Today in History: March 6, 1951 On this day in 1951, the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg began in New York Southern District Federal Court. The couple was accused of conspiracy to commit espionage by providing information about the atomic bomb to the USSR during WWII. A co-defendant, Morton Sedell, also faced the same charges. Julius Rosenberg, a member […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the first known robot ever made, which dates back a surprising amount in history. 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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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 new site. If you’ve ever washed away your day with hours in a hot-tub, you might have asked yourself, “Why do my hands look […]
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For reasons that still aren’t well understood, bacteria proliferate in microgravity. Creating a potential recipe for disaster for humans stationed in space for long periods, bacteria’s love of low-g also raises an intriguing question: Why are they so comfortable there? Thriving Several years ago, astronauts began noticing that: Virulent bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella can grow stronger and […]
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Ashley asks: Why do people have grass lawns? They are so expensive and a lot of work, not to mention bad for the environment. Whose brilliant idea was this? Maintaining the perfect lawn takes a lot of work. There’s mowing, fertilizing, aerating, and watering. Having a trimmed green field leading up to your front door is something of a status […]
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Today in History: March 5, 1963 The oft-told story behind the origin of the Hulu-Hoop is the tale of two childhood buddies named Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin, the founders of Wham-O, who first heard of kids gyrating hoops around theirs waists for fun when a visiting Australian mentioned its popularity back home. Knerr and Melin began making their […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the twisted tale of the man who has gone down in history as the most prolific executioner of all time. [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 This episode is brought you by lynda.com, which […]
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Beginning on August 24, 1572 and lasting for nearly two months afterward, tens of thousands of men, women and children were slaughtered across France as part of an ongoing war to decide whose Jesus was right. Religious Wars in France Although simmering for years, all hell broke loose in Europe after Martin Luther nailed a long list of complaints about […]
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This is an excerpt from our new book: The Wise Book of Whys, available in: Print | Kindle | Nook | Audiobook The earliest documented reference to New York being referred to as “The Big Apple” comes from a 1909 book by Edward Martin, called The Wayfarer. In it, he uses the moniker in a metaphorical sense, rather than a […]
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Martin A. asks: Where did the expression “nothing to sneeze at” come from? For that matter, why is sneezing called sneezing? Thanks! As with so many etymologies, it’s difficult to definitively say exactly where the word ‘sneeze’ comes from, but it is generally thought that it started with the Indo-European word ‘penu’ – to breath. Eventually, this evolved into the […]
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Today in History: March 4, 303 Back in the 4th century, the story goes that there was a 28 year-old high ranking Herculean guard working for the Roman emperor Galerius Maximian named Adrian of Nicomedia. While at work one day presiding over the torture of a bunch of Christians, Adrian asked them what they expected to receive in an afterlife […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn if Ostriches really do hide their heads in the sand when they detect danger. 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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Today I found out about H.H. Holmes, one of the United States’ first serial killers. Herman Webster Mudgett was born in 1861 in New Hampshire to a relatively wealthy family. He was reportedly extremely intelligent from a young age, and went on to study medicine at the University of Michigan. But he was also implicated in the death of one […]
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S. Katz asks: Who is Stanley and why is there a cup named after him? Thanks! The oldest championship trophy in professional sports in North America, the Stanley Cup’s rich history is only matched by that of it’s namesake. Lord Stanley of Preston Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley was born into one of England’s richest families in 1841 and could trace […]
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Today in History: March 3, 1875 The music from Carmen is recognizable even to people who are more familiar with Alan Jackson or AC/DC than arias, but when Georges Bizet composed Carmen, it was no sure bet it would ever make it to the stage. The reason for this rested solely with the opera’s plot, which is based on the […]
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Find more “interesting fact” videos on our YouTube Channel here If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: Why Superheroes Wear Their Underwear on the Outside The Origin and Meanings of 9 Pirate Words and Expressions How the Word “Spam” Came to Mean “Junk Message” 10 Interesting Star Trek Facts The Guy Who Played Luke Skywalker Has Played the […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Buffalo Wings Are Called That Unsurprisingly, neither the origin of the name nor the food item itself have anything to do with actual buffalo, nor American Bison which many people call buffalo even though they are not. Rather, this tasty item […]
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Today I found out about Pope Pius II, who wrote a popular romance novel called The Tale of Two Lovers. Pope Pius II was born Enea Silvio Piccolomini near Siena, Italy in 1405, one of 18 children. His family was part of the Italian aristocracy, but they had fallen into poverty. Once the future Pope was old enough, he went […]
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