Today I found out Lyudmila Pavlichenko sniped a confirmed 309 Axis soldiers, including 36 German snipers, during WWII. While most of the world shied away from putting women on the front line, the Soviet Union did not, including recruiting about 2000 women as snipers during WWII, one of which turned out to be one of the most successful snipers in […]
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Camels have three eyelids. Two of the eyelids have eye lashes which help protect their eyes from sand. The third is a very thin lid which works as a sort of “windshield wiper” to clean off their eyes. It closes/opens from side to side rather than up and down. It is also thin enough that the Camels can see through […]
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The term “Swiss Army Knife” was coined by United States soldiers after WWII. The soldiers had trouble pronouncing the original name of “Schweizer Offiziersmesser” (Swiss Officer’s Knife) and thus began calling the multi-tool a “Swiss Army Knife”. The company that makes Swiss Army Knives is Victorinox, named after the founder, Karl Elsener’s, deceased mother, Victoria. The “nox” part comes from […]
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Kyle asks: Why do doughnuts have holes? Because bakers make them that way… 😉 In truth, nobody knows for sure why people started putting holes in the fried cakes. There are some outlandish tales from a sailor, Captain Hanson Gregory, who claimed to have invented the holed doughnut in 1847 at the age of 16. There is even a plaque […]
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This Day In History: May 30, 1806 On this day in history, 1806, Andrew Jackson dueled with famed marksman Charles Dickinson, killing him, after Dickinson insulted Jackson in a variety of ways including calling Jackson’s wife of bigamist. This latter point was a sore spot for Jackson as his wife really had married him while she was still married to […]
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Country music was originally called “hillbilly music”. In the 1940s, Ernest Tubb helped re-brand this type of music “country music”. In an interview about this, Tubb stated, “Hillbilly, that’s what the press used to call it, ‘hillbilly music’. Now, I always said, ‘You can call me a hillbilly if you got a smile on your face.’ We let the record […]
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Today I found out there once was a baseball player traded for baseball bats. “Bat Man”, as he was nicknamed after the trade, was actually named John C. Odom. His life ended tragically just six months after the momentous trade. After being signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2003 out of Tallahassee Community College, Odom was assigned to play […]
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You should know how to prevent Windows Update from automatically restarting your computer. There are few more annoying default settings than Windows’ developers choosing to have the default on Windows Update be to automatically restart your computer and further not providing any obvious way to disable auto-restarts after a Windows update.. Sure, they have a “postpone” button that pops up, […]
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The first president of the United States, George Washington, upon his death bed told his attendants “I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead. Do you understand?” He was terrified of accidentally being buried while he was still alive. Among […]
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You should know the plural of “hero” is “heroes”, not “heros”. With it being Memorial Day and so many people posting on Facebook/Twitter/etc. about all the “heros” out there, I thought I’d do a quick post to help people avoid being murdered in their beds by Grammar Nazis, as I’ve nearly been on numerous occasions, only managing to fend them […]
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Emma asks: Why does your nose runs when you cry? Well when you’re crying, if you find your nose running and your feet smelling, perhaps you’re upside down? *crickets* In truth, your nose runs when you’re crying because the tears from your tear glands not only drain out onto your face, but there is also a passage way in the […]
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In The Phantom Menace, in scenes where Yoda was walking around, Warwick Davis played Yoda, obviously in a Yoda suit. Davis also played the Ewok, Wicket, in Return of the Jedi and of course is most famous for playing Willow (phenomenal movie) and of course Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry Potter series, among many other roles. Reference
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Each second about four million metric tons of matter is converted to energy within the Sun’s core. This gives the Sun a lifetime as a main sequence star of about 10 billion years with about 5 billion years to go. The surface temperature of the Sun is about 5780 K, which is equivalent to just under 10,000 F and 5,500 […]
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Jonathon T. asks: Why is there an r in Mrs. when it’s pronounced misses? You may have wondered, if you’ve ever thought about it, why there is an “r” in “Mrs.” when it’s generally spoken as “missus” (also sometimes spelled “missis”). “Mrs.” first popped up as an abbreviation for “mistress” in the late 16th century. At the time, “mistress” didn’t […]
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A typical kernel of popcorn once it pops will complete the popping/expanding process in under 1/50th of a second. Why Popcorn Pops
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You should know how to treat a jellyfish sting. Contrary to popular belief, you should never urinate on a jellyfish sting. This will just make the problem worse, as does washing the sting with fresh water without prior treatment. You should also not try to put ice on it before properly treating the area, which is sometimes people’s initial inclination […]
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Today I Found Out was started on January 1, 2010 and today reached its 1000 post including: 554 regular articles, 56 This Day In History articles, 324 Quick Facts, 44 Infographics, 13 Answers, and 8 You Should Know articles, the latter two being new sections launched just this month. I thought I’d use this 1000th post to share the most […]
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Dolphins have been observed to teach their young to use tools. They also have a complex communication system and have been observed to display a variety of cultural characteristics such as holding a type of funeral ceremony for their dead. Reference
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