Tributes are coming in from all over the world, from King Charles, who had the royal guard play “9 to 5” outside Buckingham Palace, to the University of Tennessee football team, who will celebrate Dolly on their helmets during the 2026 season. Plans are even underway to rename the Nashville airport in her honor.

And now, there’s news that we might be getting a Dolly Parton Day on Sept. 25. That day will mark the one-month anniversary of the icon’s death, and we can’t think of a more appropriate day to celebrate. If you’re scratching your head at the significance, keep reading as we explore why this might actually happen.

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How does a day become a designated holiday?

It depends on the holiday.

For something like Christmas or the 4th of July, it takes congressional action, and we have only 12 of these federal celebrations. (Juneteenth was the last one added to the calendar, in 2021.) There are also patriotic and national observances, like Flag Day and Arbor Day, which require Congressional approval as well. The country currently has 49 of these, which unfortunately do not come with a day off work.

Then there are the fun ones, like May the 4th (be with you), which honors Star Wars, and Dec. 23’s Festivus, a cheeky protest alternative to Christmas. These just kind of spread by word of mouth. Social media and the mainstream press get a lot of mileage out of these unofficial “holidays,” and they honor everything from pizza to pi (aka 3.14, which is also the date it’s observed).

For now, a day dedicated to Dolly mostly falls into the third category, though at least one state is jumping on the official train as we speak. California just officially declared Sept. 25 Dolly Parton Day, and cities and towns across the country are celebrating in their own ways (more on these coming up). A federal holiday might be too much to ask for with this Congress, but cross your fingers, Dolly fans!

Why would 9/25 be the perfect day for this?

It’s truly an inspired choice, and all you have to do is say the date as numbers to know why: 9-2-5. Get it? Dolly’s anthem to working people everywhere, “9 to 5” gets our toes tapping just as much now as it did when it was released on Nov. 3, 1980, ahead of the movie of the same name starring Dolly, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

The song won two Grammys (Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. It lost to another movie-title song, Irene Cara’s “Fame,” which is also pretty great. But let’s be real—how many people are watching that flick on repeat these days?

What is happening this year on 9/25 in honor of Dolly?

Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood are spearheading this one. They just announced that they will donate the entire day’s proceeds from their Nashville bar, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, to children’s literacy. As you probably know, Dolly’s Imagination Station sends millions of books to children around the world in honor of her father, who never had the chance to learn to read.

Here are other official Dolly Day declarations and tributes happening this Sept. 25, but rest assured, it’s not an exhaustive list. The idea to set aside a special day for Dolly seems to be gaining steam, so check back soon.

• New Orleans: Mayor Helena Moreno declared 9/25 Dolly Day, and the city will host a parade in true NOLA fashion. The Krewe of Dolly, known for sporting Dolly wigs and fashion, will be the headliner. (Krewes are social clubs that build floats and otherwise participate in Mardi Gras.)
• Lexington, Kentucky: The city will host a free event on 9/25, and donations will go to the Imagination Library. “Come dressed in your best Dolly-inspired sparkle and let’s celebrate her the way she lived—with love, laughter, music and a whole lot of heart,” the invite says.
• Cocke County, Tennessee: In his last official act as mayor, Rob Mathis declared Sept. 25 Dolly Parton Day in the county. State lawmakers are considering similar actions.
• Manhattan, New York: Borough president Brad Hoylman-Sigal declared Sept. 25 Dolly Parton Appreciation Day.

Bar crawls, library events and other less official celebrations are also planned, so check around in your hometown—or organize your own!

• Chattanooga, Tennessee: Plant Bar Chattanooga will host a Dolly Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, where fans can color Dolly-inspired pages and purchase butterflies for $1 to place at an altar in her honor. All proceeds benefit the Imagination Library.
• Loveland, Colorado: Fans from all over northern Colorado will gather in downtown Loveland for the Dolly Parton Bar Crawl on 9/25. It starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 5 p.m., naturally.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana: The public library will host an event on 9/25 featuring a screening of 9 to 5 as well as a costume contest and a chance to enroll in or support Dolly’s Imagination Library.

Has Dollywood announced any plans yet?

Not specifically for 9/25, though the theme park will be hosting a Harvest Festival and a 5K race that were already in the works. In keeping with Dolly’s business-minded approach to life, Dollywood also remained open after her death, saying “the show must go on.”

Dollywood president Eugene Naughton recently announced plans to honor the theme park’s “dreamer-in-chief” with updates around the park, including a sculpted guitar and waterfall, as well as a planned 11-stop walking tour, “In Dolly’s Footsteps,” around Sevierville, Tennessee.

While not a Dollywood event, Dolly Parton’s estate announced that Dollyfest, a worldwide celebration that was originally planned as an 80th birthday party for the artist, will take place simultaneously in Nashville and London sometime in 2027. Organizers say that Dolly wanted this to be a celebration of life, not a traditional memorial, so mark your calendars for a party.

What are some ways you can celebrate Dolly’s life and legacy?

Dolly’s family says the most important thing you can do to honor Dolly is to continue her mission of literacy. “It’s been quite a journey, but we have so much more left to do,” she says on her website. “Let’s share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books.”

Here are ways you can help with that goal and others near to her heart:

• Literacy and education: Donate to the Imagination Library, the Dollywood Foundation (which gives scholarships to older students) or your local libraries and schools. Just one of her scholarship efforts reduced dropout rates in Sevier County, Tennessee, from 35% to 6%.
• Medical research: Dolly famously donated $1 million to vaccine research during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she also proudly received her vaccine in public (singing “vaccine, vaccine” to the tune of “Jolene”) to spread the word on the importance of getting vaccinated.
• Disaster relief: When her home state and county suffered devastating wildfires in 2016, Dolly gave $1,000 per month to affected families, which ended up pumping $12.7 million into the county’s economy.
• Wildlife protection: Dollywood houses a 30,000-square-foot aviary that rehabilitates and houses bald eagles that can’t be released into the wild.

Sources:

• Congress.gov: “Congressional Recognition of Commemorative Days, Weeks, and Months: Background and Current Practice”
• NOLA.com: “New Orleans parade krewe moves Dolly Parton celebration of life to later this month”
• Garth Brooks: “Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk Declares September 25 ‘Dolly Day’ to Support Imagination Library and Children’s Literacy”
• New York Times: “Dolly Parton’s Other Legacy: A Fortune Given Away, Dollar by Dollar”
• Fox 8 Live: “New Orleans to declare ‘Dolly Day’ with 9/25 celebration”
• California Senate: “Senators Grove and Laird honor Dolly’s Literacy Legacy, Make 9/25 Dolly Parton Day in California”
• Dolly Parton: “DOLLYFEST: The Celebration of A Lifetime Star-Studded Two-Day Festival Honoring Dolly Parton to Take Place in 2027”
• Attractions Magazine: “Dollywood announces Dolly Parton tributes: New character, chapel area and exhibit”
• Imagination Library: “Dollywood Foundation”

Dolly Parton Quotes to Make You Smile

See Dolly Parton's Last Instagram Post

This Is Dolly Parton’s Final Resting Place

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That’s where a book subscription box comes to the rescue!

Instead of agonizing over vague back-cover summaries and hunting down non-spoiler reviews, book club members hand over the reins to someone else to pick their next page-turner. This adds a delightful element of surprise to a TBR (to-be-read) pile, but it can also backfire hard if you get stuck with a dud.

That’s why we love Book of the Month (BOTM), which offers a fun, non-traditional twist on the classic book subscription box model. Not only do readers get to choose their own reads from a short list of buzzy new releases each month, but they also get some peace of mind knowing that the books are all pre-vetted by fellow readers. No more wasting time or money on a flop? Sign us up!

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Book of the Month Club

Book of the Month makes finding your next great read easy with a curated selection of buzzy new releases each month.

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What is Book of the Month?

Book of the Month Club is similar to other monthly book clubs, but with a major plot twist. Rather than receiving a randomly chosen book each month, subscribers pick from a curated lineup of five or six new release titles. Each option comes from a popular or up-and-coming author and is pre-vetted by the BOTM team. That means only top-tier new releases make this exclusive cut—a big reason why it appeals to bookworms like Senior Editor Katie Bandurski.

“In 2024, I made it my personal mission to start actively reading again,” says Katie. “Like most 20-somethings, I started with the recommendations plaguing my Instagram feed. One or two picks were really good, a few were truly terrible and most landed somewhere in the middle. Sick of spending money on subpar reads, I started looking for a better source—and that’s when I found Book of the Month.”

How it works

BOTM works on a credit-based system. Each month, subscribers receive one monthly credit for $17.99 plus tax, which is redeemable for one book. There’s also an option to pay $14.99 per credit for a two-credit plan, or $13.99 per credit for 12 credits per year if you want to save a little cash.

Handy gift subscription are available for $59.99 (three books), $99.99 (six books), or $199.99 (12 books) make it a super easy and thoughtful gift for readers, too. You can also pick from audiobooks instead, if that’s more your speed!

Katie initially tested Book of the Month for three months in 2024—July, August, and September. Setting up an account is quick, easy, and completely painless. Just navigate to the signup page and enter all the standard details—shipping address, payment info, and a password.

Next, you choose your book from the aforementioned shortlist of titles. Each subsequent month, subscribers receive an email reminding them to choose a new book. From her very first book onward, Katie was hooked.

“I liked that Book of the Month doesn’t pigeonhole itself into specific genre recommendations every month,” says Katie. “In August, for example, there were no historical fiction titles. But in July, there were two. This makes me feel they are truly recommending the best of the best in new releases.”

As a member, you can also add selections from previous months to your box at a discount and cast a vote for the coveted “Book of the Year” award. And if you’re just not feeling the vibe of the current books, you can skip a month and redeem your credit later.

Given that each month’s list includes only new releases, the lineup always feels fresh. While one month might lean into a specific genre, the next month will have a completely new collection to explore. It really is a fun surprise every single time!

Why Katie is a repeat subscriber

“I LOVE to read. But I’m not a huge library goer,” says Katie. “I love the idea of selected, vetted books from a source I can trust. And I also like still being able to choose which one I want rather than an AI algorithm selecting for me.”

Katie originally planned on testing the service for only three months. But after missing her curated picks, she retested it roughly a year later in May, June and July 2025 to ensure the service holds up.

While not every book was a fast favorite, most months were winners. One of her favorite finds was Husbands & Lovers by repeat author Beatriz Williams, a historical fiction spanning multiple generations of women.

“When my book arrived in a bright blue box, I was eager to dive in. And it’s a good thing I had a free weekend because this book was impossible to put down. I read it cover to cover in 24 hours. The character depth, story development and timeline jumps had me hooked from the first page.”

But our favorite aspect of a Book of the Month subscription? The price point, especially for hardback new releases, is very affordable. So even if you don’t absolutely love every pick, it’s still better than buying a random novel at full price. Plus, the books are specially designed to look cohesive when displayed together, which is a nice attention to detail.

“These titles aren’t the same trade hardback books you’d pick up at Barnes & Noble,” says Katie. “Each cover includes a Book of the Month logo on the dust jacket, as well as an embellishment with the month and year on the cover. The books are all a standard size, too, for easy display on your bookcase.”

And she’s not alone

Content Director Nicole Doster and Shopping Editor Mary Henn both gave BOTM subscriptions as gifts during the 2024 holiday season, and both received rave reviews from family and friends.

“I gifted a three-month subscription to my mother-in-law who always has her nose in a book,” says Nicole. “The gifting process was seamless, and I appreciated that they had an option for a physical gift card so I didn’t show up to Christmas empty-handed. I even got a notification when she signed up!”

Mary had a similar experience. “I needed a gift for the family member who ‘has everything’ and also loves books—and BOTM was the perfect find,” she explains. “With BOTM, she can choose books she doesn’t already own from a curated list. Buying a subscription as a gift is super easy too! I opted for a physical card, which tucked in a little gift basket with other goodies.”

Even I became a  fan after trying it out for three months. In fact, Book of the Month introduced me to two of my current favorite writers. As someone who is usually hesitant to explore new-to-me authors, that’s a pretty big deal.

For folks like me who suffer from choice paralysis, having a curated collection of new, pre-vetted stories to choose from makes finding new favorites a total breeze. And who knows—you may find a new favorite author or two!

Where to subscribe

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Book of the Month Club

Skip the guesswork and discover your next page-turner from a selection of books pre-vetted by fellow readers.

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At just $17.99 per book, Book of the Month subscribers enjoy these hardcovers for well below retail price at places like Barnes & Noble or even Amazon. Plus, Book of the Month often offers a first-time-subscriber promotion that scores you your first book for just $9.99! If BookTok has betrayed you one time too many, it’s time to turn to the experts.

What’s more, it makes a great low-effort, high-impact gift for bookworms, to boot!

If you prefer something closer to a traditional book club—complete with a dedicated Facebook group for lively discussions—try the Reader’s Digest Fiction Favorites club. Subscribers are treated to a special published volume filled with four condensed books from popular and upcoming authors seven times a year. Because the books arrive edited for length, they offer a faster reading experience, too.

Why you should trust us

As Senior Shopping Editor at Reader’s Digest, Katie Bandurski has been researching and reviewing gifts and subscription services for over five years. Her recommendations include coffee subscriptions, puzzle clubs, flower delivery and candle of the month boxes. In her personal time, she’s also an avid reader with a penchant for historical fiction, romance and fantasy titles.

The post This Monthly Book Subscription is Like BookTok—But Better appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Reeves got his start acting in the 1980s before winning over audiences in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and, eventually, becoming the blockbuster star behind movies like Speed, The Matrix and John Wick. To celebrate his big day, we’ve rounded up our favorite quotes from his most popular films and best interviews. Some will make you laugh, some will inspire you and a few will probably make you want to plan a Keanu movie marathon immediately. (We support this decision.)

Read on for the best Keanu Reeves quotes, and prepare to love him just a little bit more.

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Best Keanu Reeves quotes

Funny Keanu Reeves quotes

• “Riding a motorcycle is like being a puppy.”
• “I’m Mickey Mouse. They don’t know who’s inside the suit.”
• “I’m sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime.”
• “I’m Hawaiian—we have cousins.”
• “I have no martial arts background. I only know movie kung fu.”
• “You know, I’m not an air guitar aficionado. But once in a while, the air guitar comes out.”
• “I am very grateful for the printing press and everything that has followed. Electricity is pretty great too.”
• “What would happen if you melted? You know, you never really hear this talked about much, but spontaneous combustion?”
• “As a kid, I didn’t dream of becoming a movie star. No, I dreamt of traveling to distant planets in flying machines.”

Best Keanu Reeves movie quotes

• “Party on, dudes!” —Keanu Reeves as Ted in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
• “I know kung fu.” —Keanu Reeves as Neo in The Matrix
• “Yeah, I’m thinking I’m back.” —Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick
• “I wish I could say something classy and inspirational, but that just wouldn’t be our style. … Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever.” —Keanu Reeves as Shane Falco in The Replacements
• “Remember: Crazy not stupid.” —Keanu Reeves as Jack Traven in Speed
• “When something happens to you that hasn’t happened before, don’t you at least have to find out what it is?” —Keanu Reeves as Dr. Julian Mercer in Something’s Gotta Give
• “I saw her. I kissed her. I love her. And now she’s gone.” —Keanu Reeves as Alex Wyler in The Lake House
• “I caught my first tube today, sir.” —Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah in Point Break
• “When you wake up, wipe the slugs off your face. Be ready for a new day!” —Keanu Reeves as Scott Favor in My Own Private Idaho
• “If we’re gonna waste the dude, we oughta get paid for it. I mean, that’s the American way, ain’t it?” —Keanu Reeves as Marlon in I Love You to Death
• “The man who embraces his mediocre nothingness shines greater than any.” —Keanu Reeves as Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite quotes for over 100 years. The sayings and quips that appear in the magazine’s “Quotable Quotes” (formerly “Remarkable Remarks”) are curated from interviews and essays originally published in the magazine, reprints from trusted titles and other verified sources. For this piece on Keanu Reeves quotes, writer Mariah Thomas tapped her experience covering quotes and entertainment to ensure that all information is accurate. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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The post Happy Birthday, Keanu Reeves! 35 Unforgettable Quotes That Show Exactly Why We Love Him appeared first on Reader's Digest.

But let’s focus on driving, because that’s why you’re here, right? Labor Day travel is a great way to ease into fall before the school year really gets going—if you can swing it. Last year, the average national price for a gallon of gas was $3.19, and this year, it’s $4.10 as of this writing. Hotel prices are up 9%, so short road trips might rule the day.

Are you headed out on the road this weekend? Even with higher prices, Chase Travel reports that domestic bookings are up 17%. If you’ve scrimped and saved for one last hurrah, the only thing left to worry about is the traffic. Well, AAA and INRIX teamed up to map out the best and worst times to drive this weekend, as well as which routes will be the most clogged. Fill up that tank, pack your trunk and read on to find out how to avoid Labor Day weekend traffic.

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How were the best and worst times to travel over Labor Day weekend determined?

Every year, AAA partners with INRIX, a transportation data and insights company, to find out the best and worst times to travel over Labor Day weekend. INRIX analyzes real-world road data using a combination of preselected high-impact travel routes, multisource traffic info and a sophisticated statistical formula to create travel-delay predictions. The traffic info comes from GPS data, mobile apps, navigation services, roadside sensors and commercial fleet information.

What are the best times to drive to and from your Labor Day destination?

It’s time to embrace the morning drive, travelers. This year’s Labor Day traffic will be lightest before either 10 a.m. or 1 p.m., depending on the day, from Thursday through Monday—though unlike last year, Sunday will be smooth sailing all day long.

Here are the best times to drive to and from your Labor Day destination. These times (and all times coming up) reflect your local time zone and the local time zone of the route described.

• Thursday, Sept. 3: Before 1 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 4: Before 12 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 5: Before 10 a.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 6: Minimal impact expected
• Monday, Sept. 7 (Labor Day): Before 12 p.m.

What are the worst times to drive to and from your Labor Day destination?

Again, mornings are your friend here. When it’s time to head back to civilization, fill up your trusty Buc-ee’s travel coffee mug and get out there before the mid to late afternoon. Luckily, Sunday is again a great travel day. Here are the worst times to hit the road this Labor Day weekend.

• Thursday, Sept. 3: 2 p.m.–7 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 4: 12 p.m.–8 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 5: 1 p.m.–5 p.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 6: Minimal impact expected
• Monday, Sept. 7 (Labor Day): 2 p.m.–5 p.m.

What are the worst driving routes on Labor Day?

We have some new entries in this year’s list of the worst driving routes. AAA says three of the biggest destinations this year will be Seattle, Denver and Boston, so it’s no surprise that traffic there will be more congested than usual. To determine the worst routes, AAA and INRIX looked at just how much longer it will take to drive to popular Labor Day destinations compared to a typical day.

The biggest mover was Seattle, where Labor Day travelers will spend more than twice as long on the road to and from the Cascade Mountains. Bostonians heading to Providence, Rhode Island, for a beach weekend will also see their traffic times double.

Boston

• Route: Boston to Providence via I-95 S
• Peak congestion: Friday, Sept. 4, at 3:30 p.m.
• Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 32 minutes
• Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 105%

Denver

• Route: Denver to Fort Collins via I-25 N 
• Peak congestion: Thursday, Sept. 3, at 12 p.m.
• Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 39 minutes
• Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 81%

San Francisco

• Route: San Francisco to Sacramento via I-80 E
• Peak congestion: Friday, Sept. 4, at 5:45 p.m.
• Estimated travel time: 4 hours and 40 minutes
• Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 81%

Seattle

• Route: Seattle to Ellensburg via I-90 E
• Peak congestion: Monday, Sept. 7, at 7:15 p.m.
• Estimated travel time: 3 hours and 14 minutes
• Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 121%

Washington, D.C.

• Route: Baltimore to Washington, D.C., via Baltimore/Washington Pkwy S 
• Peak congestion: Thursday, Sept. 3, at 4:45 p.m.
• Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 24 minutes
• Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 90%

Sources:

• AAA Newsroom: “Cruises, National Parks, and European Cities Popular Among Labor Day Travelers”
• AAA Newsroom: “AAA: Labor Day Travelers Face Higher Costs and Heavier Traffic”
• AAA: “National average gas prices”
• Wall Street Journal: “Auto & Transport Roundup: Market Talk”

Labor Day Quotes to Honor All Your Hard Work

Fill Up Your Car on This Day to Save Money

Which Stores Are Open On Labor Day Weekend?

The post These Are the Best—And Worst—Times for Avoiding Labor Day Weekend Traffic appeared first on Reader's Digest.

If you didn’t know, not all of them do. “There are two types of tennis ball: pressureless and pressurized,” says Rod Cross, a retired physics professor and an expert on the technology of tennis. (The name of one of his books is The Physics and Technology of Tennis.) It’s the pressurized ones that come in cans, and coming up, he’ll explain why.

But wait … footballs are pressurized, which just means that the air pressure inside the ball is higher than outside. So are basketballs. And volleyballs. And tons of other sports balls. But hardly any of them are sold in cans. To further the tennis-ball conundrum: “In the old days, when I was young, even pressurized balls were sold in cardboard boxes, [not cans],” Cross says.

It’s all too much for this weekend warrior. What happened in the tennis-ball-packaging world since the professor was a kid? The balls haven’t changed all that much. Ahead, Cross explains why tennis balls come in cans and lets us in on a few secrets of the science of tennis balls. Read on to learn more.

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How long have tennis balls come in cans?

It’s been nearly 100 years. When lawn tennis was established in the United States, starting around 1880, tennis balls were mostly sold in paper bags or cardboard boxes. In the late 1920s, the Pennsylvania Rubber Company, which later evolved into one of the biggest names in tennis, Penn, began selling tennis balls in sealed metal cans.

They came with a key that rolled back the top like a sardine can, and they could not be resealed. According to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, World War II’s metal shortages brought back cardboard for a while, and Cross remembers seeing them packed in boxes into the 1950s (the aforementioned “old days”).

Resealable lids came along in the 1950s and ’60s, and in 1972, pop-tops replaced the key. In the 1980s, companies switched to plastic cans.

So why do tennis balls come in sealed cans?

Sealed cans allow manufacturers to control the pressure precisely inside the can, keeping tennis balls at their peak performance level for as long as possible. Here’s why using a can works best.

It keeps them bouncy

Pressurized tennis balls bounce because the air inside the ball is at a higher pressure than the outside atmosphere. As the ball hits your racket or the court, the pressurized air inside pushes against the rubber and helps it resist deformation (aka getting squashed), and the ball bounces.

“Normal atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi, but the pressure inside the ball is about 27 to 29 psi,” Cross says. So sealing the can and injecting air under pressure keeps the balls in the exact environment they need to properly bounce. You can test this: Regulation hard-court tennis balls (called Type 2 or medium) must bounce back to between 53 and 58 inches when dropped from a height of 100 inches.

It stops air from leaking out

“Pressurized balls are sold in a pressured can to prevent the air from gradually leaking out through the porous rubber wall,” Cross says. Tennis balls have a hollow rubber core that is not airtight, and once that rubber core is formed and covered with fuzz, that’s it—there’s no way to pump them up like you can a football or soccer ball.

This is why pressureless balls, which bounce due to their thicker, stiffer rubber instead of an air-pressure differential, are popular for practice and in ball machines. “Pressureless balls last longer, since the air doesn’t leak out,” Cross says.

It preserves shelf life

Sealed cans keep tennis balls fresher longer. Since a pressurized tennis ball loses air gradually, the old way of packing them in cardboard meant that by the time the balls arrived at the pro shop or sporting-goods store, they were already losing air and bounce. Players had to do a squeeze test to find good ones rather than have confidence that fresh balls were, well, fresh.

Today, that’s not a worry. Example: I have a few unopened cans of tennis balls in my garage. I bought a case months ago, and these are the stragglers. But I’m not worried in the least that they’ll be bad when I get to them. We’ll get to the specifics in the next section, but no matter how long it is, they’ll be infinitely more playable than if they had been sitting loose or in a cardboard box.

How long can they last in there?

The Penn balls in my garage don’t have expiration dates, and I can’t find any indication that Wilsons do either. (Wilson is another big name in tennis.) So I suppose they could last indefinitely. But most tennis pros put the window of freshness on an unopened can at anywhere from six months to a year, with two years being the outside limit.

But after you crack it open, the countdown begins. “Once opened, balls in pressurized cans can still be used a few weeks later,” Cross says. But you won’t catch a pro using a three-week-old ball at Wimbledon. Those are more for you and me hitting around on a Sunday morning. Even then, after a few hard-play sessions, you’re going to notice a difference in the feel of the ball.

“At amateur-competition level, new balls are used for each morning or afternoon event, while at professional level, new balls are used after every nine games,” Cross says. As the ball gets smacked around, the felt cover gets fluffy and slows down the ball as it flies through the air. “That’s why professionals take three balls to serve, then throw away the most fluffy ball,” he adds.

