In April 1851, Alfred C. Hobbs boarded the steamship Washington bound for Southampton, England. His official duty was to sell the New York City-based company Day and Newell’s newest product – the parautopic lock – at a trade show – London’s Great Exhibition. But Hobbs had something a bit more nefarious up his sleeve, or rather in the small trunk […]
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This Day In History: June 9, 68 On June 9, 68 C.E., the 95 year reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end, ushering in an era of unrest and civil war. One of Rome’s most ruthless and notorious leaders, who was responsible not only for the deaths of countless innocent subjects and Christians but also his own mother […]
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In this weekend why episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn why it is that when we give a time, we say “o’clock.” [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, you’re going to learn where the expression “basket case” came from. [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 weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Causes Dark Circles Under Your Eyes? It is often claimed that periorbital dark circles are caused by tiredness or working too hard or even just staying up late. While this can be true, the truth is that your genes play a […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the secret message recently found in Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. [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 a cool October night in 1871, 18 Chinese men and boys were massacred by a bloodthirsty mob in Los Angeles. The Cause Debate continues over the actual trigger for the riot, but most commentators point to a fight between rival Chinese gangs in Los Angeles’ then-Chinatown on Calle de los Negros (today part of Los Angeles Street). According to […]
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What Would Jesus Do?, often shortened to WWJD? or W.W.J.D. is a slogan so famous that millions of objects have been emblazoned with it. However, the person who came up with “W.W.J.D.” never saw a penny of the millions of dollars companies across the globe have made from it. The earliest known instance of the full slogan “What Would Jesus Do” […]
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This Day In History: June 6, 1933 On this day in 1933, amorous teenagers and parents lacking a babysitter had reason to rejoice when curious patrons drove onto the grounds of Park-In Theaters, the world’s first drive-in located in Camden, New Jersey. The drive-in’s slogan was “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.” Great. The […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the famous Sherlock Holmes phrase that never was and why we say it anyways 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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Roy Sullivan was born 1912 in Greene County in central Virginia, today home to just a shade over eighteen thousand people. He was the fourth of eleven children and lived in the Blue Ridge mountains with his family. In 1940, at the age of 28, Sullivan joined the national park’s fire patrol. He became one of three rangers to monitor […]
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Gina asks: What does “al” mean in Arabic? Roughly translated to “the,” the Arabic word “al-” is prefixed to nouns to make them definite. For example: “kitab ‘book’ can be made definite by prefixing it with al-, resulting in al-kitab ‘the book’.” Comprised of two letters, ālif (ā) and Lām (l), frequently, al- is placed in front of proper nouns, […]
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Lake Peigneur is located in Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico. Before 1980, it was an approximately 10-foot deep fresh water lake with an island in the middle. Next to it, and partially under it, Diamond Crystal Salt Company maintained a salt mine, with salt being mined near the lake since 1919. Around large underground salt domes, you can often […]
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This Day In History: June 5, 1968 The United States in 1968 was a country torn by violence and divided by a political chasm so wide and bitter that any positive, unifying force seemed unimaginable. Then an infectiously optimistic young Senator galvanized even the most disenfranchised among us with his vision of what America should, could, and would be under […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the little girl who named the dwarf planet of Pluto and how she came up with the name. You’re also going to learn why it is that movie advertisement clips that are often shown before movies are commonly called “trailers.” [TRANSCRIPT] *If you, like so many, are fed up with buying expensive […]
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Brian T. asks: Where do the Gypsies originally come from? They do not have a shared homeland or national identity. They are a people who are scattered across the globe and whose origins have always been shrouded in myth and mystery (among other reasons because they have kept no written records of their early history). Many saw them (and continue […]
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Today I found out what makes a boomerang come back. Non-returning boomerangs have been used for at least 20,000-30,000 years, with the oldest known example carved from a mammoth’s tusk. These non-returning boomerangs were used for hunting and were carved for straight flight and to stay in the air as long as possible when thrown correctly. The hunter was then […]
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This Day In History: June 4, 1912 The state of Massachusetts enacted the nation’s first minimum wage law on June 4, 1912. The law only protected women and children, but since these groups were the ones most often exploited by unscrupulous employers (relatively speaking), it made a huge difference to those toiling in sweat shops six days a week for […]
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