Simon asks: Who invented the Konami code? The Konami Code, also known as the Konami Command and sometimes the Contra Command is among the most enduring Easter eggs in video game history. For those of you who aren’t familiar, there are a number of video games released by Konami over the years in which entering up, up, down, down, left, right, […]
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This Day In History: October 15, 1946 Hermann Göring was second only to Hitler in the hierarchy of the Third Reich. Commander of the Luftwaffe, acting Prime Minister of Prussia, President of the Reichstag, and Hitler’s designated successor – Göring’s Nazi resume was almost unparalleled. Born in Bavaria in 1893, Göring was the son of a professional soldier and governor in West […]
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Women’s clothes come in a baffling range of (often inconsistent) sizes which can make finding clothes that fit just right an unreasonably difficult task for many women. To help combat this, the clothing industry has a number of tricks up its immaculately tailored sleeves; in regards to jeans, one of those tricks is Natasha Wagner’s butt. Born in 1981, Natasha Wagner took […]
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This Day In History: October 14, 1977 On the early evening of October 14, 1977, legendary entertainer Bing Crosby died of a massive heart attack after doing what he loved best – playing 18 holes of golf. Bing was in Madrid, Spain playing on the La Moraleja Golf course at the time of his death. He defeated two Spanish golf […]
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Maria D. asks: Why do fluorescent lights buzz? Comprised of a sealed tube coated on the inside with a phosphor powder and filled with (usually) argon and a tiny bit of mercury, the way in which fluorescent bulbs produce light is extremely fascinating. While the underlying physical mechanisms in the fixture and bulb can vary a bit in design, in […]
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This Day In History: October 13, 1975 If the kids today think Kanye West invented behaving badly at awards ceremonies when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs – they are sadly mistaken. At the Country Music Awards held on October 13, 1975, Charlie Rich, the reigning CMA “Entertainer of the Year,” caused quite the ruckus announcing […]
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Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France in 1822, and by the age of 25, he had earned bachelor of arts and science degrees, as well as a doctorate in science from Paris’ École Normale. Within a year, he joined the faculty at the University of Strasbourg as a chemistry professor. In 1854, he joined the University of Lille as […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Here’s a story that not many of us learned in school, not even those of us who grew up in Texas: the attempt to create a second Germany in the Republic of Texas. HOI POLLOI In April 1842, a group of German princes and noblemen met in the town of […]
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This Day In History: October 12, 1915 Edith Cavell was born on December 4, 1865, in Norwich, Norfolk, England. After returning to England from a stint as a governess in Brussels, Edith took up nursing after caring for her seriously ill father. She held several positions at home before being offered a job as head matron of the Berkendael Medical […]
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For anyone reading this who happens to be from the UK, you’re more than likely already well aware of what a Jaffa Cake is. For our readers that haven’t had the pleasure of sampling one of the greatest comfort foods ever created, they’re little, spongy, chocolate coated disks that contain a small amount of orange flavoured jam- they’re delicious. Oh, and […]
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Blain F. asks: What function does natural aspirin serve in the plants that produce it? Salicylic acid is found in varying degrees in a wide range of plants including potatoes, tobacco, unripe fruits (including blackberries and blueberries, cantaloupe, kiwi, green pepper, tomato and olives), mushrooms, and, of course, willow. A phenolic compound, together with cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, ethylene and abscisic […]
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On October 9, 1967, controversial Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara was executed by members of the Bolivian army. Although he was active as a revolutionary for only a relatively short time, Guevara has become one of the most recognizable figures of the 20th century. Ernesto R. Guevara de la Serna was born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 14, 1928 (though […]
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There are 289 different species in the Octopoda order, each of them just as strange as the last. With eight (or so) wriggly appendages, a bulbous mantle, homicidal tendencies and high intelligence, even a mid-sized octopus can be intimidating. And the more you get to know about them, the more you realize just how extraordinary these cephalopods are. Their best […]
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Will K. asks: Is it true that some people are born with tails? To some extent the answer to the question of whether some humans are born with tails and how prevalent it is depends on your definition of “tail.” For instance, a variety of things may protrude from the tailbone of a newborn, including cysts, tumors and even a […]
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The humble pineapple is most often seen today either sitting proudly in the centre of an uncomfortably well stocked fruit bowl or being used as the home of a lovable talking sponge. However, between the 16th and 18th centuries, pineapples were so expensive and rare that they were often displayed like fine works of art. Converting exactly how much a […]
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This Day In History: October 7, 1914 On Oct. 7, 1914, a wedding took place in Boston, MA that would change the course of American history. The couple would have nine children – philanthropists, congressmen, senators, war heroes, and a United States president. Yet the family they created would endure great sorrow in spite of their exalted status. Rose Elizabeth […]
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John T. asks Why do keyboard keypads number 7,8,9 on down and phone keypads number 1,2,3 on down? It’s not clear why numbering pads designed for calculation have 7-8-9 at the top, although the practice of placing the larger numbers above the smaller can be seen as far back as the late 19th century on early mechanical cash registers, often […]
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This Day In History: October 6, 1927 “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” – Al Jolson in “The Jazz Singer” When the film “The Jazz Singer” was released on October 6, 1927, it was the end of one era and the dawn of another. While not a “talkie” in the true sense, it sounded the […]
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