What is that “psssshhh” sound that you hear when you open a can of tennis balls?

That distinctive whoosh (which is always accompanied by that fresh tennis-ball smell) is the sound of the pressure being released from inside the can. As soon as you pop the top, the higher-pressure air inside the can rushes through the opening to the lower-pressure outside, creating sound waves that dissipate as the opening gets larger.

Can you revive a tennis ball?

Yes. It won’t make it as good as new, but depending on your standards, it might be close enough. “Old balls can be repressurized by placing them in a pressurized container for a few days, but the outer felt cover will still be fluffy or worn down,” Cross says.

You can find basic pressurizers for less than $20 at Target and Tennis Warehouse, and more sophisticated versions online for about $75 and up.

Do all tennis balls come in cans?

No. “Pressureless balls are sold in a cardboard box,” Cross says. Since the air inside them is at regular atmospheric pressure, there’s no need to keep them in a pressurized can. You can also buy pressureless tennis balls in mesh bags, especially if you purchase in bulk.

Pressureless tennis balls were patented by Swedish shoe giant Tretorn in 1955, and Cross says they’re popular in Europe and South America. But we’re seeing more of them over here too. Due to environmental concerns over the use of plastic in pressurized tennis ball cans, Wilson developed a new pressureless ball called Triniti that mimics the livelier bounce, faster play and lighter “feel” of pressurized balls. These are sold in recyclable cardboard boxes.

Do other balls come in cans?

Some do, but not many, and the reason is simple: “Other balls can be pumped up to the correct pressure with an air pump,” Cross says, though some balls don’t use air or pressure at all. Here’s how it breaks down.

• Padel balls: A very close cousin to the tennis ball, padel balls also have a hollow rubber core and a felt cover. They are sold under pressure in pop-top cans, but they are softer and have more give.
• Racquetballs: The hollow, air-filled racquetball gets its bounce from the rubber shell, not the air inside (much like a pressureless tennis ball). So while they are often sold in cans to keep the rubber fresh, the cans are not pressurized.
• Pickleballs: The nemesis of tennis players everywhere (I kid, pickleballers!), the plastic, Whiffle ball–like pickleball is hollow and has multiple holes, so it’s just sold in bags, boxes or other non-pressurized containers.
• Footballs, soccer balls and basketballs: Larger air-filled balls are sold naked or in boxes and are filled using a bicycle pump or air compressor. (If you’ve ever searched your garage and junk drawers for hours looking for the pump’s needle attachment, you feel my pain.) These balls will eventually deflate, but give them a quick pump and you’ll be good to go.
• Baseballs and golf balls: Solid-core balls do not have air inside at all, so there’s no need to sell or store them under pressure. They may get old and brittle, or lose performance capability after years of storage or use, but these balls won’t deflate.

Sources:

• Rod Cross, retired physics professor and author of The Physics and Technology of Tennis and Technical Tennis: Racquets, Strings, Balls, Courts, Spin and Bounce; email interview, Aug. 27, 2026
• Sports Engineering: “Dynamic properties of tennis balls”
• Wilson: “Wilson LABS: Triniti”
• Sports Technology: “Review of tennis ball aerodynamics”
• Head: “How to choose a tennis ball”
• International Tennis Federation: “2026 ITF Rules of Tennis”
• Penn Racquet: “A Century of Bounce, A Legacy of Performance”
• International Tennis Hall of Fame: “Tins, Cans & Cartons”
• Tennis Warehouse University: “Return Deformation of a Tennis Ball (Rod Cross)”
• Tretorn: “Our Heritage”

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His latest novel, The Disappearers, may be his most ambitious yet—and the acclaim has already been extraordinary, with the New York Times recently calling it “the novel of the decade, if not the century.” The sweeping epic follows the lives of eight gay men in Jamaica throughout the 1980s and ’90s, as they navigate love, loss and life in a world that criminalizes their identity. But don’t expect James to put it neatly into one box. “You can look at it as a revenge thriller, which it is,” he tells us. “You can [also] look at it as a story about longing, becoming, family and community, which it is.”

And if our escalator interview is your first time meeting James off the page, prepare to be delighted. For someone responsible for some of the most powerful and complex novels of the past two decades, he’s refreshingly funny, wildly personable and full of unexpected opinions. One minute, he’s discussing literature and craft; the next, he’s talking about comfort reads, comic books and why superhero fans should absolutely know about his current obsession: Absolute Batman.

For this episode of The Reader’s Digest Escalator Interview, Leigh Belz Ray caught up with James at Barnes & Noble Union Square in New York City to talk about The Disappearers, his reading habits, his literary heroes and plenty more. Trust us—you’ll come away with a longer TBR list and an even greater appreciation for one of the most fascinating voices in contemporary fiction.

Watch the exclusive interview with Marlon James below, and then scroll down to shop his books and reading recommendations!

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Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece, Leigh Belz Ray interviewed author Marlon James. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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But Minnesota has the strictest policy I’ve personally encountered: Everyone takes off their shoes inside a home—every time, always. It was so well enforced that I became acutely aware of always wearing clean, non-holey socks because I knew people were going to see them. Now I live in Colorado, where people wear hiking shoes to weddings (to be fair, a lot of weddings here are in the mountains) and Tevas are considered an extension of your feet. Almost no one takes off their shoes inside a house unless they’re very wet or muddy.

But perhaps the biggest debate is in my own home. My husband and I have been bickering about this for years and still can’t come to a conclusion. (Well, I’m right, obviously, but I need your help convincing him.) I personally think Minnesota has the right idea. My husband not only thinks I’m nuts but also gets embarrassed when I ask guests—politely!—to remove their shoes. He says I’m being rude by asking them to take off a piece of personal clothing, so as a form of protest, he refuses to remove his shoes inside our home, not even after gardening and/or accidentally stepping on the dog. It’s become a whole thing. 

So let’s save my marriage and my sanity and figure this out together. Putting aside familial power struggles, is it actually rude to ask people to take off their shoes when they come into your house?

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The case for asking guests to remove their shoes

I’m going to drop this first: All shoe soles showed contamination with microbes, including bacteria, fungi and fecal matter, in a 2023 study published in Indoor and Built Environment. And all of these germs transferred indoors when the shoe-wearing psychopath—er, I mean, person—walked inside. The majority of the germs were concentrated in the entryway, but carpet was an especially big magnet for gross stuff. So even if your shoes look clean, they’re about as clean as the dirty restroom floor you walked on earlier. Would you want that public bathroom floor in your home? No? Then the researchers recommend taking off your shoes.

“Taking off your shoes is a no-brainer,” said lead author Alessandra Leri, PhD, in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine.

So, yes, my argument is: Scientists say so. A lot of other people say so too. According to a 2023 CBS News/YouGov survey, two out of three Americans say they take off their shoes in their own home.

There’s also the practical case. Lots of things get tracked in via shoes—including mud, dirt, leaves, water, snow, ice and neon-green sidewalk chalk (ask me how I know)—that would require you to mop your floors.

And finally, there is the foot-stepping problem. Because my husband constantly wears shoes in the house, and the shoes reduce his ability to feel where he is stepping, he constantly steps on my toes, the kids’ toes and, occasionally, the poor dog. (The cat is faster and apparently smarter than the rest of us.)

The case against asking guests to remove their shoes

OK, so that survey stat I just smugly dropped? While it’s true that two-thirds of Americans take off their shoes in their own homes, two-thirds of those folks said they don’t require guests to do the same. My husband is correct that most folks won’t ask guests to remove their shoes. But is that because it’s rude to ask or just because it’s kinda awkward? The overwhelming majority of poll respondents, 90%, did say they wouldn’t consider it an unreasonable request if asked to remove their shoes by a host.

I think what my husband is really getting at is that we often treat guests with a higher standard than we do ourselves, so when I ask people to please take off their shoes, it can come across as unwelcoming or uninviting. Maybe even a little patronizing? And this is especially true for people you may not know as well. It’s one thing to ask your sister to take off her shoes; it’s an entirely different story if you’re asking your boss who dropped by.

Then there’s the embarrassment factor, and it’s real. I had an almost pathological obsession with having new, clean and adorable socks on at all times when we lived in Minnesota, and the times I forgot, I was embarrassed. And it’s not just socks. Guests may be embarrassed by foot odor, lack of a pedicure, a medical condition or just weird-looking toes. (It’s my personal opinion that all toes are weird-looking, but whatever.)

Also, some people build their whole outfit around their shoes, and I am occasionally that person. A cute summer dress just isn’t as cute without the strappy heels, right? Asking someone to remove their shoes messes up the whole look—which isn’t a big deal for a casual visit but can be an issue if you’re meeting your son’s girlfriend’s parents for the first time.

As for the germs? Mopping isn’t really that hard. I hate it, but on the list of terrible chores, it’s not as awful as cleaning the toilet and maybe around the same level of annoying as wiping fingerprints off the stainless steel fridge. And it works: Mopping removes about 80% of tracked-in bacteria, while disinfecting gets rid of 95% to 99%, according to one study.

The gray areas

This isn’t solely (ha!) a cut-and-dry issue. And the more I think about it, the more middle ground I find. Here’s what to consider before setting a “shoes off” policy in your house.

• The event. Asking a casual visitor to take off their shoes is fine. Asking someone who came over for a formal party or a holiday celebration may be rude because you wouldn’t take off your shoes if the party were held anywhere else.
• The person. Some folks genuinely need to keep their shoes on, whether that’s for balance, mobility or a medical condition. You should never ask your guests to do something that could inconvenience or hurt them.
• The time of year. While I still think shoes are dirty year-round, they are decidedly dirtier when it’s wet or snowy outside. There’s a huge difference between summer flip-flops and winter boots.
• The way you ask. Some people have a cute sign by their door, others mention it as guests enter, and a fastidious few will communicate the instruction in advance. But you should have a plan, because verbally ambushing someone once they’re halfway into your home is not nice. However you ask, you should be polite, kind and willing to take no for an answer.
• The method. Some cultures offer indoor slippers or shoe covers to guests, which is a lovely idea. While that’s not common in America, you can do things to make it more comfortable for your guests to remove their shoes, including having a bench where they can sit down and a mat or rack where they can place their shoes. Many of my Minnesota friends had a basket of clean guest socks by the front door.

What to do if someone refuses to take off their shoes

You accept it. Ultimately, it’s their body. This is not the hill to die on: In the grand scheme of things, this is small stakes. This is how you keep friends. This is also how I’m still married.

The verdict

It is not rude to ask someone to take off their shoes in your home—as long as you ask politely, offer options, are mindful of the situation and are ready to accept “no” as an answer. It doesn’t mean you have to be thrilled about it. And you are welcome to think vengeful thoughts as you mop the floor for the third time as your husband sits on the couch with his hiking shoes on, eating popcorn and smugly enjoying his shoe-wearing victory.

Why trust us

Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of etiquette stories that help readers navigate communication in a changing world. We regularly cover topics such as the best messages to send for any occasion, polite habits that aren’t as polite as they seem, email and texting etiquette, business etiquette, tipping etiquette, travel etiquette and more. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Sources:

• Smithsonian Magazine: “Shoes Carry Poop Bacteria into NYC Buildings, Study Finds”
• National Library of Medicine: “Impact of Protective Footwear on Floor and Air Contamination of Intensive Care Units”
• Indoor and Built Environment: “Faecal Indicator Bacteria on Indoor Floors Linked to Exterior Sidewalk Contamination in New York City”
• CBS News: “Most Americans Are ‘Shoes Off’ at Home — CBS News Poll”

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Charles’s son, Prince William, will eventually ascend the throne, and that one tiny shift is of great importance: It will cause a dramatic cascading effect when it comes to his kids’ titles, and beyond. “When a new monarch succeeds to the throne, the other members of the royal family move up in the line of succession,” says royal historian Carolyn Harris, PhD, author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting. But the royals’ new titles might not be as straightforward as you think. Plus, there might be a few historic firsts in store for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Read on to find out how William’s shift in status will affect his children, along with the ripple effect it could have on the rest of the monarchy.

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What will the order of succession be after William takes the throne?

Once William becomes king, the order of succession will largely remain the same—everyone will simply move up a spot. For example, Prince George, who is currently second in line, will become first in line, taking his father’s current title as Prince of Wales, which he acquired in 2022 after the queen died and Charles became king.

Succession always follows the monarch’s direct line, until there are no more direct descendants. At that point, it goes back up to the monarch’s younger sibling and his or her children. Therefore, William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, is in line behind George, Charlotte and Louis.

What’s more, Charlotte is the first female to be ahead of a younger brother in the line of succession. Charlotte, who would have previously been passed over for Louis, gets to keep her position in line thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013, enacted during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. The law ended male primogeniture, or the tradition of the crown passing to the oldest male, for those born after 2011. Now, elder daughters are not left out and can inherit the crown as well.

Here’s the order of succession under a hypothetical King William:

1. George, the Prince of Wales
2. Princess Charlotte of Wales
3. Prince Louis of Wales
4. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
5. Prince Archie of Sussex
6. Princess Lilibet of Sussex
7. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (yep, he’s still in the lineup, despite being stripped of his title)
8. Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
9. Miss Sienna Mapelli Mozzi
10. Miss Athena Mapelli Mozzi
11. Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank
12. Master August Brooksbank
13. Master Ernest Brooksbank
14. Miss Adelaide Elizabeth Annina Brooksbank (born Aug. 3, 2026)
15. Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
16. James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex
17. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
18. Anne, The Princess Royal

Why are the older, most established royals so far down on the list?

As noted above, succession follows the direct descendants of each royal before passing to the royal’s younger sibling. That means each new royal child born bumps those in line after them back further, as evidenced by Princess Eugenie’s new royal baby, Adelaide, jumping in line ahead of Eugenie’s uncle, Prince Edward. Prince William’s children are likewise ahead of his younger brother, Prince Harry, who will keep getting pushed back as the Wales kids have their own children.

“There are numerous examples of members of the monarch’s family who were born close to the top of the line of succession who gradually dropped to a lower place in line as the royal extended family expanded over time,” Harris says. “For example, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest cousin, George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood (1923–2011), was born sixth in line to the throne but was 46th in line to the throne at the time of his death.”

Princess Anne, the second child of Queen Elizabeth II, was born before the Succession to the Crown Act went into effect, so she remains far down on the list, behind younger brothers Andrew and Edward and their children.

How do royal titles work, exactly?

Royal titles are both inherited and bestowed according to tradition. “According to letters patent issued by King George V in 1917, children and male-line grandchildren of the monarch hold the title of HRH Prince or Princess from birth,” Harris says. “It’s possible that in future reigns, these titles will be restricted to the children of the monarch and heir to the throne.” This would be in keeping with the recent paring down and streamlining of the monarchy.

Dukedoms

In addition, princes and princesses can hold multiple titles such as duke, duchess or earl, which makes titles very confusing. Generally, the higher up the ranks you are, the more titles you end up with, and there is no official limit.

For example, Prince William holds three dukedoms: On William’s wedding day (a traditional title-giving day), Queen Elizabeth named him Duke of Cambridge, as well as Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. Then William inherited the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay when his father became king.

“The tradition of all the sons of the monarch receiving ducal titles dates from the reign of King Edward III (1327–1377), who had five sons who survived to adulthood,” Harris says. “Edward III made his eldest son and heir Prince Edward, Duke of Cornwall, so that he would have his own independent income. Younger sons received their own dukedoms (Clarence, Lancaster, York and Gloucester); the descendants of the Dukes of Lancaster and York would fight one another for the throne in the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).”

Today, the title of Duke of Lancaster belongs to the monarch (whether male or female), and the title of Duke of York is traditionally given to the monarch’s second son. Prince Harry could not become Duke of York when he married Meghan in 2018, however, because the title was already held by his uncle, Andrew. Queen Elizabeth chose from available dukedoms for Harry, landing on Sussex, which was held only once before, by Prince Augustus Frederick in 1801. Meghan, however, is the first Duchess of Sussex because neither of Augustus’s marriages were approved by the crown. Augustus was considered progressive and somewhat of a rebel, like Harry, but the queen could not have known that Harry would become estranged from his father, as Augustus did because of his liberal views.

Patronages

In addition to royal titles, William may also bestow some patronages. When there is a change in reign, there are often changes to royal patronages, as the late monarch’s patronages are redistributed to other members of the royal family.

“How this redistribution of patronages unfolds depends on the interests of individual members of the royal family and the overall approach to philanthropy in the new reign,” Harris says. “While Queen Elizabeth II and Charles III supported a broad range of different philanthropic organizations, William is focused on a smaller range of targeted issues, including the environment and alleviating homelessness.”

How will George’s title change when William becomes king?

As the next heir apparent, Prince George will have the most changes to his titles. “The heir to the throne automatically becomes Duke of Cornwall and enjoys access to the revenues from the Duchy of Cornwall, and will receive the title of Prince of Wales from the monarch,” Harris says. The dukedom will provide George with an income and increase his wealth, as it did for William.

“William will decide when George becomes Prince of Wales, and William and George together will decide if a formal investiture as Prince of Wales will take place,” Harris says. For example, Charles was given the title Prince of Wales by Queen Elizabeth when he was 9 years old, six years after she became queen, but he did not have a formal ceremony (investiture) until he was 20.

The Prince of Wales title, while not guaranteed because it is given, not inherited, is almost a certainty because it is the usual title of the first male in line to the throne. Why? In 1301, after he had conquered Wales, King Edward I gave the title to his eldest son, Prince Edward; eventually, it became tradition. Upon taking the throne, Charles gave his former title Prince of Wales to William, who will almost certainly give it to George.

How will Charlotte’s title change?

Princess Charlotte’s title may change, but not right away. “The eldest daughter of the monarch traditionally holds the title of Princess Royal,” Harris says. This title is not automatic; it is bestowed by the monarch. However, it is given for life, so Charlotte can’t have the title right away because there already is one: Princess Anne, Charles’s sister.

(Note that the future Queen Elizabeth II couldn’t be named Princess Royal because the title was already occupied by her aunt, Princess Mary, until well after Elizabeth became queen. And the queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, was never Princess Royal because she was the second-born daughter.)

“Only one Princess Royal exists at any one time, so Princess Charlotte will not receive this title until after the death of Princess Anne,” Harris says. At that point, the current monarch, who will probably be King Charles or the future King William, will likely give the title Princess Royal to Charlotte.

Another title reportedly intended for Charlotte (and potentially her future husband) is Duchess of Edinburgh, a title given to then–Princess Elizabeth upon her marriage to Prince Philip, who was styled as the Duke of Edinburgh. However, both titles are currently held by Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son, and his wife, Sophie.

And, as mentioned earlier, Charlotte will not lose her place in line to the throne, since either sons or daughters can now inherit the crown.

How will Louis’s title change?

Prince Louis’s title will remain the same, as will his place in line. He might get additional titles when William is king, but only after he’s an adult. “Prince Louis will likely receive a ducal title when he marries, as was the case for both Prince William and Prince Harry,” Harris says. However, any dukedom Louis receives is purely decorative and would not generate income. (The only profitable duchies today are Cornwall and Lancaster.)

Traditionally, the monarch gives the second son the title Duke of York, which is available now that Prince Andrew has had it taken away due to his criminal associations. The question is, however, whether it will still be too soon to use that title again due to its now-negative connotations.

Instead, Louis could be given a historic duchy title that has not been held for a long time, such as Clarence (although that one is said to be cursed) or Cambridge (which will revert to the crown when William becomes king). It’s also possible that by the time Louis is ready, the royal scandal with the last Duke of York might have faded, and Louis will hold the title after all, as per tradition.

When Prince George eventually becomes king, how will things change again?

This will likely be way in the future, but there are some things we know. “When George, Charlotte and Louis have children of their own, these children will take precedence over Prince Harry and his children in the line of succession,” Harris says. “Prince George’s eldest child, male or female, will become heir to the throne when George succeeds to the throne.”

If future King George’s eldest child is a daughter, regardless of whether he also has sons, she will make history as the first female heir apparent after the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act was passed. However, the act doesn’t apply to other inherited or traditionally gifted titles (yet), and it’s not clear exactly how getting rid of male primogeniture will affect them.

“If Prince George’s first child is a daughter, she may become the first princess to succeed to the Duchy of Cornwall as heir to the throne, which was previously reserved for male heirs to the throne,” Harris says. “The future Queen Elizabeth II did not have access to the revenues from the Duchy of Cornwall.”

In addition, if King George’s heir is a daughter, will she be given the title of Princess of Wales in place of Prince of Wales (provided the current Princess of Wales, Catherine, has vacated the title by becoming queen)? It’s possible. Chances are, new rules will be passed by then that will clarify these questions.

Only time will tell!

Sources:

• Carolyn Harris, PhD, royal historian and author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting; email interview, August 2026
• College of Arms: “Styles and Titles of the Royal Family”
• BBC: “Royal Family Tree: King Charles III’s closest family and line of succession”
• Debretts: “The Princes of Wales”
• Debretts: “Ranks and Privileges of the Peerage”
• Debretts: “The Princesses Royal”
• Debretts: “Discover the Royal Family”
• Royal.uk
• The Guardian: “Who owns and profits from the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall?”

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With the 2026 U.S. Open currently underway in New York until Sept. 13, we’re taking a closer look at one of the sport’s most surprising rules, and the players who have actually taken advantage of it. Yes, it’s completely legal. Yes, it can happen in a Grand Slam match. And yes, you may have been watching tennis for years without realizing it.

So which stars have pulled off this head-turning move? We’re looking at some of the biggest names on the 2026 U.S. Open courts, including Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, so you’ll know exactly who to watch for. And Serena Williams fans, you may recognize this unusual bit of tennis expertise too.

Read on to find out about the U.S. Open rule that sounds like it shouldn’t be allowed … but absolutely is.

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What is the tennis rule that is surprisingly allowed?

It’s known as an around-the-post shot, or ATP shot, and you may also hear it called a “banana shot” because of the way the tennis ball curves back toward the court. Instead of clearing the net, the ball travels completely around the outside of the net post. As long as it lands inside the opponent’s court, it’s legal.

On TikTok, French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou puts it more simply: “It’s a passing shot that goes down the line that looks like it’s gonna go out, but thanks to side spin finally gets in.” That side spin is what gives the shot its signature bend, sending the ball on a path that looks wide before bringing it back toward the lines.

Mouratoglou compares the motion to something tennis fans may recognize from a slice serve—and even to other sports like soccer, where players use spin to make a free kick curl through the air. On a tennis court, though, that same idea can produce a shot that looks completely impossible until it lands in. Plus, let’s not forget that the ball is temporarily going outside the bounds of the court!

Why is this such a brilliant shot?

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Pulling off a banana shot takes a ridiculous combination of speed, timing and sheer tennis wizardry. And a little luck certainly doesn’t hurt. The funny thing is, you can’t exactly draw up this shot in your pre-match strategy meeting. Your opponent has to hit a particularly nasty angle that pulls you way, way off the court. You then have to get there in time, run around the net post and somehow make clean contact from an angle that feels completely wrong.

So while you can try it, it’s not exactly a high-percentage play. There’s a reason you don’t see players casually taking the scenic route around the net every few games.

When has this happened?

It happened at this year’s U.S. Open! During the final round of 2026 U.S. Open qualifying, Qinwen Zheng pulled off an around-the-net forehand against Elina Pridankina (seen in the video above), giving fans another excellent reminder that this completely wild-looking shot is actually legal.

And Zheng is far from the only player to have tried it. Novak Djokovic pulled off the shot at the 2023 U.S. Open and again at the 2026 Australian Open. Carlos Alcaraz had his own around-the-post moment at the 2024 Australian Open, while Ben Shelton has become particularly known for the spectacular banana shot, hitting one at both the 2024 and 2025 U.S. Opens. So if you’re watching any of those players at this year’s tournament, it’s worth keeping an eye on what happens when they get dragged way outside the court.

And then there’s Rafael Nadal, whose relationship with the banana shot is a little different. For most players, an around-the-post shot is a once-in-a-blue-moon moment. Nadal, however, practically made the banana shot part of his vocabulary. His trademark running forehand, powered by his famous lasso-style follow-through, generated huge amounts of topspin and sidespin, allowing him to bend the ball back into the court from seemingly impossible positions.

Why are even die-hard tennis fans so surprised by this?

On TikTok, some tennis fans have described the banana shot as “my favorite shot to see during a match,” and it’s easy to see why. An around-the-post winner is one of tennis’ most unusual shots because it’s so difficult to execute.

Part of the challenge comes from the spin required to make the tennis ball curve back into the court. According to Mouratoglou, “the banana shot is hit with both topspin” as the racket moves “from down to up” and also “from left to right.” As he explains, “In order to achieve it, you would have to hit the ball both from down to high and to the side of it.”

Then there’s the setup. A player has to be dragged well outside the court, arrive at the ball at exactly the right moment and generate enough spin to bring it back inside the lines. Miss any one of those elements, and the shot doesn’t happen.

