Articles
Programming
Hello, World! in C: A Short History and Your First Program
How C was born alongside Unix at Bell Labs, where "hello, world" itself comes from, and how to compile and run your first C program on Windows, Mac or Linux.
Hello, World! in C++: A Short History and Your First Program
How C++ grew out of "C with Classes" at Bell Labs, the Hello World code explained line by line, and how to compile and run it on Windows, Mac or Linux.
Hello, World! in Java: A Short History and Your First Program
How Java went from a project called Oak to one of the most used languages in the world, plus the Hello World code and how to compile and run it.
Units & Measurement
Inches, Feet, Miles and Meters: Where Length Units Come From and Who Uses Them
The origins of the meter, inch, foot, yard, mile and nautical mile, and which countries still measure in feet and miles today.
Fahrenheit, Celsius and Kelvin: Where Temperature Scales Come From and Who Uses Them
How Fahrenheit chose 32 and 212, why Celsius was originally upside down, what Kelvin measures from, and which countries still use Fahrenheit.
Cups, Pints, Gallons and Liters: Where Volume Units Come From and Who Uses Them
Why US and UK gallons and pints are different sizes, where the liter came from, and how cups and tablespoons vary from country to country.
Games & Puzzles
2048: Where It Came From, and the Corner Strategy That Beats It
Where 2048 came from, how the scoring works, and the corner strategy step by step: which moves to use, how to build a snake of tiles, and how to recover when things go wrong.
Klondike, Spider and FreeCell: A Short History of Solitaire
Where patience card games came from, how Klondike, Spider and FreeCell got their names, how Windows made them famous, and how many games can actually be won.
Where Sudoku Comes From, and How a Puzzle Is Made
The surprising history of Sudoku, from Euler and French newspapers to an Indiana architect, a Japanese publisher and The Times, plus how puzzles are built, checked and graded.
Design & Printables
How to Plan Your Year with a Printable Calendar
A step-by-step way to plan 2027 on paper: which calendar layout to use, what to mark first, how to turn a few days of leave into long breaks, and how to keep the plan going all year.
Color Theory Basics: The Color Wheel, Color Schemes and Contrast
A plain-English guide to the color wheel, from Newton to your screen, the six classic color schemes and when to use each, and how to make sure text is readable.
Lined, Graph or Dot Grid: Which Paper Should You Use?
What wide, college and narrow ruled mean, how graph paper squares are sized, why dot grids took off with bullet journals, and which paper suits which job.
Money
How Loan Amortization Works, and What Extra Payments Really Save
Why the first years of a mortgage go mostly to interest, how fixed and variable rates change the schedule, and worked examples of how much an extra $100, $200 or $500 a month saves on a $300,000 loan.
Getting Started with Compound Interest
A plain-English explanation of how compound interest works and why starting early matters.