoorDash, the largest food delivery service in the country...
The months — and especially the weekends — between Memorial Day and Labor Day are outdoor grilling season in America.  On patios and balconies and lawns, in driveways, at parks and on the beach,...
Piracy is rampant in America today, but it’s not the kind involving grizzled seamen wearing eyepatches and muttering “Aaargh, matey!” The problem today is porch piracy — the purloining of...
The Declaration of Independence is a signed engraving on parchment, displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Or is it? The truth is that there are countless versions of this historic...
The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were revealed to the world in 1777 by a woman — Mary Katherine Goddard, printer and postmaster to the Second Continental Congress in...
In his 1958 hit single “Summertime Blues,” rock-and-roller Eddie Cochran threatened to raise a ruckus “About workin’ all summer / Just-a trying to earn a dollar.” Chances are that today he...
Diabetics wearing implanted insulin pumps are potentially in danger, as their devices could be tampered with from afar. In a 2012 episode of the Showtime thriller “Homeland,” the show’s...
The Fourth of July this year will be hot and rainy in Philadelphia — the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence, according to the Weather Channel’s weather.com site. The forecast calls for...