What other obscure tennis rules should be on your radar?

Oh, there are plenty. Tennis gets surprisingly weird once you start poking around in the rulebook. Here are some other rules you should know.

• The serve can hit the net and still get a do-over. If the tennis ball clips the net but lands in the correct service box, it’s called a “let” and the server simply tries again.
• A ball that hits the net during a rally isn’t automatically dead. If the tennis ball makes it over and lands in, you can keep playing.
• Touch the net and you’re in trouble. A player loses the point if they touch the net with their body, racket or clothing while the ball is still in play—even accidentally.
• You’ve got 25 seconds. In tennis, players have only 25 seconds to serve the ball and start the next point after the previous one ends. If the player takes too long, they get a time violation.

Sources:

• TikTok: “@patrickmouratoglou
• YouTube: “Alcaraz Goes Around The Net! | Australian Open 2024”
• Instagram: @usopen
• USTA: “When & Where to Serve in Tennis”

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That’s exactly what’s happening in some parts of the United States: Drivers have spotted the addition of a bright blue light mounted near traffic signals. Yes, blue. But what is its purpose, and does it change how you should approach the intersection? Because remember: Just because you don’t know a traffic rule, it doesn’t mean you can’t get a ticket for it!

To get us all up to speed on this new rule of the road, Reader’s Digest spoke with David A. Noyce, executive associate dean of the College of Engineering and the Arthur F. Hawnn Professor of Transportation Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read on to find out what those little blue lights mean—and what you should do when you see one.

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What does it mean if you see a blue traffic light?

A blue light—often called a confirmation light or red-signal indicator—is designed to help law enforcement monitor, from a distance, whether the traffic signal is displaying a red light. Yep, its whole purpose is to let a copper know if someone’s run a red.

In case you’ve never seen one of these yourself, it’s not an extra circle in the red, yellow, green lineup. The blue light will typically be mounted above the traffic signal or, in some cases, higher up or to the side on the overhead mast arms.

How does this work, exactly?

What do these blue lights mean?
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These blue lights are electrically linked to red lights on one or more of the approaches to the intersection. “Police use them to ‘observe’ the red light when they cannot see the actual red light directly,” Noyce explains. “Therefore, when the red-light traffic signal indication is illuminated, so is the blue light.”

Here’s the benefit: At signals without a blue light, an officer often has to be positioned near the same side of the intersection as a driver to confirm that they’ve run a red light. With a blue confirmation light, officers positioned at different angles or whose views are partially obstructed, perhaps by a tree branch, can verify that a signal is red by looking for the lit blue light, making it easier to spot drivers who fail to stop. Plus, it’s more efficient, since you need fewer officers to keep their eyes on the same stretch of road.

“The confirmation light is used to support a traffic law common in many states that requires a police officer to physically witness a violation to issue a citation,” Noyce says. “With the blue confirmation light, the police officer can physically witness red-light-running from anywhere in the intersection.”

Plus, according to a Federal Highway Administration research and technology report, these lights reduce the need for officers to cross the intersection against a red to pursue a driver who has run the signal. That makes the situation a whole lot safer for officers.

Are there any benefits for drivers?

While nobody likes getting a ticket, better enforcement of red-light violations can prevent future crashes by identifying and stopping drivers who repeatedly blow through red lights as well as make others tempted to do the same think twice. And that can save lives—not only those behind the wheel and their passengers, but pedestrians and bicyclists too. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more than 141,000 people were injured in red-light-running crashes in 2024, and 1,119 were killed. Of the fatalities, about half were pedestrians, bicyclists or occupants of vehicles struck by drivers who ran reds.

Why was blue chosen for these lights?

Partly to avoid sending mixed signals. The Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices advises that these lights “should be designed such that they do not confuse drivers,” meaning “they should not be red, yellow or green.” And since blue is not recognized as a standard traffic signal indication, Noyce notes that drivers are less likely to mistake it for a signal telling them to stop, slow down or go.

Plus, he adds, blue LEDs are relatively uncommon in the roadway environment and produce a highly visible and saturated light that stands out against the glow of headlights, streetlights and other signs, which tend to fall in the white, yellow, amber and red portions of the spectrum during the evening hours. Blue also has a strong association with law enforcement, reinforcing its purpose.

Where can you find blue traffic lights?

There’s no national database tracking where blue lights have been installed in the U.S., and they’re not part of the federal standard traffic signal system. As a result, confirmation-light usage is scattered, at best, and remains a locally adopted enforcement tool rather than a coordinated national practice, similar to blue stop signs. Since blue lights are not mandated by the federal government, local police departments and transportation agencies are usually the ones that decide to give them a try.

Based on his research and experience, Noyce says blue lights are most prevalent in Florida and Colorado, though they’ve also appeared in a handful of other states. In Minnesota, for example, the city of Maplewood installed the lights, and other communities followed, after the state’s Department of Transportation launched a formal safety study of Florida’s confirmation-light system and its effectiveness in 2014. That study found that crashes caused by red-light runners dropped by 33%.

And while social media may make blue lights seem like a newfound law-enforcement gadget, these devices have actually been around for years. They were reportedly in use as early as 2007 in Marysville, Washington. In general, though, because the devices are often installed in one intersection at a time—and not uniformly citywide—they tend to receive only sporadic local-news coverage.

What should you do if you see a blue traffic light?

The same thing you always do: Obey the normal traffic rules. It’s not there to convey anything to you—it’s strictly for police officers. (That said, blue-confirmation lights don’t necessarily indicate a cop is around.)

For the average driver, bicyclist or pedestrian, they “mean nothing from a ‘rules of the road’ standpoint,” Noyce says. “But, perhaps, some drivers will react differently by deciding not to run a red light when in other instances they may have considered it.”

Sources:

• David Noyce, PhD, executive associate dean of the College of Engineering and the Dr. Arthur F. Hawnn Professor of Transportation Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; email interview, July 2026
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: “Red Light Running”
• Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology: “Safety Evaluation of Red-Light Indicator Lights at Intersections”
• HeraldNet: “Those Blue Lights on Traffic Signals Help Nab Red-Light Runners”
• Crossroads: “Six Effective Low-Cost Safety Improvements for Roads”

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The post Here’s What It Means If You See a Blue Traffic Light appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Forever associated with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Curry brought that all-in exuberance to every role he played—even if Curry himself was a bit more reserved. But the cheeky humor we loved in roles from Clue to Broadway’s Spamalot was there all along, even as he suffered health setbacks in the last decade or so of his life: “The day before I had the stroke, I smoked three packs of Marlboro Reds,” he told the Guardian just last year. “I won’t be doing that again!”

I’ve been a Tim Curry fan since I was in middle school (Clue, again), but it was the audience-participation recordings of Rocky Horror that sealed the deal. I discovered them when I was a high school exchange student half a world from home, and something about the inclusive party atmosphere, and Curry’s enigmatic, winking portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, kept me from feeling lonely. I listened to them so often that when I pulled them out this summer for a road trip, I still knew every word.

Curry was a huge part of those memories, and he somehow inhabited a timeless space in my mind, so the news of his death was a shock. He also showed up everywhere, playing villains (Charlie’s Angels) and bumbling British cretins (Home Alone 2) and doing so much voice work that it’s amazing he still had a voice left. It’s hard to pick his top five roles, but let’s try, shall we? Read on as we count down to our No. 1 pick.

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5. Legend (1985)

Curry is often celebrated for his comedy, but let’s start with a drama—he’s just that versatile. In this Ridley Scott dark fantasy film starring Tom Cruise, Curry gets to flex his villain chops as the Lord of Darkness, a cloven-hoofed demon who wants to, well, plunge the world into darkness.

Curry reportedly spent five-and-a-half hours in makeup every day getting transformed into the unicorn-hating antagonist. And even though the movie was a box-office disappointment, it surely wasn’t due to Curry’s performance, which audiences loved. The movie also went on to be nominated for multiple awards for makeup and music.

4. Annie (1982)

Any time you can get Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters and Carol Burnett in the same room together, you know they’re going to deliver a showstopper. And that’s just what they did in 1982’s Annie. Curry plays Rooster, the smarmy brother to Burnett’s Miss Hannigan, and he oozes sleaze from every pore as he and his dimwit girlfriend, Lily (Peters), scheme to kidnap little orphan Annie.

Curry is outstanding in this big-budget movie version of the Broadway megahit, which was based on the long-running comic strip set during the Depression. Even surrounded by Broadway titans like Ann Reinking and Albert Finney, Curry runs away with this film. And when the nefarious trio of kidnappers, led by Curry, belts out “Easy Street,” dreaming of the day they can cash in on the reward offered by Daddy Warbucks, you know you’re in the presence of greatness.

3. Clue (1985)

I will never forget seeing this one in the movie theater—perhaps because I went back the very next day to see it again—and I have since watched it dozens of times. Based on the popular board game of the same name, Curry plays Wadsworth, the butler at a stodgy New England estate who must wrangle an unruly group of guests who are all suspected of murder.

Filled with memorable one-liners (“flames on the side of my face,” anyone?), Clue was released with three different endings, mirroring the board game’s possible outcomes, and mixed reviews. It has since become a major cult favorite, and Curry’s bemused, rat-a-tat-tat delivery is one reason why. When asked what a butler does, he quips, “I buttle.” After he launches into a long explanation of the crime, he says, “And to make a long story short …,” to which the entire cast retorts, “Too late.”

2. It (1990)

I can barely write about this one. Curry plays Pennywise, an ancient evil being that takes the form of a demented killer clown who lives in the sewers. The 1990 television miniseries was adapted from Stephen King’s novel, and more than 37 million people watched this primetime show, which was on regular television, not cable or streaming, for two whole frightening nights.

Curry was so good in the role that in his memoir, he said people often came up to him to tell him how traumatized they were, even decades later. “But I’ve never really known how to respond to that,” he wrote in his characteristically dry and thoughtful manner. “It’s not the most charming conversation starter, and invariably leads to a less-than-delightful discussion to navigate.”

1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Talk about a cult favorite! This low-budget monster-movie spoof stars Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a cross-dressing mad scientist whose home Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) seek shelter in when their car breaks down. Things get absolutely wonderful from there, as the naive couple realizes they’ve stumbled into a party filled with characters not found at the junior chamber of commerce.

As the music (and antici … pation) builds, a caped Curry in full makeup drops into the scene in a caged elevator. Janet faints, and he introduces himself with a booming baritone: “How’d you do, I … see you’ve met my … faithful handy-man” and launches into “Sweet Transvestite,” a song about accepting people for who they are. It’s just one of Curry’s many iconic moments in this tiny movie (and before that, a London stage play) that became a sensation with audiences, if not critics.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show can still be seen in theaters more than 50 years after it was released, often around Halloween. Curry also lent his voice to a Fox television remake, and Dr. Frank-N-Furter has become so heavily associated with Curry that he was often asked about his legacy as the fishnet-wearing doc. In his characteristically understated way, he told the Los Angeles Times: “There’s not a lot I can do about it really.”

That’s how we feel about losing you, Mr. Curry.

Sources:

• The Guardian: “The Big Interview: Tim Curry”
• Fresh Air: “Tim Curry remembers his first film role in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show'”
• Los Angeles Times: “Tim Curry does the time warp again in Fox’s new ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’”

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The post We’ll Miss You, Tim Curry! Remembering the Late Actor with His 5 Best Roles, Ranked appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Aries (March 21–April 19)

The fall equinox activates your house of partnership, Aries, which means you’re eager to pair up. Whether you’ve been wanting to launch a business with a close friend, move the ball forward on a professional goal with a colleague or take your romantic bond to the next level, you have the wind in your sails now. Though you tend to excel at flying solo, showing up within your one-on-one relationships can help you make impressive strides on your boldest aspirations, which is music to your ambitious ears.

One word of warning: With the full moon falling in your sign and house of self just a few days after the equinox, your emotions could be running high. Your instinct might be to push through challenging feelings by working out or putting your nose to the grindstone at the office, but allowing yourself to fully acknowledge any heartache that requires healing is your best bet. Reach out to a therapist to work on stress management, or pour what’s in your heart into a beloved imaginative outlet, such as crafting, painting, dancing or journaling.

Taurus (April 20–May 20)

Taurus, you are ruled by Venus, the planet of relationships, which means you’re incredibly devoted to your friends and family. And given how much of a homebody you are, you prefer to host at home whenever possible.

But steel yourself: With the sun moving into fellow Venus-ruled sign Libra and your house of daily routine, the fall equinox can have you running around from one appointment, workout or social commitment to the next. While this could be a little anxiety-inducing, given your typical preference to snuggle up on the couch versus hit the town, your ability to take care of business at a slow, steady, deliberate pace will ensure you’re up to the task.

With Venus in your house of partnership until Oct. 25, you’ll do well to ask for help from a significant other, close friend or trusted colleague to lighten your load. Whether you need an extra set of hands while you prep for a bake sale or company on your morning walk, you’ll feel especially supported now.

Gemini (May 21–June 20)

Prepare yourself for more fun, creativity and playfulness, Gemini, because 2026’s fall equinox astrology is sure to boost your bliss! That’s because the sun will be moving into your house of romance and self-expression—a fun-loving, lighthearted zone that will amplify your artistic impulses and ability to be even more spontaneous and lighthearted than usual (yes, really).

This means you’ll be raring to go when it comes to saying “yes” to booking that last-minute Airbnb stay with friends or an out-of-the-blue romantic weekend getaway with a significant other. Your ruling planet, information-gathering Mercury, will be here too, pulling your mental energy toward this more heart-led way of being in the world. If you can dream it, you can make it happen.

And because the sun is harmonizing with rebellious Uranus in your sign, you’ll feel empowered to march to the beat of your own drum. You might be motivated to try a wardrobe makeover or to dive into an artistic endeavor that has you feeling truly inspired.

Cancer (June 21–July 22)

Although you’re already wired to prioritize quality time with loved ones and feeling cozy in the comfort of your home, the fall equinox will bring even more harmony to your family bonds, Cancer. That’s because the sun lights up your house of home life, making it easier to bond with loved ones, nurture your sense of security and tend to your emotional well-being.

Smoothing over any ongoing conflicts with relatives, infusing your surroundings with more beauty and reveling in beloved fall traditions—like decorating your porch with mums and pumpkins or whipping up your favorite recipes—feel intuitively right. You’ll likely be more centered and happy, because this sentimental, cozy vibe aligns with your innate nature. Feeling more creative and being more spontaneous with loved ones is also in the cards, thanks to Venus being in your house of romance until Oct. 25.

You can also look forward to the fact that Mars is about to start moving through your income house. This will amplify your ability to go to bat for more income-boosting opportunities.

Leo (July 23–Aug. 22)

Being the charismatic friend-magnet that you are, Leo, you’re always eager to make new connections. And with the sun and the moon in your house of communication during the fall equinox, your social life will be especially buzzy.

Not only will it be easier than usual to make a fun game plan with your inner circle, but with your mental energy so high right now, you can also dive into productive brainstorms and come up with brilliant ideas alongside friends and colleagues. The first month of fall could also see you sneaking in a getaway or honing a new skill set like gardening. No matter what you’ve been craving, don’t hesitate to go for it—you’re more likely to get others on board now.

All of this will be happening just ahead of Mars, the planet of action, entering your sign on Sept. 27. This will bring a major surge of get-up-and-go energy that you can channel into your most ambitious goals, whether you want to take your fall wellness routine to the next level or make your mark professionally.

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22)

Good news, Virgo: The fall equinox will allow you to feel even more self-assured when tackling your moneymaking plans. You’ll be inspired to go after new sources of income and to take stock of your current saving and investing approaches, ensuring they’re in line with your values.

This is also a beneficial moment for reflecting on your self-worth and whether you’re being properly compensated for your time, energy and skills. You may find you can be more assertive when making a play for a raise or promotion, pursuing a side hustle or researching what it would take to start your own business. With both the sun and your ruling planet, Mercury, in this zone, you’ll knock it out of the park.

As industrious as you are, you’ll also want to be sure you’re building in enough downtime, because with Mars in your house of spirituality after Sept. 27, you’ll be nudged to be more intentional with your time and energy. Make a point to prioritize restorative activities like bird watching, a low-impact yoga class or deadzoning.

Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Welcome to the limelight, Libra! The fall equinox is tied to the kickoff of your season, and the sun will be cruising through your self-image house, making you the star of the show as well as a magnet for more joyfulness until Oct. 23. From going for that well-deserved recognition on the job to sharing what’s in your heart with loved ones, the sun in your sign has you feeling empowered, confident and unstoppable.

You may even notice that your signature traits—seeking peace and harmony, bringing more balance and beauty into every space you enter and prioritizing partnership—are amplified and applauded now. Make the most of this by asking for the one-on-one time you’re craving from a partner or lending your artistic eye to a creative endeavor, like redecorating your bedroom.

Also of note? It’s a good time to enlist friends or family to support your income-generating goals, perhaps by referring others to your business or pitching in when you’re working toward a deadline, because relationship-oriented Venus is in your house of money until Oct. 25.

Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Though privacy, intimacy and your inner dream life are aspects of life you value deeply all year long, Scorpio, you’ll be feeling even more reserved than usual around the fall equinox, because the sun is entering your spirituality house.

This sector is all about introspection and psychological well-being, so consider reflecting on how you can better tend to emotional wounds that you’ve been carrying for some time. Though this might sound a bit isolating, with Venus in your sign until Oct. 25, you’re also in a place where you can lean on loved ones to talk your feelings through when you feel comfortable opening up. You’ll also find it’s easier to infuse your life with more pleasure and comfort.

And heads up: Mars will be landing in your career house a few days after the equinox, on Sept. 27, elevating how much energy you’ll have to achieve big-picture goals and earn recognition from higher-ups. You might be empowered to step into a leadership position or entirely redefine what success means for you.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)

More jovial, fun-filled quality time with your friends is something you’re always aiming for, Sagittarius, and that’s exactly what the 2026 fall equinox brings you, as the sun moves into your house of friendship while the moon activates your house of communication.

This is your annual opportunity to pour even more of yourself into your platonic bonds, to be a team player, to connect with your community and to network all along the way. Bringing your innate go-big-or-go-home attitude to all these endeavors will also pave the way for you to make strides on long-term wishes—another part of your life that’s activated by the astrology of the fall equinox.

You can also take advantage of Mars, the planet of action and energy, moving into your house of adventure, philosophy and higher education on Sept. 27. For about two months, you can be even bolder than usual when it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone and soaking up knowledge. Consider booking a long-distance trip, working with an inspiring mentor or pursuing a more advanced degree.

Capricorn (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

You’re a pro at putting your nose to the grindstone, Capricorn, which makes this time of year an especially thrilling one for you, because the sun is traveling through your house of career and your public image. Whether you’ve been itching for higher-ups to acknowledge your efforts on the job or you’re flirting with the idea of taking a more entrepreneurial approach to your goals, the fall equinox opens doors for you. Talk through your achievements with someone in a position of power, or go to bat for that ambitious proposal you’ve been musing about for months, and you’ll come out swinging.

Consider setting new foundations at home that will support your ambitions too, especially around Sept. 26 when the full moon in your house of home life connects with taskmaster Saturn. Having a heart-to-heart with loved ones about how they can help pitch in or otherwise have your back so you have more room to chase your dreams could make a world of difference.

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

Aquarius, you’ve likely noticed you’re already moving through a season of thrilling change, because August’s solar eclipse activated your house of partnership. Now, the fall equinox will nudge you to shake things up with a surge of restlessness and a skyrocketing desire to make more room for fun, learning and satiating any wanderlust, because the sun is in your house of adventure.

This is the time to explore new ways of seeing the world, meet people outside of your usual friend group and overhaul your typical routine, perhaps by traveling or taking an eye-opening class. When the sun harmonizes with Uranus in your house of self-expression on Sept. 28, you could have an especially exciting epiphany about how to follow your heart.

And with action-oriented Mars in your partnership house after Sept. 27, you’ll be fired up to enlist a significant other, close friend or colleague to join you as you blaze new trails.

Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20)

Whether you want to make strides with family members or you’re craving closeness with your significant other, the fall equinox has rewards in store for you, Pisces! You’ll enjoy greater confidence as the sun enters your house of joint finances and intimacy. In turn, you can better connect with someone special—whether that’s a significant other or family member—through meaningful moments, deep conversation or heartwarming snuggle sessions.

Don’t hesitate to embrace this opportunity fully; it should feel especially therapeutic coming off of August’s draining lunar eclipse in your sign. And with Venus moving through your house of adventure until Oct. 25, you’ll be inspired to broaden your horizons alongside the people you care about the most. That could look like joining forces to experiment in the kitchen and cook up flavorful brunch recipes together, taking a mindfulness class or finally visiting that art exhibit you’ve been wanting to check out.

Why trust us

Reader’s Digest provides an easy-to-understand guide to all things astrology—from understanding sun signs, moon signs and rising signs to exploring each zodiac sign’s strengths, challenges and desires. You’ll learn about your ideal match in love, career, hobbies and more, as well as learn how big astrological events will affect you. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including practicing astrologers, as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on fall equinox 2026 astrology, Maressa Brown tapped her experience as a professional astrologer and the author of Raising Baby by the Stars: A New Parent’s Guide to Astrology to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

The post What the 2026 Fall Equinox Means for Your Zodiac Sign appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Raise your hand if you pick your movie theater based on the popcorn. Mine’s up. Just last weekend, I headed to a small art theater in the middle of the morning just so I could sample the offerings at the concession stand. The flick I went to see, Matthew McConaughey’s The Rivals of Amziah King, wasn’t at my local Alamo Drafthouse (which has awesome popcorn, by the way), and I wasn’t in the mood for the popcorn at the mall.

Yes, popcorn can make or break a movie, but it hasn’t always been this way. In fact, popcorn wasn’t even sold at the movies in the early days. Say what? Movies without popcorn? To find out more about this totally shocking information, I consulted Joyce M. White, a food historian and the author of Cooking Maryland’s Way: Voices of a Diverse Cuisine, and Harry Marks, a classic film historian and creator of The Lobby film education platforms on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Read on to learn the history of popcorn and the movies.

When was popcorn invented?

Popcorn is American (more accurately, North and South American), and it goes back thousands of years. The oldest ears of popcorn were found along the northern coast of Peru and have been radio-carbon-dated to 6,700 years ago (or around 4600 BCE). Before that finding, which holds the current official Guinness World Record, the oldest evidence of people eating popcorn was from 5,600 years ago, in New Mexico.

White says the type of corn that makes popcorn, Zea everta, was one of the earliest domesticated types of maize in Mexico and what is now the American Southwest. “It did not reach the Eastern Seaboard until the early 19th century, when New England whalers likely brought it to New England from South America,” White says.

From there, it would be more than 100 years before it became a popular movie snack. Let’s take a look back at popcorn’s long road to stardom.

What is the history of popcorn?

Popcorn has been a part of our culture for hundreds of years, but getting it into movie theaters was a more recent endeavor. Here’s the prequel.

Early history

Popcorn was so important to Aztec and Peruvian Indians that when Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century, they marveled at all the ways the native populations were using it. Here are contemporary accounts of Spanish reactions to this oddly prepared grain:

• “They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water,” according to the Florentine Codex, a history compiled by Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagun.
• “They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection,” Bernabé Cobo, a Jesuit missionary, wrote in Historia del Nuevo Mundo.
• “And also a number of young women danced, having so vowed, a popcorn dance. As thick as tassels of maize were their popcorn garlands. And these they placed upon (the girls’) heads,” de Sahagun wrote again in the Florentine Codex.

East Coast arrival

“One of the earliest mentions of it in an American newspaper is found in an article about seed varieties from Burlington, Vermont, from 1835, where it states that a farmer planted a ‘small kind of chicken corn (or as the children call it, pop-corn, from its bursting so handsomely when roasted on a shovel),'” White says.

If holding a shovel full of corn over a fire sounds tedious (not to mention messy), early Americans thought so too. In the 1830s, people began using a wire basket with a long handle or just popping it in a pan like we do today. “By the 1840s and ’50s, it was much more widely known,” White says. “It was sold on street corners by ‘popcorn men’ and in hotels, where it was served with raisins and nuts for dessert.” Popcorn soon became a staple at picnics, parties and festivals.

“Sugar-coated popcorn, popcorn balls and even popcorn puddings were popular at this time,” White says. “By 1857, a commercial venture, The New England Popcorn Company, sold sugar-coated popcorn in ‘elegant tin boxes,’ which curiously was met with some ambivalence because it claimed that pre-popped popcorn took away the fun of popping it.”

Indeed, the Baton Rouge Tri-Weekly Gazette and Comet published a critique on June 27, 1857: “The pleasure indulged in, by adults as well as minors, over the fire in winter’s tedious nights, of popping corn, is taken away from us.”

