This Day In History: September 2, 1973 Author, poet, philologist, scholar, and professor, J. R. R. Tolkien is often lauded as the father of the modern fantasy novel. Ranked sixth on a list of top post-WWII British writers, he was also the fifth top-earning dead celebrity in 2009 according to Forbes magazine. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January […]
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In this video from Anglophenia, Kate Arnell explains the interesting origin of Cockney and the meanings and origins behind various Cockney slang. For more videos like this, be sure to subscribe to their channel. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: How Dick Came to be Short for Richard What is the Origin of the Word “Tip”, as […]
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Zack D asks: Is it true that the terracotta army soldiers are all unique? More than two thousand years ago, the man who unified China, established a single system of writing and currency, and began construction of the Great Wall, ordered that a 20 square mile underground city, to be later filled with the finest treasures and protected by thousands […]
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Over a 20-year career in post-Civil War New York, Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum is estimated to have fenced as much as $10 million in stolen property (around a quarter of a billion dollars when adjusted for inflation). Sitting at the center of a vast crime web the spanned large areas of the United States, Ma Mandelbaum was then known as “the […]
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This Day In History: September 1, 1836 Americans Narcissa Whitman and her husband, Marcus (a physician) in 1836 headed west with another couple, missionaries Henry and Eliza Spalding, on their way to Oregon. The foursome made the grueling trip with a caravan of fur traders for most of the journey for protection. Along the way, Narcissa and Eliza became the […]
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During World War II, Nazi engineers designed and built a number of revolutionary super or “wonder weapons” (wunderwaffe), including a wide array of aircraft, guns and ships. Among these weapons is a mysterious small, round tank named the Kugelpanzer (literally meaning “spherical tank”). This odd little tank was never seen in the European theater, and very little is definitively known […]
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In the fall of 1885, poet, essayist, travel writer and novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, had a nightmare so terrifying that his tossing about impelled his wife to wake him up. Rather than being grateful, however, Stevenson chastised his bride, barking: “Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey tale.” A longtime sufferer of consumption (see: Why Tuberculosis […]
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This Day In History: August 31, 1888 Just before 4 am on August 31, 1888, on London’s seedy Buck’s Row, a cart driver named Charles Cross saw the body of a woman lying on the ground. In the early morning gloom, it was initially impossible to tell if she was drunk or dead. Cross was soon joined by another carter, […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Who Invented the Emoticon? “Emoticons,” short for “emotive Icons,” (emotive meaning “appealing to or expression emotion” hence “icons that express emotions”) have been around in vertical form for some time. However, sideways emoticons seem to be a surprisingly recent invention, going […]
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In this week’s “best of” our YouTube channel, we discuss what causes the smell after rain, whether Nero really fiddled while Rome burned (and whether it really burned at all), when and why people started smiling in photographs, the fascinating origin of Scrabble, and how 911 became the emergency number in the United States. Click here to subscribe to our […]
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Jack Kirby was one of the principle minds and artists behind some of the best known comic characters in history, including, among many others, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, X-Men, and Captain America. Few people realise, though, that like his most patriotic creation, Kirby spent a good portion of WW2 fighting the Nazis as well, though never managing to duplicate […]
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This Day In History: August 28, 1968 “If you’re coming to Chicago, be sure to wear some armor in your hair.” – The Chicago Seed – alternative newspaper On August 28, 1968, growing opposition to the war in Vietnam came to a head inside and outside the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. The Democratic National Convention in 1968 was one of […]
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The Casino de Monte-Carlo is one of the most famous gambling establishments on Earth and as a result is often referenced in various forms of media. Perhaps the most well-known mention of the casino is the song, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. But who was this mysterious gambler and how exactly did he break the bank? […]
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This Day In History: August 27, 1990 Dallas, Texas, native Stevie Ray Vaughan grew up inspired to play guitar by his older brother Jimmie Vaughan (of the Fabulous Thunderbirds) and went the usual garage band route of most aspiring young musicians. He formed the band Double Trouble from the ashes of an earlier band in 1978, taking on both lead […]
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In this video from our new YouTube channel (click here to subscribe), we take a look at Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s first business together- making and selling “blue boxes” that allowed people to make completely free, illegal phone calls to anyone in the world. If you liked this video, you can find hundreds more like it on our YouTube […]
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Janet W. asks: Is it really possible to tip over a cow? For the uninitiated, cow tipping is a prank where a person sneaks up on a sleeping cow and pushes the animal over onto its side. Ask around and you can probably hear about a friend of a friend who successfully tipped a cow while out in the country late […]
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As you may know, Christianity is not the only religion to perform exorcisms. Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam all have their rituals related to exorcism. However Christian exorcisms, both Catholic and Protestant, tend to get the most press. Movies such as The Exorcist, The Rite, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose bring the process of a member of the clergy exorcising […]
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Mitchell asks: Why is home plate shaped different than other bases? Oftentimes the most exciting part of a baseball game is the competition between the pitcher and the batter. The pitcher stares down the batter as he adjusts his grip on the ball and prepares for the most perfect pitch his arm can throw; the batter returns the pitcher’s glare […]
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