© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
New Study: Birds Are Most Likely to Poop on This One Type of Car (Yes, Really—This Was an Actual Study)
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
This Is the Real Reason Why Restaurants Can’t Seat Incomplete Parties (So Think Twice Before Asking!)
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s What to Do If You Get an Out-of-State Speeding Ticket
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s What Would Really Happen If You Put a Banana in a Car’s Tailpipe
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Yes, There’s Actually a Difference Between a Highway and a Freeway—Here’s Why It Matters
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
This Isn’t the First Time the White House Has Been Renovated, but the 2025 Changes Are Definitely Different—See How They Compare to Previous Updates
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Why Are Highway Signs Green? A Highway Expert Breaks It Down
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s the Real Reason You’ll Never See Seat Belts on a Train
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s What That Little Button on Your Seat Belt Is For
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s Why the Beds of Pickup Trucks Always Have Ridges
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s How an 18th-Century Spy Mission Led to the Strawberries We Eat Today
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s How Black Cats Became One of Halloween’s Most Famous Symbols
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
These Are the Only 2 Places on Earth Where There’s No Speed Limit
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
This U.S. State Produces More Than Half of Our Pumpkins—And It’s Not the One You Probably Think!
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
This Is the Scientific Reason You Love Horror—Even Though It Scares You Silly
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s the Real Reason Why Psychiatrists Are Called Shrinks—And It’s a Weird One!
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Here’s the Real Reason We Say “Riding Shotgun” When We’re in the Front Seat
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
If You See a Star on a Barn, Here’s What It Means
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
This One Type of Plant Can Actually Protect Your Home from a Wildfire
© Copyright Reader's Digest
knowledge
Fact or Fiction: Is the Weather Lore That Your Grandmother Told You Actually True?
animal
art
beauty
entertainment
exercise
fashion
finance
knowledge
lifestyle
metro
opinion
people
real_estate
soccer
world

Word of the Day

arbitrary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2025 is:

arbitrary • \AHR-buh-trair-ee\  • adjective

Arbitrary describes something that is not planned or chosen for a particular reason, is not based on reason or evidence, or is done without concern for what is fair or right.

// Because the committee wasn’t transparent about the selection process, the results of the process appeared to be wholly arbitrary.

// An arbitrary number will be assigned to each participant.

See the entry >

Examples:

“The authority of the crown, contemporaries believed, was instituted by God to rule the kingdom and its people. England’s sovereign was required to be both a warrior and a judge, to protect the realm from external attack and internal anarchy. To depose the king, therefore, was to risk everything—worldly security and immortal soul—by challenging the order of God’s creation. Such devastatingly radical action could never be justified unless kingship became tyranny: rule by arbitrary will rather than law, threatening the interests of kingdom and people instead of defending them.” — Helen Castor, The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV, 2024

Did you know?

Donning black robes and a powdered wig to learn about arbitrary might seem to be an arbitrary—that is, random or capricious—choice, but it would in fact jibe with the word’s etymology. Arbitrary comes from the Latin noun arbiter, which means “judge” and is the source of the English word arbiter, also meaning “judge.” In English, arbitrary first meant “depending upon choice or discretion” and was specifically used to indicate the sort of decision (as for punishment) left up to the expert determination of a judge rather than defined by law. Today, it can also be used for anything determined by or as if by chance or whim.