Drew asks: Why are some ice cubes clear and others cloudy? Unless you happen to have a specialized ice machine in your home, it is practically guaranteed that the ice your freezer makes is of the cloudy variety. A popular and well known trick to making clear(er) ice is to either boil the water first or use distilled water. However, […]
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This Day In History: July 9, 1795 On July 9, 1795, James Swan, an American businessman and Revolutionary patriot, liquidated the debt the U.S. government owed to the country of France, agreeing to pay the sum of $2,024,899 (about $28 million today). James Swan was a native of Fife, Scotland and emigrated to Boston, MA in 1765 at the age […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the surprisingly recent date that women started popularly wearing bras and how we can credit a major war for making this happen. [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 Day In History: July 8, 52 B.C.E. On July 8, 52 C.E., Julius Caesar conquered a small fishing village in Gaul (modern-day France) called Lutetia Parisiorum, which over the centuries would become one of the most elegant and influential cities in the world. If you could look at those two cities side-by-side now, they would have little in common […]
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In this episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn the real life story of a man who quite literally saved the world from what could have been the most devastating war in history. [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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On Sunday, December 17, 1967, the Prime Minister of what was then the 9th wealthiest nation on Earth disappeared off of the coast of Cheviot Beach, Portsea, Victoria in the southeast of Australia. Harold Holt’s body was never found. Weekend Vacation On Friday, December 15, Holt travelled from the country’s capital of Canberra to his beach house at Portsea. He […]
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Kaiden asks: Why is 9-1-1 the emergency call number? Before the 1960s, the United States didn’t have one universal phone number for Americans to call if they needed help from the police or fire department. Callers simply had to know the phone number for each department in the area they were currently in. In the case of large cities, there […]
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This Day In History: July 7, 1983 On July 7, 1983, an 11-year-old American girl from Manchester, Maine began a two-week tour of the Soviet Union at the invitation of Yuri Andropov after she wrote the Soviet leader a letter expressing concern about the possibility of a nuclear war. The winsome little girl gave the Soviets a rare look at […]
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In this weekend why episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn why it is that Amish men sport beards, but never moustaches. [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 this weekend why episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn how the Americas got that name. [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 this episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn the surprising truth about when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Just for a hint, it was not anywhere close to July 4th, but was much later. You’re also going to learn a slew of other interesting 4th of July facts. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe […]
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Guy H. asks: Who invented bowling? Bowling has a rather vague history, with a form of it possibly dating back as far as 5000 years to the ancient Egyptians. This story starts with the turn of the century archeologist William Matthews Flinders Petrie, or simply Flinders Petrie. By 1895, he had already established himself as, perhaps, the world’s leading Egyptologist. 18 […]
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For those in the United States celebrating Independence Day and looking to have something interesting to talk to your friends and relatives about at your respective barbeques, here is some conversation fodder to both make yourself look smarter and avoid having to discuss once again how your cousin’s three year old daughter is already showing every sign of being the […]
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This Day In History: July 4, 1826 On July 4, 1826, two old friends, and adversaries, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within five hours of one another, and the story goes that the messengers dispatched from the men’s homes to inform each of the other’s passing crossed on their somber journey. Jefferson and Adams were the last survivors from […]
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For thousands of years, Mohave tribes dotted the land in and around what is now the modern-day city of Las Vegas. Sometime in the 1770s, Spanish missionary Francisco Gracias became the first foreigner to encounter the tribes. As he detailed in his travel notes, their meeting was quite friendly. In 1826, the first English-speaking explorer, Jedediah Smith, came upon this […]
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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.) Also, don’t forget to check out TodayIFoundOut’s YouTube channel here, which very soon will start being updated […]
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Brandon asks: Who invented Scotch? Scotch has been referred to as “the water of life,” and to many who know its allure today, they can understand why. Yet the chronicle of this sometimes, smoky, often nutty, occasionally fruity elixir is poorly known, and in fact, its precise origin is lost to the mists of time (or more likely, drinking Scotch). […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about two duels that were fought as a result of an affair Marie Curie had with one of her deceased husband’s former students. [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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