Chicago World’s Fair

By the mid- to late 19th century, popcorn was fully integrated into American homes and culture—I remember reading about it in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy, which took place in the late 1860s—but it didn’t get a commercial boost until the World’s Columbian Exposition, aka the Chicago World’s Fair, in 1893. That’s the year Charles Cretors patented a mobile popping machine he had invented two years earlier.

“1893 was a big year for Cretors,” Marks says. “He not only got the patent for his popcorn machine, but he also debuted it at the Chicago World’s Fair, where he gave away the product for free.” Cretors was trying to entice interest in his device—not the popcorn. “Instead, people got their free sample and loved it so much, they lined up to buy more from Cretors directly while at the Fair,” Marks says.

“From there, he developed horse-drawn popcorn wagons to take the tasty snack on the road,” Marks says. “But even at the turn of the century, as the film industry was growing, theaters had no interest in selling it, or really any snacks for that matter.” At least not yet.

The 20th century

As the new century dawned, popcorn came right along with it. Cracker Jack had been invented in 1896, but people also ate popcorn as “real” food too. Ella Eaton Kellogg, a dietitian and the wife of cereal magnate John Harvey Kellogg, reportedly ate popcorn in a bowl with milk, like cereal.

After Cretors’s popcorn machine took off, street vendors could easily follow crowds around cities or post up outside theaters and sporting events. “Popcorn’s popularity among sellers was due to its low cost to procure and produce,” Marks says. Even when the Depression hit in the 1930s, the delicious treat could be had for 5 or 10 cents a bag—an inexpensive luxury during hard times.

World War II further solidified popcorn’s popularity, as sugar rationing made candy scarce. Sales slumped a bit when television hit the scene, but popcorn never went away. In 1981, General Mills patented a microwave popcorn bag that popped kernels without scorching, and America’s favorite snack got even easier to eat at home.

How did popcorn make its way to movie theaters?

It took some time for popcorn and movies to go together. “Going to the theater was meant to be something special early in the 20th century,” Marks says. Popcorn, the crunchy, loud and cheap treat, didn’t figure into early theater managers’ game plans. Here’s how that changed.

Popcorn was originally “beneath” movie theaters

“Long before the corporate multiplexes we’re familiar with today, movie theaters—or, more accurately, movie palaces—wanted to demonstrate an air of sophistication to audiences, similar to that of an opera house,” Marks says. “The idea was to make the movies feel like going to see a live show, so they decked out their facilities with plush carpeting and extravagant decor.”

All those fancy adornments were expensive, and the last thing owners wanted were sticky drinks on the floor, greasy fingers on the armrests—”and stray popcorn kernels being ground into the floor by people’s shoes,” Marks says. Besides, concessions were thought to be “beneath” the high-brow entertainment movie houses were offering.

“There was also the noise issue,” Marks adds. “Early films were silent, but even though they were often accompanied by live musicians, theater owners didn’t want patrons crunching and crinkling their snacks during the shows.”

But … money talks

By the late 1920s, films were mostly “talkies” instead of silent, so Marks says the fancy, hushed-atmosphere argument against popcorn became moot. Economics soon ruled the day. “The Depression had made certain forms of entertainment unattainable to the wider public, so going to the movies became one of the last affordable luxuries people could bear,” Marks says.

“By 1930—one year after the market crash—American movie theaters were seeing as many as 90 million customers per week walk through their doors,” Marks says. “But they were still holding on to that last vestige of glamour from the past, so snacks were still not allowed into the theaters themselves.” Industrious vendors would stand outside hawking popcorn, but Marks says theaters would make patrons check their snacks like they would their coats!

That changed when some theaters allowed independent vendors to sell in their lobbies. “In fact, it was one Kansas City, Missouri, widow who changed the game for everyone,” Marks says. Julia Braden convinced the owner of the Linwood Theater to let her open a stand. That one stand soon turned into four, and by 1931, Braden was earning over $14,000 a year—more than $330,000 today.

“Though technically there isn’t one person or theater credited with introducing popcorn to the masses, she’s kind of the de facto ‘Mother of Movie Theater Popcorn,'” Marks says.

Theaters pull back the welcome mat

Eventually, owners saw that there was real money to be made in concessions. They started popping their own popcorn and pushing out the independent vendors. “Many older theaters had to be renovated or modified to accommodate the poppers, as their focus on upscale decor meant little attention to proper ventilation,” Marks says.

How much popcorn do people eat these days?

A lot! Here’s a rundown of popcorn fun facts and figures.

• Americans eat about 14 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year. That’s about three cups (aka one serving) per week for every person in the country.
• Popcorn makes up 60% of movie theater concessions. The rest goes to candy, drinks and other food.
• Yellow popcorn for the win. Before the Depression, white corn was more popular. “Theaters actually preferred the yellow corn variety, which was twice as expensive as the white variety, but it popped larger, which filled the containers and bags with less popcorn as a result,” Marks says. That’s still true today.
• 88% of moviegoers say they order popcorn “regularly.” And 94% say they order concessions more generally, according to Fandango. Clearly, popcorn is the main draw.
• There’s a National Popcorn Day. And it’s celebrated on Jan. 19.

Sources:

• Harry Marks, film historian and creator of The Lobby film education platforms; email interview, Aug. 21, 2026
• Joyce M. White, food historian and author of Cooking Maryland’s Way: Voices of a Diverse Cuisine; email interview, Aug. 21, 2026
• National Agriculture Library: “Popcorn: Ingrained in America’s Agricultural History”
• Popcorn Board: “History of Popcorn”
• Newspapers.com: “Baton Rouge Tri-Weekly Gazette and Comet“
• Guinness World Records: “Earliest popcorn”
• Digital Florentine Codex: “Book 1, Gods”
• Fresh Air: “The History of Popcorn”
• Google Patents: “Packaged food item and method for achieving microwave browning thereof”
• SEC: “Cinemark: Form 10-K”

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The post Here’s How Popcorn Became the Ultimate Movie Snack—And Why It Wasn’t Allowed in Theaters Originally appeared first on Reader's Digest.

I fell in love with Dolly in 9 to 5, the groundbreaking 1980 movie that not only showcased her innovative musical talent (she played the “typewriter” on her fingernails) but also her comedy and acting chops. My brother and I still quote the movie to each other as a running gag, and I named my barrel-chested blond dog Dolly Parton, which never fails to get a laugh at the vet or dog park.

No doubt you also have many memories of Dolly Parton and her infectious personality and incredible talents. While we process this devastating news, which somehow comes as a huge shock even as we worried over the last year or so about her health, let’s take a moment to grieve with her family, who announced her death in a way we think Dolly would approve. She would likely be tickled to know that we’re all remembering her too.

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What did her family say in their announcement of her passing?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)

In an Instagram post, Bryan Seaver, Parton’s nephew and head of security (like his father before him), shared the news of her death and spoke of Dolly’s lasting legacy.

“It is an honor, but an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly,” Seaver said. “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.” Carl Thomas Dean was Parton’s longtime but reclusive husband, whom she married in 1966. Dean died last year at the age of 82.

Seaver shared how he first got a taste of the “road life” as a kid in the 1980s, and he thanked his Aunt Dolly for opening doors for his family and generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life. “She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she did open made and changed history.”

He also acknowledged how much we were hurting and added a little characteristic Dolly humor: “My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not.” It was a sweet, funny nod that made fans feel seen.

Had Dolly been ill recently?

Yes. Since her husband died last year, Dolly had been open, if characteristically tongue-in-cheek, about her health struggles. After postponing and then canceling a Las Vegas residency last year, she posted an update on social media to assure her millions of adoring, worried fans: “I ain’t dead yet.”

Then, in May of this year, she shared news that she responded positively to treatments for immune and digestive issues that had “got all out of whack.” Dolly’s sunny personality shone through in these cryptic messages, but clearly things were darker than we’d all hoped.

The cause of death was cancer, her spokesperson said. Dolly was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on Friday, and she died surrounded by loved ones, according to the New York Times.

What will Dolly’s legacy be?

A shrewd businesswoman, Dolly knew she had to overcome hurdles to be taken seriously in the music business, and her first song, ironically titled “Dumb Blonde” (she was anything but), gave us all a hint of the clever powerhouse she would become.

Dolly penned more than 3,000 songs in her six-decade career and always considered herself a “songteller” rather than a singer, actor, theme park owner, kids charity benefactor and all-around national treasure that she came to be. Tributes from musicians who have covered her songs over the years—from Jack White to Reba McEntire—are pouring in.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she donated $1 million to research that eventually produced Moderna’s vaccine, and in 2016, she gave $9 million to victims of wildfires in her home state of Tennessee. She also was dedicated to childhood literacy. In 1995, she started the Imagination Library in honor of her father, Robert Lee Parton, who never learned to read or write. The organization has donated hundreds of millions of books to kids around the world.

Dolly had so many accomplishments that it’s honestly hard to list them all. Beyond her Grammys, Country Music Awards and humanitarian accolades, I imagine her lasting legacy will be how she made people feel. There’s no one like Dolly. Her larger-than-life personality and generous spirit were infectious, and even when she was poking fun at her appearance and totally relatable foibles, she made us laugh right along with her.

Sources:

• Dolly Parton on Instagram
• New York Times: “Dolly Parton, Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80”
• ABC News: “Dolly Parton and Carl Dean’s best quotes about their decades-long love story”
• New York Times: “Dolly Parton Died After Brief Battle With Cancer”

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The post Dolly Parton Has Died, and Her Family’s Announcement Is Completely “Dolly” in Its Comfort and Inspiration appeared first on Reader's Digest.

So when she starts planning Oct. 31’s festivities in June, I just nod and hand her some candy corn. As for me, I’m on the opposite side of the spectrum: I’m a Halloween grinch. I really don’t decorate unless you count the orange flickering light bulbs I installed near my garage seven years ago and was too lazy to swap back out for real ones. But it goes beyond laziness. To be honest, I just don’t like Halloween. Little kids in costumes? Perfect, let’s do that every day. It’s everything else I could do without. Mostly, I hate the gory, terrifying yard displays because I am a giant scaredy-cat. There is a Ring camera video that still circulates among my neighbors of me getting so freaked out by one of those hands that pops out that I run away, screaming.

And yet Nic and I are the closest of friends! I think we balance each other’s holiday vibes. That said, there is one big point we disagree on: When is it OK to put out the Halloween decorations? Is it really rude to decorate your house early for Halloween? And how early is too early? The answer probably lies somewhere between her “right after the 4th of July” and my “the 4th of Never.” So for the purposes of this column, I’m defining “early” as anything before Oct. 1.

Now, put on your witch hat and let’s discuss.

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The case for decorating early

Your house, your rules. This is honestly the best argument for decorating for any holiday whenever and however you like. You paid good money for that lawn, so you should be able to decorate it however you see fit (within the realm of public decency). And it seems like a lot of people are doing it. According to a 2024 YouGov poll, 52% of people reported seeing Halloween decorations out before October—and 13% before Labor Day. Yes, there are a solid number of folks setting up Skellys for back-to-school. (Some people even keep up their Skellys year-round!)

And it does make sense: If you love Halloween, the earlier you set up your decor, the more time you have to enjoy the fun. It also sparks a sense of neighborhood camaraderie by giving people some entertainment as they take their dog on its nightly poop walk. It may even inspire some of them to get a little more festive. In a world where HOAs dictate every paint color and bush placement, this is your chance to get a little bit wild.

Decorating early also helps you work around weather if you live in a place with a, shall we say, dramatic climate. When we lived in Minnesota, people hung their Christmas lights in September—not because they were incredibly jolly but because no one wants to be on a roof in December in a foot of snow and -10 degrees. Halloween decor also went up before the first storm, and yes, that meant sometimes you had both orange jack-o’-lanterns and red-and-green roof lights at the same time. Better than frostbite!

So is a giant skeleton torso crawling out of the lawn a bit extra for a Tuesday in September? Probably. But there’s a lot to be said about the specific type of joy and anticipation that nostalgia brings, and nothing triggers that feeling like decor. Who doesn’t have a wonderful fall memory of heading out with your friends, dressed as superheroes, running through the spookily lit neighborhood and gorging yourselves with candy? See? You’re smiling already.

The case against decorating early

“Your house, your rules” is true, but your house is (probably) located in a community of people, and those people get to have a say in their environment—including when that environment gets populated with the undead. And folks do have some feelings about this: A separate 2024 YouGov poll found that 39% of people said Oct. 1 through Oct. 15 was the earliest acceptable time to put up Halloween decor, and 24% said anytime after Labor Day was fair game. Only 4% said earlier than that was fine.

That line in the previous section about Halloween decor being “within the realm of public decency” is doing a lot of heavy lifting, and for me, this is where the debate really heats up. Funny skeletons and silly gravestones are one thing; bloody heads hanging from trees are another entirely. When my kids were little, a simple walk to the park became a waking nightmare. Now that my kids are old enough to appreciate a good scare, I’ve come to realize that I just don’t. Why do we turn torture into entertainment in a world that already tortures real people? I’m not asking to ban the decorations I don’t like, but it would be nice if we could limit the amount of time I have to spend seeing them.

Then there’s the issue of competitive escalation. My neighborhood goes all-out, and I do mean all-out—I have a neighbor who sets up a haunted house every year that rivals professional scare factories. People drive from all over the city to walk through it. And while it is fun, other neighbors may feel compelled to up their Halloween game too. Nic told me that she actually lost sleep when a neighbor managed to get a sold-out skeleton Cinderella pumpkin carriage on eBay. This is how we end up in a skeleton arms race.

All of this hype can lead to a very real Halloween fatigue, well before the big day. What’s left to surprise and delight trick-or-treaters on the real All Hallows’ Eve when it’s already been out for two months?

The etiquette of putting up your Halloween decorations early

If you simply adore Halloween and can’t wait to break out the mummy-trapped-in-your-window film, there is a way to do it without being the bad neighbor. Before you do anything, consider the following:

The rules

Some cities and HOAs have specific guidelines for exactly this. Find out the rules for where you live, and abide by them or risk paying a fine.

The type of neighborhood you live in

Are you in a rural area with tons of space around you? Go hog wild! Are you in a townhouse with a postage-stamp-sized yard? Keep it small. Also know your neighborhood culture. Some places are known for their devotion to over-the-top seasonal displays and may even attract visitors. If you live there, then feel free to join in with abandon. (And if you don’t like it, accept that that is just the type of neighborhood you moved into.)

How much you’re putting up

Halloween spirit aside, living 15 feet away from someone with 10 inflatables, five skeletons with laser eyes, and three cats that jump and scream is just a lot of noise and light—especially if you leave them on all night long. Be considerate of your neighbors, and take an unbiased look at your decor placement.

How gory or over-the-top it is

Displays that involve a lot of blood, gore and/or jump scares may not be appropriate for your area. If you love that stuff, consider putting it up inside your house or saving it for the big day or, if you must, the week of Halloween. Another option is to tone it down a little.

How many young children live nearby

I’m an adult and can choose (mostly) what I see and how to handle it. Young children, on the other hand, don’t get to choose and are often genuinely terrified of scary Halloween decorations. If you live in a neighborhood with a lot of very young kids, consider keeping the decor light and fun.

What you’ll do if someone is bothered by it

Even if you do your best to make a totally appropriate seasonal display, someone can still find a reason to be upset and you can’t plan around those folks. But you should have a plan for people with legitimate issues—like lights flashing in their windows or toddlers with new night terrors. Part of living in a community is knowing how to politely compromise with those who live in it with you.

The verdict

It is not rude to decorate your house for Halloween after Sept. 30. For people looking for a firm date of the acceptable time to put up Halloween decorations, we’re giving it to you: Oct. 1 or later. You may be a little rude if you put up your decorations earlier than that, although it certainly isn’t the most egregious etiquette crime, especially if your decor vibe is lighthearted fun. But you will definitely be the rude neighbor if you put up displays that most people would find offensive or disturbing, or if your decor is so loud and obnoxious that it impedes your neighbors from living their daily lives.

But beyond the actual neighbor etiquette, Halloween can be one of those great moments that really brings people together with their community, so use your Halloween decorations as a way to get to know your neighbors, have fun together and keep everyone safe and happy. And if that involves a Cinderella skeleton pumpkin carriage, even better. Just don’t ask me to walk past it after dark.

Why trust us

Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of etiquette stories that help readers navigate communication in a changing world. We regularly cover topics such as the best messages to send for any occasion, polite habits that aren’t as polite as they seem, email and texting etiquette, business etiquette, tipping etiquette, travel etiquette and more. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Sources:

• YouGov: “When do you typically start to see Halloween decorations in the area where you live?”
• YouGov: “When do you think is the earliest acceptable time to display Halloween decorations?”

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He was alone, like I often was. He hit a deer, then a tree. Luckily, he wasn’t injured, but he had no way to call for help. So he walked. For hours. Today, he’d whip out his phone and call someone—but what if he was injured and couldn’t? What if you got in a car wreck and couldn’t reach your phone? Well, it turns out your iPhone has a way to help even without your input.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 6 million nonfatal accidents in 2024, the most recent data available, and more than 1.6 million wrecks that resulted in injury. There were nearly 40,000 fatalities. If you’re stuck on some country road, alone, in the dark? Things could go south very quickly.

Below, I’ll take you through a really cool iPhone safety feature that can help. It’s easy to use, and while it won’t prevent car crashes, it can definitely help you when you need it most. Read on to learn about this important iPhone safety setting you probably had no idea existed.

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What is the hidden iPhone feature that could save your life in a car crash?

It’s a feature called Crash Detection. If the car you are driving or traveling in gets in a “severe” crash, which includes front- and rear-end collisions as well as side-impact crashes and rollovers, your iPhone will detect the wreck and alert emergency services if you’re unable to respond.

Here’s how it works once your iPhone or Apple Watch detects a severe crash.

If you only have your iPhone

Once Crash Detection senses you’ve been in an accident, your iPhone displays an alert (“It looks like you’ve been in a crash”) and sounds an alarm for 10 seconds. It also reads the alert aloud to you, in case you cannot reach your phone, and displays an Emergency Call slider so you can contact emergency services if you’re able.

If you do not initiate the slider or dismiss the alert within 10 seconds, a 30-second countdown begins. The countdown is accompanied by what Apple calls “loud whoops” and aggressive flashing lights. After the 30-second countdown, your phone will dial 911 and report the crash.

If you have both your iPhone and Apple Watch

After a crash, your iPhone and Apple Watch display the same alert (“It looks like you’ve been in a crash”), and your watch chimes and taps your wrist for 10 seconds. The Apple Watch displays the Emergency Call slider, and you can call and speak through your watch.

If you do not initiate the slider or dismiss the alert within 10 seconds, a 30-second countdown begins. The countdown is accompanied by loud whoops and aggressive flashing on your phone, along with taps on your watch. After the 30-second countdown, your Apple Watch will dial 911 and report the crash.

If you only have your Apple Watch

Even if you do not have your phone in the car, your Apple Watch displays an alert (“It looks like you’ve been in a crash”) once it detects a severe collision. It also chimes and taps your wrist for 10 seconds and displays the Emergency Call slider. You can call and speak through your watch only if your watch has cellular data enabled or is connected to Wi-Fi.

If you do not initiate the slider or dismiss the alert within 10 seconds, a 30-second countdown begins. The countdown is accompanied by loud whoops and aggressive wrist-tapping. After the 30-second countdown, your Apple Watch will dial 911 and report the crash if your watch has cellular data enabled or is connected to Wi-Fi.

Do all iPhones have Crash Detection?

All models, starting with iPhone 14, that run iOS 16 or later operating systems have Crash Detection technology. The service is also standard on Apple Watch Series 8 or later, Apple Watch SE 2nd generation or later, and Apple Watch Ultra or later with watchOS 9 or later operating systems.

Crash Detection is on by default, so you do not have to enable it for it to work. That said, you should double-check to make sure you haven’t accidentally turned it off. This feature is located under Emergency SOS in Settings. (See the screenshot above.)

Your devices will also notify your emergency contacts if you have them set up. If you also have Medical ID information entered and enabled in the Apple Health app (more on this coming up), an additional slider will appear so that first responders can access that information without your passcode.

For Android users, Google Pixel phones (Pixel 4a and later) have a similar feature called Car Crash Detection, but it must be enabled. It is not on by default.

Can you turn it off?

Yes. If you do not want your Apple device to contact emergency services after a crash, you can turn off the service. (Though we highly recommend that you keep it activated.) Go to Settings > Emergency SOS to disable it on your iPhone. Your Apple Watch crash-detection settings are also located on your iPhone, under Apple Watch > My Watch > Emergency SOS.

If you’re worried that Crash Detection will interfere with your vehicle’s emergency response features, Apple says it will not. Emergency calls from your car or by you directly on your devices will be connected as usual (non-emergency calls will be disconnected).

What if you don’t actually need assistance?

If you have been in a crash but do not need assistance, you can dismiss the alerts before they connect you with emergency services. If you accidentally contact them, or connect and decide you no longer need help, Apple advises staying on the phone and speaking with the EMS personnel to update them on your situation—do not hang up.

Which other settings should you have activated in case of an emergency?

Crash detection isn’t the only Apple safety feature that can help you stay safe. Here are other important settings that you should know about and enable.

• Medical ID: This feature holds important medical information that will be made available to emergency responders without a passcode in the event of a crash. Medical ID is found in the Apple Health app.
• Emergency Contacts: This is also located in the Apple Health app, and adding your emergency contacts here will trigger an alert to them if you are involved in a crash. Make sure to have location services enabled in Emergency SOS (see below).
• Emergency Calls & SOS: Found in your iPhone settings under Privacy & Security > Location Services, this feature will allow your phone to send your location to your emergency contacts. Note that messages cannot be sent if you do not use the Messages app as your default option.
• Emergency SOS via Satellite: You don’t need to activate this one, but it’s an important feature to know about. On iPhone 14s or later, you have the option to use a satellite connection if your emergency call does not go through via normal means.
• Emergency Bypass: This feature allows your chosen contacts to reach you even when your notifications are silenced. Open your contacts, tap each person, hit Edit > Ringtone, and toggle Emergency Bypass.

Sources:

• NHTSA: “Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)”
• NHTSA: “Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2024”
• Apple: “Use Crash Detection on iPhone or Apple Watch to call for help in an accident”
• Apple: “Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your Apple Watch Ultra 3”
• Android: “Physical Safety”
• Google: “Car Crash Detection”
• Apple: “Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone”
• Apple: “Allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPhone”

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It’s also expensive. Montecito, California, is an unincorporated paradise tucked between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean along California’s Central Coast. Oprah Winfrey lives there. So does Rob Lowe. The views are stunning. And now that Harry and Meghan are leaving, their home will reportedly sit empty.

How much is that going to set them back? Will they need to sell? Take on renters? Ahead, I’ll break down the insane amount of money Harry and Meghan will have to spend just to keep the lights on in their Montecito mansion. Read on for the details.

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How much did they buy the house for?

Harry and Meghan paid $14.65 million for the 7.5-acre estate in June 2020. The 14,500-square-foot main house, known as the Chateau at Riven Rock, has an ivy-covered entry and is flanked by elegant Italian cypress. It sits at the end of a long, curving driveway made from hand-cut local stone, the Los Angeles Times reported when the couple bought it.

The grounds have formal gardens, as well as a swimming pool, tennis court, meditation pond and teahouse. Inside, there’s a big chef’s kitchen (occasionally seen on Meghan’s Instagram), stone fireplaces, a theater, game room, wine cellar and just about anything else that you think can fit inside a home with nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms.

Back in 2015, the same home was listed for more than double what Harry and Meghan paid: $34 million, according to the Times. Five years later, they bought the place from Sergey Grishin, a Russian billionaire who owned another Montecito property known as the Scarface mansion (it’s in the movie).

How much will it cost to maintain the property when they’re overseas?

A lot: Estimates are coming in at $650,000 and up per year—and that’s on the low end. Even though the house will reportedly sit empty, at least for now, there’s the mortgage, taxes, maintenance and other necessary expenses that come with home ownership.

Here’s how those costs break down.

Mortgage

The New York Post looked at property tax records and found that the couple took out a loan for more than $9.5 million soon after buying their home. The loan has an adjustable rate of 2.49% with a ceiling of 7.49% until 2030, when it resets.

According to their calculations, that gives the couple a mortgage payment of between $40,000 and $43,000 a month on a standard 30-year term. Multiply that by 12 months, and they’re looking at roughly $500,000 per year just to keep the bank happy.

Property taxes

Those same records show that Montecito is a pretty pricey enclave for taxes. Last year, the couple paid just shy of $150,000 in property taxes, a number that has been going up every year Harry and Meghan have lived there. Their first bill, in 2021, was $138,629.

Insurance

It’s hard to put a number on possible homeowners insurance for Harry and Meghan, but it’s high. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley analyzed public data (2019–2023) and found that the median estimated single-family home insurance premium in the state was $182 for every $100,000 in home value. On a home costing $14.65 million, that’s about $26,660 per year—and that’s just the median.

