Featured Facts

Category Archives: Featured Facts

The First Thing Eaten on the Moon, What Armstrong Said Directly After His Historic “Small Step” Line, What It Would Take to Stop the Earth Orbiting the Sun and More in Yet Another 14 Quick Facts

June 8, 2016 Daven Hiskey

983) On July 21, 1969 at 02:56 UTC, Neil Armstrong forever stamped his name in the history books by putting his foot on the Moon. Armstrong getting to do this almost never happened due to the fact that he turned his application in to NASA about a week after the June 1, 1962 deadline, making him ineligible for that historic […]

The Life of Larry the Cat- Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom

June 6, 2016 Karl Smallwood

A while ago we shared the story of F.D.C. Willard, an ordinary housecat who through a confluence of mistakes and errors, ended up being listed as the co-author of a widely cited science paper on low temperature physics. Today we’re telling a similar story about an equally impressive Tabby called Larry who is, believe it or not, an official employee […]

Why Do Books’ Copyright Pages Have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10?

May 31, 2016 Melissa

Jillian E. asks: In the beginning of books on the page where they say who published the book and stuff there is a string of numbers that count to 10. I was just wondering why they put that there? Thanks! The number line, or printer’s key, often seen on the copyright page of books is simply a method of record-keeping […]

Abraham Lincoln and His Patent

May 30, 2016 Matt Blitz

The first paragraph of US patent 6469 reveals nothing that would give the reader any thought to the future greatness of the inventor. The patent is for an improvement to help boats pass over sandbars by adding “adjustable buoyant air chambers” to the bottom of the boat. Though uncomplicated and rather simplified, the patent seems like it was written by […]

Why Does the Yolk of an Overcooked Hard-Boiled Egg Turn Green?

May 26, 2016 Sarah Stone

Laura K. asks: Why does the yolk of a hard-boiled egg sometimes turn green? The process of hard-boiling an egg involves denaturation. During this process, the amino acid chains found in the proteins in the egg are altered from their original, raw egg state, with the denaturation temperature varying somewhat depending on the specific protein in question (see chart here). […]

There and Back Again- The Story of Able and Miss Baker… In Space

May 25, 2016 Matt Blitz

Over two decades before Buzz and Neil put their feet on the Moon, humans were already preparing for that day by sending other living organisms to space. In 1947, the United States blasted fruit flies into space in a captured Nazi V-2 rocket. Alongside packets of rye and cotton seeds, the original intention of the flies’ mission was to determine […]

How Did the Pet Rock Fad Start?

May 23, 2016 Samantha

Sarah H. asks: Why did people buy the pet rock when it was just a rock? For all you pet owners out there, has there ever been a time when you’ve just had enough? Enough hairballs, enough grooming, enough messes, enough vet bills and the like? After listening to his friends complain about such things with their pets, Gary Dahl decided […]

Mailing Children, The 24 Hour Puppy Channel, the Bizarre Origins of Sleeping Beauty and More in Yet Another 10 Amazing Quick Facts

May 17, 2016 Daven Hiskey

964) When Parcel Post Service first launched in America on January 1, 1913, there were few guidelines on what could be mailed. As a result, a handful of parents, spotting a bargain, began mailing their children. The first known case of this was the child of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Beauge of Ohio only a few weeks after the […]

Why are People so Much Taller Today than Historically?

