10 Bizarre Facts- Part 2
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This Day In History: November 7
On this day in history, November 7th… 1665 : One of the oldest surviving newspapers, ‘The London Gazette’ was first published. At that time, King Charles II and the Royal Courts had shifted base from London to Oxford, to avoid the Great Plague. For fear of contagion, no one was willing to touch or read the newspapers from London. Thus, the […]
Read moreFranklin Roosevelt Was the First U.S Presidents to Start Using an Armored Vehicle For Transportation, Al Capone’s Cadillac
Text Version: Franklin Roosevelt was the first President to have an armored car. But why he would need one, and where he got it, might surprise you. In 1941, the secret service found themselves in a bit of a jam. The Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor and President Roosevelt needed a ride to address both houses of congress. Normally, they would’ve […]
Read more1/6th of the Time Spent Filming Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Psycho was Spent Shooting the Shower Scene
Text Version: In Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, Psycho, the shower scene was made up from 90 different shots using 70 different camera angles. The entire movie only took six weeks to shoot, however, that one shower scene took just over 1 week to complete. It was believed that Hitchcock used cold water in the shower to make Janet Leigh scream seem more […]
Read moreDisney Trivia Quiz
Today’s Brain Teasers: I Never Was…
I never was, am always to be, No one ever saw me, nor ever will, And yet I am the confidence of all To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. With beautiful women I often dance, they sweep me off my feet. Yet these ladies offer me no romance, With no man can I compete. My nose is long, […]
Read moreInteresting United States President Facts Part 4 (33th-44th President)
This is a continuation of the four part “Interesting U.S. President Facts” series. If you’re interested in the other parts, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. 33) Harry S. Truman Facts: The “S” in Truman’s middle name doesn’t stand for anything. His parents picked it to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman […]
Read moreThis Day In History: November 6
On this day in history, November 6th… 1572 : Wolfgang Schüler observed a Supernova (i.e, a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, caused by a star exploding) in the constellation ‘Cassiopeia’. Although it’s hard to say if the astronomer Schüler was actually the first to observe this phenomenon, dubbed one of the most important events in astronomy, he published Stella Nova (Latin: […]
Read moreInteresting United States President Facts Part 3 (25th-32th President)
This is a continuation of the four part “Interesting U.S. President Facts” series. If you’re interested in the other parts, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4. 25) William McKinley Facts: McKinley worked jobs as a postal clerk and as a teacher before the Civil War. He joined the army as a Private and rose to the […]
Read moreThe First ‘Tube’ of Toothpaste was Invented By Dr. Sheffield, called Crème Dentifrice
Text Version: Before toothpaste as we know it today, people tried several different things to clean their teeth. To name a few, egg shells, ash, ground oyster shells, and salt. It wasn’t until 1824, when American dentist named Peabody started adding soap to his paste that things started to change. John Harris in the 1850’s then added chalk, and in […]
Read moreCat Trivia Quiz
A Male Octopus’ Reproductive Organ Is One of Its Arms
Text Version: If you ever get tangled up with a male octopus, be careful which arm you touch. If you reach out to touch the third right arm, it’s more than just his arm, it’s also his reproductive organ, or “manhood”. The octopus uses this specialized arm called a ‘hectocotylus’ to insert ‘spermatophores’ which are packets of sperm, into the […]
Read moreToday’s Brain Teasers: Presidents Only Get to Keep This…
Presidents only get to keep this after they have given it. It is something they often give. But even though they are allowed to keep it after giving it, they rarely choose to. I have been observed by every human who ever lived. Yet no one has ever seen me in person and I’m replaced daily. I have a tongue, […]
Read moreInteresting United States President Facts Part 2 (13th-24th President)
This is a continuation of the four part “Interesting U.S. President Facts” series. If you’re interested in the other parts, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4. 13) Millard Fillmore Facts: Fillmore was the first President to have running water in the White House. While touring Europe later in life, the University of Oxford offered him […]
Read moreThis Day In History: November 5
On this day in history, November 5th… 1492 : Columbus was among the first Europeans to encounter corn(maize) from the Indians of Cuba. When Columbus landed in Cuba (claiming it for Spain) he had sent two Spanish scouts to explore the interior of the island. According the explorer’s journal that day, the Spanish scouts came back with stories about an amazing […]
Read moreBest of the Web: ‘Meat’eorites, Killdozers, Talking Elephants and More
I saw a peanut stand, Heard a rubber band. I saw a cuckoo wind up its clock. But I think I will have seen everything, when I hear an elephant talk… Without being trained to do so, Koshik the elephant has learned to speak five Korean words: “anja” (sit down); “aniya” (no), “nuo” (lie down); “choa” (good); and the one […]
Read moreWhy Meeting Notes are Called “Minutes”
Jesse asks: Why are the notes taken at a meeting called the “minutes”? Was this because the note taker records the notes along with the time? Not quite. In fact, the “minutes” here have nothing to do with time, but rather “small”, as in “minute” (my-newt). “Minutes” in this sense first popped up in the early 18th century, possibly directly […]
Read moreThe Russian Olympic Team Arrived 12 Days Late to The 1908 London Olympics Because They Hadn’t Updated to Using the Gregorian Calendar
Text Version: In the 1500’s most Roman Catholic countries & Scotland adopted the Gregorian Calendar (established by Pope Gregory XIII to compensate for the errors in time that had built up over centuries) over the Julian Calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC) . A lot of protestant countries however, ignored this new calendar for another 200 or so […]
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