YouTube subscriber Chase P. asks: Do a video on why humans have allergies. It’s that time of year when tissue companies nationwide rejoice at the excessive mucus caused by allergies. If you’re one of the unlucky, you might ask yourself why we get them anyway? Why would our immune systems react to seemingly harmless things like pollens, dust mites, and […]
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Jack A. asks: Is it true that McDonalds gives out special cards that give you free food for the rest of your life? If so, how do I get one? Like the American Express Centurion Card – a hyper-exclusive charge card only gifted to the wealthiest of individuals – there exists equivalently exclusive cards issued by both McDonald’s and Burger […]
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Joshua F. asks: Is it true that in the UK they have big power surges every time soap operas end because everyone makes a cup of tea at the same time? At first glance the idea of the UK being simultaneously addicted to both trashy soaps and tea to such an extent that the country’s national power grid experiences a […]
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Kelley M. asks: Is a guy’s hand or foot size actually a good indicator of the length of their penis or is that a myth? Given that public nudity is generally considered unacceptable in most of the modern world (and if you’re wondering, see: When Did Humans Start Wearing Clothes?), people have long tried to come up with other potential […]
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John T. asks: Is it true that there’s a special black credit card they only give to billionaires that they can buy anything with? Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a legend that was passed around speaking of a special credit card only issued by American Express to people with more zeroes in their bank balance than […]
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Julia C. asks: Why do you get a lump in your throat when you are sad? If, like me, you’ve been subjected to watching The Notebook with your spouse, you might have experienced an uncomfortable lump in your throat. As you attempt to breath heavy and avoid crying like a little kid who has just skinned her knee, you might […]
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Joseph B. asks: How long would it take to count to a million? What about a billion? What’s the highest anyone has ever counted? Counting is one of life’s most basic skills and something most humans are quite adept at. Despite most of us being experts on the subject, theoretically capable of counting infinitely high with the ceiling bounded only […]
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On a particularly blustery February South Side day, it is easy to understand why the city of Chicago has the nickname of the “Windy City.” After all, it has one of the roughest winters of all major American cities and it does get pretty regular gusts. But, in truth, it actually isn’t all that windy, relatively speaking; in terms of […]
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Shannon D. asks: How come people who smell really bad can never seem to smell their own stench? Have you ever sat next to a woman on a bus who lost her sense of smell? Or, at least, you assume so as the eye-watering fragrance wafting from her perfume is so overpowering that the nausea it induces makes you appreciate […]
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Jonathon M. asks: Is it true that the Chinese government owns every panda in the world? Whether in D.C., London, Adelaide or Madrid, nearly all giant pandas in today’s zoos are technically there on a 5 or 10-year loan from China, and at a substantial price. It hasn’t always been this way, though. Beginning in the late 1950s and through […]
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Carey Q. asks: How do they calculate what proof alcohol is and why is it called proof? An early example of beneficial government regulation, to proof alcohol was simply to test and verify that the contents of a barrel of liquid was what it was claimed to be. The process began in England around the 16th century. Its original purpose […]
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The first films were little more than what we would consider short clips, a boxer throwing a single punch or train arriving at a station– the type of scenes that today you might only see in the form of animated gifs. While popular perception is that movies got their start around the early twentieth century, the real seed that grew […]
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Ryan asks: If the president has a pet dog, do their bodyguards also watch over his dog like they do his family? Even before the U.S. president is elected such, if they’re considered a “major candidate” for the job, they get offered Secret Service protection. Whether they accept that protection or not, once elected until the day they die (unless […]
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Neal H. asks: Why do we put hydrogen peroxide on our cuts? As a child, did you ever skin your knee and fear telling your parents, afraid of your mom breaking out the brown bottle of pain containing hydrogen peroxide to “help heal” your wound? Given the agony it caused, you might have wondered whether the fizzing liquid was actually […]
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Ryan G. asks: Is it true that if a shark loses a tooth it just grows a new one? Is there a limit to how often a shark can do this? While sharks aren’t exactly the ruthless predators most Hollywood features make them out to be (see: Do Sharks Really Not Like How Humans Taste?), they do possess a number […]
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For major league pitchers, getting a grip on a baseball can get a bit muddy. That’s because, at least for now (this may well be changing in the next few years), every single baseball used in a major league game is coated with a little bit of actual mud, known as Lena Blackburne Original Baseball Rubbing Mud, which comes from a […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader The business side of music can be a world of cutthroat legal practices and endless litigation. Here’s the story of one of the biggest music legal battles of all time. SOLO FLIGHT In 1969 George Harrison was on a break from the Beatles and was doing some concerts in Copenhagen, […]
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With the possible exception of the mysterious, enigmatic figure known only as Bob Ross (see: The Surprisingly Mysterious Life of Famed Artist Bob Ross), Pablo Picasso is perhaps the most well-known artist from modern times. (Although, I think most are probably unaware that his actual name was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano […]
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