Today in History: April 10, 1834 On the evening on April 10, 1834, a fire broke out in an elegant three-story mansion in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The rescuers found a slave woman chained in the kitchen, who admitted to deliberately setting the blaze. She felt it was worth the risk of dying in a fire to escape further torture […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to find out the somewhat stomach turning thing Worcestershire sauce is made of and when and how the sauce came about. You’re also going to learn why red meat turns brown when cooked. This episode is brought to you by NatureBox, a subscription service for nutritious snacks, with new snacks introduced every month made from […]
Read more
The date was April 3, 1919. The location was the South Side Pavilion in sunny Jacksonville, Florida. The occasion was a much-hyped competition of gastronomical strength between Ping Bodie, the five foot eight and 190 pound New York Yankee outfielder, versus the “world’s greatest eater,” an ostrich named Percy. They were to engage in a spaghetti-eating contest to determine, once […]
Read more
Continuing our jaunt around the English speaking parts of the globe looking at the origins of the names of major places: today I found out the origins of the names of the historic Scottish counties. Aberdeenshire The prefix aber means “the meeting of,” and usually represents a river flowing through the area. In Aberdeen’s case, it means “the meeting of […]
Read more
Our resident medical expert, Scott, and a buddy of his recently started The Medicine Journal, where you can learn all sorts of interesting facts about all things medical related. Below is a sample article from their site. Vaporizing, and then inhaling alcohol has gained a lot of attention lately. In the 1950s it was introduced as a treatment for excessive […]
Read more
Today in History: April 9, 1970 Paul McCartney’s announcement on April 9, 1970 that he would no longer be recording or performing with the Beatles was disheartening, but hardly surprising. Unable to agree on what direction the band should take, the four musicians had been pouring their creativity into solo projects. There were also arguments over who should manage the […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to learn about Eric Clapton’s somewhat unique relationship with his mother and how the name for a certain genre of music came to be called “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” [TRANSCRIPT: Clapton | Rock ‘n’ Roll] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: […]
Read more
Another great video from our friends over at TheMedicineJournal. Check out their YouTube Channel here for more interesting videos. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: How the Human Body Creates Electricity Why Superheroes Wear Their Underwear on the Outside How Testosterone Affects Hair Growth Does Cauterizing A Wound Really Work? The Interesting Origins of the Words “Geek” […]
Read more
Today I found out the origins of the names of England’s historic counties. Bedfordshire Bedfordshire is likely named after Beda, a Saxon chief who settled on River Great Ouse, which runs through the county. The settlement probably started as something like “Beda’s Ford” which was then shortened to Bedford. Berkshire When it was founded, Berkshire was Bearrocscir. Bearroc is thought […]
Read more
Today I found out about the origins of the names of the Australian states and territories (and their capitals). Australian Capital Territory As you can probably imagine, this territory houses the capital of Australia, Canberra. Not very imaginatively named, the territory was a matter of debate for some time after Australia became a federation in 1901. At the time, Melbourne, […]
Read more
Today I found out that camels were acquired by the United States military and played a role in the settlement of the American west. Camels are no strangers to war. They have been used in the Middle East for centuries. However, they aren’t exactly the creatures you think about when you think “U.S. Army.” In 1836, George Crosman, a U.S. […]
Read more
Today in History: April 8, 1994 On April 8, 1994 Kurt Cobain, the reluctant messiah of the “grunge” phenomenon that dominated rock music in the early 1990s, was found dead from an apparent suicide at his home in Seattle, WA. The 27-year-old Cobain, leader of the wildly popular and influential band Nirvana, died from a single shotgun blast to the […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to learn how the gun in the original Duck Hunt game worked and why when you bowl three consecutive strikes it is called a “Turkey”. [TRANSCRIPTS: Duck Hunt | Bowling] 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 This […]
Read more
The Lion King is one of those movies you just have to watch; it’s basically Hamlet with lions instead of pretentious English actors, which as an Englishman, I’m fairly certain scientifically makes The Lion King infinity percent better. Coming to America, however, is more of a cult film. It’s a good film don’t get us wrong, but its distinct lack […]
Read more
Sam asks: If you gave a color blind person something like LSD or some other sort of hallucinogenic drug, would they see colors they couldn’t before? First a little primer on colour blindness from the good people at ColorBlindAwareness.org: Most color blind people are able to see things as clearly as other people but they unable to fully ‘see’ red, […]
Read more
Today in History: April 7, 1906 Mount Vesuvius, located on Italy’s west coast, is mainland Europe’s only active volcano. It’s considered one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes because of the largely populated areas surrounding it, including the city of Naples. It’s estimated that two million people live in the immediate vicinity of Vesuvius. The volcano has erupted at least […]
Read more
In this “Weekend Why” episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn just why it is that cats love catnip. 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
Read more
In this “Weekend Why” episode of the podcast, you’re going to learn why a gecko’s feet can stick to *almost* anything. [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
Read more