Sarah U. asks: Why are Harley motorcycles legal when they are so loud it hurts your ears? Anyone who’s ever witnessed a poker run knows that Harley-Davidson motorcycles are really, really loud. And since not everyone thinks that’s a good thing, in recent years, there have been efforts to stifle them. Straight off the line today, Harley exhaust systems can […]
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This Day In History: November 24, 1807 The Native Americans and the colonists lived in closer proximity than modern Americans often realize. They worked as tailors, carpenters, whalers, and in other contemporary occupations. Native Americans were an integral part of the colonial economy, and their presence in colonial villages was completely unremarkable on the whole. When the Revolutionary War broke […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader If you were around in the 1980s, you undoubtedly remember them: black-and-white photos of missing children printed on the sides of cardboard milk cartons. Here’s the story of how it all started. ABDUCTED On Sunday morning, September 5, 1982, 12-year-old Johnny Gosch set out from his West Des Moines, Iowa, […]
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From the beginning, heavy drinking was fairly commonplace among the cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point (founded in 1802). In an attempt to stem this in 1826, the academy’s strict superintendent and the “Father of West Point,” General Sylvanus Thayer, began a crackdown by prohibiting alcohol on campus. As Christmas approached and the cadets realized that […]
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This Day In History: November 23, 1936 The issue of an extramarital affair, Robert Johnson was born as Robert Dodds in Hazelhurst, Mississippi, the son of Julia Dodds and Noah Johnson. (Julia briefly took up with Noah after her husband and father of her other ten children had to flee town in order to avoid being hanged after he injured […]
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Matt asks: Why do Americans refrigerate eggs and other countries don’t? How long do eggs last unrefrigerated? In supermarkets across the United States, Australia, and Japan, eggs can be found in the refrigerated section alongside other cold items such as milk and cheese. However, in most other countries of the world, eggs can be found stored at room temperature alongside nonperishable […]
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In this video from the crew at SciShow, they explain the fascinating reason why Blu-ray disks can hold so much more data than DVDs despite that the two disks are the same form factor. If you like this video, be sure and subscribe to their channel here. You can also join us in supporting their efforts to make more videos […]
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This Day In History: November 19, 1964 Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard had to be tenacious to get their big break. When they first auditioned for Berry Gordy at Motown under the group name The Primettes, he told them to come back after they’d finished high school. Undaunted, the three girls loitered around the Motown office after school, […]
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This is yet another great article from our friends over at The Medicine Journal. Check out their YouTube channel here! In short, yes, a man can test positive if he pees on a pregnancy tester. How? What a pregnancy test looks for is the presence of elevated levels of the hormone beta human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). There are certain types […]
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In 1993, concerned about the steady decline of milk consumption over recent years, the newly created nonprofit California Milk Processor Board approached the advertising agency of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, seeking fresh ideas to get America excited about drinking their product. The agency found the request quite a challenge, since, in the words of Jeff Goodby: “We have all tried […]
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Lynda D. asks: Who first came up with BCE, CE, BC and AD and what is the difference between them? BCE (Before Common Era) and BC (Before Christ) mean the same thing- previous to year 1 CE (Common Era). This is the same as the year AD 1 (Anno Domini); the latter means “in the year of the lord,” often […]
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Ali K asks: I was just wondering why men have nipples and if it’s true that men can lactate? The human body really is an engineering marvel; even the most substandard model comes outfitted with the latest in 576 megapixel camera technology, a self contained bio-energy factory, self-healing triplicate outer protection that can handle quite a bit of rough-and tumble, […]
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This Day In History: November 16, 1957 On November 16, 1957, notorious murderer Ed Gein killed hardware store employee Bernice Worden. Gein is said to have provided the blueprint for Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Norman Bates in Psycho. (See: The Secrecy of Psycho.) Since Ed reportedly liked to […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Audiences cheered when the hero of the 1999 movie Office Space unscrewed the walls of his cubicle and watched them come crashing down. Yet 30 years earlier, when the very first cubicle walls went up, employers and workers alike cheered them as the “workplace of the future.” SEA OF DESKS […]
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This Day In History: November 13, 1687 Nell Gwynne was that rarest of creatures – a royal mistress who was as popular with the people as she was with her exalted lover. Although England’s Charles II had many mistresses throughout his lifetime, his “pretty, witty Nell” held a special place in his affections. Born on Feb. 2, 1650, probably in […]
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This is a video from the very talented CGP Grey in which he gives a brief, but fascinating, history of the British Royal family. If you like this video, please subscribe to Grey’s awesome YouTube channel here. You can also join us in supporting his videos on Patreon here. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: How is […]
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Erica H. asks: How do we pee in terms of the nuts and bolts of it? Why can we only pee sometimes and not just anytime there is liquid in our bladders? What’s the trigger and how exactly is the pee expelled once the floodgates do open? Is it just gravity or do our stomach muscles squeeze our bladders? Inquiring […]
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This Day In History: November 10, 1865 On November 10, 1865, Henry Wirz, the commander of Andersonville prison in Georgia (a.k.a. Camp Sumter), was executed for his actions during the Civil War. A Swiss immigrant, Wirz was the only Confederate officer convicted and put to death for war crimes. (Even Confederate President Jefferson Davis ultimately got off more or less […]
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