{"id":32570,"date":"2014-05-10T00:00:33","date_gmt":"2014-05-10T07:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=32570"},"modified":"2014-05-09T05:08:24","modified_gmt":"2014-05-09T12:08:24","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/weekly-wrap-volume-38\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 38"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"VirginiaValentine\"<\/a>That Time 26-Year-Old Edgar Allan Poe Married His 13-Year-Old Cousin<\/a><\/p>\n

As if his stories weren\u2019t occasionally disturbing enough, it turns out Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s love life was more than a little creepy as well. Poe met his bride-to-be, Virginia Clemm, when she was 7 years old, and he was 20, shortly after his mother\u2019s death in 1829. Their parents, his natural father (David Poe) and her mother (Maria Clemm), were siblings, and Poe had moved into the Clemm home briefly before his time at West Point was to begin. Being so close in time to the death of his mother, some authors have opined that he transferred his feelings<\/a> for his mother to his Aunt Maria, and later to his cousin. Regardless, it appears that Poe and Virginia quickly became friends, and she even helped him woo one of her neighbors, Mary Devereaux. It is reported that at one point, Virginia obtained… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"brownie\"<\/a>The Origin of the Term \u201cBrownie Points\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

There are many, many origin theories for this one. One of the most often repeated and widely accepted theories is that \u201cbrownie points\u201d\u2014imaginary points earned by someone for doing a good deed, and lost by doing something unfavourable\u2014stem from the Brownies, a tier of 7-10 year old Girl Scouts or Girl Guides. The Girl Scout or Girl Guide Brownies took their name from the mythical creature, the brownie. The mythical brownies were known for being kind and helpful and performing household chores while a family sleeps. The girl-brownies are supposed to emulate this behaviour, being quietly helpful without asking for much in return. As a reward for doing good deeds, Brownies receive badges\u2014or, if you\u2019d like, \u201cbrownie points.\u201d Many people assume that this is how the term originated… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"fish-e1315434652998\"<\/a>How Fish Gills Work<\/a><\/p>\n

These fantastic little organs allow the fish to absorb oxygen from the water and use it for energy. Functionally, gills are not that dissimilar to the lungs in humans and other mammals. The main difference is how they are able to absorb much smaller concentrations of available oxygen, while allowing the fish to maintain an appropriate level of Sodium Chloride (salt) in their bloodstream. Gills work on the same principle as lungs. In the lungs, there are small sacs called alveoli that are approximately 70% capillaries. These capillaries carry deoxygenated blood from the body. As oxygen and carbon dioxide pass across the alveoli\u2019s membrane, the capillaries take the newly oxygenated blood back to the body. Similarly, gills have small rows and columns of specialized cells grouped together called the… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Beethoven\"<\/a>Was Beethoven Really Deaf When He Wrote All His Music?<\/a><\/p>\n

If there is one\u00a0Ludvig van Beethoven fact everyone knows it\u2019s that he was deaf. But just saying \u201che was deaf\u201d leaves a lot of pertinent questions unanswered, such as how deaf was he? How did he communicate with people? Of course, the biggest question is how did he compose what is considered some of his greatest music while he was deaf. Beethoven was born in 1770, and was introduced to music at a young age by his father who was a piano and violin teacher as well as a talented tenor. Young Beethoven was considered a child prodigy when it came to music, and performed his first public concert in his hometown of Bonn when he was just seven years old. He continued his musical career… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"jail\"<\/a>Are You Really Entitled to a Phone Call When Arrested?<\/a><\/p>\n

Being arrested is a terrifying and frightening thing with all the horror stories about police abuses of power and other prisoners being absolutely dead-set on making your life miserable in a variety of horrifying ways\u2026 at least that\u2019s what the movies have taught us. As so often happens, the reality of being arrested doesn\u2019t generally reflect what\u2019s depicted on the big screen. So what about the one phone call rule? It turns out, \u201cYou get exactly one phone call when arrested\u201d is a useful, simple plot element, and easier to explain to an audience than, \u201cbeing arrested is a legal minefield where your rights can vary based on a variety of factors.\u201d In reality… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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