The home is also in a high fire hazard severity zone, according to the Montecito Fire Protection District, so they definitely have wildfire coverage. A broker on Berkshire Hathaway’s website says rates for high-value estates in Montecito fire zones can easily reach $30,000 or $40,000 per year.

Home maintenance and groundskeeping

Real estate and financial experts advise earmarking 1% to 3% of your home’s value for yearly maintenance. The low end, 1%, is more typical for regular homeowners, but the rate goes up for luxury homes. Security, pool service, roof repairs, heating and cooling, maintaining the extensive grounds and gardens … the costs add up quickly.

Even at 2%, that’s nearly $300,000 that Harry and Meghan should set aside for ongoing and emergency maintenance. We’re not saying they’ll have to spend that every year, but it’s not nothing—and it could bring their yearly tally closer to $1 million.

Are they planning to move back or use this as a second house?

For now, the couple plans to use the Montecito home as their U.S. residence, and they have no plans to sell (or rent it out, for that matter).

Their kids, Archie and Lilibet, are enrolled in school in England this fall, so presumably the family will stay through the school year. But the couple currently says the move is “temporary,” according to TMZ, which also reports that Markle’s mom, Doria Ragland, is staying in California.

But with a British court ruling against Harry, Elizabeth Hurley, Elton John and others in their phone-tapping complaint against the Daily Mail and Associated Newspapers, and the enormous costs associated with maintaining the home, the situation could become more fluid as time goes on.

Will they be living on the royal dime in the U.K.?

No. When Harry and Meghan left Britain, they relinquished their royal duties and their royal paychecks. That will continue even though they are moving back into the palace’s sphere of influence. They will have to pay their own rent as well as security, which has been a point of contention for the couple for years.

The couple used to live in Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor grounds, but they gave up the lease at Charles’s request when Harry’s memoir, Spare, was released. Speculation is running wild as to where they’ll end up now, with London already ruled out, according to media reports.

Experts are currently betting on the English countryside, perhaps near Althorp, where Princess Diana grew up, or in the Cotswolds, where Harry and Meghan’s good friend Ellen DeGeneres lives.

Sources:

• Los Angeles Times: “Did Meghan and Harry buy in Montecito? Sources point to $14.65-million estate”
• Los Angeles Times: “Home of the Day: A grand chateau in Montecito for $34.5 million”
• Montecito Fire Protection District: “Fire Hazard Severity Zones”
• UC Berkeley: “The California Home Insurance Challenge in Eight Charts”
• InStyle: “Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s $14.6 Million Montecito Mansion, Which They’re Leaving for the U.K.”
• New York Post: “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle likely to list Montecito mansion as staggering monthly costs revealed: sources”
• Realtor.com: “How Much Is Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Montecito Mansion Really Worth?”
• Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Properties: “Home Insurance Santa Barbara”
• Resident: “Investing in Your Home’s Future: Long-Term Maintenance for Luxury Properties”
• People: “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Make Shocking Move Back to the U.K. with Kids Archie and Lilibet (Exclusive)”
• TMZ: “Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Not Selling Montecito Mansion … We’ll Be Back!!!”

Diana Thought Harry Would Be a Good King

What Kate Really Thought About Meghan

Meghan Just Revealed Her Nickname for Harry

The post Harry and Meghan’s California Home Will Cost *How* Much per Month—When They’re Not Even Living There?! appeared first on Reader's Digest.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Recommended by: Tayari Jones, author of Kin

Genre: Epistolary fiction

Books that let you peek into someone else’s correspondence are irresistible, aren’t they? If you agree, The Correspondent is for you. It follows 73-year-old Sybil Van Antwerp, who writes letters to friends, family and even famous writers as she reflects on the loves and secrets that have shaped her life. As her eyesight begins to fail, those letters become even more important. This is a warm, intimate read for anyone who loves getting deeply attached to a character and slowly discovering what made her who she is.

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Transcription by Ben Lerner

Recommended by: Mary H.K. Choi, author of Pool House

Genre: Literary fiction

A missing recording is at the center of this clever, slightly strange novel. When an interview disappears, the people involved have to reconstruct what was said from memory, and naturally, their versions don’t quite match. From there, Lerner plays with memory, language and the question of whether we can ever truly capture what someone else meant. It’s a good choice for readers who like their fiction a little brainy and enjoy finishing a chapter with something to puzzle over.

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Misery by Stephen King

Recommended by: Tia Williams, author of The Missed Connection

Genre: Psychological horror

Being a bestselling author sounds pretty great until your biggest fan kidnaps you. That’s exactly what happens to novelist Paul Sheldon after a car accident leaves him injured and recovering in the home of Annie Wilkes, a former nurse who is obsessed with his books. When Annie discovers he has killed off her beloved character Misery, she forces him to write a new story bringing her back. Paul is trapped and completely at her mercy. Williams’s note on this Stephen King classic? “This book raised me.”

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Famesick by Lena Dunham

Recommended by: Isaac Fitzgerald, author of American Rambler 

Genre: Nonfiction

Remember when Girls suddenly made Lena Dunham one of the most talked-about people in pop culture? Famesick takes you behind that whirlwind, from making the HBO series with Jenni Konner to dealing with fame, internet scrutiny, relationships, health struggles and burnout. Dunham also gets candid about her relationship with Jack Antonoff and the strange experience of having so much of her life play out in public. It’s a great pick for anyone who loves a juicy behind-the-scenes story but wants more honesty than celebrity gloss.

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We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Recommended by: Choi

Genre: Dystopian fiction

Before 1984 and The Hunger Games, there was We. D-503 lives in the One State, where people have numbers instead of names and every part of the day is carefully controlled. Then he meets I-330, a rebellious woman who drinks, smokes and has zero interest in following the rules. Suddenly, D-503 starts questioning everything he once believed. This one is for anyone who loves a dystopian world, a dangerous romance and a protagonist who has a very inconvenient awakening.

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Worship by Alice Winn

Recommended by: Jenny Jackson, author of The Shampoo Effect

Genre: Historical fiction

Camelot, knights and romance? Tell us more. Worship follows Princess Isode, who expects to marry the knight Palomides until Sir Tristam defeats him in a tournament and changes everything. Tristam has his sights set on joining King Arthur’s Round Table, but war soon throws him and Isode together. There’s danger, court intrigue and plenty of romantic tension. As Jackson puts it, “It’s all about knights at the Round Table, and it’s very romantic.”

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Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Recommended by: Fitzgerald

Genre: Science-fiction fantasy

Nothing says cozy quite like an apocalypse, an alien game show and a talking cat. In Dungeon Crawler Carl, Carl survives the destruction of Earth and ends up battling through a deadly dungeon with Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend’s pampered Persian cat who becomes intelligent after eating a magical biscuit. Their survival is broadcast across the galaxy for entertainment, so every monster fight comes with an audience. It’s wildly weird, genuinely funny and, according to Fitzgerald, one of his current comfort reads.

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On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle

Recommended by: Jackson

Genre: Literary and philosophical fiction

Tara Selter is a rare-book dealer who discovers she’s stuck on Nov. 18. Everyone around her moves on to the next day, but Tara keeps waking up on the same date. She can travel and make changes, though, and some of those changes stick. Soon, she’s experimenting with just how much control she has over her strange new existence. Jackson calls this book “Groundhog Day as written by a woman” and says it’s “super cerebral.” She also compares it to the best parts of Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel’s work, but “tighter and smaller.”

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Self-Help by Lorrie Moore

Recommended by: Choi

Genre: Literary fiction

Dating the wrong person, navigating family drama and making questionable life choices are all fair game in Lorrie Moore’s Self-Help. The collection turns the familiar language of advice books into funny, sharp stories about women dealing with affairs, loneliness and complicated relationships. Moore has a knack for making everyday awkwardness feel hilarious and painfully familiar. Pick this up when you want something smart and funny that you can dip into one story at a time.

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The River by Peter Heller

Recommended by: Jackson

Genre: Thriller

Jack and Wynn head into the Canadian wilderness expecting a peaceful canoe trip. Instead, they spot a wildfire and hear a couple arguing somewhere nearby. They can’t see who the strangers are or what’s happening, but they know something is wrong. As the fire moves closer, the friends have to decide whether to keep going or get involved. Jackson considers this novel a “banger,” and it’s an easy pick for anyone who likes beautiful wilderness settings, fast-moving suspense and the creeping feeling that a relaxing vacation has gone very, very wrong.

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Land by Maggie O’Farrell

Recommended by: Choi

Genre: Historical fiction

Ireland in 1865 is the setting for this sweeping story about family, land and a country still recovering from the Great Hunger. Surveyor Tomás travels through Ireland with his young son, Liam, mapping the landscape for the British Ordnance Survey while encountering villages emptied by famine and families forced from their homes. Meanwhile, Liam is growing up surrounded by Irish folklore and stories about the land. It’s a strong choice for anyone who wants historical fiction with a big sense of place and a family story at its center.

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Never Let Me Go by Kazou Ishiguro

Recommended by: Jackson

Genre: Science fiction

Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grow up together at Hailsham, an English boarding school that seems idyllic until the three friends begin discovering what makes it so different from other schools. As they get older, they learn the disturbing truth about why they were raised there and what their futures hold. Their friendships and romantic entanglements become more complicated as that reality sinks in. Never Let Me Go is perfect for readers who love a quiet story with a devastating secret at its core.

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Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece, Leigh Belz Ray interviewed various authors for The Reader’s Digest Escalator Interview series. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

The post We Asked Our Favorite Authors What to Read Before Summer Ends—Here’s What They Said appeared first on Reader's Digest.

After more than six years in the U.S., the pair is ready for a new chapter. And they’re doing that by moving. Again. Their new home base? It’s one that wasn’t on our bingo card—and we’re pretty sure it wasn’t on yours either. But the move is happening, and it’s apparently imminent. Like, before-the-kids-go-back-to-school imminent.

So where are they going, and why? Read on for the royal scoop.

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Where are Harry and Meghan moving?

The Sussexes are moving to the last place anyone would expect: the U.K. Yes, you read that right. According to The Telegraph and People magazine, Harry, Meghan and their kids will move continents within the next two weeks. It’s not clear yet where they plan to settle, but it will definitely not be one of the royals’ fancy palaces.

According to media reports, London has been ruled out, and they’ll likely live in the British countryside. The Cotswolds, less than two hours from the capital and one of the country’s most beautiful regions (known for its green hills and picturesque stone villages), has been rumored as an option. The couple’s close friend Ellen DeGeneres has a mansion there, as do the Beckhams, whom they once counted as friends before Harry and Meghan reportedly suspected them of leaking stories to the press.

Another option seems to be the Northampton area. Just north of the Cotswolds and close to Althorp Estate, it’s where Princess Diana grew up and is now buried. Harry and Meghan took their kids there to visit during their recent July trip.

Archie and Lilibet are already enrolled in British schools, ready to start their new lives in September. (More on that below.)

Hold on—didn’t they have huge problems in the U.K.?

They did, on multiple fronts.

After Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal life, the couple lost the taxpayer-funded police security that came as part of the deal, and Harry said he no longer felt safe in the U.K. He even filed a lawsuit (which he lost) against the Home Office and the Metropolitan police to get the protection back, then made multiple trips to London and the U.K. without his wife and kids over security concerns. He told the BBC, “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point.”

It remains to be seen how the security will be managed moving forward. Since Harry and Meghan remain non-working royals, they still won’t receive taxpayer-funded protection. Britain’s prime minister, Andy Burnham, has already called the arrangements a “private matter.”

Harry has also been a long-term critic of the British tabloids and paparazzi, accusing them of not only turning his mother’s life into a nightmare but also causing her death in Paris in August 1997. Harry feared that history would repeat itself with Meghan. In July 2026, the prince lost a court case against the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, which he’d accused of using unlawful methods to gather information about him.

Then, of course, there was all the family drama. In his memoir, Spare, and a now-infamous Oprah interview, Harry said he felt “let down” by King Charles and claimed the royals had disliked Meghan from day one. Meghan herself revealed an unpleasant conversation behind closed doors about Archie’s skin color and said that she struggled so much with her mental health at one point that she no longer wanted to be alive. Harry also addressed his complicated relationship with William, claiming his brother had physically attacked him. These revelations didn’t go over well with the royal family—who religiously live by their “Never complain, never explain” rule—or the British public.

What prompted this move back to the U.K.?

Harry is reportedly the driving force behind this move, according to royal insiders. “Everyone presumes that Meghan calls the shots in their relationship, but Harry just got everything he wanted,” says royal expert Dan Wakeford, the founder of Celebrity Intelligence and former editor-in-chief of People. “This is the exact arrangement people close to Harry described in April—a man who missed his family, his friends, his old life and who’d be content to downsize if it meant getting some of that back.”

During the Sussexes’ visit to the U.K. in July, Charles got to see his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet for the first time in four years. And it wasn’t just that Harry and crew had fun with him and other family members: Charles is still undergoing cancer treatments two years after his initial diagnosis, so Harry might just want to be closer to his dad.

Last but not least, Harry’s and Meghan’s business ventures in the U.S. haven’t quite worked out as planned. Their Netflix show was axed, and the partnership with Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As ever, ended. This could be a fresh start for them, even though they will reportedly keep their home in Montecito, California, along with their vacation home in Portugal.

Does this mean they’ll become working royals again?

No. Or at least not for the time being. According to reports, Charles has made it clear behind closed doors that the Sussexes will remain private citizens rather than working royals, while William, as the future king, is equally unlikely to propose a royal comeback considering their ongoing tensions.

So what will the couple actually do? Harry will likely spend more time with his U.K.-based charities, including WellChild, Scotty’s Little Soldiers and the Invictus community, while Meghan plans to keep running As ever from the family’s new home base. While some say this is proof that the pair has successfully navigated the “half in, half out” plan they initially proposed to Queen Elizabeth II (living an independent life while still representing the royal family), the British side of the family seems to have no interest in the arrangement. In reality, Harry and Meghan will most likely continue to pursue business ventures, but will do so strictly as private citizens and not representatives of the royal family.

Will Archie and Lilibet be going to school with their cousins?

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A post shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (@meghan)

Technically they could, but we believe it’s unlikely. For privacy reasons, it hasn’t been announced what school Archie and Lilibet will go to in the U.K. Kate’s and William’s kids Charlotte and Louis currently attend Lambrook School in Berkshire, a prep school about a 10-minute drive from their home in Windsor. And George, who just graduated from Lambrook, is about to start at Eton College, a nearby elite boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18—the same one William and Harry attended as teenagers.

What does this mean for Harry’s relationship with Charles, William and the rest of the family?

That remains to be seen. Last year, Harry confirmed on the BBC what we all knew: that the relationship with his family was frosty. But he also admitted openly that he “would love a reconciliation.” So could this be it?

British media outlets are reporting that Harry and Meghan informed King Charles about their move rather than made the decision together as a family. It also looks like there had been no mention of the plans when they visited him in Highgrove just a few weeks ago, so we can only imagine the monarch must have been as surprised as we are! Considering that Charles hadn’t seen his grandchildren for four years prior to the whirlwind visit, he will probably still be pleased that he might see more of his family in the future, despite all the drama in the past.

As for William, those fences won’t be mended overnight. After all, the brothers have always had a complicated relationship. And they fully fell out when Harry and Meghan quit The Firm and Harry publicly aired his issues with his big brother. As royal biographer Robert Jobson told Hello! magazine after the news dropped, “I feel that William must be slightly aghast by the whole thing. The prodigal son coming back will be difficult for him. Harry’s move puts pressure on him to act in a more pragmatic way.”

But they are brothers, and family has a way of coming back together over time. And hey, who wouldn’t love a happy ending for Diana’s boys?

Sources:

• The Telegraph: “Harry and Meghan plan move back to Britain”
• People: “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Make Shocking Move Back to the U.K. with Kids Archie and Lilibet (Exclusive)”
• BBC: “Harry and Meghan are experts in surprise – but why are they returning to UK now?”
• BBC: “Prince Harry will not be joined by Meghan and children on London trip”
• CBS: “Prince Harry: The 60 Minutes Interview Transcript”
• GBN: “Home Secretary will NOT make decision on Sussexes’ security amid bitter years-long feud over tax-funded police protection”
• Facebook: Dan Wakeford, founder of Celebrity Intelligence
• Sky: “The King meets with Prince Harry, Duchess of Sussex, Archie and Lilibet for first time in four years”
• Tatler: “A glimpse inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s poignant, private visit to Althorp, Princess Diana’s childhood home”
• Hello: “Prince William left ‘slightly aghast’ by Prince Harry’s decision to return to UK with his family”
• Spare by Prince Harry

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The post See Ya, California! Harry and Meghan Are Making a Surprising New Move—Here’s What’s Going On appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Now, not to be all “uphill both ways” about my limited choices as a youngster, but people today have it much better, at least when it comes to M&M’s. There are now more than 10 current varieties of the popular treat, and they all melt in your mouth, not in your hands. But which one rules the candy aisle where you live?

Coventry Direct, the insurance giant, wondered the same thing—and we have the results coming up. Are you an M&M’s purist, or do you prefer a quirkier, newer variety? Ahead, I’ll take you through the most popular M&M’s flavor in every state. Read on to see if your favorite made the cut where you live.

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How did the report determine the most popular M&M’s in the country?

Like so many personal preferences these days, our favorite M&M’s were determined by our search history. We’re not entirely sure why, but Coventry Direct decided to check Google Trends data between May 2025 and May 2026 to learn which varieties of M&M’s Americans were seeking out most.

Once you see some of these choices, you may be a little skeptical that, for example, a niche flavor like Caramel Cold Brew could really be the most popular M&M’s across an entire state. I mean, better than Peanut Butter, the greatest M&M’s of all time? (Ready to fight over this one.)

But it makes sense when you remember that these faves are based on internet searches, not actual purchases. So is it really all that surprising that residents of Oregon, the coffeehouse capital of the world, were curious about cold-brew-flavored M&M’s? I think not.

What is the most popular M&M’s flavor in each state?

The 50 states and District of Columbia demonstrated a surprising amount of variation in their search results, from old favorites like plain M&M’s, absolutely-nots like White Chocolate, and some so new I had no idea they were even M&M’s. (Fudge Brownie? I missed that one.)

Here are the top-searched M&M’s flavors broken out by state.

• Alabama: Dark Chocolate
• Alaska: Original
• Arizona: Dark Chocolate Peanut
• Arkansas: Peanut
• California: Dark Chocolate
• Colorado: Caramel
• Connecticut: Peanut
• Delaware: Original
• Florida: Fudge Brownie
• Georgia: Peanut
• Hawaii: Mega Peanut Butter
• Idaho: Original
• Illinois: Fudge Brownie
• Indiana: Caramel
• Iowa: Peanut Butter
• Kansas: Peanut Butter
• Kentucky: Crispy
• Louisiana: White Chocolate
• Maine: Original
• Maryland: Caramel
• Massachusetts: Dark Chocolate Peanut
• Michigan: Dark Chocolate
• Minnesota: Caramel
• Mississippi: Caramel
• Missouri: Caramel
• Montana: Original
• Nebraska: Crispy
• Nevada: Peanut
• New Hampshire: Peanut Butter Cinnamon Roll
• New Jersey: Dark Chocolate
• New Mexico: Original
• New York: Caramel
• North Carolina: Fudge Brownie
• North Dakota: Original
• Ohio: Caramel
• Oklahoma: Caramel
• Oregon: Caramel Cold Brew
• Pennsylvania: Fudge Brownie
• Rhode Island: Original
• South Carolina: Caramel
• South Dakota: Pretzel
• Tennessee: Caramel
• Texas: Peanut
• Utah: Peanut Butter
• Vermont: Original
• Virginia: Dark Chocolate Peanut
• Washington: Caramel
• Washington, D.C.: Original
• West Virginia: Peanut
• Wisconsin: Crispy
• Wyoming: Original

Which flavor earned the No. 1 spot in the most states?

Caramel M&M’s took home the prize, with 12 states searching for the young upstart more than any other flavor. It was a tight race between Caramel and the OG colorful candy, plain M&M’s, which came in second, with 11 states.

Caramel M&M’s debuted in May 2017 after years of work to get production difficulties hammered out. (It’s hard to get a soft caramel inside a hard candy shell, which is why caramels are usually sold in plastic-wrapped squares.) Clearly, consumers are happy with the result.

How did this break down regionally?

Looking at the map of states, the first voting bloc you notice is the northern Mountain West, which loves plain M&M’s. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and the adjacent North Dakota dominate the map for original M&M’s. Add in Alaska and New Mexico, and plain M&M’s get more than half of their support from states west of the Mississippi.

The big winner, Caramel M&M’s, has a more scattered dispersal. Washington and Colorado rep the flavor out West, and then there’s a swath of Caramel M&M’s lovers across the central U.S. from Colorado to Ohio and from Mississippi to Minnesota. New Yorkers also love Caramel M&M’s, as do South Carolinians.

Peanut M&M’s won six states, including four in the South: Texas, Arkansas, West Virginia and Georgia, where peanuts are popular (and grown). Rounding out the six are Nevada and one lone New England state, Connecticut.

Were there any big surprises?

I was surprised anyone actually eats White Chocolate M&M’s, but Louisiana loves them. Or loves searching for them. Hawaii also had a dark-horse No. 1, Mega Peanut Butter M&M’s, which are just larger versions of the (already big) Peanut Butter M&M’s.

Then there’s New Hampshire. The Live Free or Die state went way out on a culinary limb and searched ravenously for Peanut Butter Cinnamon Roll M&M’s, a temporary offering that captures two flavors I had no idea went together. Has anyone seen these in the wild?

But the biggest surprise goes to Crispy M&M’s, which won three states despite being available on an on-again-off-again basis for the last 25 years. The light and crunchy confection launched in 1999 before being discontinued in 2005, reintroduced in 2015 and discontinued again in 2022. As of right now, you can buy them from online retailers, but you’d better stock up, because they might not last.

Sources:

• Coventry Direct: “The Most Popular M&M’s Across the U.S.”
• ESPN: “M&Ms Caramel debuts on the #18”
• M&M’s: “m&m’s candy flavors for every taste”
• Fandom: “Crispy M&M’s”

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The post This Is the Most Popular M&M’s Flavor in Each State—Did Your Favorite Take the Top Spot Where You Live? appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Sometimes, you just need more fluids. But while it’s easy to assume everyone is walking around at least a little dehydrated, hydration isn’t that simple to measure. The good news is that your body tends to leave clues. There are the obvious ones, like thirst, but plenty of others are easy to miss.

There’s also a surprisingly simple physical check you can do using your own skin, and it takes just a few seconds. Before you try it, though, there’s an important catch: It can give you useful information, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you use to decide whether you’re dehydrated.

Ahead, Mitchell Rosner, MD, a nephrologist who specializes in fluid and electrolyte disorders, and James Winger, MD, a sports medicine physician who studies how the body manages fluids during exercise, explain exactly what’s happening to your body when it’s dehydrated—and how to spot the symptoms right away. Read on to learn more and keep your body running properly.

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What happens to your body when it’s dehydrated?

As your body loses fluid, it has to make adjustments that affect circulation, temperature regulation and eventually organ function. Dr. Rosner says dehydration can reduce blood volume and lower blood pressure, forcing the heart to beat faster to keep blood circulating. Losing fluid and electrolytes can also contribute to muscle cramps and make it harder for the body to cool itself.

How serious that is depends heavily on the situation. Dr. Winger points out that some fluid loss during exercise is expected and should not automatically be treated as dangerous. In healthy people who are exercising, he says, the body has mechanisms designed to respond to those changes and encourage fluid replacement.

The concern is when fluid losses continue without adequate replacement. Dr. Rosner says severe dehydration can eventually affect the kidneys, brain and cardiovascular system.

What’s the 2-second test that can show you if you’re dehydrated?

It’s called the skin-turgor test or skin-pinch test. Skin turgor is basically a measure of your skin’s elasticity, and this simple test checks how quickly your skin returns to its normal position after you gently pinch and release it.

According to MedlinePlus, the consumer health-information service of the National Library of Medicine, you can check skin turgor by pinching the skin on the back of your hand, abdomen or upper chest for a few seconds and then letting go. Normally, the skin should quickly fall back into place. Mild dehydration may make the skin slightly slower to return, while poor skin turgor is more typical of moderate to severe fluid loss.

But despite the “2-second test” nickname, don’t get hung up on literally counting to two. What matters is how your skin behaves after you let go. When the body loses enough fluid, the skin can lose some of its normal elasticity. That’s why skin turgor is one physical sign health-care professionals may look at when assessing dehydration.

Who came up with the skin-pinch test?

There doesn’t appear to be one documented inventor of the skin-pinch test. Skin turgor has been used as a clinical sign for decades, and researchers were studying the relationship between skin elasticity and dehydration long before it became an internet health hack.

One early paper indexed by the National Library of Medicine dates to 1957, when researchers published a study in Pediatrics examining whether skin turgor could be quantitatively related to dehydration in rats. The study didn’t establish the modern bedside test, but it shows that scientists have been investigating the connection for nearly 70 years.

