{"id":29057,"date":"2014-01-11T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-01-11T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=29057"},"modified":"2014-01-10T00:57:58","modified_gmt":"2014-01-10T08:57:58","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/weekly-wrap-volume-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 21"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"the-end\"<\/a>The Actress Who Died on Stage While Portraying Her Theatrical Death<\/a><\/p>\n

Several artists have died on stage while conducting live performances; however, one case is highly unique and probably the most ironic at the same time. The incident involved actress Edith Webster. Webster was a relatively unknown actress who never managed to make a name for herself during her lifetime, but left her mark in history with her bizarre death. During The Drunkard, which was being performed at the Towson Moose Lodge in Baltimore, the 60-year-old Edith Webster was playing the role of the grandmother. According to the plot of the play… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"space3\"<\/a>How Do Astronauts Go to the Bathroom in Space?<\/a><\/p>\n

Ever since Yuri Gagarin was first launched into space on April 12, 1961, engineers and space travelers have had to face the problem of how to go and where to put the waste. In the early years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), manned space flights were to be so short that the astronauts were reasonably expected to hold it. For example, the mission that sent the first American into space, Mercury-Redstone 3 inFreedom 7, was planned to last only 15 minutes. Forgetting to expect the unexpected, NASA engineers assumed that Freedom 7\u2032s pilot would be free of the cockpit long before nature called. Yet on the morning of May 5, 1961, after astronaut Alan Shepard was forced to sit through several hours of delays, he realized,… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Robin\"<\/a>Robins Can See Magnetic Fields, But Only In One Eye<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite its unassuming looks and gentle temperament, the humble red breasted robin (Erithacus rubecula) boasts a superhero-like ability. They can see magnetic fields, giving them an almost perfect sense of direction. Just to be clear, we don\u2019t mean that a robin can sense the Earth\u2019s magnetic field or something like that as many other birds can, it can literally see it. In fact, if you cover a robin\u2019s eyes with an adorably tiny blindfold, it loses this ability completely, though it will still look rather dapper. Now the ability… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"blacksmith\"<\/a>Why Anvils are Shaped as They Are and Why Blacksmiths Often Tap the Anvil After a Few Strikes on the Object They\u2019re Working On<\/a><\/p>\n

Anvil shape has evolved greatly since the earliest anvil-like objects.\u00a0 These primitive objects used for anvils were typically made of stone, often just a slab of rock. The first metal anvils were made of bronze, then wrought iron, and, finally, steel, which is the material of choice today for anvils, though cast iron is also used in low-end anvils (cast iron is quite brittle for this particular use and absorbs more of the hammer blow\u2019s energy than steel does, so it is not preferred). Over the centuries, the common shape… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"dancing\"<\/a>The Origin of the Hokey Pokey<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no one definitive answer to where the Hokey Pokey (or Hokey Cokey) ultimately derives from.\u00a0 Even the modern history of it is somewhat convoluted. Proposed origin theories span oceans, and even centuries. That said, the convoluted nature of the history of something has never stopped us from trying to trace the origin before, so here goes. Like many innocuous songs and dances that you\u2019d assume have fairly benign origins, the Hokey Pokey is believed by some… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Bonus<\/span> Quick Facts:<\/p>\n