Category Archives: Articles

Abraham Lincoln and His Patent

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 […]

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That Time Coca-Cola Tried to Sell Bottled Tap Water in the U.K. and the Hilarity That Ensued

As literally one of the biggest companies on Earth, Coca-Cola has their giant fingers in a lot of equally giant pies. One of those fingers happens to be dipped in the extremely lucrative bottled water market. The product we’re talking about today is Dasani, which currently earns Coca-Cola just shy of one billion dollars per year in the United States, […]

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

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). […]

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Why Do We Say Someone is “In Cahoots”?

Mark K. asks: Why do we say someone is in cahoots? What is a cahoot? Meaning alternately companions, confederates, partners and/or conspirators, in cahoots is a phrase used to describe a situation where people are working together, often on an illegal, immoral, secret and/or unethical scheme. As for the word “cahoot” itself, it is defined as a “partnership, league.” The […]

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Weekly Wrap Volume 100

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why are People So Much Taller Today Than Historically? 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 […]

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Mozart’s Much Less Family Friendly Works

Warning: By necessity, this one contains profanity and vulgar references. So you may or may not want to read through it first if you normally share these articles with humans of the particularly youthful persuasion. 😉 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is famously known for being a child prodigy and one of the greatest musical composers of all time. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik […]

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Weekly Wrap Volume 99

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Dustbin of History: The Other Network 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 […]

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Jerry Lewis and the Crying Clown

Comedian Jerry Lewis has been entertaining audiences and movie-goers around the world since he first took to the stage at the age of five in 1931, singing “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” in New York City. For a decade during the 1940s and 1950s, he teamed up with Dean Martin forming one of the greatest comedy duos in history. […]

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

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 […]

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Is it Safe to Eat Cheese Rinds?

Kerry S. asks: Are you supposed to eat the rind of cheese or just throw it out? Is it safe to eat? Does it depend on the type of cheese?  Thanks! Whether or not you should eat a cheese rind depends entirely on your taste, as even the most unpalatable rinds are in no way poisonous or dangerous to eat. […]

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