September 2013 - Page 3 of 5 - Today I Found Out

Monthly Archives: September 2013

How One of the Most Beautiful Women in 1940s’ Hollywood Helped Make Certain Wireless Technologies Possible

September 18, 2013 Jeremy Megraw

Did an exotic actress from Vienna, considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood in the 1940s, really invent wireless? Not exactly, but the non-sensationalized facts of the matter are no less fascinating, involving Hollywood, the World War II Axis Powers, and remote control technology. Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as “Hedy Lamarr”, once really did patent a […]

This Day in History: September 18th

September 18, 2013 Kathy Padden

Today in History: September 18, 1975 On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old heiress to the Hearst newspaper empire, was abducted from her apartment in Berkeley, California by three armed assailants. Her fiancé, Stephen Weed and a neighbor who rushed to the scene to help the girl were both tied up and beaten by the kidnappers. Onlookers observed a […]

This Day in History

10 Interesting Random Facts

September 17, 2013 Noreen

Text Version: Fact 621- If you have a butt load of wine, you possess about 126 gallons (477 liters) of wine (1 butt). This is also known as 1 pipe of wine. Fact 622-“Play it again, Sam” was never said in Casablanca. Furthermore, although many attribute the adapted version to Bogart, the closest thing to it comes from Bergman’s character, […]

What Happened to Howard Hughes’ Money After He Died

September 17, 2013 Emily Upton

Today I found out what happened to billionaire Howard Hughes’ money when he died. Over his lifetime, Howard Hughes’ wallet became one of the fattest of his time. It isn’t known exactly how much he was worth at the time of his death, but ten years before he died, he was forced to sell his shares in the airline company […]

This Day in History: September 17th

September 17, 2013 Kathy Padden

On this day in history, September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War was fought. In the early morning hours, about 75,000 Union and 38,000 Confederate troops faced off near Maryland’s Antietam Creek in the deadliest single day of battle America had ever seen. The Battle of Antietam was the culmination Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee’s […]

This Day in History

Behind The Names Of 10 Popular Hairstyles

September 16, 2013 Noreen

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The Origin of the Phrase “Close, But No Cigar”

September 16, 2013 Emily Upton

J. Ramhit asks: Where did the phrase “close, but no cigar” come from? This popular idiom, which means “to fall short of a successful outcome” or “close call,” was first coined in the United States in the late 19th or early 20th century. While it can’t be proven definitively, it’s likely that the phrase originated at fairgrounds around this time. […]

This Day in History: September 16th

September 16, 2013 Kathy Padden

Today In History: September 16, 1620 On this day in history, 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England heading for the New World with 102 souls aboard- some religious dissenters, many others adventurous entrepreneurs. The colonists, who were headed for Virginia, had been given official authorization to settle there by royal authority. As fate would have it, rough seas […]

This Day in History

Weekly Wrap Volume 4

September 14, 2013 Daven Hiskey

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Paperclip was Used as a Symbol of Resistance During WWII In April of 1940, just a few months into World War II, Adolf Hitler knew that he needed a way to break past the Allied blockade of Germany if he had […]

The Origin of Friday the 13th as an Unlucky Day

September 13, 2013 Kathy Padden

Alicia asks: Why is Friday the 13th unlucky? Being wary of Friday the 13th is much more than a quaint superstition observed by a few uneducated people in distant, unreachable towns and hamlets. In the United States alone, it is estimated that between 17 and 21 million people dread that date to the extent that it can be officially classified […]

10 Random Amazing Facts

September 13, 2013 Noreen

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com Featureflash / Shutterstock.com Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com Andy Lidstone / Shutterstock.com s_bukley / Shutterstock.com Text Version: Fact 611: During the filming of the movie Troy where Brad Pitt played Achilles, he tore his Achilles tendon… What did Pitt have to say on the matter, “It’s sad, it’s stupid… It’s so wrong. It’s such a bad headline.” Fact […]

Facts Lists

The Animal Where the Male Becomes Pregnant and Gives Birth

September 13, 2013 Staci Lehman

Today I found out that female seahorses impregnating their male mates, rather than the other way around. The reproductive process of a seahorse begins when a male and a female meet up and “dance”. For several days prior to the actual act of mating, the two fish (yes, they are fish) will meet to intertwine their tails and swim together. […]

This Day in History: September 13th

September 13, 2013 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: September 13 On this day in history, 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed Buckingham Palace. In World War II during the London Blitz, the Nazi German Air Force made an air strike on Buckingham Palace while King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth were both in residence. During the attack, the palace was hit by five explosives, […]

This Day in History

The Man Who Fought in WWII With a Sword and Bow

September 12, 2013 Emily Upton

Running into battle armed with a broadsword, bow, and quiver of arrows was perfectly acceptable if you were fighting in the Hundred Years’ War or fending off some orcs on Middle Earth. But when it comes to World War II, such medieval weaponry looks like child’s play next to the technology of the time. A sword isn’t the most likely […]

When People Started Wearing Clothes

September 12, 2013 Emily Upton

M. Schane asks: When did humans start wearing clothing? Determining exactly when humans began wearing clothes is a challenge, largely because early clothes would have been things like animal hides, which degrade rapidly. Therefore, there’s very little archaeological evidence that can be used to determine the date that clothing started being worn. There have been several different theories based on […]

This Day in History: September 12th

September 12, 2013 Kathy Padden

Today in History: September 12th On this day in history, 1951, John F. Kennedy wedded Jacqueline Bouvier. The foundation for what would later be fondly remembered as Camelot was laid on a crisp and clear September day at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Newport Rhode Island. The petite and doe-eyed 24-year-old bride possessed a natural elegance and grace that far […]

This Day in History

10 More Random Quick Facts

September 11, 2013 Noreen

Jordan Tan / Shutterstock.com MISHELLA / Shutterstock.com s_bukley / Shutterstock.com Text Version: Fact 601: The “Red Bull” energy drink gets its name from the Thai energy drink that inspired Dietrich Mateschitz to create Red Bull, “Krating Daeng”, with “daeng” meaning “red”, and “krating” being a reddish-brown bovine. Fact 602: “Hack the System” blogger Maneesh Sethi once hired a woman for […]

The Amazing Salty and Roselle

September 11, 2013 Emily Upton

There were many heroes who surfaced twelve years ago on September 11, helping people in need as the Twin Towers crumbled around them. Two you probably haven’t heard of were Salty and Roselle, guide dogs who despite the chaos, calmly led their blind owners to safety after the terrorist attacks. Salty, a yellow lab, was born in 1996 and trained […]

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