Jeremy R. asks: Was Scotch tape invented by the Scottish? Despite the name, Scotch tape wasn’t invented by the Scottish. It was invented by a college dropout named Richard Drew from Minnesota who worked for a small sandpaper company founded in 1902 called Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, later known as 3M. The name “Scotch” itself has an origin story almost […]
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Auschwitz was the most notorious and horrible of the concentration camps during World War II. Over a million innocent people were murdered at the camp located in Southern Poland (which was “annexed” by Nazi German forces at the beginning of the war). Survivors, of which there were only about 200,000 of the 1.3 million that were sent there, reported that […]
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This Day In History: December 2, 1814 “Either kill me or take me like this, for I will not change.” The Marquis de Sade, a notorious libertine whose deeds are linked forever with his name in the term “sadist”, wrote these words to his wife in 1783 while serving an 11-year prison term. For de Sade, who would be convicted […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the real reason the Moon looks bigger on the horizon. In a Bonus topic after that, you’re going to learn why lead used to be added to gasoline. [TRANSCRIPT: Moon | Lead] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: […]
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Karen C. asks: True or false, you should suck the venom out of a snakebite after someone gets bitten? There are a number of productive things you can do to help a snakebite victim; trying to suck out the venom isn’t one of them. Actually having a negative effect, potentially further damaging the tissue around the bite and thus helping […]
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John A. asks: When did people start smoking tobacco? While who exactly was the first to smoke tobacco has been lost to history, Jordan Goodman, in his book Tobacco in History, theorizes that tobacco was first cultivated thousands of years ago in the Americas, around the regions that have become known as Mexico and Brazil. The populations grew the plant […]
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This Day In History: December 1, 1955 When Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American seamstress, climbed aboard a bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955, she had no intention of striking a blow for the civil rights movement. After a long shift at work, Parks just wanted to get home to her family and unwind from her day. The […]
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Our very good friends over at Neatorama are currently running a Black Friday weekend sale in their popular NeatoShop. They are offering all their awesome shirts for just $14.95 each and are also giving free world wide shipping (yes, world-wide) on orders over $75. The sale runs now until Sunday the 30th at 11:59pm. So if you’re looking for some […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Truth About Prepositions and the End of Sentences A great man once said, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” Eloquently highlighting the ridiculousness of strictly adhering to the rule against ending a sentence […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn how Black Friday got started, the real reason it’s called that, and a few other interesting facts about this “supposed” biggest shopping day of the year. [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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Little pearls swimming in a creamy custard flavored with vanilla or lemon, many of us have fond (and others not so fond) childhood memories of tapioca pudding. Although this staple dessert of the 1970s went out of vogue for a while, today it’s making a comeback. You may not know, however, that the tapioca we use is a refined product […]
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Jill A. asks: Why does the panama canal have locks? Isn’t the ocean the same level on both sides? Rising 85 feet above the surface of one ocean, and then descending again to be gently floated on another one, ships that traverse the Panama Canal shave nearly 8,000 miles off of their voyage to the other side by investing a […]
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This Day In History: November 28, 1925 On November 28, 1925 at 8 p.m., George D. Hay, who dubbed himself “The Solemn Old Judge”, and an 80-year-old fiddler named “Uncle” Jimmy Thompson launched the inaugural broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry, the longest continuously running radio program in history. As you might have guessed from the date, the Grand Ole […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn how one of the great, but little known today, women in American history brought about the United States’ Thanksgiving holiday, as well as introduced most of the traditions now commonly associated with that holiday, including what we eat. You’re also going to learn what this has to do with “Mary Had a Little […]
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For those of you in the United States who are about to celebrate Thanksgiving and want to look particularly knowledgey at your family get-together tomorrow, here is a roundup of all the Thanksgiving related articles we’ve made here at TodayIFoundOut for you to peruse. Or, you know- don’t. But when there are awkward pauses in the conversation at your Thanksgiving […]
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James I. asks: I was at Lowes and noticed mailboxes say “approved by the postmaster general”. What specifications do a mailbox need to reach to be approved in this way? I mean, it’s a box with a little door and a flag. Are those the requirements? What’s the process here? Thanks! While the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the […]
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Today in History: November 27, 602 “He was a better judge of policy than of men.” – Previté-Orton On November 27, 603, the 20-year reign of Byzantine Emperor Maurice came to a most violent conclusion when he was forced to watch his five sons beheaded, and was then executed himself. Maurice’s road to the throne began when he was serving […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn whether there is any truth to the idea that eating turkey will make you drowsy. [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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