– History
– In 1998, Marshall Brain started HowStuffWorks as a hobby.
– In 1999, Brain raised venture capital and formed HowStuffWorks, Inc.
– HowStuffWorks was sold to the Convex Group in March 2002.
– The site’s headquarters moved from Cary, North Carolina, to Atlanta.
– By 2008, HowStuffWorks.com attracted at least 58 million visitors annually.
– Books and Other Publications
– HowStuffWorks released four books, including two illustrated hardcovers.
– The company published an educational magazine for middle-school students.
– HowStuffWorks trivia LidRock discs were sold at Regal Theaters.
– In 2005, HowStuffWorks became the exclusive online publisher for several brands.
– The company spun off its international division and launched sites in Portuguese and Chinese.
– Acquisitions and Ownership Changes
– Discovery Communications bought HowStuffWorks for $250 million in 2007.
– HowStuffWorks became the title of a television series on Discovery Channel.
– HSW International co-founded Sharecare in 2009.
– HowStuffWorks was sold to Blucora in 2014 for $45 million.
– Blucora later sold HowStuffWorks to OpenMail for the same amount, renaming it System1.
– Headquarters and Expansion
– HowStuffWorks moved its headquarters to Ponce City Market in Atlanta in 2014.
– The company hired Cracked.com founder for a new comedy podcasting division in 2017.
– System1 spun off the podcast department as Stuff Media in 2017.
– Stuff Media was sold to iHeartMedia for $55 million in 2018.
– iHeartMedia retained the HowStuffWorks website after the sale.
– Podcasts
– HowStuffWorks podcasts are now owned and operated by iHeartRadio.
– “Stuff You Should Know” covers various topics of interest.
– “TechStuff” demystifies technology and its societal impact.
– “Atlanta Monster” is a crime podcast about the Atlanta murders.
– “Behind the Bastards” explores the lives of historical figures in a comedic way.
HowStuffWorks is an American commercial infotainment website founded by professor and author Marshall 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.
 | |
Type of site | Educational website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia ,United States |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | iHeartMedia (podcasting) System1 (website) |
| Created by | Marshall Brain |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | None |
| Launched | July 11, 1998 |
| Current status | Active |
The website was acquired by Discovery Communications in 2007, but was sold to Blucora in 2014. The site has since expanded out into podcasting, focusing on factual topics. In December 2016, HowStuffWorks, LLC became a subsidiary of OpenMail, LLC, later renamed System1. In 2018, the podcast division of the company, which had been spun-off by System1 under the name Stuff Media, was acquired by iHeartMedia for $55 million.