How reliable is it?

The skin-pinch test is definitely not a home version of a blood test, but it can be a useful tool. “The test is just one of many quick tests that can be used to determine dehydration,” Dr. Rosner says. “It is most useful in younger individuals but should be paired with other signs and symptoms.”

Dr. Rosner says the test becomes less reliable in adults over 65 because skin naturally loses elasticity as we age. That means someone’s skin can recoil slowly even when hydration isn’t the issue. Dr. Winger is more blunt. He calls the skin-pinch test “extremely unreliable,” noting that age, disease and the underlying condition of someone’s skin can all affect the result.

The bottom line? Try it if you’re curious, but pay attention to what else your body is telling you too.

What are the other signs of dehydration?

Dehydration can show up in multiple ways. The key is to look for a pattern instead of relying on one symptom. Here’s what to watch for:

• Thirst: This, of course, is one of your body’s built-in signals telling you it’s time to drink.
• Dry mouth: A dry or sticky mouth can be another clue that you need more fluids.
• Darker urine: More concentrated urine generally looks darker, though color can also be affected by medications, vitamins (like B-complex and carotene) and other factors.
• Urinating less often: If you’re going to the bathroom much less than usual, your body may be conserving fluid.
• Headache: Dehydration can trigger headaches, but, of course, a headache alone can mean approximately 900 other things—which is why context matters.
• Fatigue or trouble concentrating: Feeling unusually tired, foggy or unfocused can also show up with dehydration.
• Dizziness: Fluid loss can affect blood volume and blood pressure, leaving you lightheaded or dizzy.
• Rapid heartbeat, confusion or fainting: These can signal more significant dehydration and deserve immediate medical attention.

One note: Clear urine doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve achieved hydration perfection. Dr. Rosner calls that another misconception. “The color of urine is highly variable, and hydration levels are just one of these variables,” he says. So if your urine looks darker than usual, it’s worth noticing—but don’t assume dehydration is automatically the reason.

If you’re thirsty, are you already dehydrated?

Not necessarily. “Thirst kicks in early in the dehydration process and can be thought of as the body’s early warning system,” Dr. Rosner says. In other words, thirst is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do by prompting you to drink.

Dr. Winger explains that the body pays close attention to the concentration of fluid in the blood. When you sweat and lose water, that concentration rises. The hypothalamus senses the change and triggers hormonal responses that help the kidneys conserve water.

Those adjustments happen well before the body begins responding to a major drop in overall fluid volume, Dr. Winger says. “Healthy adults can safely rely on thirst to gauge their fluid needs,” he says, although in extreme heat, having a hydration plan may make sense. Dr. Rosner makes a similar point, calling thirst “a normal functional signal to drink” rather than a sign of a medical emergency.

Thirst may not work equally well for everyone, though. A 2023 review published in Nutrients found that older adults are especially vulnerable to dehydration, in part because aging can affect the systems that control thirst and fluid balance.

So when you’re thirsty, drink. You don’t need to interpret it as evidence that you’ve already failed some hydration test.

Is being chronically dehydrated a bigger problem than you may realize?

Consistently taking in less fluid than you lose may contribute to health problems over time, but “chronic dehydration” is harder to define than the phrase makes it sound.

“This is controversial, and [it’s] not clear that we can define chronic dehydration,” Dr. Rosner says. One way to think about it, he says, is when fluid intake “consistently falls short of fluid losses over an extended period of time.” Possible consequences include kidney problems, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, constipation, headaches, fatigue and brain fog.

Kidney stones are one area where the evidence is particularly convincing. A 2023 review published in Nutrients found that increasing fluid intake can help prevent a first kidney stone and reduce the risk of stones recurring in people who have already had them.

Hydration may affect how we age, but the research is evolving. In a 2023 study published in eBioMedicine, researchers analyzed health data from more than 11,000 adults and found that people with serum sodium levels toward the higher end of the normal range (which researchers used as a sign of hydration habits) were more likely to show signs of advanced biological aging and develop chronic diseases later in life. But the National Institutes of Health, which reported on the study, stressed that it found an association—not proof that better hydration slows aging or prevents disease.

Can you drink too much water?

Yes, and there’s a reason not to overcorrect: More water isn’t always better.

Dr. Rosner says drinking too much water can dilute sodium in the blood and cause hyponatremia, which can become life-threatening. He also says the familiar “eight glasses a day” rule doesn’t apply neatly to everyone because individual fluid needs vary.

Plus, not all of your fluid has to come from a glass. Rosner points out that water-rich foods, including fruits, contribute to your intake too.

What’s the biggest misconception you probably have about dehydration?

You may think that dehydration is strictly a hot-weather problem. The reality? “Dehydration can occur in any weather in which fluid losses are not adequately met with fluid replacement,” Dr. Winger says.

Heat certainly raises the stakes. According to the CDC, dehydration is an important risk factor for heat-related illness, and prolonged exercise in hot conditions can lead to substantial fluid losses through sweating. But cold weather doesn’t stop you from losing fluid through exercise, illness or everyday bodily functions.

What changes is how obvious the need to drink may feel. A scorching July day practically reminds you to reach for water. A chilly morning run or an unexpectedly warm fall afternoon may not. So temperature matters, but it isn’t the deciding factor. If you’re losing more fluid than you’re replacing, dehydration can happen in any season.

When does dehydration become serious enough to require medical attention?

“When dehydration progresses to the point that the body is not able to adequately pump enough blood to organs, those organs will start showing signs of dysfunction,” Dr. Winger says. This can affect the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, gut and more. Dr. Rosner says severe dehydration can lead to extreme sleepiness, kidney failure, seizures or low-blood-volume shock.

At that point, forget the skin-pinch test and get medical help. Signs to watch for include confusion, fainting, rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, the inability to urinate, and shock, according to MedLine Plus. Shock symptoms can include pale skin, a weak pulse, cold hands and feet, sweating and loss of consciousness.

Sources:

• Mitchell Rosner, MD, MACP, FRCP, nephrologist with a clinical focus on fluid and electrolyte disorders; interviewed, August 2026
• James M. Winger, MD, family- and sports-medicine physician with an interest in fluid regulation during exercise; interviewed, August 2026
• MedlinePlus: “Skin turgor”
• Wound Management & Prevention: “Measures of Skin Turgor in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature”
• Pediatrics: “Skin turgor as a quantitative index of dehydration in rats”
• Sports Health: “Relationships Between WUT (Body Weight, Urine Color, and Thirst Level) Criteria and Urine Indices of Hydration Status”
• MedlinePlus: “Urine—abnormal color”
• Nutrients: “Hydration Status in Older Adults: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges”
• Nutrients: “Hydration for Adult Patients with Nephrolithiasis: Specificities and Current Recommendations”
• eBioMedicine: “Middle-age high normal serum sodium as a risk factor for accelerated biological aging, chronic diseases, and premature mortality”
• National Institutes of Health: “Link between hydration and aging”
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Heat and Cold Illness in Travelers”

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We did exactly that, and the answer is far more interesting than you’d expect. Those tennis balls don’t simply disappear after match point. They embark on a meaningful second act that’s good for communities, the environment and even a few unexpected recipients. Once you know their story, you’ll never look at a tennis ball the same way again.

Read on to discover what really happens to U.S. Open tennis balls after the tournament—and why almost none of them go to waste.

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How many tennis balls does the U.S. Open typically use?

Short answer? A lot! The U.S. Open, run by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), typically uses about 70,000 tennis balls over the course of the tournament.

That number starts to make sense when you realize just how much tennis is played. The Grand Slam features more than 800 matches across singles, doubles, mixed doubles, wheelchair and junior competitions. Every one of those matches needs a steady supply of fresh balls, and every court is stocked before play begins.

Fun fact: The official ball has been the Wilson U.S. Open Tennis Ball for more than 45 years, making it one of the longest-running equipment partnerships in professional sports. According to Wilson, the ball is specially designed for the tournament’s hard courts, with premium woven felt that delivers the speed and consistency players expect on one of tennis’ biggest stages.

How many times does a single ball get used during the tournament?

Not many. At the U.S. Open, tennis balls are replaced after the first seven games of a match. After that, they’re swapped out every nine games for brand-new ones, following official Grand Slam rules. That means the same ball is usually in play for just 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how long the games last.

Why do they get swapped out so often? Well, tennis pros are incredibly picky, and for good reason. Every serve, forehand and blistering rally causes the fuzzy felt to fluff up while the ball gradually loses pressure. As that happens, it flies slower, bounces differently and becomes less predictable. Fresh balls help ensure every player competes under the same conditions.

A typical match goes through six to eight dozen balls, though marathon five-set thrillers can burn through even more. Suddenly, 70,000 tennis balls doesn’t sound so outrageous.

What happens to U.S. Open tennis balls after they’ve been used?

Thankfully, they don’t all end up in a giant landfill. Most U.S. Open tennis balls go on to live surprisingly productive second lives. Here’s the scoop.

U.S. Open tennis balls are sold to fans

Some match-used balls are sold as official U.S. Open souvenirs. Fans can buy authentic balls that were actually used during tournament play, giving them a fun (and relatively affordable) piece of Grand Slam history.

U.S. Open tennis balls get donated and repurposed

Through the USTA’s Green Initiatives program—launched in 2008 and championed by tennis legend Billie Jean King—the tournament has made sustainability part of its game plan. In 2025 alone, the program reused and recycled more than 15,000 tennis balls, with many donated to schools, community organizations and youth tennis programs, where they continue bouncing on practice courts long after their time on the championship stage.

It’s a small change with a big environmental impact, especially since tennis balls aren’t biodegradable. They’re made from a rubber core covered in synthetic felt that’s difficult to recycle through traditional curbside programs. And with an estimated 330 million tennis balls produced worldwide each year, discarded balls can take more than 400 years to break down in a landfill. Others are sent to organizations like RecycleBalls, where they’re transformed into materials used for athletic court surfaces and other rubber products, helping keep millions of tennis balls out of landfills.

U.S. Open tennis balls become player autographs

Some tennis balls are set aside for player appearances, autograph sessions and special fan experiences. If you’ve ever seen a tennis pro sign a bright yellow ball after practice, chances are it came straight from tournament stock. The USTA also auctions signed tennis balls and other memorabilia to raise money for charity.

Are U.S. Open tennis balls worth any money?

Absolutely! While most official match-used U.S. Open tennis balls sell for a modest $10 to $20, certain balls have become prized collectibles worth hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. If one happens to be part of a historic moment, its value can skyrocket. Case in point: In September 2025, the tennis ball Carlos Alcaraz served on the championship point to defeat Jannik Sinner in the U.S. Open men’s final sold at Sotheby’s for a record $88,900.

Autographs don’t hurt either. Balls signed by legends like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have sold for hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of dollars, especially if they’re tied to a memorable match or milestone.

So the next time you see a fuzzy yellow tennis ball, remember: It might end up being worth a lot more than the three bucks you’d pay for one at your local sporting-goods store.

Sources:

• U.S. Open: “The Keepers of the Tennis Balls”
• U.S. Open: “Welcome to U.S. Open 101: A USOpen.org Guide to How Tennis Works”
• U.S. Open: “Our Courts May Be Blue, But We’re Thinking Green”
• Associated Press: “Tennis Ball Wasteland? Game Grapples with a Fuzzy Yellow Recycling Problem”
• Bleacher Report: “Carlos Alcaraz’s U.S. Open Final-Point Ball Sells for Record $88K at Auction After Win”

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And it usually did, but only after nursing a tomato-toned burn so painful, I couldn’t stand the weight of a T-shirt on my shoulders, and had to sleep naked, slathered in Noxzema (engulfed in that awful medicinal smell!), for at least two extremely uncomfortable days.

We know so much more today about what the sun does to our skin—from wrinkling and age spots to skin cancer. But knowing better doesn’t make us immune to the downsides of a forgotten sunscreen reapplication. In fact, the CDC’s most recent National Health Interview Survey found that an estimated 88.1 million U.S. adults had at least one sunburn during the previous year. Skin cancer, meanwhile, is the most common cancer in the country, with nearly 5 million people treated for it annually.

It raises the question: Can even one accidental sunburn cause skin cancer down the line? That question is trending on social media, where TikTok users are posting photos of their reddened, sometimes blistered skin, and others are flagging the burn as “life-changing,” urging them to see a dermatologist or start getting regular skin checks. The trend taps into a real fear: What if that one “oops” in the sun is the thing that quietly changes your health down the road? And, if not, how many sunburns is one too many?

To get real answers, I talked to two board-certified dermatologists about what’s actually happening when your skin burns, whether one severe sunburn can alter your cancer risk, and what you should do differently, if anything, once the redness fades. Read on to find out.

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What happens when you get a sunburn?

A sunburn isn’t really “damage” in the sense of an outside injury—it’s a visible reaction to injury that’s already happened inside your cells. “It’s your skin’s inflammatory response to damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation,” explains Dendy Engelman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue in New York City. “UV exposure can damage the DNA within skin cells, which is why the skin becomes red, warm and tender as the body responds to that injury.”

Even more surprising? You don’t have to burn at all for this damage to happen. Doris Day, MD, a clinical professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, puts it bluntly: “The tan is evidence that damage occurred, not proof that you escaped it.”

In fact, Dr. Engelman adds, “A tan is actually a sign that the skin has been exposed to UV radiation and is producing more melanin in an attempt to protect itself. So while a tan may look healthy, from a dermatologic perspective, there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ UV tan.”

What qualifies as a “bad” sunburn?

Not all sunburns are created equal, and the difference matters more than just how uncomfortable you feel. A mild burn brings redness, warmth and tenderness, says Dr. Day. “A severe one brings intense pain, significant swelling and often blisters.” Sometimes systemic symptoms like fever, chills, nausea or dehydration can occur as well.

Blistering is the line dermatologists really pay attention to. According to Dr. Day, blistering means the damage has pushed past the surface layer of skin and sometimes into the upper dermis.

“That level of injury kills more cells, triggers a stronger inflammatory cascade and leaves more residual DNA damage that the body has to try to repair,” Dr. Day says. In short, the worse the burn, the more repair work your skin is quietly doing behind the scenes—and the greater the long-term risk.

Will one really bad burn lead to skin cancer?

This is the question everyone actually wants answered, and the honest response from both dermatologists is: Not automatically, but it does raise your risk, and the timing of that burn matters quite a bit.

“One severe sunburn does not mean that someone will develop skin cancer, but it does contribute to cumulative UV damage and can increase future risk,” Dr. Engelman says. She notes that dermatologists are especially concerned about intense, intermittent UV exposure and blistering burns during childhood and adolescence, though she’s quick to add that sun damage matters at every age. “It is never too early, or too late, to become diligent about sun protection.”

Dr. Day puts a number on it: One blistering sunburn during childhood or adolescence roughly doubles a person’s lifetime risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. “The skin is still developing then, and the immune system is less efficient at cleaning up damaged cells,” she explains. Those early-in-life burns carry particular weight because the mutated cells they leave behind have decades to accumulate further hits.

That said, adult burns aren’t a free pass. Repeated burns later in life still add to your cumulative risk. So if you had one bad burn as a kid at the pool, or one accidental burn on vacation as an adult despite years of careful sun habits, it’s not a diagnosis. It’s a risk factor added to a much longer list.

So what goes into factoring the risk?

Both dermatologists describe skin-cancer risk as something built up over time, from several directions at once, rather than caused by a single afternoon. “Skin-cancer risk is typically multifactorial,” Dr. Engelman says. Here’s what dermatologists actually weigh:

• Cumulative UV exposure over your lifetime: This is the starting point of any risk assessment, Dr. Engelman says. Total sun exposure adds up over decades, not just from any one bad day.
• Intense, intermittent sunburns: Dr. Day notes that the sunburns from a big vacation or a single unusually long day outside are strongly linked to melanoma specifically.
• Years of chronic, lower-level sun exposure: According to Dr. Day, this pattern is more closely tied to basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the more common (and generally more treatable) forms of skin cancer.
• Tanning habits, including indoor tanning: Tanning beds are particularly risky, since they deliver concentrated doses of UVA and UVB in a short window.
• How consistently you protect your skin: Sun-protection habits, not just exposure itself, factor into the equation, Dr. Engelman says.
• Skin type, mole count and family history: Fair skin, a lot of moles, atypical moles or a personal or family history of skin cancer all raise your baseline risk before UV exposure even enters the picture, Dr. Engelman says.
• Pigmentation: Fair skin, freckling, red or blond hair and a first-degree relative with melanoma all raise the baseline risk, Dr. Day says. But people with darker skin tones aren’t immune either; pigment offers some protection, not full protection.

What about skipping sunscreen for vitamin D?

In addition to the “life-changing” trend on TikTok, there’s been a lot of talk online about skipping sunscreen to be more “natural” or to get enough vitamin D. Dr. Engelman doesn’t mince words on this one. “I strongly discourage patients from intentionally exposing unprotected skin to UV radiation for vitamin D,” she says. “We have much safer ways to maintain adequate vitamin D levels through diet and, when appropriate, supplementation, without increasing the risk of premature skin aging and skin cancer.”

Dr. Day offers a practical middle ground: You can maintain healthy vitamin D levels with a combination of brief, limited unprotected exposure (think a few minutes on your arms or legs, a few times a week in summer), a vitamin D–rich diet and a supplement, if needed.

Importantly, sunscreen doesn’t block vitamin D production entirely; it just cuts down the excess UV responsible for DNA damage. Both doctors recommend a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher daily, plus hats, sunglasses, protective clothing and shade as backup.

What should you do if you get a bad sunburn?

So let’s say the damage is already done. You got too much sun and you’re dealing with a real burn. Here’s what to do:

• Get out of the sun immediately. The first priority is stopping additional UV exposure while your skin heals, Dr. Engelman says.
• Calm down the skin. Cool compresses, cool showers or a lukewarm bath can help soothe burned skin. Dr. Day also recommends an oatmeal bath to reduce inflammation and itching.
• Moisturize gently. Use a fragrance-free moisturizer or pure aloe to support your skin barrier as it recovers. Skip anything with alcohol, heavy fragrance or active ingredients.
• Stay hydrated. A severe burn pulls fluid to the skin’s surface, so drink extra water, and consider an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen if you can tolerate it, Dr. Day says.
• Leave blisters alone. Don’t pick, peel or pop them. Intact blisters act as a sterile dressing, Dr. Day notes, and popping them raises your infection risk.
• Skip harsh products. Avoid exfoliants, retinoids and other potentially irritating skin-care ingredients until your skin has fully recovered.
• Know when to call a doctor. Seek medical attention if the burn is widespread or severely blistered, or if you develop fever, chills, dizziness, nausea, confusion or signs of dehydration or infection.

How can you keep your skin healthy moving forward?

Once the burn has healed, the smartest move is to change how you approach your dermatology care, not just wait for it to fade and move on.

• Tell your dermatologist. “A history of severe or blistering sunburns is something I want to know about as a dermatologist because it helps us understand a patient’s overall risk profile,” Dr. Engelman says.
• Consider more frequent skin checks. Depending on your history and other risk factors, your dermatologist may recommend more frequent professional skin exams, often yearly or every six months, Dr. Day says.
• Learn the ABCDE’s of melanoma. Watch for asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, a diameter larger than a pencil eraser and evolving spots. Check your own skin monthly for anything new, changing or simply different from the rest.
• Don’t ignore anything that bleeds or won’t heal. Any lesion that bleeds, doesn’t heal or looks out of place should be evaluated promptly.
• Get serious about daily protection. “You cannot undo past UV exposure, but you can absolutely reduce additional damage,” Dr. Engelman says. That means daily broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher, protective clothing and staying in the shade whenever possible.

The bottom line from both dermatologists: One bad sunburn, even a severe one, isn’t a guarantee that you’ll get skin cancer. But it’s not nothing either. It’s a real mark against you that adds up—alongside your genetics, your history and every other sunny day you’ve ever had.

The good news is that the burn you got yesterday, last summer or back in 1986 doesn’t have to define what happens to your skin tomorrow. What you do from here still counts.

Sources:

• Dendy Engelman, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue in New York City; email interview, Aug. 11, 2026
• Doris Day, MD, clinical professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine; email interview, Aug. 12, 2026
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Prevalence and Context of Sunburn Among U.S. Adults—United States, 2024”
• Department of Health and Human Services: “Surgeon General Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer: Exec Summary”

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A player can be down love-40 without romance entering the picture. A match can end in a walkover even though nobody walks anywhere. And a player can be seeded despite the distinct lack of gardening on the court. Then there are deuces, lets, bagels and breadsticks: terms that can leave newcomers wondering if they’re at a match or a bakery. Even if you’re familiar with these words, have you ever wondered why we use them—or where they came from in the first place?

With the 2026 U.S. Open just around the corner (Fan Week kicks off Aug. 23, and main-draw singles play begins Aug. 30), there’s no better time to decode some of tennis’s most head-scratching lingo.

To serve up some answers, I spoke with language expert Martha Barnette, longtime co-host of A Way with Words, who has spent years digging into the origins of the words and phrases we use every day. So grab your imaginary racket, and let’s take a swing at some tennis terminology.

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Love

What it means: Zero points

If a player hasn’t scored a point, their score is not zero but love. As for why zero is called love, that’s where things get murky.

You may have heard the theory that love comes from the French word l’œuf, meaning “egg,” because a zero looks like an egg. It’s an appealing story—and Barnette admits it’s “a charming, picturesque word origin.” There’s just one problem: “It’s one of those that’s almost too good to be true,” she says. “In fact, it probably is too good to be true.”

According to Barnette, “We just don’t have any evidence that love comes from the French word for egg.” In fact, if you attend a tennis match in France, she notes, “they just say zéro.” (Yep, zero.)

So where did love come from? Barnette suggests that it may have something to do with the idea of playing “for the love of the game.” In other words, playing even when you have no points or money at stake. But even that is only a theory.

15, 30, 40

What they mean: The first three point values in a standard tennis game: 15 for one point, 30 for two and 40 for three

And yes, this is probably the moment when a tennis newbie asks the obvious question: Um, why not 1, 2 and 3? Barnette says nobody has a definitive answer.

“We do know that this system goes back to very early versions of tennis in medieval France,” she says. Early records show scores of 15, 30 and 45, with 45 later becoming 40, and the strange scoring system has puzzled people for centuries. Barnette points to a 16th-century Flemish writer who questioned the practice: “Why is not one point given for one stroke and two for two strokes?”

One of the most popular explanations connects the scoring to the face of a clock: 15, 30, 45 and then 60, or game. But Barnette says etymologists have found problems with that theory. For starters, clocks displaying minutes developed relatively late compared with tennis, creating a chronology problem.

Another theory is that the unusual scoring comes from jeu de paume, an earlier French game in which players used their hands to hit the ball. According to this explanation, players moved 15 feet closer to the net after the first point, another 15 feet after the second, and 10 feet after the third—creating the 15–30–40 progression used in tennis today.

Still other theories connect the numbers to medieval numerical conventions or to the markings and dimensions of the court. That uncertainty is part of what makes etymology so fascinating. As Barnette puts it, an expert sometimes has to be “a party pooper” when a great story turns out not to be true. “People get really creative,” Barnette says. “But nobody’s come up with the real story.”

Deuce

What it means: A tie at 40–40, after which a player must win two consecutive points to win the game

Once a tennis game reaches deuce, winning one point isn’t enough. A player who wins the next point gets advantage; if that same player wins the following point, the game is over. If the opponent wins that following point, however, the score returns to deuce.

The word itself has a decidedly French connection, Barnette explains. Deuce comes from the French deux, meaning “two.” And the number makes sense: Once you’re at deuce, you need two points in a row to win the game. “If you lose that point,” Barnette adds, “then you go back.”

The terminology provides a reminder of tennis’s French roots. Early versions of the game were played in France, and the sport’s vocabulary contains plenty of French influence. Interestingly, though, a French tennis umpire doesn’t actually say deuce when the score reaches 40–40. Barnette recalls hearing égalité, meaning “equality,” at the French Open.

Grand Slam

What it means: A Grand Slam is the achievement of winning all four major tournaments—the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open—in the same calendar year; it can also refer to any one of those major competitions.

“Originally, Grand Slam was a card-playing term,” Barnette explains. It referred to winning all the tricks in a hand and dates to at least the early 1800s.

The phrase was eventually borrowed into sports, and tennis picked it up in 1933. That year, Australian player Jack Crawford had won the Australian and French championships and Wimbledon and was going for the U.S. title. He ultimately lost, but “while the suspense was building, sportswriters appropriated the term Grand Slam because he would be winning all the tricks, so to speak,” Barnette says.

The term stuck; five years later, American Don Budge became the first player to win all four major championships in a single calendar year. FYI: Winning four majors consecutively across two calendar years is generally called a non-calendar-year Grand Slam.

