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Type of site | Educational website |
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| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia ,United States |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | iHeartMedia System1[1][2] |
| Created by | Marshall Brain |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | None |
| Launched | July 11, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-07-11)[3] |
| Current status | Active |
HowStuffWorks is an American commercialinfotainment website founded by professor and authorMarshall Brain, to provide its target audience an insight into the way many things work. The site uses various media to explain complex concepts, terminology, and mechanisms—including photographs, diagrams, videos, animations, and articles.
The website was acquired byDiscovery Communications in 2007, but was sold toBlucora in 2014. The site has since expanded out intopodcasting, focusing on factual topics. In December 2016, HowStuffWorks, LLC became a subsidiary of OpenMail, LLC,[4] later renamedSystem1.[5] In 2018, the podcast division of the company, which had been spun-off by System1 under the name Stuff Media, was acquired byiHeartMedia for $55 million.
In 1998, thenNorth Carolina State University instructorMarshall Brain (1961–2024), started the site as a hobby. In 1999, Brain raisedventure capital and formed HowStuffWorks, Inc. In March 2002, HowStuffWorks was sold to the Convex Group, an Atlanta-based investment and media company founded by Jeff Arnold, founder and formerchief executive officer (CEO) ofWebMD.[6] The headquarters moved fromCary, North Carolina, toAtlanta. HowStuffWorks originally focused on science and machines, ranging from submarines to common household gadgets and appliances. After adding a staff of writers, artists, and editors, content expanded to a larger array of topics.
On October 20, 2004,[7] Stuffo.com was created, and HowStuffWorks moved its entertainment section over to the new website.[8] In 2005, the team disbanded Stuffo.[9]
Thedomain HowStuffWorks.com attracted at least 58 million visitors annually by 2008, according to aCompete.com survey.[10]
There have been four HowStuffWorks books—two illustrated hardcovercoffee table books,HowStuffWorks andMore HowStuffWorks, and two un-illustrated paperbacks,How Much Does the Earth Weigh? andWhat If?. HowStuffWorks previously put out an educational magazine,HowStuffWorks Express, for middle-school students. The company has also released a series of HowStuffWorks trivia "LidRock" discs—CD-ROMs sold onfountain drink lids atRegal Theaters.[11]
In 2005, HowStuffWorks became the exclusive online publisher for Publications International, Ltd., Consumer Guide andMobil Travel Guide.[12]
Howstuffworks.com spun off its international division when it went public (Nasdaq:HSWI) via an acquisition of INTAC, a China-based company. In March 2007, HSW International launched its Portuguese website with headquarters inSão Paulo, Brazil.[13] The Portuguese name of the site is Como Tudo Funciona ("how everything works"). In June 2008, the Chinese site was launched with new headquarters inBeijing, China. The URL roughly translates to "Knowledge Information Web".[14]
On October 15, 2007,Discovery Communications announced it had bought HowStuffWorks for $250 million.[15] The company later chose to use the name HowStuffWorks as the title of a television series on itsDiscovery Channel. The series, which focuses oncommodities,[16] premiered in November 2008 and is similar in style and content to other "how it works" programs, likeModern Marvels.[17]
On November 2, 2009, HSW International co-foundedSharecare, developing a social QA platform through which users ask health and wellness-related questions, receiving answers from industry experts. Other co-founders in Sharecare include Jeff Arnold,Dr. Mehmet Oz,Harpo Productions, Discovery Communications, andSony Pictures Television.[18]
On April 21, 2014, Discovery Communications announced that it had sold HowStuffWorks toBlucora for $45 million.[19] In July 2016, Blucora announced the sale of its Infospace business, including HowStuffWorks, to OpenMail for $45 million.[20] OpenMail was later renamed System1.[5]
In 2014, HowStuffWorks moved its headquarters fromBuckhead toPonce City Market, a newmixed-use development in theOld Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta.[21] In June 2017, it announced the hiring ofCracked.com founder and former editor-in-chief Jack O'Brien for its new comedy podcasting division.[22]
In 2017, System1 spun off the podcast department of HowStuffWorks as Stuff Media, retaining the HowStuffWorks website. In September 2018, Stuff Media announced its sale to radio broadcasteriHeartMedia for $55 million.[23]
HowStuffWorks maintained a large number ofpodcasts, hosted by its staff writers and editors, but now all former HSW podcasts are owned and operated byiHeartRadio.
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