Random Trivia Quiz
Today’s Brain Teasers: The Person who makes it…
The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it, never uses it. The person who uses it doesn’t know they are. With words unnumber’d I abound, In me mankind take much delight, In me great store of learning’s found, Yet I can neither read nor write What gets wetter the more it dries? Tho’ good fellows we […]
Read moreListerine Popularized the Phrase “Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride”
Text Version: The phrase “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” first originated in a music tune by Fred W. Leigh which had a line in it stating, “Why Am I Always A Bridesmaid?”. However, the mouthwash brand Listerine is responsible for the phrase’s widespread popularity. In 1924, Listerine launched a series of advertisements with slogan “Often a bridesmaid, never a […]
Read moreHow to Remove a Fresh Carpet Stain
You should know how to remove a fresh carpet stain before it sets in. This is a little trick I picked up in college from a roommate after a certain party where certain “friends” decided keg stands were in order… *memories* This trick has worked without fail every time (and there have been a lot of times over the years […]
Read moreSome Confederate Newspapers During The Civil War were Printed On Wallpaper
Text Version: During the American Civil War, the Union soldiers blocked supplies to the Confederacy. Due to this there were mass shortages and the newspaper offices ran out of paper. The scarcity of paper forced editors into being resourceful and to find other means of publishing, which they did. They used wallpaper to print their newspapers (this was not ripped […]
Read moreThis Day In History: November 1
On this day in history, November 1st… 1512 : Michelangelo’s epic ceiling painting in the Sistine Chapel was opened to the public for viewing for the first time. Michelangelo Buonarroti, born in 1475, first came to the spotlight as a talented sculpture during the early Renaissance movement in Florence. His famous statues of Pieta (1498) and David (1504) earned him a call from […]
Read moreToday’s Brain Teasers: Though Big My Belly…
Special thanks to Justin V. from North Carolina for the idea to start putting up brain teasers on TIFO Though big my belly, long my nose, And with one arm I strut; I make the fair their foes expose, And keep my own mouth shut: Before me they their secrets tell, The news of all the day; And for my […]
Read moreWhy Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Split Up
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were, in my own humble opinion, the greatest comedy team in the history of show business. I like Laurel and Hardy very much; I love the Marx Brothers and I idolize the Three Stooges, but there was something so electric about Dean and Jerry. It was a new concept, a fresh idea, teaming up a […]
Read moreThere’s a Higher Chance of Men Being Color Blind Than Women
Text Version: Color blindness is basically a deficiency of color vision, the most common of which is the Red-green color vision defect. People with this defect have difficulty in differentiating between red and green color hues. It is a X-linked genetic disorder as both genes for red and green receptors are located in the X chromosome. As you probably already […]
Read moreMore Daily Posts
As mentioned about a week and a half ago, starting today we’re going to be doing a lot more daily posts here on Today I Found Out than previously. We’ll still be doing the normal 5-6-ish full articles per week like always, but we’ll also be adding a few other posts daily and a variety of new series of posts […]
Read moreBlack Pepper Was So Expensive In Ancient Times, It Was Used As Currency
Text Version: Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is commonly dried and used as a spice the world over. In earlier times, although pepper was widely well-known as a seasoning, it was very costly which only the affluent could afford. In fact, the Dutch even today use the expression “peperduur” in their language, meaning ‘pepper expensive’ for something that is very expensive. […]
Read moreThe Woman Who is the “Mother” of Us All
Today I found out that all humans can be traced back to a single female known as Mitochondrial Eve. This woman is thought to be the “mother” of all humans alive today. Seems like a big claim for scientists to make. So how do they know this? The simple explanation is that when an egg is fertilized by a sperm, the […]
Read moreHow the Sun Works
This is a fantastic educational video by Henry Reich from MinutePhysics (with Bonus Sun Facts below written by me). MinutePhysics also sells a few t-shirts here, if you’re interested. If you’ve got an educational video you’d like featured on Today I Found Out, you can contact me here. Bonus Sun Facts: The energy required to stop the Earth orbiting the […]
Read moreWhy Do the British Pronounce “Z” as “Zed”?
Jack asks: Why do the British pronounce “Z” as “Zed”? It’s not just the British that pronounce “z” as “zed”. The vast majority of the English speaking world does this. The primary exception, of course, is in the United States where “z” is pronounced “zee”. The British and others pronounce “z”, “zed”, owing to the origin of the letter “z”, […]
Read moreSleeping Beauty is Based on a Story Where a Married King Finds a Girl Asleep and Can’t Wake Her, So Rapes Her Instead
Today I found out Sleeping Beauty is based on a story where a married king finds a girl asleep and can’t wake her, so rapes her instead. The story is called The Sun, the Moon, and Talia, written, or at the least collected and composed, by the Italian poet Giambattista Basile. It was published in 1634 in his “Pentamerone” collection […]
Read moreThe Amazing Life of Theodore Roosevelt
Today I Found Out has teamed up with Jeremiah Warren to show his awesome “trivia” related videos here, along with Bonus Facts included after the video by me. I hope you enjoy his videos as much as I have. “Of all the public men that I have known, on both sides of the Atlantic (and there are few that I […]
Read moreThe Colossal Squid Has a Doughnut Shaped Brain With Their Esophagus Running Through the Hole
Today I found out the Colossal Squid, which is the largest known squid in terms of mass on Earth, has a doughnut shaped brain with their esophagus running through the hole in the center. This hole through their brain isn’t very large at all with their esophagus diameter at just around 10 mm (.39 inches). Their brain itself isn’t that […]
Read moreThe Only Victim of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was a Three Legged Dog
Today I found out the only victim of the Tacoma Narrows, “Galloping Gertie”, bridge collapse was a three legged dog. The three legged dog in question was a black Cocker Spaniel left in the back seat of the lone car abandoned on the galloping bridge. The dog was owned by reporter Leonard Coatsworth, though his wife stated in an interview […]
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