About Molly Edmonds

Molly Edmonds

As a precocious child growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, Molly Edmonds would often prepare miniature school lessons for her younger brothers. If her brothers didn't want to play school, Molly sat on them to prevent possible escape and continued with her lesson. Fortunately for the readers of HowStuffWorks.com and for the listeners of the "Stuff Mom Never Told You" podcast, Molly has learned over the years that physical harm is not a good way to provide information. A graduate of Emory University, where she majored in creative writing and political science, Molly spends her spare time seeking out good books, live music and people who will cook for her.

Most Recent: Molly Edmonds Postings

How to Turn a Boring Hot Dog into a Wild-eyed Wolf of Rabid Flavor Explosion

by Molly Edmonds

November 17, 2009
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Get ready for a bombshell revelation, blog readers: I love hot dogs. You can quote me on that. If you serve me hot dogs, I will be your friend for life; bonus points if you offer up my favorite toppings, which are chili, mustard and lots of onions. Apparently I lived in Coney Island or Michigan in a previous life — I say that because chili, mustard and onions generally made up a Coney Island hot dog, though that Coney Island style was originally made in Michigan. And that’s a hot dog fun fact for you.

by Molly Edmonds

November 11, 2009
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They’re celebrating a big anniversary this week on Sesame Street — the children’s show marked 40 years on the air. Most discussions about the tremendous impact of “Sesame Street” include a mention of how the show’s writers handled the death of Mr. Hooper in 1983. When actor Will Lee, who portrayed the friendly shopkeeper in the neighborhood, died, the producers decided to have the character die as well. The writers consulted with psychologists who told them to take a direct approach with the young viewers, and producers chose to air the episode during the Thanksgiving holidays, so that families could watch it together.

by Molly Edmonds

November 9, 2009
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I find myself reaching for the lip balm more and more these days. No surprise — it’s been a beautiful autumn, filled with days that you can spend outside, as long as you can handle a little wind. I’m trying to soak up enough sun to get me through winter, but that wind can make my lips feel like it already IS winter. Wind is the dreaded enemy of healthy lips because it further dries out skin that lacks moisture-providing oil and sweat glands.

So far, the lip balm is doing the trick and keeping my lips moisturized, but I don’t want to spend the winter feeling like I’m single-handedly propping up the ChapStick industry. I did some research at HowStuffWorks on how to avoid chapped lips, and naturally, I’m now passing it on to you.

by Molly Edmonds

November 5, 2009
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“Remember, remember the fifth of November.” So goes the old rhyme about Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up the British Houses of Parliament. In 1605, Fawkes and his cronies were unhappy with the king’s discrimination against Catholics, so they smuggled gunpowder into the basement of the House of Lords. Much mayhem would have ensued, but the conspirators were caught and killed. Now, centuries later, the British still gather on this date for Bonfire Nights, where they burn effigies of Guy Fawkes and watch fireworks.

Being born and bred in the United States, this celebration seems a little odd to me, but I do love a good excuse to watch fireworks, particularly if there’s tasty food involved. That’s why I decided to do a little digging into the party fare of Guy Fawkes Night.

by Molly Edmonds

November 3, 2009
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When it comes to office fashion, my guru is the always stylish Candace Keener, editor extraordinaire here at HowStuffWorks. According to Candace, the fashion trends we should avoid at all costs this season include shapeless tunics, acid-wash denim and anything with Ed Hardy’s name on it (sorry, Jon Gosselin). Her fashion do’s include animal prints and booties (the shoes, not the shorts). While I’ll never match her ability to throw an outfit together effortlessly, I do pay attention to what Candace says about clothing, which was why I was intrigued when she sent me an article about the Happiness Hat this morning.

The Happiness Hat is a white knit cap designed by Lauren McCarthy. That sounds practical enough – winter is approaching, and we all need a good head cover for those cold days. But the Happiness Hat sets itself apart from other cold weather accessories by including a smile sensor.

by Molly Edmonds

October 30, 2009
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Well, the big day’s almost upon us. Tomorrow is Halloween, and all this talk of picking costumes and carving pumpkins has me thinking about memorable Halloweens from years past. One year, when I was in college, I decided to be a witch (coincidently, Cristen and I talked about witches on this week’s Stuff Mom Never Told You — head to iTunes to check it out!).

by Molly Edmonds

October 28, 2009
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When I was a young trick-or-treater, you could’ve earned my affection forever by giving me a full-size candy bar, rather than the misnamed “fun size.” However, if a neighbor did choose to give out the fun-size serving, then I’d give them a pass if they doled out more than one piece per trick-or-treater. What I’m saying, of course, is that I wanted as much candy as possible when I was a kid, and I judged my neighbors if they were stingy or tried to give me something healthy.

Now, as an adult, I do see the rationale for not overloading a small child with candy. Obesity rates are climbing and dental work is expensive. Still, Halloween is a day for fun, not a day for diet tips. So to assuage my guilt about feeding young children sugar, I’m also going to feed them fun facts about the candy they are receiving. You can do this as well! Educating children is just as good as giving them an apple. And an apple could have a razor blade inside, whereas these fun facts will just make a kid razor-sharp.

by Molly Edmonds

October 26, 2009
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In Friday’s How-to Stuff, Cristen gave us a pretty interesting fun fact when she revealed that the most common source of head pain is ice cream — that was certainly news to me. But when I get a pain in the brain, ice cream is more likely to be a possible cure than a probable cause. So for those of us who don’t experience brain freeze, how are we to tell one headache from another? It’s important to know what kind of headache you’re treating before you start popping the pills.

Here’s my own fun fact for the day: about 90 percent of so-called sinus headaches are actually migraines, according to WebMD. While sinus infections can cause headaches, it’s pretty rare, and sinus headaches aren’t recognized as an “official” headache by the International Headache Society. I know that I was taught that if I had pain in my cheeks and at the front of my head, it was a sinus headache, but it turns out that 50 percent of migraines involve pain in that area as well, according to CBS.

by Molly Edmonds

October 22, 2009
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Here’s a decision that can be almost as tough as picking a costume for Halloween: selecting the perfect design for your seasonal jack-o-lantern. So far I’ve got my sketches narrowed down to Abraham Lincoln or Kermit the Frog, and I know that whichever one I choose, I can use this awesome article on HowStuffWorks about how to carve a pumpkin.

by Molly Edmonds

October 20, 2009
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Tomorrow, Oct. 21, is Love Your Body Day, sponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation. On this day, NOW wants us all to fight back against images in the media that make us feel bad about our bodies. Instead, we should demand images of real people, of all shapes, colors and ages. And to celebrate our bodies, NOW suggests activities like indulgence parties (a night to wear sweats and eat decadent food without guilt), staging “real women” beauty pageants and watching movies with strong female characters.

Now, I love to watch “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” as much as the next person, but I wish some of NOW’s tips were a bit more practical for actually improving body image. For example, this page suggests canceling magazine subscriptions as soon as offensive ads are run and boycotting shoe manufacturers that dare to make high heels that ruin our feet. For most people, these tips aren’t realistic.