Matthew C. asks: Who made the first diet pop? In order to make a diet soda (at least one people would popularly drink), a sugar substitute was needed. The first such artificial sweetener, saccharin, was discovered by accident. In the late 19th century, Constantin Fahlberg, after a long day working at the lab of the famed chemist Ira Remsen in […]
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Kay P. asks: Is spider blood really blue? When it comes to spiders, people generally know two facts about them- that you swallow around eight of them per year and that their blood is bright blue. Fortunately, the former is absolutely not true at all, the latter, on the other hand, is mostly correct. While it’s certainly true that spiders […]
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This Day In History: September 17, 1630 Long before the Red Sox, Whitey Bulger, or Tom Brady, Boston’s first European settlers called the area Trimountaine in reference to its now non-existent three mountains. The name didn’t stick for very long. The land that was called Shawmut by the local Algonquin inhabitants was named Boston (after Boston, England) on September 17, […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the origin of the now famous HOLLYWOOD sign and how it came to be such a famous landmark today. [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 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 follow Brady on Twitter here. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: How to Fix a Wobbly Table With Nothing But Math An Explanation and […]
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To this day, the Brooklyn Bridge remains a monumental civil engineering feat. Connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn and extending across the East River, the bridge is a New York City icon. When finally finished in 1883, it was the first steel-wire suspension bridge ever constructed. It is said that today over 125,000 motor vehicles cross the 130 year […]
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This Day In History: September 16, 1932 In the early days of Hollywood, many pretty girls, whether they had acting experience or not, decided to head out west to try and make a career in motion pictures. Competition was fierce, and most of them eventually went home to the Midwest or the East Coast – or where-ever – after facing […]
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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 Museum. In 2006, evidence was presented that the game may have originated from the ancient Chinese game “Chuiwan” – loosely translated to “hitting ball.” Two paintings, one […]
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Mark K. asks: Cans of Diet Coke float. Cans of regular Coke don’t. The cans are the same size and they contain the same amount of liquid according to the label. What gives? Fun fact: If you put a can of Coca-Cola into a pool of water, it would sink. However, if you put a can of Diet Coke into […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the real origin of the phrase “Let them eat cake,” as well as how Marie Antoinette got connected to the phrase. You’re also going to learn why history remembers Antoinette as such a villain, and how this starkly contrasts with the real woman. [TRANSCRIPT] If you’re interested in learning more on the […]
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This Day In History: September 15, 1963 The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama not only served as a house of worship for its predominately black congregation, but it also was a meeting place for organizers of the Civil Rights movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many of the 1960s Civil Rights marches in Birmingham began at the […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why a Gecko’s Feet Can Stick to Almost Anything It has been observed since the 4th century BC that geckos have the ability to climb walls, hang upside down, and apparently “stick” to anything. Aristotle was the first known to have commented […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about a drastically bigger structure commonly used for certain Roman games long before the now much more famous Colosseum was even a thought. You’re also going to learn some other interesting facts about the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You […]
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The Mexico of 1968 showed every indication of being the most modern nation in Latin America. President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz oversaw a country with a booming economy and a middle class predominately able to send their children to college for the first time in Mexico’s history. Mexico City was even getting ready to host the 1968 Summer Olympics to open […]
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Big appetites can come in small packages. Case in point: 5′ 7″ and 125 pound Molly Schuyler, who lives with her husband and four kids (ages 5, 6, 7 and 10) in Bellevue, Nebraska. She maintains her lean frame by typically sticking to lots of vegetables, salads without dressing and keeping up with her four kids. She also notes, “We […]
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This Day In History: September 12, 1966 The television series The Monkees revolved around four young guys trying to make it in the music business and the mad-cap adventures they had while doing so. The four “insane boys” (as the casting call described the perfect candidates for the job) chosen by producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider to portray The […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the origin of the popular Looney Tunes corporation name “ACME,” as well as just why the coyote could never seem to catch the Road Runner. [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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The prevailing story of the origin of the potato chip starts in Saratoga Springs, New York, a historically affluent and resort community. It was 1853, eight years before the beginning of the Civil War. Known for its mineral springs and their supposed rejuvenation properties, Saratoga Springs had just started becoming a tourist destination with help of the railroad that cut […]
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