Today in History: October 4th, 2011 On this day in history, 2011, a great injustice to one man, Michael Morton, that has since inspired a book (Depraved Prosecution) and a documentary (An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story), was undone. On August 13, 1986, Christine Morton (age 31) was found by a neighbor beaten to death in her bed in […]
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Mark asks: Who invented spoons and forks? Spoons Spoons are one of the oldest eating utensils on the planet. This isn’t particularly surprising if one considers that nearly as long as humans have needed food, they’ve required something to scoop it up with. Unlike knives and forks, that for the most part needed to be fashioned, natural spoons could be […]
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Pro civil rights, environmental legislation, peace, universal health care and progressive policies (including raising taxes)- your granddaddy wouldn’t recognize the GOP of today. Birth of a Party By the mid-19th century, the fabric of the United States was being torn apart by slavery. The famous 1820 agreement, the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited the spread of slavery in much of […]
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After years of having it on the “To-Do” list, we’re officially launching our YouTube Channel with this as our debut video. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to make sure you don’t miss future TodayIFoundOut videos, which like our articles will be on a variety of topics and chock full of interesting, well researched facts. Thanks! Transcript: #1: Avast, Definition: “stop” […]
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Today in History: October 3rd: 1863: Lincoln Proclaims Thanksgiving an Official Holiday After the tireless efforts of the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb (and the “Oprah” of her day), Sarah Hale, to get a national Thanksgiving holiday created, President Abraham Lincoln declared on this day in history, 1863- just a few days after receiving Hale’s final letter on […]
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Today I found out about the history of toast. The history of toast begins, of course, with bread. The earliest archaeological evidence of flour dates back some 30,000 years, and it’s likely people were making flatbreads around that time, too. Along with being a staple food in many civilizations, ritual bread was sometimes used as an offering to the gods […]
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For part 1 of this series, see: How Pilates Caused a Woman’s Body to “Swallow” Her Breast Imagine- your wife begins to think you’re a closet alcoholic, so she purchases a breathalyzer to test your blood alcohol content (BAC) throughout the day. Your doctors concur with her assessment, thinking you’re sneaking off into dark corners to imbibe without the judging […]
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Today Day in History: October 2, 1950 The First Peanuts comic strip was published: Peanuts, written by Charles Schulz and one of the most influential and beloved comic strips of all time, made its debut on this day in 1950 in nine different newspapers. What made Peanuts especially remarkable for its time was its astute social commentary, especially when compared […]
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Since before the U.S. was a country, juries in the American system of justice were being impaneled to be the “triers of evidence,” or as a recent President of the United States described it, the “deciders.” In criminal cases in the U.S., the jury’s decision-making power is enormous, and includes the legal privilege to even acquit a person who has […]
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Today I found out about the secret message hidden in Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. On the surface, it could be any other high-end watch from the mid-1800s. Inside, however, amidst the cogs and gears, is a different story. The words “Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels. Thank God we have a government” are etched there, though the author of […]
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Today in History: October 1, 1890 Yosemite National Park, the site of such natural wonders as Half Dome and the majestic giant sequoia trees, was established by an act of Congress this day in 1890. Environmental activist John Muir and his associates campaigned tirelessly for the passage of this act, and their work finally came to fruition when President Benjamin […]
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Born into a poor peasant family in a foreign land, no one had worse odds to become the ruler of the Byzantine Empire than Basil. Yet, through a combination of hard work, scheming, murder and competence, Basil ascended to the Byzantine throne and enjoyed 19 years of relatively peaceful rule. Authorities disagree over when and where Basil was born. Some […]
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Myth: Injecting medicine straight into your heart can be beneficial in some way. Ah, the dramatic scene that ends with an actor stabbing a needle straight into their heart, narrowly escaping death and magically curing whatever ailment just befell them. While very dramatic, it’s also very untrue and an exceptionally bad idea if your goal is to get better. In […]
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Today in History: September 30, 1955 In just over the course of a year and with only a grand total of three films to his credit, James Dean managed to achieve an unparalleled iconic status. He became the personification of the cool, rebellious visionary who made adolescence appear as a hero’s journey rather than an awkward and unwelcome rite of […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. How a Wife Beating, Serial Killer Puppet Gave Us the Expression “Pleased as Punch” As a child you might have wondered how a bowl of punch could be pleased about anything. Turns out, the saying has nothing to do with the drink. […]
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meunierd / Shutterstock.com Text Version: Fact 661: Edgar Allen Poe married his first cousin, Virginia Clemm , when he was 26 and she 13. She died just 11 years later, inspiring some of his more famous poems, such as “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee”. A friend of Poe’s, Charles Burr, wrote, “Many times, after the death of his beloved wife, […]
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So ubiquitous in today’s political discourse, many assume that the red state/blue state distinction has been around as long as we have had Republicans and Democrats. In fact, the opposite is true – the dichotomy is relatively young, having only become settled with the Presidential election of 2000. The Color of Political Parties In order to make political reporting more […]
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Eric asks: Who invented the food pyramid? The very first “food pyramid” was a Swedish invention and it was an invention of necessity more than anything else. Back in 1970s, Sweden saw its country gripped by high food prices. The government then tasked The Socialstyrelsen (National Board of Health and Welfare) with coming up with a way to help the […]
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