Quick Fact #432
Quick Fact #431
Ben & Jerry- spirit of america / Shutterstock.com
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Quick Fact #429
How Your Body Detects When It’s Low On or has Too Much Oxygen
James asks: Is it true that your body has no mechanism for detecting oxygen levels directly and instead measures carbon dioxide levels? That’s not entirely correct, but the human body does care more about carbon dioxide levels, than oxygen levels, something which might be surprising to some given that the purpose of breathing is to provide our bodies with the […]
Read moreThe Cicada Invasion is Here
They’re coming. If you live on the Eastern seaboard of North America, prepare this summer for a large-scale invasion of a species of cicada (“cicada” being the Latin for “tree cricket”) that hasn’t happened in 17 years. You will probably hear them before you see them, as a male swarm of these insects can produce noise at over 100 dB. The […]
Read more10 Interesting Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin was a man of many and varied accomplishments- a Renaissance man in the grand tradition of Leonardo da Vinci. He was a writer, scientist, musician, inventor and innovator, despite only ever receiving 2 years of formal schooling. His ideas and principles helped shape his fledgling nation, and his diplomatic skills assured the newly born United States of America […]
Read moreBefore He Was President, JFK Was a Bestselling Author and Won a Pulitzer Prize
Most remember John Fitzgerald Kennedy as our youthful and inspiring 35th President who, with his elegant wife, turned the White House into Camelot until his assassination in November 1963. But what few today recall is that long before his presidency, JFK was a well-respected author and even won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1957 with Profiles in Courage. Born […]
Read moreThe Great Chicago Fire Wasn’t Started by a Cow
Myth: The Great Chicago Fire was started by a cow. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed 3.3 square miles of Chicago, Illinois, burning for two days in 1871—between October 8th and October 10th. It killed hundreds of people, left more than 100,000 homeless (nearly one third of Chicago’s residents at the time), destroyed roughly 17,000 buildings, and caused a couple hundred […]
Read moreWhy and How a Cat Purrs
Rachel asks: Why and how do cats purr? As any cat owner—or even someone who’s seen a cat—knows, cats often purr when they’re being petted or getting their chin scratched. They also purr when they want food and when they’re eating. Sometimes, they’ll purr as they drift off into sleep. Purring is most known to be a sign that cats […]
Read more12 Crazy Sports From the Ancient World
This is a post by the authors at List25.com. For more interesting lists, subscribe to their newsletter here. 1) Pankration: While today we have MMA, the Ancient Greeks had something known as Pankration, which was something like a free-for-all hand to hand fight that mixed boxing, kicking, and wrestling. There were only two rules: don’t bite (nobody likes a biter) […]
Read moreHow World War I Helped Popularize the Bra
Corsets dominated the undergarments of wealthier women in the Western world for centuries, until WWI. So how did the war help popularize the bra? In a word, or two words in this case: metal shortage. The making of corsets required quite a bit of metal. Thus, in 1917, the U.S. War Industries Board asked American women to help their “men […]
Read moreThe Origin of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance
The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was written by a socialist Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy in 1892. It was published in a popular children’s magazine of the time called The Youth’s Companion as part of the 400th anniversary celebration of Christopher Columbus arriving in the New World. The celebration itself was the brainchild of James B. Upham, a marketer for the […]
Read moreThe Origin of the Bigfoot Legend
Today I found out the origin of the Bigfoot legend. Stories of a giant, hairy creature that appears half man and half ape have existed in various parts of the world for many centuries. In fact, the only continent not to have stories of “wild men” is Antarctica. In the Himalayas, it’s the Yeti. In Canada, it’s the Sasquatch. And […]
Read moreThe Curious Case of Alien Hand Syndrome
Although modern medicine has made tremendous advances in many areas, even mapping the human genome, there remain aspects of human health that continue to elude our full understanding. Alien hand syndrome is one of these puzzles- with its sufferers having one of their hands, usually the non-dominant one, acting as if it has a mind of its own. Many of […]
Read more10 Interesting Language Facts (Part-3)
Embed This Infographic [Source: Today I Found Out] For more Language Facts see: 10 Common Word & Pronunciation Mistakes 10 Interesting Word & Phrase Facts 10 More Interesting Words & Phrases Facts The Origins of 10 Words & Phrases 10 Interesting Language Facts 10 Interesting Language Facts (Part-2)
Read moreHow the United Kingdom Flag Design Came to Be as It is Today
Today I found out the origin of the United Kingdom’s flag design. With Britain permeating many a nation’s history, even people who have never visited the place are familiar with the British flag peering out at them from their history textbooks. Red, white, and blue before America adopted the colour scheme, the current British flag has been flying above government […]
Read moreThe First African American Invited to Dinner at the White House
In the autumn of 1901, Booker T. Washington, the great educator, author, and orator, was on a speaking tour. In Mississippi, he received a telegram from President Theodore Roosevelt. (President William McKinley had been assassinated less than two months before, an event which led to Roosevelt being sworn in as President.) The telegram asked Washington to come to the capitol […]
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