{"id":30904,"date":"2014-03-15T01:34:56","date_gmt":"2014-03-15T08:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=30904"},"modified":"2014-03-15T01:35:33","modified_gmt":"2014-03-15T08:35:33","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/03\/weekly-wrap-volume-30\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 30"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"bowling\"<\/a>Why Three Strikes in a Row in Bowling is Called a \u201cTurkey\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

This is thought to have its origins in bowling tournament prizes. Late eighteenth and early nineteenth century prizes given out during these tournaments were often food items, such as a basket filled with various grocery items, a large ham, or the like. Particularly around Thanksgiving in the United States, turkeys became common prizes. At some point (no one knows the exact first instance), one tournament decided to give away a turkey to people who managed to bowl three strikes in a row. This practice spread… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"scrabble\"<\/a>The Great Depression and Scrabble<\/a><\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t a great deal of positive things that can be attributed to the Great Depression. However, Scrabble is a game that probably wouldn\u2019t have existed without it.\u00a0 It all began with an unemployed architect by the name of Alfred Mosher Butts of Poughkeepsie, New York. Thanks to his excessive free time while unemployed, he decided to invent a word game that was inspired by anagrams and crossword puzzles. (Incidentally, Leo Fender of Fender guitar fame was also out of work thanks to the Great Depression when he decided to start his own company, Fender Radio and Record Shop. He was previously an accountant.\u00a0 Despite going on to be famous for his guitars… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"profanity\"<\/a>What is a Tarnation?<\/a><\/p>\n

We have the word \u201ctarnation\u201d thanks to societal taboos against saying certain words- instead substituting in other words that often mean the exact same thing, but for some reason we find it acceptable to say the one rather than the other\u2026 Humans\u2026 \ud83d\ude09 In this case, the pertinent word is \u201cdamn,\u201d or more precisely the derivative \u201cdamnation,\u201d\u00a0 which gave rise to the euphemism \u201cdarnation.\u201d How did the leading \u2018d\u2019 get replaced with a \u2018t\u2019? In the 18th century in colonial America… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"lizzie-murphy\"<\/a>The First Person to Play for Both Baseball\u2019s National League and American League All-Star Teams was a Woman: Lizzie \u201cThe Queen of Baseball\u201d Murphy<\/a><\/p>\n

On August 14, 1922, a collection of baseball stars gathered at Fenway Park in Boston. An exhibition all-star game had been set-up to honor and raise money for the family of Tommy \u201cLittle Mac\u201d McCarthy- Boston Red Sox great in the 1880s and 1890s. The game featured the Boston Red Sox, World Series champs only three seasons ago, versus a group of professional baseball players, some who actually played in the majors and others who made their living brainstorming. About half-way through the game, Lizzie Murphy, the proclaimed \u201cQueen of Baseball,\u201d subbed in to play first base. Met with jeers \u2013 and even louder cheers \u2013 her entrance into the game made history; Lizzie Murphy… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Frank_Sinatra\"<\/a>73 Year Old Frank Sinatra Was Originally Offered The Leading Role in Die Hard<\/a><\/p>\n

This 1940s singer might not be the man who comes to mind when you think about the action-packed Die Hard movies. At the start of his movie-making career, Sinatra was cast mostly in singing roles, though he did manage to break away from being a \u201csinger employed as an actor\u201d and made a name for himself as an actor alone, winning a few Academy Awards and Golden Globes for his performances. That said, many people these days can\u2019t shake that image of young Sinatra crooning into a microphone\u2014not exactly something you\u2019d imagine the character of John McClane doing. So, how did Frank come… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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