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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In Central Asia, bordered on the north by Uzbekistan, the southeast by Afghanistan, the southwest by Iran and the east by the Caspian Sea, lies the country of Turkmenistan. With the world’s fourth largest proven reserves of natural gas, Turkmenistan is the world’s 11th largest exporter of this valuable resource. A dangerous substance, if not properly managed, rather than becoming […]
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Bon-hwa S. asks: Worms drown in the water, so how do fish know they are food? Is the reason they like them just the movement? Thanks! Worms, or more specifically earthworms which are by far what most people mean when they use the term “worms” in the fishing scenario, don’t live in water. In fact, the reason you see so many on […]
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This Day In History: March 19, 1976 Divorce has become as commonplace, if not more so, in the British Royal Family as it is among us mere peasants; three out of the present Queen’s four offspring have had failed marriages. But before the rash of royal divorces in the 1990s, the break-up of a royal union was a Really Big […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the breakthrough that allowed hieroglyphics, formerly thought to be picture writing, to be correctly translated for the first time. [TRANSCRIPT] And, as mentioned in the episode, you can check out a version of the translation of the object that resulted in the breakthrough here. Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe […]
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Erin G. asks: Why do we color code electric wires the way we do? Black, white, green, red, blue, orange, brown and grey, the color of the insulating sheath on an electrical wire generally designates its purpose. So, before you start fiddling around with that new light fixture, besides switching off the breaker to a given circuit, it’s a good […]
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When I was a kid, my parents had a collection of historic old, yellowed newspapers. For example, I distinctly remember an old Washington Post newspaper sitting on a bookshelf from July 21, 1969 with the headline “The Eagle Has Landed – Two Men Walk on the Moon.” Or a fading, brownish-yellow one from August 8, 1974 with the big headline, “Nixon […]
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This Day In History: March 18, 1911 “My struggles didn’t actually begin until after I’d written Alexander’s Ragtime Band. It’s been a struggle ever since to keep success going.” – Irving Berlin Before the phonograph and radio became common fixtures in most homes, popular music still thrived through the sale of sheet music. Families would gather around the piano and […]
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