Walkover

What it means: When a player advances because an opponent withdraws before the match begins

There’s something delightfully literal about walkover, but this expression also comes from another sport.

“Walkover is borrowed from horse racing,” Barnette explains. Historically, if only one horse remained in a race, that horse still had to “walk over the entire course to claim the victory.” The term came to describe a contest won without opposition, even though the remaining competitor still had to go through the motions of completing the event.

Tennis uses the word in a similar way: If an opponent withdraws before the match begins, the other player receives a walkover and advances without playing. Barnette points out that this is part of a larger pattern in tennis vocabulary. “So many of these terms are borrowed from other sports,” she says, “or have that French influence because, of course, that’s where the early versions of tennis were played.”

Ace

What it means: A serve that lands “in” and isn’t touched by the receiver

An ace is one of the few tennis terms that seems almost perfectly suited to its meaning: It describes a serve so effective that the opponent can’t even get a racket on it.

The word ace dates to Middle English, when it referred to the one-pip (dot) side of a die and later to the playing card. Its sporting meaning developed over time; the sense of an ace as a point in racket sports dates to the 19th century, while the specific meaning of an unreturnable tennis serve appears by 1871, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

“An ace in a deck of cards is the highest value, the most powerful card,” Barnette explains. In tennis, that same idea of superiority applies to the serve: An ace is the most powerful kind of shot because “it’s completely unreturnable.”

That association with excellence eventually carried into everyday English; you can have an ace up your sleeve, be an ace reporter or ace a test.

Seed

What it means: The position of a player who is ranked and placed in a tournament draw in a way designed to keep the strongest players from meeting in the earliest rounds

This tennis term comes from gardening. No, really.

Tournament organizers don’t want all the strongest players meeting in the first round and knocking each other out immediately. Instead, top players are distributed throughout the draw so they’re more likely to face one another in later rounds. “It’s figuratively scattering seeds in different places,” Barnette explains.

In tennis, seed was being used as a verb by the late 19th century, reflecting the idea of “spreading” strong players throughout a tournament draw rather than clustering them together. The sporting use dates to at least 1898, while the noun seed in this sense is documented by 1931, according to the OED.

The metaphor is a fitting one: Just as seeds are planted in different places, the tournament’s top players are strategically spread throughout the draw. If the favorites keep winning, they’ll eventually meet later in the tournament, when the stakes—and the excitement—are higher.

Note: A seed isn’t the same thing as a player’s world ranking. Rankings help determine seeding, but a tournament seed is a separate designation.

Let

What it means: A serve or point that is replayed rather than counted

The most familiar example is a serve that clips the net but still lands in the correct service box. That’s a let, and the server gets another try.

But the word has an easily overlooked history. Barnette notes that English has two definitions for let: one from the Old English lǣtan, meaning “to allow or permit,” and another meaning “to obstruct or hinder.”

“The obstructing one, as in when a serve hits the net, comes from Old English lettan, meaning ‘to hinder, delay, prevent,’” she explains. That second meaning survives in the legal phrase “without let or hindrance.”

In tennis, the idea is just as literal: The serve was hindered, so it’s replayed.

Bagel and breadstick

What they mean: A bagel is a 6–0 set; a breadstick is a 6–1 set

Finally, some tennis vocabulary that is just as silly as it sounds.

A 6–0 set is called a bagel because the zero resembles the round shape of a bagel. A bagel means a player won a set without dropping a single game. If a player loses 6–0, 6–0, they’ve been double bageled.

A 6–1 set, meanwhile, can be called a breadstick, presumably because the number one resembles the long, thin shape of that particular baked good.

These are informal terms rather than official tennis terminology, but they’re part of the playful language fans have developed around the sport.

Wild card

What it means: A tournament entry awarded to a player who wouldn’t otherwise qualify through the usual route

“In card games, a wild card, like the Joker, isn’t stuck with its ordinary value,” Barnette says. It can stand in for something else.

Tennis uses that same idea for a player who gets into a tournament outside the normal qualification process. Maybe it’s a returning champion (looking at you, Serena). Maybe it’s a hometown favorite. Maybe it’s a promising young player the tournament organizers want fans to see.

“If you have a player you really want in this tournament,” Barnette says, “and maybe they haven’t gone through all the different usual ways to get in, but there’s something special about them … then you’re gonna give them a wild card.”

The result is exactly what the phrase suggests: an unexpected element gets added to the mix.

The bottom line

Tennis vocabulary is more than a collection of strange and colorful terms. It’s a record of how the game has evolved—and how the language around it has traveled, changed and stuck.

As the U.S. Open gets underway, listen a little differently to the language of the game. From love to let to deuce, every term has a story—and together, they’re part of what makes tennis so fascinating.

Sources:

• Martha Barnette, language expert, co-host of A Way with Words and author of Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland; phone interview, Aug. 11, 2026
• U.S.Open.com
• USTA.com: “Tennis Terms & Words to Know”
• Time: “Why Is Tennis Scored So Weirdly?”
• L’Equipe: “Questions you’ve never dared to ask about tennis (4/5): why do we count 15, 30, 40…?”
• Merriam-Webster: “Deuce”
• Oxford English Dictionary: “Ace”

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The post What’s with All the “Love” in Tennis? Here’s the History Behind the Sport’s Most Confusing Terms appeared first on Reader's Digest.

As of Aug. 18, more than 15,000 people have been officially sickened, and two people have died since the cyclospora outbreak began. The outbreak was linked to Taylor Farms’ iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico, and the company issued a voluntary recall on July 17. Since then, we’ve all been riveted to the news to learn just when the summer cyclospora season will finally draw to a merciful close.

Well, we’re almost to the end of August. Does that mean the coast is clear? Can we officially rip into a bag of fresh lettuce or ask the Taco Bell chef to pile on the shreds? Ahead, I’m digging into the latest news about the seemingly never-ending cyclospora outbreak. Read on to learn more.

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Is the cyclospora outbreak officially over?

I hesitate to say it’s over over, because the CDC is still investigating cyclospora outbreaks around the country, including two with unknown sources. These outbreaks are considered “ongoing.”

But as far as the recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms is concerned, the CDC and the company confirm that the expiration dates on all recalled products have passed. That means you should not find any of the recalled lettuce on store shelves or served to you in a restaurant.

You may continue to hear about new cases of cyclosporiasis, however, because of reporting delays between illness onset and the CDC learning about the case. The typical lag time is about six weeks.

Are cases still being reported?

Yes. As of the latest CDC update, which came out on Aug. 18, cases are still being added to the total tally of cyclosporiasis illnesses, which stands at 15,716 laboratory-confirmed cases. About 11,841 additional illnesses have yet to be confirmed by lab tests. There have been 828 hospitalizations and two deaths.

The typical cyclospora season (yes, that’s a thing) runs from May 1 through Aug. 31, so we can expect more cases as that six-week lag time runs its course.

Should you still take precautions when washing produce?

Yes, always. Most of the time, thoroughly washing leafy greens and other fruits and veggies is the No. 1 thing you can do to stay safe.

There’s one caveat, and that’s cyclospora and other parasites. Unfortunately, they don’t wash off. You have to cook produce to 158 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce your risk of getting sick. That’s fine if you’re boiling green beans, but for iceberg lettuce? No thanks. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to recalls so you can discard produce that’s been implicated.

For other produce that’s not involved in an outbreak, run it under cool running water and scrub with your hands or a produce brush to reduce (but not eliminate) your risk of foodborne illness. Always wash your hands and utensils, and discard outer leaves so you don’t contaminate your cutting surfaces.

Is it our imagination, or has there been a huge uptick in foodborne illnesses lately?

It’s not you. From May 1 through mid-August, 15,716 cases of cyclosporiasis were reported to the CDC. That’s more than 10 times the number from last year, when just under 1,200 cases were reported between May 1 and Aug. 31, 2025. We’ve also seen outbreaks and recalls involving salmonella, listeria, E. coli and botulism. According to CNN, we haven’t had such a busy foodborne illness season in at least five years.

Experts pin the blame on a combination of factors. One is a particularly hot summer, which provides ideal conditions for microorganisms to thrive. The other is budget cuts. Under the Trump administration, the CDC has lost 25% of its staff, and the FDA about 20%, according to CBS News.

Susan Mayne, who ran the food-safety department of the FDA from 2015 to 2023 and is now an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Public Health, told CBS News that the country used to have a national advisory committee to help prevent microbial contamination in food. “That advisory committee was disbanded,” Mayne said. “We used to convene meetings with our Mexican counterparts on how we can work together to improve food safety. That entire team was let go.”

These cuts aren’t just general budget trimming either. They directly impact the tracking of food parasites like cyclospora. FoodNet, an early-warning surveillance program jointly operated by the FDA, the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, scaled back from tracking eight microbes to just two. And you guessed it: Cyclospora didn’t make the cut.

Sources:

• CDC: “Surveillance of Cyclosporiasis”
• CDC: “Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks”
• CDC: “FoodNet”
• CBS News: “How Trump admin cuts have compromised food safety”
• CNN: “It’s not just a gut feeling: Foodborne illness outbreaks are especially bad this summer”

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Apparently, the life of a royal is not always what it seems. Yes, Prince William could famously order ice cream whenever he fancied just by pressing a button when he was with his grandma (better known as Queen Elizabeth II to us commoners). But for others, including William’s eldest son, restrictions are part of the deal.

It turns out that Prince George will have to follow some very strict rules when he starts at Eton, his new boarding school, this September. And these rules include not having one thing that’s pretty much standard for any other boy his age today—your own kids included.

So what item is banned by George’s new school? Scroll down to find out!

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What is Eton, exactly?

Eton is one the most prestigious private boarding schools in the U.K. Located in Windsor, just a mile from Windsor Castle and about a 15-minute drive from Forest Lodge, where Kate, William and their kids have been living since 2025, Eton was founded by King Henry VI in 1440.

Originally, the school was established to educate 70 boys from disadvantaged backgrounds. Throughout the centuries, however, it has made a name for itself as the alma mater of royals and future politicians as well as world-famous actors, musicians, poets and scientists.

William and Harry both went to Eton, along with 20 former British prime ministers, including Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Actors Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redmayne and writers George Orwell and James Bond creator Ian Fleming also attended.

Despite the impressive alumni list—and the equally impressive fees of £65,673 ($88,700) per year—you don’t necessarily have to be wealthy to get into the elite school. According to its website, Eton currently teaches roughly 1,350 boys aged 13 to 18, and 18% of them received financial support during the 2023–2024 school year. Just under 100 students did not pay any fees at all.

What’s the one thing Prince George won’t be allowed to have there?

A smartphone.

Eton bans first-year students from having phones with internet access, according to the Telegraph. Instead, the students are given “brick phones,” similar to those old-school phones we all had back in the day, that can only send and receive text messages and calls. They’re mainly meant for students to stay in touch with their families during their time at the boarding school.

There are no exceptions to the rule, not even for George, the future king. The no-phone policy was implemented to protect the students, according to the college website. But the rule is also quite on trend, considering more and more people are longing for a digital detox these days (even though we’re not quite sure that includes a bunch of teenage boys).

Are students allowed any sort of online access?

Yes. Not having a smartphone doesn’t mean that Eton’s students are cut off from the outside world. Wi-Fi is available throughout the buildings, and there are desktop computers in the school’s library. Every student also receives an iPad at the beginning of the academic year.

That being said, there are still restrictions in place: The school’s network is filtered and monitored, and every pupil is required to attend lectures on e-safety and sign an Acceptable Use Agreement that governs their online activity at school.

Does Prince George have a phone?

Believe it or not, no. In an episode of The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, William confirmed that none of his kids have phones, saying that he and Kate were “very strict” about it. Yet, when visiting Brazil for the Earthshot Prize in 2025, he admitted he’d consider rethinking his own rule.

“It is really hard. Our children don’t have phones,” the Prince of Wales said, before adding that George will “maybe … have one with limited access” once he’s moved onto secondary school. William explained that he and Kate wanted to protect their kids from “seeing things on the internet that they shouldn’t,” but also acknowledged that they wouldn’t be able to shield them forever.

So a brick phone might be just the right compromise to start.

What else can George expect at Eton?

George’s new school prides itself on combining academics with tons of extracurricular activities, such as sports, drama and music. So who knows? The teenage royal, who plays hockey just like his mom, might soon be the new captain of a sports team. There are also more than 80 societies at Eton that he can join, ranging from the Environment Society to the Social Impact Society, plus a variety of sports and entrepreneurship groups.

Eton’s students live in 24 different boarding houses, each containing roughly 55 pupils and led by a house master. So while George’s school might be just a stone’s throw from his family home, he will still be required to sleep on-site like every other student. This will be quite a change for the teenage prince, we reckon. His former alma mater, Lambrook School in Berkshire, was a day school, meaning he spent the day there but went home to his parents in the evening.

That being said, as the third in line to the throne, George is used to change and heightened responsibility. Let’s remember for a second the morbid rule that kicked in when he turned 12.

What have William and Harry said about their time at Eton?

William is the most senior royal to date to have attended Eton. It was Princess Diana who decided to send him there in 1995. The move was surprisingly controversial, since both William’s father, Charles, and his grandfather, Prince Philip, had attended a boarding school in Gordonstoun, Scotland, and William was expected to follow in their footsteps.

However, it seems the young prince had a great time at his Windsor school, where he could enjoy a degree of normalcy. When William left Eton at the age of 18, he said in an interview, “I’ve really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student.”

His brother, Harry, seems to have more mixed memories. In his book Spare, he called his first days at the boarding school a “profound shock.” He struggled to fit in with the other students, and he was upset that William avoided hanging out with him. But it wasn’t all bad for Harry. He did enjoy Eton’s sports programs, and he even took part in a Shakespearean play.

Sources:

• Eton College
• Spare by Prince Harry
• The Reluctant Traveler
• Telegraph: “Why Prince George is the best-prepared teenage heir in history”
• BBC: “Prince George to attend Eton College from September”
• BBC: “Eton set to give ‘brick’ phones to first years”
• Marie Claire: “William and Kate will be thrilled about one convenience Prince George won’t be allowed to have at Eton College”
• Town & Country: “Prince William broke with royal tradition to attend Eton”

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The post Prince George Won’t Be Allowed to Have This One Thing at Eton College appeared first on Reader's Digest.

A recent YouGov poll found that 71% of respondents typically eat dinner at 6 p.m. or later. And for years, a 5 p.m. dinner has been shorthand for early-bird specials, senior discounts and a restaurant so empty you basically had the place to yourself. It was the meal you teased your parents and grandparents about, not something you engaged in yourself.

But scroll TikTok right now and you’ll find young professionals proudly logging off work and sitting down to eat while the sun’s still up, posting it under #EarlyDinner. Recent OpenTable data backs up what your feed is telling you: 53% of Gen Zers and 51% of Millennials say they’re especially interested in earlier reservations, and in New York City, 5 p.m. bookings have jumped 20%. A Chase Travel report went so far as to declare that “5:30 p.m. is the new 8 p.m.”

So who’s right? Is it the retirement community sitting down to an early post-golf-game supper (and Gen Zers filming their 5 p.m. reservations), or the majority of Americans sticking to the OG version of dinnertime? We asked experts to settle this debate once and for all. Ahead, five medical professionals, including experts in sleep health, neuroscience and psychology, give us the the lowdown on the right time to eat dinner—and why it’s so important.

Read on to find out exactly when you should sit down to dine.

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Does it really matter what time you eat dinner?

Yes. The experts we spoke with kept coming back to one idea: Your body runs on a roughly 24-hour internal clock—your circadian rhythm—and it governs far more than when you feel alert or sleepy. It also shapes how you handle food.

“Melatonin secretion, which signals the body to prepare for sleep, is suppressed by both light and food intake,” explains Sarah Boss, MD, a psychiatrist and the clinical director at The Balance rehab clinic. In other words, getting the timing right between dinner and bedtime really makes a difference.

So what is the best time to eat dinner?

It depends on your bedtime, but the research points overwhelmingly in one direction: earlier, and finished well before you turn in. Yep, according to science, it turns out that Gen Z (and your grandma) have stumbled onto a genuine health upgrade with those dinners before 6 p.m.

“Late eating keeps insulin elevated and delays melatonin onset,” Dr. Boss says. Eat too late and you force your body to do two jobs at once—digesting a meal and managing blood sugar, exactly when it’s trying to wind down for sleep.

It’s more personal than a single number on the clock, but it is important to get the timing right based on your life and your sleep schedule. Here’s why.

You’ll sleep better

This is the big one. “The most consistent finding is that a large meal close to sleep, within about one to two hours, is more likely to impair sleep continuity,” says Avinesh Bhar, MD, a sleep physician and the founder of Sliiip.

If you lie down with a full stomach, your digestive system is working overtime when your body wants to power down. “Digestion raises blood sugar, insulin, metabolic activity and body temperature at a time when the body should be cooling down and preparing for sleep,” says Michael Breus, PhD, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist known as the Sleep Doctor.

There’s also a hormonal handoff happening in the background. “At night, our cortisol levels want to start dropping so that [our brain] can favor the release of melatonin instead,” says Maj. Allison Brager, PhD, a neuroscientist and the U.S. Army’s leading sleep expert. When you’re not busy digesting, she explains, those daytime processes can go offline so your sleep systems can come online.

You’ll dodge the blood-sugar roller coaster

Your body is simply worse at handling sugar after dark. Insulin sensitivity peaks in the morning and dips in the evening, so the same plate of food spikes your blood sugar higher at night than it does at midday.

The proof is dramatic: Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that a 10 p.m. dinner raised post-meal glucose by about 18% compared with a 6 p.m. dinner of the identical meal. And a follow-up study from the same team found that staying up later didn’t reverse the effect, pinning the blame on circadian misalignment rather than simply eating too close to bedtime.

In other words, when it comes to blood sugar, the actual time on the clock matters—not just how long before bed you eat. “Eating during elevated melatonin can create circadian-metabolic misalignment and is associated with poorer glucose tolerance—particularly if dinner is within two hours of habitual bedtime,” says Dr. Bhar.

You may lose weight

An early dinner is not a magic weight-loss button—your total daily intake still matters most. But timing appears to tip the scales.

In a study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, researchers found that people who ate earlier in the day lost nearly 14 pounds, compared with about 9 pounds for those eating over a longer window. And a 2026 review of 41 randomized trials and more than 2,000 participants, published in BMJ Medicine, likewise found that earlier eating beat later eating for both weight loss and fasting insulin levels.

“Given the same amount of total daily calories, eating larger meals earlier in the day will result in putting on less fat than the same amount of calories later in the day,” says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of From Fatigued to Fantastic. “Eating heavier meals early in the day also suppresses your appetite hormones so you don’t overeat at night.”

Bonus? Eating early also doubles as intermittent fasting—no willpower needed. “There’s this whole push now to support intermittent fasting, eating within a 12- to 14-hour window,” says Dr. Brager. “Eating dinner early supports this without intentionally trying to.” Finish dinner in the early evening, sleep seven or eight hours, and, as she puts it, “there’s your 12-hour window of fasting right there.”

You’ll reduce acid reflux

Gravity is doing more work than you think. “When lying down, gravity no longer helps keep stomach contents below the diaphragm,” says Dr. Bhar. “Sleep also reduces swallowing and esophageal clearance, so acid or non-acid reflux is more likely to cause discomfort, leading to micro-awakenings.”

One study from Japan’s Osaka City University found that people whose dinner-to-bed gap was under three hours had nearly 7.5 times the odds of reflux disease compared with those who ate four or more hours before bedtime.

You’ll stop fighting your biology

“Our bodies were designed to have most of our calories at midday around lunch,” says Dr. Teitelbaum. “This changed as we became industrialized and moved from farms to cities. Having the main meal at lunch with a nap after was inconvenient to factory owners.”

If you eat against that ancient rhythm, you pay for it. In fact, Dr. Brager notes that “shift work is highly associated with obesity, diabetes and ulcers, and a large part of it is because of eating at times of the day when we weren’t programmed to eat.” As she bluntly puts it, “our biology has not been programmed, nor will it ever be programmed, to eat at night.”

That’s not just a shift-worker problem. Researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that eating your last meal after 9 p.m., versus before 8 p.m., was linked to a 13% higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Won’t eating early just make you snack later?

Possibly, but done right, an earlier dinner can actually quiet nighttime hunger, because steadier blood sugar means fewer cravings. There’s often an adjustment curve too. “Nighttime hunger after shifting to earlier dinners is usually a two-week adjustment period, during which the body’s ghrelin patterns—the hunger hormones—recalibrate,” says Dr. Boss.

Counterintuitively, it’s the late meal that can leave you hungrier. “Poor or fragmented sleep can also increase the hunger hormone ghrelin and reduce leptin, the hormone that signals fullness,” says Dr. Breus. “Eating later can sometimes make you hungrier—not less hungry—the next morning.” In one Harvard study, eating meals about four hours later increased hunger and raised the ratio of ghrelin to leptin.

If you do need a bite before bed, choose wisely. You should aim for foods that are low in sugar and high in protein, like walnuts or almonds, says Dr. Brager—not a bowl of ice cream. Dr. Breus and Dr. Bhar also like this formula: a small snack, around 150 to 200 calories, comprised of a protein and a slow carb, such as Greek yogurt with a few berries, a banana with a little nut butter or a small bowl of oatmeal. The goal, Dr. Breus says, is “to quiet genuine hunger without asking your body to digest another meal while you sleep.”

How to design your day around an earlier dinner

Shifting dinner earlier works best when the rest of your day shifts with it. A few expert-backed tweaks:

• Front-load your calories. Make breakfast and lunch your bigger meals, and let dinner be the lightest. “Having a lighter, low-calorie meal in the evening, preferably high in proteins and complex carbohydrates and low in sugars and fats, supports deeper sleep,” says Dr. Teitelbaum.
• Actually sit down and eat. Don’t inhale dinner standing over the sink. Giving your body time to digest is the entire point.
• Cut off caffeine early. “You want to stop caffeine intake at least eight hours before bed,” says Dr. Brager, noting that “the half-life of caffeine is anywhere from four to six hours.”
• Rethink the nightcap. “The best time of day to drink is in the day,” says Dr. Brager, because “alcohol most impacts your ability to enter restorative sleep.” Dr. Breus draws the line at three to four hours before bed.
• Take a short after-dinner walk. Ten easy minutes helps blunt the blood-sugar rise after a meal.
• Stay hydrated—but taper at night. Big fluid volumes right before bed can send you to the bathroom and fragment your sleep.
• Ease into breakfast the next morning. An earlier, lighter dinner often means you wake up genuinely hungry—a good sign your metabolic clock is back in sync.

But what if you’re still at work at 6 p.m.?

Here’s the reassuring part: Every expert we spoke with agreed—it’s the gap that really counts, not the clock.

“Anchor the meal to your bedtime,” says Dr. Bhar. “Finishing a normal dinner about two to four hours before bed is a sensible starting range.” Dr. Brager puts the sweet spot at two to three hours before bed, adding simply, “the earlier, the better.” Dr. Boss frames it in a way that takes the pressure off entirely: “For someone going to sleep at midnight, eating at 9 p.m. is physiologically equivalent to a 6 p.m. dinner for someone sleeping at 9 p.m.”

What if your dinner genuinely can’t happen until 8 or 9 p.m. and you can’t stay up late to compensate? “Make the late dinner smaller,” says Dr. Breus. “Move more of your calories to breakfast and lunch, then choose a lighter dinner built around lean protein, vegetables and a modest portion of slower-digesting carbohydrates.” His pro move afterward: “Stay upright and take a gentle 10-minute walk afterward, rather than going directly from the dinner table to bed.”

The bottom line

Dr. Teitelbaum sums it up in a single guideline: “Basically, your digestive system should be sleeping while you are.” And no, you don’t have to be perfect. Eating early only some nights still counts.

“Your biology responds to patterns, not perfection—so four or five well-timed dinners each week still matter,” says Dr. Breus. So go ahead—book the 5:30 table. You’re not turning into your grandparents. You’re just finally listening to your body clock.

Sources:

• Maj. Allison Brager, PhD, neuroscientist and U.S. Army sleep expert; phone interview, Aug. 7, 2026
• Michael Breus, PhD, clinical psychologist and sleep specialist; email interview, Aug. 8, 2026
• Avinesh Bhar, MD, sleep physician and founder of Sliiip; email interview, Aug. 7, 2026
• Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of From Fatigued to Fantastic; email interview, Aug. 6, 2026
• Sarah Boss, MD, psychiatrist and clinical director at The Balance rehab clinic; email interview, Aug. 7, 2026
• Journal of the Endocrine Society: “Rationale and Design of the Dinner Time 2 Trial”
• Sleep: “Comparing Post-prandial Glycemia After Late Eating vs Late Sleep”
• Cell Metabolism: “Late Isocaloric Eating Increases Hunger, Decreases Energy Expenditure”
• BMJ Medicine: “Effects of Timing and Eating Duration of Time Restricted Eating on Metabolic Outcomes”
• Yahoo: “What Time’s Dinner? More People (and Gen Z-ers) Are Saying 5 p.m.”
• Fox News: “Early-Bird Dinners Aren’t Just for Seniors

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If seasonal decor is your weakness, consider this your sign to shop now before the good stuff vanishes. Find a mix of spooky yard decorations, Halloween-ready kitchen favorites, impossibly cute festive plushies—and more. We’ve rounded up our favorite items from top brands all across the internet.

