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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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. […]
Read more
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, […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
Today in History: September 27, 1779 For the purpose of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War, John Adams was appointed on this day in history by the Continental Congress as minister plenipotentiary, and sent to France to carry out his duties. Adams had traveled to Paris once before; he had tried to […]
Read more
Embed This Infographic [Source: Today I Found Out] For Part 1 of this series go here: 12 Fascinating Food Facts For Part 2 of this series go here: 10 Fascinating Food Facts (Part-2) For Part 3 of this series go here: 10 More Fascinating Food Facts (Part-3) For Part 4 of this series go here: 10 Fascinating Food Facts (Part-4)
Read more
Today I found out about the Olowalu Massacre. In 1789, Captain Simon Metcalfe and his son Thomas set off on a fur trading mission in two ships, the Eleanora and the Fair American. The ships were separated when the Fair American was captured by the Spanish and taken briefly to Mexico, but the two captains had agreed to a rendezvous […]
Read more
After being invaded by Germany in the west and later by Soviet Russia in the east, the Polish government fled Warsaw but continued to fight from abroad. After Germany attacked Russia, the Russians decided to release their Polish prisoners of war, who then began re-forming into an army. In April 1942, several of these Polish units landed in Persia and […]
Read more