This Day In History: March 26, 1904 “Life is like arriving late for a movie, having to figure out what was going on without bothering everybody with a lot of questions, and then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends.” – Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell, the renowned professor, author, anthropologist, speaker and mythologist was born […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the man that many think loosely inspired the character of Indiana Jones. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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Jacob M. asks: Does juicy fruit gum actually contain any fruit juice? With a brand recognition rate somewhere close to 99% in the States, it’s pretty safe to say that almost everyone reading this has at least heard of Juicy Fruit gum, if not also chewed it at some point. The question we’re looking at today is- exactly what fruit […]
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This Day In History: March 25, 1150 The Tichborne Dole dates back to medieval England during the reign of Henry II. The story began in 1150, when Lady Mabella, the wife of the miserly and cruel Sir Roger Tichborne, asked her husband to fulfill her one dying wish. She warned that he and his heirs would suffer dire consequences if […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about a (now) controversial experiment run on third grade students in the 1960s and the truth about what was done and the surprisingly positive end result. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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In this video, produced by the very talented Brady Haran over at Numberphile, which you can subscribe to here, Dr. Persi Diaconis answers the question of how many times you have to shuffle a deck of cards to thoroughly mix them up, as well as demonstrating the best and worst ways to shuffle. If you like this video, please join […]
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Nick C. asks: How did they settle on six feet deep for graves? If there’s one thing everyone knows about graves other than the fact that they’re really spooky at night, it’s that they’re always six feet deep. In truth, despite “six feet under” being synonymous with the very idea of death, it has little to no relevance in burial […]
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This Day In History: March 24, 1765 On March 24, 1765 the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which specified the obligation of the American colonists to provide British troops with shelter and provisions. The Act ordered the colonists to provide barracks for the soldiers stationed nearby, and if they did not have ample space in the barracks, housing must […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the first woman to circumnavigate the globe and the lengths she had to go to to make this happen. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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This is the time of year when millions of Americans are being stricken with March Madness (See: How March Got So Mad). Over a hundred teams (both men’s and women’s) are competing against one another for the right to be called a champion. This is a goal that all of these collegiate athletes work towards and most would never give […]
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An expensive meal at a fancy restaurant, a declaration of romance, and a big, fat diamond ring- this is a pretty standard formula for an engagement proposal. After all, it has been ingrained in all of us that a diamond ring equals love and the bigger the diamond, the more love there must be. Well, believe it or not, diamonds […]
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This Day In History: March 23, 1839 OK is an expression that almost all of us, young or old, rich or poor, sprinkle throughout our sentences all day, every day. We use it so often and with so many shades of meaning that most of us assume it’s been around since the Big Bang. Surprisingly, the expression isn’t even two […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why are Calico Cats Almost Always Female? While any breed of cat can be born with calico fur, the vast majority of these cats are female, with only about one in three thousand calico cats born male according to the Humane […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn whether there really is such a thing as a truth serum that works reliably, and the history of such chemical cocktails. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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Jeremy R. asks: Why do we still teach kids to write in cursive when it’s almost literally never used anymore except in signatures, which are also becoming a thing of the past thanks to e-signing and advancements in payment options? I mean, even teaching kids any handwriting skills is bound to go the way of the Dodo at some point […]
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Rita H. asks: Why do we serve ham on Easter? Under Jewish dietary laws (called kashrut), eating pork in any form is strictly forbidden. Jesus Christ was Jewish. So why, on the anniversary of his resurrection, do people traditionally serve ham? You’ll often read it’s because ham is supposedly a “Christian” meat, able to be consumed by Christians but not […]
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This Day In History: March 20, 1778 In the 18th century, as is the case now, politics was a dirty, self-serving business. During its earliest days as a nation, the United States of America deftly took advantage of France’s age-old antipathy towards England. In turn, King Louis XVI of France was using the Americans to vex his old enemies as […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the truth about the last surviving American Civil War veteran, who died surprisingly recently. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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