This Day In History: September 25, 1981 Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger as the first female Supreme Court Justice in the United States on September 25, 1981. Born in El Paso Texas in 1930, Sandra Day’s interest in the law was sparked by a legal issue involving her family’s cattle ranch in Arizona, where […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn why the palms of your hands get sweaty when you’re standing at the edge of a cliff, or even just looking at a picture of such a thing, and how this type of sweating differs from normal sweating. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can […]
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Jeremy D. asks: Who invented the internet? While the World Wide Web was initially invented by one person (see: What was the First Website?), the genesis of the internet itself was a group effort by numerous individuals, sometimes working in concert, and other times independently. Its birth takes us back to the extremely competitive technological contest between the US and […]
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This Day In History: September 24, 1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald, who exemplified the highs and lows of the Jazz Age through both his writing and his personal life, was born in St. Paul Minnesota on September 24, 1896. The son of an alcoholic father and an Irish immigrant mother, Fitzgerald was always painfully aware of the divide between his family […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about one of the first ever major economic bubbles, Tulipmania. [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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Masen G. asks: Given the symptoms in the story, what was Tiny Tim sick with that a little money for 19th century medical care was able to fix? In Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmans Carol, the character of Tiny Tim dies in one timeline, but is saved by Ebenezer’s Scrooge’s charity in another. Although Dickens scholars have posited a […]
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This is a video from CGP Grey. If you’re a fan of TodayIFoundOut, I guarantee you’re going to love his YouTube channel, unless you just hate videos that is. (He also has a good podcast, Hello Internet, with fellow famous YouTuber Brady Haran.) If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: How the United Kingdom Flag Design Came to […]
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Neil asks: Who invented the slot machine? The story of the slot machine is one of intrigue, theft, controversy, and murder. Okay, not murder, but everything else. And it starts in Bavaria…. Augustinus Charles Fey was the youngest of sixteen children born in 1862 in the small village of Vohringen, Bavaria which sits at the edge of the Alps. Early […]
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This Day In History: September 23, 1912 On September 23, 1912, movie history was made in several different ways. When Mack Sennett’s first groundbreaking Keystone comedy, “The Water Nymph” was released, Mabel Normand became the first actress to appear on-screen wearing a bathing suit. Additionally, Sennett promoted the film using Normand’s name and likeness, which was a big deal because […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the creation of the famous Freedom Statue, and the slave who was integral to its making. [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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Mekala asks: Is the black box in airplanes really black? Also, who invented it? Thanks! Like many inventions, versions of an airplane “black box” were independently invented by several people, in this case beginning around the 1930s and 1940s. As for the version that began being installed on commercial aircraft, it was invented in response to a tragic loss of […]
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Cunningham’s Law is an internet adage that states “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, but to post the wrong answer.” It’s an interesting hypothesis for sure. And, if you’ve spent any time on the internet whatsoever, you’re likely well aware that posting something incorrect online is a sure-fire way […]
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This Day In History: September 22, 1529 Thomas Wolsey, as high and mighty as he became, rose from humble beginnings. He was born around 1473 as the son of a butcher – as common as it gets. His climb to the top began after he attended Oxford University and was ordained into the clergy in 1498. His ambition and ability […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Golfers Yell “Fore” and Other Interesting Golf Facts There is a long-standing belief that golf was invented by the Scottish, sometime in the 14th or 15th centuries. This maybe false, at least according to Chinese professors and the Hong Kong Heritage […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the truth about whether Nero really “fiddled when Rome burned” and other interesting facts about Nero and the fire that (supposedly) ravaged the city. [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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Michael R. asks: How did Oktoberfest get started? As we move past the summer and into the fall, we can count on certain things: the leaves changing color, the weather growing crisper, ghost stories being told, and the celebration of the Bavarian tradition of Oktoberfest. Even here in America, Oktoberfest is beloved as a time for dancing, dressing in lederhosen, […]
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Happy “Talk Like a Pirate” day! Besides learning about port and starboard in the video below, you can also learn the origin and meaning of things like “Avast,” “Arrrr,” “Scuttlebutt,” and many more in our video, The Origin and Meaning of 9 Pirate Words and Expressions. If you liked this video, be sure and subscribe to our YouTube channel here. […]
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This Day In History: September 19, 1952 “A democracy is a place where you can express your ideas freely—or it isn’t a democracy.” – Charles Chaplin During the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s, legendary actor and film maker Charlie Chaplin, who never gave up his British citizenship and was well-known for his liberal politics, ran afoul […]
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