May 16, 2016 Melissa

Tilla asks: Why is it that people are much taller now than even a few decades ago? Over the last century and a half or so, humans, as a group, have grown significantly taller, with men from western, industrialized countries today being on average between 3 and 7 inches (7-18 cm) taller than their counterparts in the mid-19th century. So […]

Forgotten History: the Story of Emma Sharp and the Barclay Challenge

May 11, 2016 Samantha

In 1809, Captain Robert Barclay Allardice made a bet with one of his pedestrian rivals, Sir James Webster-Wedderburn, that he could walk 1,000 miles (about 1,609 kilometers) in 1,000 hours. The wager? 1,000 guineas. To get around the major problem of needing to rest, Barclay figured if he walked back to back miles–a mile at the end of one hour and another […]

Dustbin of History: The Other Network

May 9, 2016 Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader You may not remember when TV was black and white. You may not remember when there were no remotes and you had to get up to change channels or adjust the volume. Even if you do, you still probably don’t remember the DuMont Network. PIONEER Like a lot of people […]

The Trials and Tribulations of 1904 Olympic Marathon Runners

May 6, 2016 Samantha

When the United States hosted the Olympics for the first time in 1904, the games had yet to reach the high level of competition and popularity we know today. Although athletes from countries around the world were invited to participate, the games were less about the world’s best athletes competing for medals and more about (actual) amateur athletes competing against […]

Can You Really Avoid a Baggage Fee by Wearing All Your Clothes?

May 4, 2016 Karl Smallwood

Jeremy B. asks: Hypothetically, if I wanted to not pay for extra luggage on a plane, could I wear like five layers of clothing instead of bringing a suitcase? It’s a trope that has appeared in dozens of movies and countless TV shows, but can you actually circumvent an airline’s baggage fee by just turning up to the airport in […]

Why are Bureaucratic Obstacles Referred to as “Red Tape”?

May 3, 2016 Melissa

Simon K. asks: Why do we call it “red tape” when there are a lot of needless obstacles and paperwork in getting something done in business and government? The practice of referring to “excessive bureaucratic rigmarole” as red tape dates back more than 400 years to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Charles V (1500-1558). […]

When Did People Start Using Punctuation?

May 2, 2016 Melissa

Grey L. asks: When did people start using punctuation and who invented the common marks we use? INTHEBEGINNINGTHEREWASNOPUNCTUATIONLOWERCASELETTERSOREVENSPACESBETWEENWORDSTHEREALSOWASNOGRAMMATICALWAYOFDISTINGUISHINGWHENANIDEAHADFINISHEDANDANEWONEBEGUNITDIDNTHELPTHATTHEIDEAOFSTANDARDIZEDSPELLINGWASALSONOTATHINGATLEASTNOTASWEWOULDTHINKOFITREADERSWERELEFTTOMUDDLETHEIRWAYTHROUGHANYTEXTASBESTTHEYCOULDUNSURPRISINGLYUNDERSTANDINGWHATAPARTICULARWORKWASACTUALLYSAYINGONTHEFIRSTREADTHROUGHWASPRETTYWELLUNHEARDOFATTHISTIME The earliest writings, which were syllabic and/or logographic (think Mayan and Chinese), had no need for either spacing or punctuation, as each word was typically self-contained in the symbol. However, as previously demonstrated, the lack of punctuation and spacing in alphabetic writing […]

Why Can’t You Put Pineapple in Jello?

April 29, 2016 Karl Smallwood

Kateri S. asks: I have always been told you can’t put pineapple in jello because it won’t set. Why? Unless you’ve managed to make it this far in life without setting foot in a store, you’re probably aware that jello, popularly known as jelly by my British compatriots, is a genericization of the brand Jell-O which itself was derived from […]

When Did People First Start Clapping to Show Appreciation?

April 27, 2016 Karl Smallwood

Mark D. asks: When did we start clapping to show that we like something? Clapping is the near-ubiquitous way we show our appreciation of something, particularly when we’re in large groups. But have you ever wondered why slapping our hands together has come to be so closely associated with approval and where the practise originated from? To begin with, the […]

Why are Mosquitoes More Attracted to Some People than Others?

April 26, 2016 Sarah Stone

Nathan K. asks: Is it true that mosquitoes are more attracted to some people than others or does it just seem that way? Female mosquitoes can put a damper on any outdoor event when they start to snack on those present. (Note: only the females drink your blood; they don’t need it for their own nourishment, but for certain nutrients […]

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