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One Million Downloads
After just about three and a half months since launching, our Daily Knowledge Podcast has reached 1 million downloads. Thanks for listening! If you have any feedback for us on it, we’re always interested.
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Why Certain Types of Traps are Called “Booby Traps”
It turns out this has nothing to do with the mammaries of the fairer sex, but rather has its origins in the Spanish word “bobo,” meaning “stupid,” “fool,” or “naïve.” This Spanish word in
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Why Native Americans Didn’t Wipe Out Europeans With Diseases
Greg H. asks: Diseases from Europe wiped out most of the Indians, so why didn’t the Europeans also get wiped out by diseases from America? While estimates vary, approximately 20 million people are believed
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TodayIFoundOut and Neatorama Giveaway
We’ve partnered up with our good friends over at the ever popular Neatorama to hold a contest with super awesome prizes and a bunch of easy ways to enter. The Grand Prize winner will
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Why Cashews are Not Sold to Consumers in Their Shells and Why Pistachios Used to Be Dyed Red
Why Cashews are Not Sold to Consumers in Their Shells Cashews are a member of the same family as poison ivy, Anacardiaceae. Like poison ivy and many other members of the family, part of
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How March Got So Mad: The Story Behind the NCAA Basketball Tournament
Every spring, a sort of illness strikes millions of Americans. Symptoms include screaming uncontrollably in celebration, panic sweating, obsessing over hastily filled-out brackets, sitting motionless in front of a television for hours, and wearing
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In the Original Story, Pinocchio killed Jiminy Cricket, Got His Feet Burnt Off, and was Hanged and Left for Dead
You probably already knew that Disney has a habit of taking dark, twisted children’s fairy tales and turning them into sickeningly sweet happily-ever-afters. Take Sleeping Beauty for example: it’s based on a story where
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What is Gluten?
Amanda asks: What is gluten and why is it bad for you? These days, just casually strolling down a grocery aisle, one can find a multitude of gluten-free products. From gluten-free whole grain bread
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The Year’s Free Wages That Resulted in the Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Today I Found Out about the year’s “free wages” that led to Harper Lee writing To Kill a Mockingbird. The book, which was Lee’s first and only published novel, was heralded as an “instant
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Why Tuberculosis was Called “Consumption”
Originally, of course, nobody knew what caused the various forms of tuberculosis, and they certainly didn’t understand it was caused by what would eventually be called tubercle bacillus (usually the offending microbes are specifically
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73 Year Old Frank Sinatra Was Originally Offered The Leading Role in Die Hard
Today I Found Out that Frank Sinatra was originally offered the main role in the movie that would become Die Hard. This 1940s singer might not be the man who comes to mind when
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The First Person to Play for Both Baseball’s National League and American League All-Star Teams was a Woman: Lizzie “The Queen of Baseball” Murphy
On August 14, 1922, a collection of baseball stars gathered at Fenway Park in Boston. An exhibition all-star game had been set-up to honor and raise money for the family of Tommy “Little Mac”
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What is a Tarnation?
Michael asks: What’s a tarnation? Like in the expression, “What in tarnation!” We have the word “tarnation” thanks to societal taboos against saying certain words- instead substituting in other words that often mean the
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The Great Depression and Scrabble
There isn’t a great deal of positive things that can be attributed to the Great Depression. However, Scrabble is a game that probably wouldn’t have existed without it. It all began with an unemployed
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Why Three Strikes in a Row in Bowling is Called a “Turkey”
This is thought to have its origins in bowling tournament prizes. Late eighteenth and early nineteenth century prizes given out during these tournaments were often food items, such as a basket filled with various
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Is Eating Your Boogers Good For You?
Cindy asks: This is kind of ewww, but I read that eating your own boogers helps boost your immune system. Is this true? Does physically taking boogers out of your nose, putting them in
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The Large Number of Human Remains Found In Ben Franklin’s Basement
For eighteen years, Ben Franklin, the great American inventor, diplomat, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a tenant in a beautiful four story Georgian house at 36 Craven Street in London, mere
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Why We Have Grass Lawns
Ashley asks: Why do people have grass lawns? They are so expensive and a lot of work, not to mention bad for the environment. Whose brilliant idea was this? Maintaining the perfect lawn takes
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