The Russian Tank So Hard to Destroy It Sometimes Simply Ran Over Anti-Tank Guns to Take Them Out

The KV-1 and KV-2 are recognised as being amongst the most heavily armoured tanks deployed during WW2. At least initially largely impervious to anything less than a direct, point-blank hit from a dedicated anti-tank weapon, the KV series was so formidable that the first time the Wehrmacht encountered them, Soviet soldiers destroyed dozens of anti-tank guns by simply driving towards […]

Read more

A Saab Story

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Auto companies are a lot like automobiles. Some seem to run forever; others never ran very well in the first place. Here’s a look at a stylish carmaker that was beloved by its fans…but still ended up in a ditch. FLIGHT PLAN In the years leading up to World War […]

Read more

Why Does Hair Only Grow to a Certain Length, The Origin of the Male and Female Symbols, How January 1st Became the New Year in Many Parts of the World and More

In this week’s “best of” our YouTube channel, we look at the way hair grows, the origin of the Male and Female symbols, plus, why January 1st is the New Year in many parts of the world, whether NASA really spent millions developing a pen and much more. Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for many more videos […]

Read more

Weekly Wrap Volume 140

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Polish Schindlers You’ve probably heard of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Here’s a story you probably haven’t heard—about two men who pulled off a similar miracle in Poland.  Dr. Eugene […]

Read more

Weekly Wrap Volume 139

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. How Many Words for Snow do Eskimos Really Have It’s impossible to say precisely how many words for snow certain native peoples of the far north have. Why? To begin with, we are talking about a group of related languages, not […]

Read more

Forgotten History: The M247 Sergeant York and Its Propensity to Lock Onto Latrines Instead of Enemy Aircraft

The M247 Sergeant York was officially designated as a “self-propelled anti-aircraft gun” but was for all intents and purposes a tank chassis with anti-aircraft guns attached to the top. The vehicle was named for one Alvin York, a famous and highly decorated WW1 hero who captured over 100 German soldiers pretty much single handedly. Unfortunately for the U.S. tax payers […]

Read more

Why Does Your Stomach Growl When You Are Hungry, Why Geckos Feet Can Stick to Almost Anything and Much More

In this week’s “best of” our YouTube channel, we answer a variety of questions including why does your stomach growl when you are hungry, why a drawn heart doesn’t look like a real one, why lead was added to gasoline and much more. Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for many more videos like this. Why Does Your […]

Read more

Dustbin of History: The Ground Observer Corps

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader SHOCK WAVE In September 1949, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane flying over the North Pacific from Japan to Alaska detected levels of radioactivity in the atmosphere at least 20 times above normal. Other planes in the Pacific reported similar observations in the days that followed; elevated radiation levels were […]

Read more

Weekly Wrap Volume 138

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Origin of Valentines Day While not thought to be directly related to modern Valentine’s Day traditions, the beginnings of celebrating love (of a sort) in February date back to the Romans. The feast of Lupercalia was a pagan fertility and […]

Read more

The Last Laugh- Millionaire Charles Vance Millar and His Practical Jokes from Beyond the Grave

For many people, being dead is a fairly limiting handicap that prevents them from doing most of the things the living take for granted. In the 1930s, a man called Charles Vance Millar challenged that unfair stereotype via various stipulations of his will that allowed him to continue playing jokes on people despite being dead. A lawyer by trade, Millar […]

Read more
1 55 56 57 58 59 306