Noah asks: Why is Japan called the land of the rising sun? Ancient, China developed all of the hallmarks of advanced civilization, including written language, advanced cities, specialized labor and bronze technology, as much as 2000 years before Japan. As a result, China, and its culture, had an enormously large influence on the younger culture, sharing its philosophies, political structures, […]
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This is an excerpt from our new book, The Wise Book of Whys, available in: Print | Kindle | Nook | Audiobook While today breaking a bottle of champagne over the hull of a ship is considered tradition before launching a vessel in certain countries, particularly Britain and the United States, people have been performing ceremonies at launches seemingly as long […]
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Today in History: February 4, 1938 “Magic Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” This simple question kicks off the world’s first full-length animated feature film, released across the United States on this day in 1938. An adaptation of a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm collections, the evil queen, clearly having a mid-life crisis, is […]
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In this episode you’re going to learn just who was “Mother Goose” and how a collection of children’s stories got attributed to “her”. We’re also happy to say that Squarespace is offering a 10% discount to all our listeners, which you can get by going to squarespace.com and signing up with the offer code: DailyKnowledge For those not familiar, Squarespace […]
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Myth: Electric “eels” exist. There are, however, electric fish: eight-foot long, 600 volt, mouth breathing, alligator-killing fish. Electrophorus electricus Although there are a number of fish that produce an electric charge, the species that is called “electric eel,” E. electricus, is a member of the fish order, ostariophysian. Mistaken for an eel due to its shape and lack of pelvic, […]
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“Slush funds” has gotten many politicians and government officials in trouble over the years. The 19th and 20th century politics are riddled with fallen and, sometimes, corrupt individuals who were hit with the dreaded “they have a slush fund” tag. But what exactly is a slush fund? And how is a slush fund different from any other fund? The history […]
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Shany asks: Why is there no E in the grading scale? Some schools do hand out E letter grades instead of an F, but they are in the minority. A majority of schools in the United States, particularly beyond primary age, give grades of A, B, C, D, or F. Rather than a failure on the part of academic institutions […]
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Today in History: February 3, 1780 Just as the clock was striking midnight in Litchfield County, Connecticut on February 3, 1780, a young man brutally bludgeoned to death his landlord Caleb Mallory, Caleb’s wife Jane and their nine-year-old granddaughter. After the murderer robbed the home, he burned it down with two of the couple’s other sleeping grandchildren still inside, two […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Woman Who Survived All Three Disasters Aboard the Sister Ships: the Titanic, Britannic, and Olympic Violet Jessop enjoyed incredible “luck” from a young age. Born in 1887 in Argentina to Irish immigrants, she contracted tuberculosis as a young child and was […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn just what is in a camel’s hump, and that it’s probably not what you think. You’re also going to learn just how a camel’s body is able to operate so efficiently in desert environments. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes […]
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Katlen asks: Is it true that footballs used to be made of pigskin? What are they made of now? These days, footballs are typically made from cowhide or vulcanized rubber, making their nickname “pigskins” somewhat ironic. Football fans often perpetuate the idea that footballs used to be made of pigskin, which is how they got their nickname, but it turns […]
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Ryan asks: Where did the phrase “let the cat out of the bag” come from? The famous humorist and writer Will Rogers once said, “Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.” But where did this expression come from and why is it used in this way? For those who aren’t […]
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In 1933 and 1934, an alleged plot to overthrow the government of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) by Wall Street Bankers may have happened. While contemporary newspapers called it a “gigantic hoax,” others, including the House’s Special Committee on Un-American Activities, found the allegations “credible.” You decide: The Bankers & Power Brokers During the campaign of 1932, FDR’s promise of jobs […]
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Today in History: January 31, 1990 After slogging through 14 years of red tape, the first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opened its doors in Moscow this day in 1990. It was the largest McDonald’s restaurant in the world, with enough seating for 700 people and the ability to serve 15,000 to-go orders daily. McDonald’s Canada was at the helm […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the truth about Marilyn Monroe’s size and some possible reasons why there is such a strong misconception today about her body dimensions. [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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Today I found out how the phrase “basket case” came to mean “someone who is insane.” At first, “basket case” didn’t mean someone who was crazy. Instead, it referred to someone who had a physical disability. The phrase has its origins in World War I. Funny enough, one of the earliest known documented instances of the phrase was actually in […]
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Jamie asks: Why is New Year’s day January 1st? Because Julius Caesar said so. Early Roman Calendar Since long before Caesar’s time, date keeping was dicey. In fact, the 355-day Roman calendar that immediately preceded Caesar’s Julian, worked on a four year cycle where every other year, an additional month was inserted between February (Februarius), the last month of that […]
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Today in History: January 30, 1969 On a cold and overcast January afternoon in London, the Beatles gathered on the roof of their company Apple Records on Savile Row, and gave what would be their last public performance. The live performance was meant to be the climax for the film “Let It Be.” Instead of highly polished, slickly produced and […]
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