Jim P. asks: Whenever I ride a bike it always seems to hurt a certain sensitive region. Is this doing any damage down there or should I just suck it up for the exercise? Although bicycle riding affords a terrific aerobic workout, at times avid cyclists may suffer from genital discomfort, sexual dysfunction, and even, possibly, cancer as a result. […]
Read more
Body Integrity Identity Disorder, or BIID, is a condition where a person feels an overwhelming desire to become an amputee. Some also consider it to include those who feel a desire to have some sort of other disability like becoming paralyzed or deaf. In the case of those desiring to become amputees, the limb that they want to amputate is […]
Read more
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. A Brief History of the Ballpoint Pen and Whether NASA Really Spent Millions Developing a Pressurized Version Instead of Just Using Pencils The humble ballpoint pen is an item so ubiquitous the chances of you not having one near you right now […]
Read more
If we were to tell you that there is a parasite out there that can infect virtually any warm-blooded creature on Earth; is found just about everywhere; approximately 33% of humans are infected; and is also mysteriously linked to people committing suicide and brain cancer, then we told you that it was most commonly found in cats, you’d say we […]
Read more
Heroes come in many forms; some are even furry and four-legged. Due in part to their superior ability to sniff and hear trouble, dogs have long been a fantastic ally and a great protector of humans. After all, it was Lassie who, through a series of barks, told the grown-ups that Timmy was in trouble again (Note: Timmy never actually […]
Read more
The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been on fire for more than fifty years. Founded in 1862, Centralia popped up in response to the booming coal mining industry. Anthracite coal, a type of coal once in high demand for heating homes, lay under the town and surrounding area in massive quantities. (In fact, approximately 95% of all anthracite coal in […]
Read more
Chicken nuggets are delicious. I know this isn’t a particularly controversial statement. Despite pink slime, chemical preservatives, and sometimes questionable nutritional value, it’s hard to argue the basic point that these deep-fried, previously frozen, nugget-shaped “chicken” pieces are at least somewhat appealing to the human taste bud. The common assumption is that McDonald’s was the first to give us these […]
Read more
Glossyhorses asks: Why can’t you have your fences over 6 feet tall in the backyard and half that in the front? The primarily purposes of a fence include to keep animals in, people out, and perhaps even so others can’t see into your yard. But if this is the case, why are there laws that limit how tall fences can […]
Read more
Kyle S. asks: There’s a story circulating around that NASA found out pens didn’t work in space, but still needed a writing device that would work there, so they spent millions of tax payer dollars developing a ball point pen that could be used in space. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, just used pencils. Is this true? Thanks! […]
Read more
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Greatest Practical Joke of the 19th Century, the Berners Street Hoax The year was 1809. Famed English author, Theodore Hook, made a bet with one of his close friends, the noted architect and writer, Samuel Beazley, that within one week, he […]
Read more
On October 29, 1929, on what would become known as “Black Tuesday,” the stock market crashed. In one terrible day, the market lost fourteen billion dollars (about $188B today), signaling the beginning of the (roughly) ten-year-long Great Depression, with most of the last vestiges of the downturn only ceasing around 1939 due to the onset of World War II. Just […]
Read more
Whether it’s a Bachelor Party, Dollar Drinks, Ladies’ Night or just Happy Hour, many of us get carried away once in awhile, and end up suffering the next day. While most home remedies are ineffective for managing the pain and nausea, there are a few steps you can take to either prevent, or alleviate, the ill-effects of having one (or […]
Read more
Steve S. asks: Who was Monterey Jack and when did he invent his cheese? Cheese predates written history. Ancient Egyptians loved cheese so much that depictions of the cheese-making process were painted in tombs. Homer’s Odyssey talks about how Cyclops stored his cheese. The Greeks and Romans used cheese as a delicious currency. During the Middle Ages, if there was […]
Read more
D. Peterson asks: Why do deer always seem to freeze in headlights instead of keep running? Less a function of fear than bewilderment, simply put, deer freeze in headlights because they can’t see. Deer Eyes vs. Human Eyes The eyes of deer and people share a number of features, but they also have a few significant differences. Pupil Unlike human […]
Read more
M. Favro asks: Why can my house pipes freeze in winter sometimes, but fire hydrants completely exposed to the cold never seem to burst? The fire hydrant that we know today traces its origins back to fire plugs. Water mains that transported fresh water in a city or town used to be made of hollowed out logs buried beneath the […]
Read more
For over 150,000 years, our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), thrived throughout Europe until, in the blink of an eye (geologically speaking), they disappeared off the face of the Earth. Several theories have been proposed to explain their extinction, although a consensus is growing that the primary factor was competition with us (Homo sapiens). Despite their annihilation, however, their […]
Read more
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why the French-Founded Notre Dame School’s Athletic Teams are the “Fighting Irish” When the green and blue uniformed athletes of the University of Notre Dame run on to the field or court, their fans are rooting for the “Fighting Irish.” Represented by […]
Read more
Tabitha Babbitt was a quiet weaver living in a Shaker community in Massachusetts. The community thrived on the forestry industry, and she would observe men hard at work sawing logs. In 1810, she thought up an easier way of cutting wood that wouldn’t expend quite so much energy. The men were using a pit saw. It had two handles which […]
Read more