On December 22, 1992, former school teacher Martin Almada discovered thousands of documents that detailed the systematic repression of Paraguayans under the government of dictator General Alfredo Stroessner. Almada stumbled upon what has come to be known as Paraguay’s Archives of Terror in the basement of a police station in the capital city of Asuncion while working with a judge, […]
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An average American child eats about 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches prior to graduating from high school. That is about a sandwich every four or five days. Americans eat a lot of peanut butter. Besides it being popular and delicious, peanut butter also has had a tremendous impact on how foods are made and labeled today. Thanks to the […]
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This Day In History: December 18, 1966 “Christmas day will always be, just so long as we have we.” When “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” first aired on December 18, 1966, the most optimistic projection for the cartoon was a ten-year run. Almost half a century later, it has exceeded all expectations, becoming a cherished Christmas classic eagerly awaited by […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about how the practice of mixing a cow’s udder excretions with the product that came out of a chicken’s cloaca ultimately led to Eggnog. You’re also going to learn why the drink is called that and what the traditional ingredients to the drink are. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe […]
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When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the Moon all those years ago during the Apollo 11 mission, literally everything they did became a record because everything they did that day was the first time in human history someone had done that thing on the Moon, which it turns out wasn’t made of cheese after all. While Armstrong’s first words […]
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This is a video from the very talented Brady Haran who, among other channels, produces phenomenal videos such as this one over at Numberphile, which you can subscribe to here. You can also join us in supporting Numberphile on Patreon here. If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes, Spotify, Google […]
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Quick Fact 841: If you’ve ever felt like your friends are more popular, happier, and wealthier than you… well, on average, you’re probably right. This all comes down to something known as the Generalized Friendship Paradox. The Friendship Paradox was first proposed in 1991 by sociologist Scott L. Feld, who demonstrated that your friends, on average, will have more friends […]
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This Day In History: December 17, 1969 On December 17, 1969, the oddly engaging ukulele strumming pop sensation Tiny Tim, most famous for the song “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”, married his girlfriend, Miss Vicki, on the Tonight Show while 45 million people watched at home. The wedding attracted the most viewers in the show’s history up to that time. Tim […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the surprisingly young age Brenda Lee was when she recorded one of the most famous Christmas songs of all time… and how it completely flopped initially. You’re also going to learn a lot of other interesting facts about “Little Miss Dynamite,” Brenda Lee. [TRANSCRIPT] As mentioned in the episode, you can see […]
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Mark. K. asks: Why does peanut butter stick to the top of my mouth? Arachibutyrophobia is a proposed humorous name for the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the top of your mouth, coined by Charles M. Schulz in a 1982 edition of his famed Peanuts comic strip. But why does peanut butter have such a tendency to get […]
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This Day In History: December 16, 1977 “Would ya just watch the hair? Ya know, I work on my hair a long time and you hit it. He hits my hair.” – Tony Manero At first, all you see are highly-shined shoes and swishing black flared pants strutting down a New York City street in perfect rhythm to the Bee […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the elderly Mark Twain’s prized “aquarium,” and the dozen or so “angel fish” who made up its membership. [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 the 1993 movie Tombstone, Doc Holliday (portrayed by actor Val Kilmer) is depicted as a good guy at heart, helping Wyatt Earp to keep order and law in the dangerous old west town of Tombstone, Arizona. As is the case with Earp, there is a mound of evidence that the real Doc Holliday wasn’t nearly so squeaky clean. Here […]
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Aiko S. asks: Who wrote Twas the Night Before Christmas? On December 23, 1823, the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known today as The Night Before Christmas was first published. The poem first appeared in the New York Sentinel with no author listed, having been delivered for publication by a friend of Clement Clarke Moore, who was a […]
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This Day In History: December 15, 1944 Glenn Miller was on the top of his game in 1944. He led the most popular recording group in the world. His only rival for king of Big Band music was the great Benny Goodman. During World War II, 40-year-old Miller was serving as a major in the United States Army Air Force […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Wyatt Earp, the Great American… Villain? The history books (and Hollywood) often describe the famous lawman, Wyatt Earp, as many things: brave, courageous, moral, law-abiding, and honorable. In the story of the “Gunfight at the OK Corral,” Earp is often portrayed […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the interesting origin of the Nike swoosh logo and the amazingly paltry amount the creator of that iconic logo was paid for it. [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 a video from MinuteEarth created by Henry Reich et al. If you like TodayIFoundOut, odds are you’ll also greatly enjoy their videos. So go check them out and subscribe to their channel here. You can also join us in supporting their efforts to make more videos like this by donating via their Patreon page here. If you liked […]
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