Mark K. asks: I was just wondering if a human ate another human in an apocalyptic scenario or something would this be unhealthy or just awful and gross? Yes. Unhealthy For the Devourer Depending on what parts are eaten (the most infected include the brain, spinal cord, bone marrow and small intestine), human cannibals run the risk of contracting a […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Ever Happened to Confederate President Jefferson Davis? Jefferson Davis was attending a Sunday church service in the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, when he heard the news. Union General Ulysses S. Grant had broken General Robert E. Lee’s defenses in […]
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That the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is constant has been known to humanity since ancient times; yet, even today, despite 2000 years of thought, theories, calculations and proofs, π’s precise value remains elusive. Ancient Civilizations Babylonian By the 17th century B.C., the Babylonians had a relatively advanced knowledge of mathematics, that they memorialized into […]
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Ian K. asks: Why are taxes due on April 15th? As Ben Franklin wrote in a 1789 letter to Baptiste Leroy, “… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Depending on your belief in vampires, this is most certainly true. But did you know that income taxes in the United States didn’t exist […]
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Very few people and even fewer brands have managed to become synonymous with pop culture in the 20th century. But in the last few decades, Nike has become a Titan of the sporting world, as well as part of the daily lives of millions of people everywhere. But during the 1960s, it was Germany’s Adidas and Puma sneakers that dominated […]
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Gloria N. asks: Why is the stereotype to give apples to teachers? Widespread publicly funded, mandatory education has only been around since about the 19th century. Before then, the responsibility of providing schooling to children fell primarily on their families. Upper- and middle-class families tended to hire tutors or send their children to a private school run by a schoolmaster. […]
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Jared L. asks: Why aren’t there apostrophes in the Don’t Walk signs by street intersections when it’s spelled out rather than using pictures? No one is sure when exactly the first WALK/DONT WALK style signs were installed. Even the Federal Highway Administration isn’t sure, though it is thought that the first such sign was likely installed sometime in the early to […]
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Cailin asks: What happened to Jefferson Davis after the Civil War? Jefferson Davis was attending a Sunday church service in the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, when he heard the news. Union General Ulysses S. Grant had broken General Robert E. Lee’s defenses in Petersburg, less than twenty five miles from Richmond. By nightfall, the evacuation of Richmond needed […]
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Today I found out about a man who saved over two million lives just by donating his somewhat unique blood plasma. Australian James Harrison is called “the man with the golden arm” due to the unusual composition of his blood. Harrison’s blood contains an antibody called Rho(D) Immune Globulin that is used to treat Rhesus disease, a severe form of […]
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On July 20th, 1969, with “one small step,” Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Since that date forty five years ago, the moon landing has been the subject of intense study and historical analysis. From what Armstrong actually said with his first step to if the American flags the astronauts planted are still there, mankind’s […]
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Karla asks: Who invented the Mexican wave? The wave, also generally known as the “Mexican wave” outside of the United States, was the brain-child of the longest continuously active professional cheerleader (41 years and counting), Krazy George Henderson, in the late 1970s. It made its national debut on October 15, 1981 in a playoff game between the Oakland Athletics and […]
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Long before the likes of Warren Buffet, Hetty Green dominated Wall Street through extremely shrewd investing, frugality, and exploiting the lax investment rules of her age, managing to amass one of the greatest fortunes in history. Hetty, born Henrietta Howland Robinson in 1834, was the daughter of Edward and Abby Robinson. The family first made their fortune thanks to Hetty’s […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why There is Braille on Drive-Thru ATM Machines Mainly, it is because it is required by law, thanks to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities. There are certain exceptions, in terms of these requirements, when it comes to drive-up ATMs […]
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Marleen asks: Did Amazon women really ever exist? They are mentioned time and again by the ancient Greeks in both their history and mythology, going all the way back to around the 8th century B.C. They were described as formidable warriors who cut off one breast to be better archers and lived in female-only communities- taking male lovers only once […]
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Tapping into people’s insatiable appetite for new ways to screw around and waste time, recently some Ivy League researchers made a key element of their work into an online game. In order to solve the riddle of how the eye perceives motion and direction, the neuroscientists first needed to create a map of the retina’s neural pathways – out of […]
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Sarah T. asks: Why do you never see commercial airline pilots that are women? When it comes to gender disparity, the world of commercial airline piloting is one of the most skewed with a whopping 97% of all commercial pilots being male (4000 female commercial pilots vs. 130,000 male worldwide according to The International Society of Women Airline Pilots). Those […]
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Drew asks: Why are some ice cubes clear and others cloudy? Unless you happen to have a specialized ice machine in your home, it is practically guaranteed that the ice your freezer makes is of the cloudy variety. A popular and well known trick to making clear(er) ice is to either boil the water first or use distilled water. However, […]
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On Sunday, December 17, 1967, the Prime Minister of what was then the 9th wealthiest nation on Earth disappeared off of the coast of Cheviot Beach, Portsea, Victoria in the southeast of Australia. Harold Holt’s body was never found. Weekend Vacation On Friday, December 15, Holt travelled from the country’s capital of Canberra to his beach house at Portsea. He […]
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