This is a video by video journalist Brady Haran. For more great videos like this, be sure to subscribe to Brady’s phenominal Youtube channel Numberphile. Also, don’t forget to check out TodayIFoundOut’s YouTube channel here, which in a couple weeks will start being updated weekly as our video person switches to doing this full time instead of almost never-time. If you […]
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792: In 2011, a 17 year old Chinese man, Xiao Zheng, made headlines when he purchased an iPad and an iPhone. Why was this newsworthy? In order to be able to afford it, he sold one of his kidneys for 20,000 yuan or just a bit over £1,900 or about $3000. As he said, “I wanted to buy an iPad2, […]
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This Day In History: August 29, 1789 Shays’ Rebellion was the result of the farmers in central and western Massachusetts, who were already barely eking out a living, being pushed to the brink by the tax and debt-collecting policies set by politicians back east in Boston. Unimpressed by the fact that the rural settlers did not use paper money and […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn what exactly “20-20” or “6-6” vision means and how this scale is determined, as well as how it was originally thought up. [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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Dustin A. asks: How does the brain create memories? A complex network that stretches from your basest sensory organs to the most sophisticated portions of your brain, memory aids in everything from simple movements to complicated tasks, and ultimately makes us who we are. Comprised of three distinct neurological processes, memories can be sensory, short-term or long-term. Sensory Memory Acting […]
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This is where Beatlemania begins. Along with the then “shocking” Beatle haircuts, this song is “the” symbol, “the signature tune” of the early Beatles- the four happy, cheerful, chipper, and harmless moptops. This is the Beatles before drugs, before Yoko Ono, before the facial hair, before the in-house fighting and bickering, before John said they were “more popular than Jesus.” […]
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This Day In History: August 28, 1565 The city of St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest permanently occupied European settlement in the United States, making both Jamestown and Plymouth look like Johnny-Come-Latelys by comparison. Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sighted land on August 28, 1565, the feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo. By September 7th, the Spanish had […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about Adolf Hitler’s nephew who ultimately enlisted in the U.S. military to fight against his uncle during WWII. You’re also going to learn of an interesting pact the surviving members of Hitler’s line have made, most of which are currently living in New York state. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, […]
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Deep in the heart of Indonesia’s Sumatra rainforest, where tigers hunt, rhinos stampede, orangutans play, and cuckoos sing, blooms a flower that does its very best to attract more attention than any of the animals. The rare Amorphophallus Titanum, or Titan Arum, or known by its more descriptive nickname the “Corpse Flower,” is described as the world’s largest flower. But […]
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Pandemics have been the bane of humanity throughout history. Although the past few centuries have witnessed numerous epidemics, and even a handful of pandemics, none compare to the Black Death of the 14th century in terms of percentage of the Earth’s human population killed in a very brief period of time. The Bubonic Plague Caused by the bacteria, Yersinia Pestis, […]
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782: At the young age of 15, Jim Carrey began working full time as a janitor to support his family who were living out of a VW van at the time after his father had lost his job. In their free time, Carrey’s father helped his son put together a comedy stage act… which ultimately bombed. Despite this, over the […]
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This Day In History: August 27, 1967 On August 27, 1967, the man who launched the career of the most celebrated rock band of all time was found dead in his Sussex, England home of what was believed to be an accidental drug overdose. He was just 32 years old. When Brian Epstein began his association with the Beatles in […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about a CEO of a major company who gave a speech that included a Q&A. In it, he uttered a couple sentences that ended up costing the company nearly a billion dollars as customers began avoiding the business like the plague and continued to do so for many years after. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss […]
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Melissa K. asks: The other day you had an article about the Great Depression with that famous picture of the impoverished mother and her kids. Who was she and what ever happened to her? The Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in the history of the United States and the Western world, began on October 24, 1929, a day that […]
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MK23 asks: How do they figure out the maximum occupancy for a building? Generally speaking, the maximum occupancy of a room or building is primarily determined by the available exits, with each exit accommodating only a certain number of people before bottlenecking occurs. The other key component in determining the max occupancy of a building or room is the intended […]
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This Day In History: August 26, 1986 During the early morning hours of August 26, 1986, a cyclist out for an early ride discovered the half-nude and badly bruised body of an attractive young woman under a tree behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was obvious she was dead. The unfortunate victim was eighteen-year-old Jennifer […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn why a clean faced Lincoln suddenly decided to grow a bushy beard upon becoming President. You’re also going to learn a lot of interesting Bonus Facts concerning Lincoln and facial hair trends in America. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes […]
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Jim P. asks: Whenever I ride a bike it always seems to hurt a certain sensitive region. Is this doing any damage down there or should I just suck it up for the exercise? Although bicycle riding affords a terrific aerobic workout, at times avid cyclists may suffer from genital discomfort, sexual dysfunction, and even, possibly, cancer as a result. […]
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