If like me, you ever found yourself using the phrase “run amok” and began wondering, “What’s an ‘amok’?” look no further, because here’s your answer. For those not familiar, today the phrase “run amok” (also spelled “amuck”) is often used to describe such things as children making a mess while they run around and play or the like. Classically, though, […]
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Gracen asks: How did the tradition of predicting weather by checking to see if a rodent did or didn’t see their shadow get its start? Like so many holiday traditions, the origins and progression of Groundhog Day to what we think of it today as are a bit murky. However, we’ll try to shed some light on the subject, starting […]
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In my profession as a paramedic / firefighter one question repeatedly gets asked of me- “What are some simple first aid tricks to know in case of an emergency?” As such, I thought it would be a good idea to do a little article series on the subject. This will be a 5 part series published throughout this week on […]
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The man was Lt. Col William Rankin. How did he almost drown in the sky? In 1959, while ejecting from his F-8 Crusader at 47,000 ft (14,325 meters) and at a speed of Mach .82 (624 mph or 1004 km/h), he got caught up in a cumulonimbus tower (basically a dense, vertical cloud, generally found in areas of extreme atmospheric […]
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Have you ever looked at the shiny dome of your grandfather and wondered, “Should I start stocking up on head wax soon?” Statistically at age 30 you will have a 30% chance of going bald. This increases by 10% every 10 years. So someone 50 years old will have a 50% chance of being bald. Due to the genetic factors […]
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All three animals come under the class of reptiles, in the taxonomic order of Testudines or Chelonia (which comes from the Greek word ‘kelone’, meaning interlocking shields or armor). They all have the major characteristics of reptiles as they are cold-blooded (eco-therms), have scales, breathe air, and lay eggs on land. The distinction between them comes mainly from what living habitat […]
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Aaron asks: Why don’t fingernails grow at the same rate? The short answer is that there is no 100% definitive known reason as to why nails grow at different rates. However, there is a really good theory (which also covers why fingernails and toenails grow at drastically different rates) that is backed up by an awful lot of ancillary evidence. […]
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Mushyrulez asks: What’s the difference between Kosher salt and table salt? In truth, not much. The primary ingredient to both, not surprisingly, is sodium chloride. In fact, the U.S. government requires that any food-grade salt be a minimum of 97.5% pure, so any type of salt you consume in the U.S. (and most developed countries) is going to be almost […]
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It was 1949, then as now, countless thousands of young actresses in Hollywood were unemployed. Many give up the struggle. Others take a wrong turn and make decisions they will later regret. A certain unknown, very small, percentage persevere. That songbird they are all chasing, called “success”, inevitably proves elusive. But this article isn’t about the countless scores of would […]
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Tristan asks: Does Mountain Dew kill sperm? Tristan- If you’re thinking that a 3 pack of condoms costs around $5 and Mountain Dew is only $1.99 for the 2-liter, so why not save yourself $3 on your contraception, think again! Pay the extra money! Mountain Dew does not kill your sperm, lower sperm count, make your penis smaller, or shrivel […]
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This is a guest post by Adam Kutner. (more on Adam at the bottom) Today I found out about a shocking weather incident that happened in London not very long ago. In December of 1952, the city of London experienced a 5-day bout of “fog” that killed at least 4,000 people and made an estimated 100,000 sick. Fog? Isn’t that […]
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1) His name was originally Michael, not Martin. His father was also Michael King, hence why Martin Luther King Jr. was originally named Michael King Jr. However, after a trip to Germany in 1931, Michael King Sr. changed his own name in homage to historic German theologian Martin Luther. Michael King Jr. was two years old at the time and […]
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Just a quick plug for one of the authors here at Today I Found Out, Samantha. She has published her first book, A Game Worth Watching, which is only $3.99 and is also available via Amazon Kindle’s lending library. My wife has now read the book (the book being geared more towards people of the female persuasion ;-)) and tells […]
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The man was Adam Rainer born in Graz, Austria sometime in 1899 (the exact date isn’t known). Rainer’s parents were neither tall nor short for the time, with his father measuring in at 5 feet 8 inches (1.72 m) and his mother at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). He even had a brother who matched his father’s height at […]
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Anyone who has watched a President through their term in office knows stress might be a cause for gray hair; the stress/graying hair effect is particularly notable in President Obama. If you have teenagers, you’ve probably even remarked to them the stress they cause you is making your hair turn gray. The truth is going gray really has to do […]
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Today I found out why salt preserves meat. While today salting meat as a method of preservation is generally only commonly used in such things as salted pork and the like, salt has been used as the primary method of preserving meats and various other foods as far back as history records. Salt has a preservative effect thanks to the osmotic […]
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One of the first challenges that firefighters face when they arrive at a fire is finding a suitable water source that provides enough water for the type of fire they are fighting. Common sense tells us a car on fire will require much less water than a burning apartment building. There are formulas used by firefighters that will tell them […]
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Today I found out how “port” and “starboard” became the commonly used terms for “left” (port) and “right” (starboard) on a ship. We’ve all been there. You step on a ship and everything suddenly becomes nautical, despite the fact that most on the boat probably have to resort to mnemonics to remember which side of the ship is port and […]
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