Top Halloween collections in 2026

Le Creuset

Shop at Le Creuset

We all know and love Le Creuset’s iconic pumpkin cocotte, but the brand’s harvest collection has plenty more to tempt your spooky-season shopping list. Think adorable Halloween mini bowls, bat mugs and more, all serving up autumn vibes with a sprinkle of spookiness—and at prices that are a bit more wallet-friendly than the full-size cocotte.

Still craving that classic pumpkin look? Peep the new pumpkin serving bowl. This pretty piece will last you all the way through Thanksgiving.

Anthropologie

Shop at Anthropologie

Year after year, Anthropologie proves that Halloween can be spooky and sophisticated. We’re especially smitten with the bistro tiles stoneware. Our top pick is this gold-accented owl mug, which has even gotten the HydroJug treatment as a 40-ounce tumbler.

You can also give your front porch a little spooky garden magic with new finds from Terrain, like these skeleton hand pumpkin stakes and this dramatic black boughs wreath.

Jellycat

Shop at Jellycat

New and old Halloween Jellycat favorites are creeping back in! Celebrate spooky season early with the return of beloved Ooky Jack O Lantern and Broox Bat, plus new friends like Growlston Gargoyle, Ghost Bob and the Amuseables Vampop Drink.

The full Halloween line is available now, but if you have your eye on a favorite, don’t wait too long. Jellycat fans are famously quick to scoop up new drops.

My Texas House at Walmart

Shop at Walmart

Attention, My Texas House fans: The brand’s new Halloween collection just landed at Walmart. It’s bringing dark, moody vibes with a healthy dose of downhome charm.

The plum foliage wreath is an easy way to give your entryway or mantel a spooky-season makeover, while the matching arrangement adds a coordinating touch to your table. We’re also eyeing the indoor/outdoor black plaid layering rug and festive cotton-knit pumpkin throw.

Bouqs

Shop at Bouqs

If fresh flowers are more your speed, prepare to fall for these spooky-season stems. The Black Magic bouquet from Bouqs features 12, 24 or 36 black-dyed roses, and it’s perfect for anyone who loves dark and dramatic.

Looking for something a little less gothic? This white ranunculus and anemone arrangement brings its own seasonal charm, thanks to ghostly white petals and black centers.

IKEA

Shop at IKEA

Halloween decor doesn’t have to cost a fortune with IKEA’s new KUSTFYR collection. The family-friendly lineup is packed with playful, nostalgic finds, including Halloween lighting like this orange pumpkin lamp and ghost string lights.

We’re especially into this outdoor pumpkin pendant lamp, and it’s just $10. Hang a few of these black and orange lights at varying heights for a warm, glowing display that’s festive without going full haunted house.

Pottery Barn

Shop at Pottery Barn

If you remember Pottery Barn’s light-up porch ghosts from years past, you’ll be happy to see some new friends joining the lineup. These lit jack-o’-lantern ghosts are making their debut alongside the Scary Squad table runner and matching napkins.

And of course, Pottery Barn brought back plenty of Halloween classics, including festive seasonal pillows and handmade terracotta jack-o’-lanterns. It’s everything we love about PB Halloween with a few new tricks and treats.

Crate & Barrel

Shop at Crate & Barrel

Similar vibes, but with a little more rustic kitchen charm, Crate & Barrel’s Halloween collection is full of warm, cozy homewares. We’re eyeing these flickering flameless pumpkin candles and gingham-and-plaid organic cotton kitchen towels.

For a bigger splurge, we also love this faux mini berry wreath. It’s an easy way to give your front door a festive refresh without sacrificing color.

Lenox

Shop at Lenox

Missed out on the new Lenox Halloween Spice Village Set before it sold out? Don’t worry. There are still plenty of festive Lenox finds to bring some spooky charm to your dinner parties.

This vintage house haunt channels the whimsical spirit of the beloved Spice Village, while this black-lit take on the iconic Lenox Christmas tree figurine puts a delightfully spooky spin on a holiday classic.

Balsam Hill

Shop at Balsam Hill

We usually turn to Balsam Hill for some of the best Christmas trees, but the brand also has a surprisingly good Halloween collection. These adorable Halloween felt ornaments bring a handmade, crafty feel to your seasonal setup, while these floating light-up witch hats and candles cast a magical glow over a covered porch or doorway. Don’t wait, items from this collection tend to sell out annually.

TJ Maxx

Shop at TJ Maxx

From marble skulls and crocheted ghost placemats to festive wall art and outdoor witches, TJ Maxx has pretty much everything you need to host a Halloween-themed get-together.

The best part? You don’t have to brave the packed aisles or dig through endless racks to find the good stuff. Just shop TJ Maxx Halloween online and add your spooky finds straight to your cart.

Rifle Paper Co.

Shop at Rifle Paper Co.

Okay, we may have found our new favorite Halloween blanket. This woven ghosts blanket from Rifle Paper Co. is perfect for draping over the couch all season long and adding a little Halloween charm without going overboard. In fact, it’s our favorite decorative throw for its detailed design and 100% cotton composition.

We’re also swooning over this adorable pumpkin patch bow, made from printed jacquard ribbon with an attached alligator clip. And naturally, Rifle Paper’s porcelain mugs bring the heat, too. Just look at this bold-hued haunted house sipper.

Mud Pie

Shop at Mud Pie

Make your little ones’ spooky season extra sweet with Mud Pie’s lineup of beaded patterns, playful prints and Halloween-ready finds. Start with beaded Halloween buckets or hand-painted papier-mâché treat buckets, then keep the Halloween spirit going with glow-in-the-dark toddler pajamas and the cutest festive baby outfits.

Kohl’s

Shop at Kohl's

Clothes, housewares, accessories and decor—Kohl’s can be your one-stop shop for all things Halloween. Decorate outside with ghost garden stakes, then bring the spooky glow indoors with this nostalgic ghost duo.

And don’t forget the kiddos. From Halloween toys to festive books perfect for a boo basket, there’s a little something for everyone.

Hanna Andersson

Shop at Hanna Andersson

Find Halloween pajamas, last-minute costumes and everyday outfits at Hanna Andersson. The brand’s Halloween collection makes it easy to dress little ones for the season in comfort.

New Toy Story Costume HannaJams bring a playful twist to bedtime, while these ridiculously cute baby costume hats are begging for a photo op.

LEGO

Shop at LEGO

LEGO’s Halloween lineup is seriously impressive. Recreate iconic scenes from Stranger Things, Twilight and Harry Potter, or keep things classic with a light-up pumpkin lantern or dark flower arrangement.

Whether you’re shopping for a die-hard fan or just someone who loves a good building project, these spooky sets make fun seasonal gifts for all ages.

The post Spooky Season Is Already Here—Shop the Best Halloween Collections of 2026 appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Well, we think you deserve a little bit of that fun in your life. Below, you’ll find 10 brand-new summer reads that are absolutely perfect for you, just waiting to be unwrapped. There’s something here for everyone, from sweet romances to thrilling page-turners to high-concept historical fiction you won’t be able to stop thinking about. Your clues to finding your new favorite book are right on the unassuming, brown-paper-wrapped cover—the heart of the story and what makes it so wonderfully addictive. All you have to do is click through to find out what it is.

What are you waiting for? Read on for your new favorite book and the most fun you’ll have all week.

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Mystery Book #1

What happens when a tradwife influencer gets transported back to the era she’s been playing at online? Let’s just say that she’s not all that thrilled with 1855 when she has to live it. FYI, this doesn’t launch into an Outlander-esque romance but a deeper psychological journey that will keep you guessing. This one just got the green light for a buzzy adaptation with an A-list star, but you’ll definitely want to read the book first.

Mystery Book #2

A single mom heads home to help her aging dad and struggling brother. She’s the Ms. Fix-It of her family—something that extends to all parts of her life, including a chance encounter with a stressed-out, wealthy workaholic. After she helps him change a tire by the side of the road, he asks for another favor: a fake romance to help him secure a CEO position. Sure, you can see where this is going, but as this unlikely pair falls head over heels, you will too.

Mystery Book #3

What? Summer romances aren’t the only stories you can read on a beach! If you prefer books that get your heart racing in a whole different way, you’re in the right place. In a small Nebraska town, a serial killer strikes every May 1. Ten years after one teenager survives an attack and another’s mother is murdered, they work through their trauma and try to catch the killer. Addictive doesn’t even begin to describe this one.

Mystery Book #4

After their father’s death, two sisters embark on a road trip to find the recipient of a never-delivered love letter begging for a second chance—taking along the writer of said love letter. But will he get closure … or a second shot at love? If you love the idea of an opposites-attract romance grounded with family bonds and healing, this is the book for you.

Mystery Book #5

Four women volunteer for ethically questionable parapsychology experiments until one of them disappears and the program is shut down. Decades later, one of the women hires a caretaker, who ultimately helps her embark on a quest to find out what happened to her friends. If you’ve been missing Stranger Things, you’ll want to grab this brand-new novel from a former investigative journalist.

Mystery Book #6

Royal balls, glass slippers, Prince Charming and an evil stepmother. You know who the villain is in that tale, right? Not so fast. If you loved Wicked, you’ll be transfixed by this reimagined fairy tale told through the eyes of the alleged villain—and a feminist lens. Get ready for a new take on an old classic, along with some royal family secrets you never saw coming.

Mystery Book #7

If you’ve ever fantasized about ditching your life and starting over somewhere fabulous, you’ll get to live vicariously through the newly divorced protagonist of this novel. No, it’s not all smooth sailing for her, but it will make you want to hop a plane to Spain pronto … and maybe fall in love with a brooding stranger.

Mystery Book #8

To paraphrase Monty Python: And now, for something completely different … and we’re not kidding. A 20-something gamer gets a job “remote-controlling [a] dead dude across the country” via an AI chip that’s been implanted in his brain. Even worse? The man with the chip is in a vegetative state and semi-aware, stuck in a waking nightmare filled with grotesque visions as he tries to remember who he is. Get ready for some scathing societal commentary and an unsettling vibe delivered via high-concept sci-fi that will stay with you long after the final page.

Mystery Book #9

When an openly gay tennis player is suddenly the openly gay tennis player at the world’s biggest tournament, the pressure is on, and he’s feeling it. That’s when he meets his biggest competitor, a devastatingly handsome player who throws him even more off his game—maybe in the best way possible. Bonus: You can go all-in on your tennis obsession during this month’s U.S. Open.

Mystery Book #10

Two teens from opposite sides of the tracks in 1949 Florida fall hard for each other, but circumstances—and disapproving parents—tear them apart. A story about choice, class divide and miscommunication, it will send you down a rabbit hole of what-ifs and remind you how one choice can shape your entire life.

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece, Deputy Editor Dawn Yanek tapped her longtime experience as a journalist, writer and avid reader to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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Mine has always been fantasy. My childhood library checkouts were filled with Magic Tree House, Edward Eager’s Half Magic series, Percy Jackson and Eragon. These days, I’ve traded them for sprawling adult fantasy epics, but the feeling hasn’t changed.

As a health editor, that made me wonder: Why are some of us drawn to fantasy while others devour thrillers, memoirs or beach reads? And what, exactly, happens inside our brains when we become completely absorbed in a story? Is it different for my fantasy-obsessed brain than one that goes crazy for Stephen King or Elin Hilderbrand?

To get inside our heads, I spoke with two researchers who study the power of imagined experiences: Raymond A. Mar, PhD, a psychology professor at York University, and Melanie C. Green, PhD, a SUNY distinguished professor and the chair of communication at the University at Buffalo. Read on to find out what your favorite reads do to your brain—and why you keep coming back for more.

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What does reading do to our brains overall?

Reading is a major group project for the brain. A 2021 review published in the Annual Review of Vision Science describes how visual areas recognize letters, a region often called the visual word form area becomes tuned in to written words, and language networks connect those shapes with sounds and meaning. Attention keeps you focused on the words in front of you, while memory helps you connect them to everything that came before, whether that’s the first clue in a mystery or the tiny detail that suddenly makes the ending click.

Learning to read is itself an example of neuroplasticity. The brain strengthens coordination among systems that originally evolved for other purposes, gradually becoming faster and more efficient at turning marks on a page into language.

With fiction, those systems do something more: They help simulate an experience. Readers imagine a character’s situation and draw on their own memories and knowledge to bring it to life. Green calls this narrative transportation. “We have thoughts, we have emotions, we have mental imagery,” she says. “When you’re absorbed in the story, all of those are kind of getting focused on the same thing. They’re getting focused on making that story come to life.”

That is why fear, attraction or grief prompted by a book can affect us so much. “Those feelings still feel very real in the moment,” Green explains, “even if we don’t necessarily translate them to the same kind of behaviors that we would for an actual emotion prompted by a nonfictional event.”

Researchers are still working out whether repeatedly entering fictional worlds produces lasting cognitive benefits. A 2024 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General reviewed 70 experiments and found small average benefits from reading fiction, with the clearest effects involving empathy and mentalizing, or inferring what another person may be thinking and feeling. Other studies have produced more mixed results, suggesting that the effects depend on factors such as the reader, the book and the depth of engagement.

Why are we drawn to certain genres?

“There are countless reasons why someone might prefer a book,” Mar says. Readers may be drawn to a particular setting, theme or type of protagonist, and those preferences can shift depending on where they are in life or even what is happening that day.

That said, Green notes that people higher in sensation-seeking may gravitate toward horror, action and adventure, while others might prefer calmer stories that offer comfort. We may also look for recognition in characters who share our identity or use fiction to explore a life far outside our own.

But genre is not a personality test. A cozy mystery and a serial-killer thriller share a bookstore section without creating the same psychological experience, just as a dark romance and a breezy beach read are not interchangeable.

What does each genre do to our brains?

Research has not produced a brain scan for every bookstore shelf. The studies cited below tend to isolate one ingredient, such as suspense, magical events, romantic love or humor, rather than comparing entire genres. Most use functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, which tracks changes in blood oxygen associated with brain activity. It can show which areas are more active during a task, but it does not directly measure whether reading released dopamine, adrenaline or another neurotransmitter.

Still, the findings offer clues about what different stories ask our minds to do and why those experiences can feel so compelling.

Mysteries and thrillers

Mysteries and thrillers invite readers to gather clues, make predictions and continually revise their theories as new information appears.

In a 2015 fMRI study published in PLOS ONE, 23 adults read a shortened version of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Sandman and rated their suspense during each section. As suspense rose, researchers saw more activity in regions involved in predicting what may happen next and tracking what characters know, want or fear. And your brain isn’t just waiting for the reveal. It’s building a theory, testing it against each new clue and deciding when the old explanation no longer fits. The study focused on one literary story, but it captures some of the mental work that makes suspense feel so active.

Green says mysteries can also be satisfying because they impose order on uncertainty. “Things make sense, and justice is restored,” she says, offering a kind of resolution that real life does not always provide.

Romance

Romance asks readers to interpret emotion, attraction, attachment and shifting relationship dynamics. Following the story often means tracking what each character wants, what they believe about the other person and whether those feelings are reciprocated.

A 2013 study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts found that greater lifetime exposure to romance fiction was associated with better performance on a measure of interpersonal sensitivity. Because the researchers looked at people’s existing reading habits, the finding leaves open whether romance sharpened that sensitivity or whether socially attuned readers were simply more drawn to the genre.

Either way, it challenges the stereotype of romance as little more than fluff. Beach reads, chick lit and romantasy can involve plenty of social tracking when relationships drive the plot. They also recreate some of the emotional rhythms of a crush: focused attention on one person, uncertainty about whether the feeling is mutual and anticipation of any sign that the relationship may move forward.

A 2024 review published in Neuropsychologia found that early-stage romantic love consistently engages regions within the brain’s reward and motivation system, including the ventral tegmental area and caudate nucleus. A foundational 2005 fMRI study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology found greater activity in those dopamine-rich regions when people who described themselves as intensely in love looked at a photo of their beloved. Romance novels have not been shown to reproduce that neural response, but they build on a familiar emotional pattern: Attention narrows to one desired person, uncertainty heightens the anticipation and every small step toward connection feels like a payoff. It is the literary equivalent of having a crush, with less personal risk and significantly better dialogue.

Fantasy

To follow a fantasy novel, readers must construct an unfamiliar world, learn its rules and notice when those rules are broken. A 2015 fMRI study published in PLOS ONE compared magical passages from the Harry Potter series with matched passages that contained no magic. The supernatural scenes produced stronger activity in regions involved in integrating unexpected information, attention and emotional response.

It was just one experiment using one fictional universe, but the finding captures a central challenge of fantasy: Readers must fit impossible events into a world that still feels internally consistent. Following a complicated fantasy epic can feel like learning a strategy-heavy game. You have to understand how the system works, hold its rules in mind and notice when an exception changes everything. Science fiction and dystopian novels pose technological, political and social “what ifs,” while romantasy layers relationship dynamics onto that world-building. Mar notes that a book like Dune can demand just as much strategic prediction and careful attention as a mystery, even if it asks different questions along the way.

Horror

Horror offers what researchers call recreational fear: the chance to seek out a frightening experience for enjoyment while remaining physically safe. A 2022 review published in Neuropsychopharmacology describes “threat processing” as a conversation among several brain regions. The amygdala helps identify and learn the significance of possible threats, while areas of the prefrontal cortex help interpret and regulate the response. Although that research extends beyond horror reading, it helps explain how fictional danger can grab us even when we know we are safe.

The appeal may depend on finding the right amount of fear. In a 2021 field study published in Psychological Science, researchers tracked the heart rates of 110 people moving through a haunted-house attraction. Enjoyment peaked at a middle ground: Too little fear was boring, while too much became unpleasant. A novel is less physically intense than a haunted house, but it offers the same useful boundary. The danger feels urgent while the reader remains safely outside it.

Regular exposure to frightening stories may also make the emotions of uncertainty feel more familiar. A 2021 study published in Personality and Individual Differences found that horror-film fans reported greater psychological resilience during the early COVID-19 pandemic, while fans of apocalyptic “prepper” films felt more prepared. The study found an association (rather than proof) between horror and that resilience, but it raises an intriguing possibility: Imagining terrible scenarios may make the emotions of real uncertainty feel more familiar.

Historical fiction

Historical fiction lets readers “really step in” to another time, Green says. Instead of memorizing names and dates, readers can imagine “what it would have been like to be living through that particular time.”

A 2023 study published in The Reading Teacher offers a small glimpse of that process. Children ages 9 to 12 listened to either excerpts from the historical novel Bud, Not Buddy or a nonfiction passage about the Great Depression containing the same factual information. Both groups learned a similar amount of history. But among the children who heard the novel, greater immersion was associated with perspective-taking, imagining themselves inside the story and wanting to help someone in need. Listening to short excerpts is not the same as an adult disappearing into a 400-page novel, but the study shows how narrative can surround historical facts with people, relationships and emotion without getting in the way of learning.

Memoirs

Memoirs invite readers into another person’s memories and experiences while encouraging us to compare the author’s life with our own. Have I felt something similar? Would I have made the same choice?

That instinct reflects the way we already use our own memories. A 2005 study published in Social Cognition found that people draw on autobiographical memories to maintain a sense of self, connect with others and let the past guide present decisions. A memoir can send us through a similar process, even though the memory on the page belongs to someone else.

The reader moves between two lives, following how the author interprets an experience while reconsidering something from their own past. As Green explains, memoir is nonfiction, but it can still create the deep personal connection of a compelling narrative.

Humor

Humor gives the brain two related jobs: figuring out why something is funny and enjoying the payoff once it clicks.

A 2023 fMRI study published in The Journal of Neuroscience examined humor comprehension and appreciation in 26 adults using written jokes and clips from Seinfeld. The dorsal striatum was involved in getting the joke, including holding information in mind, resolving ambiguity and reinterpreting a setup when the punchline changes its meaning. The ventral striatum, part of the brain’s reward circuitry, was involved in enjoying it.

The findings point to a two-step process when it comes to funny writing: First comes the mental shift that lets you understand the joke, followed by the pleasure of getting it. A joke is a tiny problem with a much more pleasant solution than most tiny problems.

What is the best genre to read?

There is no proven winner. Fiction may offer social simulation; nonfiction can expand knowledge; mysteries emphasize prediction; and fantasy asks readers to build and navigate unfamiliar worlds.

“The most beneficial book is the one that we enjoy and holds our attention,” Mar says. “It’s a bit like the saying that the best exercise for you is the one that you will do.”

He recommends simply reading what you enjoy—and reading a lot. So read what keeps you engaged, and occasionally wander beyond your usual shelf.

How can you maximize these neurological benefits?

No reading habit guarantees a particular benefit, but research supports several ways to protect your comprehension, remember more and engage more deeply with what you read.

Protect your attention

A story has a harder time transporting you when part of your mind keeps leaving the page. A 2022 meta-analysis published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review examined 25 studies and found that more mind-wandering was associated with poorer reading comprehension.

The researchers studied drifting attention rather than phone notifications specifically, but silencing them removes one obvious invitation to check out. Put your phone out of reach, close unnecessary browser tabs or choose even a short stretch when the book is the only thing asking for your attention.

Make predictions

Part of the pleasure of reading is trying to stay one step ahead. Pause occasionally to ask what a character wants, what may happen next or which seemingly minor detail could matter later.

A 2021 review published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review found that making a prediction before learning an answer can improve learning under certain conditions, particularly when the outcome is surprising. In a story, even a wrong guess keeps you engaged: When the author overturns your theory, you have to notice the new evidence and rebuild your understanding.

Retrieve the story

After a chapter or reading session, briefly recap what happened without looking back. Recalling the material asks more of your memory than simply seeing it again.

A 2024 study published in Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition used prose passages to examine retrieval practice across three experiments. Recalling an earlier passage helped participants remember information from passages they encountered later, compared with restudying or completing unrelated tasks.

For fiction, try recalling what changed, what each character currently wants and which questions remain unanswered. For nonfiction, explain the central idea and its supporting evidence in your own words. This does not have to turn pleasure reading into homework; even a brief mental recap makes you reconstruct the information rather than simply recognize it on the page.

Put it in your own words

Finishing the final sentence is not always the same as deciding what a book meant. Try explaining why you trusted one character, what you thought the ending meant or how a new idea connects with something you already knew.

A 2023 network meta-analysis published in Review of Educational Research found that effective reading-comprehension programs often combined strategies such as connecting text with prior knowledge, drawing inferences and checking understanding. The research focused on students with reading difficulties, but those same habits can happen informally in a book-club conversation, a voice note or a few written sentences.

Reread without guilt

Rereading is not wasted effort simply because you already know the ending. A 2022 study published in The Journal of Social Psychology assigned participants to reread a favorite novel, begin an appealing new one or read newspaper articles. Those who returned to a favorite book reported more nostalgia and social connectedness. The study captured an immediate emotional experience rather than a lasting cognitive change, but that may be exactly why rereading feels so good: Familiarity leaves more room to reconnect with the world and people inside the book.

You may also notice foreshadowing, patterns and emotional details that you missed when you were racing to find out what happened.

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on the neuroscience of reading, Miranda Manier tapped her longtime experience as a journalist and health editor to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Sources:

• Raymond A. Mar, PhD, professor of psychology at York University; interviewed, July 2026
• Melanie C. Green, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo; interviewed, July 2026
• PLOS ONE: “Reading a Suspenseful Literary Text Activates Brain Areas Related to Social Cognition and Predictive Inference”
• Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts: “What You Read Matters: The Role of Fiction Genre in Predicting Interpersonal Sensitivity”
• Neuropsychologia: “Joyful growth vs. compulsive hedonism: A meta-analysis of brain activation on romantic love and addictive disorders”
• PLOS ONE: “The Magical Activation of Left Amygdala When Reading Harry Potter: An fMRI Study on How Descriptions of Supra-Natural Events Entertain and Enchant”
• Neuropsychopharmacology: “Prefrontal Cortex, Amygdala, and Threat Processing: Implications for PTSD”
• Personality and Individual Differences: “Pandemic Practice: Horror Fans and Morbidly Curious Individuals Are More Psychologically Resilient During the COVID-19 Pandemic”
• The Reading Teacher: “Fact from Fiction: The Learning Benefits of Listening to Historical Fiction”
• The Journal of Neuroscience: “Establishing the Roles of the Dorsal and Ventral Striatum in Humor Comprehension and Appreciation with fMRI”
• Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition: “Retrieval Practice Can Promote New Learning with Both Related and Unrelated Prose Materials”

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