Today I found out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop. Obviously this depends somewhat on a variety of factors such as the size of the person’s tongue; whether they concentrate the licking on just one side; how hard they press with their tongue; amount of saliva; etc. In any event, […]
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Myth: Al Gore said he invented the internet. One of the things Al Gore gets made fun of most often in popular media tends to be the misconception that he at one point supposedly said he invented the internet. Now, all politics aside, whether you hate/mildly dislike/like/love/are indifferent to Al Gore, he doesn’t really deserve to be made fun of […]
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Today I found out what started World War I. The commonly held notion that it was started out of outrage over the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie at the hands of Serbian nationalist secret society known as the “Black Hand” isn’t entirely correct. In fact, the Emperor Franz Josef himself expressed relief over the […]
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Today I found out how an Etch a Sketch works. An Etch a Sketch is a remarkably simple device. The primary components are just a small sheet of glass; a stylus controlled by two knobs; very fine aluminum powder; and tiny plastic beads. The tiny beads are mixed in with the powder to make sure the powder will continue to […]
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Today I found out why some coins in the United States have ridges. Putting ridges on some coins in America got its start back in the 1700’s. At this time, coins were actually made of materials that were worth what the coin was worth. For example, a half dollar silver coin contained fifty cents worth of silver. Likewise, a $10 […]
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Today I found out what causes the Northern and Southern Lights (aurora borealis and aurora australis respectively). Simply put, these lights are caused by very fast moving electrons striking atoms in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, primarily oxygen and nitrogen atoms which make up most of our atmosphere. When this happens, it can put these atoms in an excited state. During […]
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If you’ve ever wondered why we kiss under the mistletoe and how the plant got that strange name, well, wonder no more. The name for mistletoe derives the fact that mistletoe tends to spring from bird droppings that have fallen on trees, with the seeds having passed through the digestive tract of the birds. Thus, the plant was given the […]
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Today I found out Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created by the department store chain Montgomery Ward as a way to save money on one of their annual Christmas promotions. The year was 1939; Montgomery Ward, at that time, gave away coloring books to try to get more shoppers into their stores during the holiday season. Up to this point, […]
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Read moreI have no idea why, but November seemed to be the month of the old articles for some reason. Quite a flip from October where four of the five top articles were no more than about a month and a half old. For November, three of the five were over six months old and only one was under two months […]
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In 1943, Claude R. Wickard, the head of the War Foods Administration as well as the Secretary of Agriculture, got the bright idea to ban pre-sliced bread in America, which he did on January 18, 1943. The specific reasons behind this aren’t entirely clear, though it was about conservation of resources, particularly generally thought to have been about conserving wax […]
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Today I found out that the woman Jack Nicholson thought was his sister for a good portion of his life, turned out to be his mother. In 1974, Jack Nicholson’s movie Chinatown was opening in theaters and Time Magazine chose to do a cover story on him. Someone working at Time Magazine called Jack up to verify some facts that […]
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Today I found out the song Jingle Bells is thought to have been written for a Thanksgiving Sunday school program. Jingle Bells was originally called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written by James Pierpont sometime between 1853 and 1857. At the time, Pierpont was working as an organist and music director in Savannah, Georgia. Pierpont was hired on by […]
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Embed This Image On Your Site: [Source: Today I Found Out] If you liked this Thanksgiving Myths infographic, check out 10 Interesting Thanksgiving Facts
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Karen asks: Why is pencil lead called lead when it doesn’t contain any? In the 16th century, a large deposit of pure, solid graphite was discovered in Borrowdale, England. This was the first time in recorded history that high quality, solid graphite had been found. When metallurgists first encountered this substance, they thought it was some sort of black lead, […]
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Myth: French toast was invented in France. French toast was not invented in France. In fact, French toast was around long before France even existed as a country. The exact origins of French toast are unknown, but it isn’t surprising that humans seem to have come up with the recipe quickly, given that French toast is traditionally made out of […]
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Embed This Image On Your Site: [Source: Today I found out] If you liked this Thanksgiving Facts infographic, check out 10 Thanksgiving Myths Dispelled
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Today I found out why poop is brown. Poop is brown due to bile from your gall bladder being metabolized by the bacteria in your intestines. This results in a byproduct called stercobilin, which, in turn, makes poop look brown-ish. Without this stercobilin, your poop would typically look grey-ish/white. Because of this, a sure sign you are having problems with […]
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