Everyday Life & How-To on Facts

How many days until Christmas?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Countdown to Christmas Day

– days

The counter uses your device’s own date and time zone, so it’s correct wherever you are and updates on its own.

How many days until Halloween?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Countdown to Halloween

– days

The countdown uses your device’s date and time zone, so it’s accurate wherever you are.

How old am I?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Age calculator

Your date of birth

Pick your birthday above

Your age changes on your birthday, not on January 1, so the calculator counts full years since you were born, then the leftover months and days.

How to make slime

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Slime is a little bit of chemistry you can hold. The glue contains long, stringy molecules called PVA (polyvinyl acetate). The borate in the contact solution links those strings together into a stretchy net, turning a liquid into something that oozes and snaps.

How to read a tracking number

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A tracking number is a package’s ID. Once you know which company it belongs to, you can follow every scan from the warehouse to your door.

Which carrier is it?

Carrier	Common format	Example pattern
UPS	Starts with 1Z, 18 characters	1Z 999 AA1 01 2345 6784
USPS	Usually 20–22 digits, often starting with 9	9400 1000 0000 0000 0000 00
FedEx	Usually 12 or 15 digits	1234 5678 9012
DHL Express	Usually 10 digits	12 3456 7890
Amazon Logistics	Starts with TBA	TBA123456789012

Formats can vary, especially for international shipments, which often look like two letters, nine digits and a country code, such as RA123456789US.

How to renew a passport

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This page covers US passports. Other countries have their own rules, so check your government’s official passport website if you hold a different passport.

Can you renew online?

According to the US Department of State, you can renew online if all of these are true:

How to solve a Rubik's Cube

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Invented in 1974 by Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik, the cube has more than 43 quintillion possible positions. You don’t need to understand all of them. The beginner’s method breaks the puzzle into seven small goals, solved one layer at a time.

How to tie a tie

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The four-in-hand is the knot most people wear every day. It takes about 20 seconds once you’ve done it a few times, and its slightly lopsided shape suits almost any shirt.

How to vote in the US

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Elections in the US are run by states and local election offices, so the exact rules, such as deadlines, ID requirements and mail voting options, depend on where you live. The steps below apply everywhere; your state’s official election website has the details.

What beats rock?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rock paper scissors rules

Move	Beats	Because
Rock	Scissors	Rock crushes scissors
Paper	Rock	Paper covers rock
Scissors	Paper	Scissors cut paper

Both players reveal their choice at the same time. Matching moves are a tie. With three options that each beat one and lose to one, no single move is best, which is why the game works for settling small decisions.

What day is it today?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Today is

–

Because the date comes from your own device, it’s correct for your time zone, even in the hours when it’s already tomorrow in Asia or still yesterday in the Americas.

What day is Thanksgiving?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Countdown to Thanksgiving (US)

– days

Thanksgiving dates

Year	United States (4th Thursday of November)	Canada (2nd Monday of October)
2026	Thursday, November 26	Monday, October 12
2027	Thursday, November 25	Monday, October 11

Because it’s tied to a weekday rather than a date, US Thanksgiving always falls between November 22 and 28. Many schools and businesses also close on the Friday after, making it a four-day weekend for millions of people.

What is a tuk-tuk?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tuk-tuks are a familiar sight in busy cities across Asia, Africa and Latin America. They’re cheap to run, small enough to weave through traffic and can carry two or three passengers, sometimes more.

What is Halloween?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

c. 2,000 years agoCelts in Ireland, Britain and France celebrate Samhain, when the boundary with the spirit world was believed to be thin
8th centuryThe Church places All Saints’ Day on November 1; the evening before becomes All Hallows’ Eve
Middle Ages“Souling”: the poor go door to door offering prayers for the dead in return for soul cakes
1800sIrish and Scottish immigrants bring Halloween customs to North America
1950sTrick-or-treating becomes a widespread family tradition in the US

Where the traditions come from

Tradition	Origin
Costumes	People wore disguises at Samhain so wandering spirits wouldn’t recognize them; “guising” in Scotland and Ireland
Trick-or-treating	Medieval souling and guising, revived in 20th-century America
Jack-o’-lanterns	Originally carved turnips in Ireland; immigrants switched to the larger, easier-to-carve pumpkins
Bonfires	Samhain fires to ward off spirits and mark the start of winter
Apple bobbing	Harvest-time games linked to fortune-telling about future marriages

Halloween today

Halloween is biggest in the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK, and it has spread worldwide. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on candy, costumes and decorations. In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) on November 1–2 is a separate tradition honoring loved ones who have died.

What is your purpose in life?

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It’s one of the oldest questions people ask, and also a common job interview question. Either way, the honest answer is personal.

What thinkers have said

Source	Idea of purpose
Aristotle	Eudaimonia: living well by developing your best qualities
Viktor Frankl	Meaning comes from work, love and the attitude we take toward suffering
Existentialists (Sartre, Camus)	Life has no built-in purpose, so we create our own
Ikigai (Japanese idea)	The overlap of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for
Many religions	Purpose comes from a relationship with God or a higher order

Why it matters

Psychologists who study purpose have found that people who report a strong sense of it tend to be more resilient and more satisfied with their lives. Purpose doesn’t have to be grand. Raising a family, being a reliable friend or doing careful work can all count.