{"id":33026,"date":"2014-05-24T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2014-05-24T07:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=33026"},"modified":"2014-05-23T23:52:21","modified_gmt":"2014-05-24T06:52:21","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/weekly-wrap-volume-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 40"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"smoke-enema-kit\"<\/a>When Doctors Literally \u201cBlew Smoke Up Your Arse\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

When someone is \u201cblowing smoke up your arse\u201d today, it is a figure of speech that means that one person is complimenting another, insincerely most of the time, in order to inflate the ego of the individual being flattered. Back in the late 1700s, however, doctors literally blew smoke up people\u2019s rectums. Believe it or not, it was a general mainstream medical procedure used to, among many other things, resuscitate people who were otherwise presumed dead. In fact, it was such a commonly used resuscitation method for drowning victims particularly, that the equipment used in this procedure was hung alongside certain major waterways… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"dalmatian-340x265\"<\/a>Why Dalmatians are Associated with Fire Fighters<\/a><\/p>\n

Dalmatians as firehouse dogs have become so common in books and movies that it\u2019s practically a stereotype. It turns out that Dalmatians actually really do have a strong history in the firehouse, and they used to have some purpose, too. Before fire trucks, there were horse-drawn carriages. One of the most effective fire-fighting tools in the middle of the 18th century was the steam pumper- a machine that consisted of a boiler which was able to use steam to force water out of hoses and onto a fire. The fire brigade\u2019s horse-drawn carriages would be loaded… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"sweeteners\"<\/a>The Accidental Discovery of Saccharin, and the Truth About Whether Saccharin is Bad for You<\/a><\/p>\n

Saccharin is noted as being the first artificial sweetener, outside of the toxic Lead(II) acetate, and the first product to offer a cheap alternative to cane sugar.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, like the Chocolate Chip Cookie<\/a>, it was also discovered entirely by accident. The chemical was discovered in 1878\/9 in a small lab at Johns Hopkins University. The lab belonged to professor of chemistry and all around chemical boffin, Ira Remsen. Remsen was hired by the H.W. Perot Import Firm in 1877, primarily so that the firm could loan the use of his lab to a young Russian chemist and sugar-nerd, Constantin Fahlberg. The H.W. Perot company wanted Fahlberg to test the purity of a shipment of sugar they\u2019d had impounded by the US government using Remsen\u2019s lab. Fahlberg agreed… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Eisenhower<\/a>How Dwight D. Eisenhower Playing Semi-Pro Baseball for a Handful of Games Nearly Changed American History<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. Presidents and sports have always been connected. Gerald Ford played football as a University of Michigan undergrad. George H.W. Bush played in the first two College World Series. George W. Bush was part owner of the Texas Rangers\u2019 baseball franchise. Barack Obama frequently plays pickup basketball games with his staff (no doubt all terrified of accidentally hurting the Commander-in-Chief during the games.) Heck, Ronald Reagan even portrayed \u201cThe Gipper\u201d in the football movie Knute Rockne, All American during his acting days. But only one U.S. President was ever a professional athlete, albeit for a very brief time. Evidence points to Dwight D. Eisenhower having played semi-pro minor league baseball in 1911 in Junction City, Kansas. Although for much of his life, this was something he chose to keep secret.\u00a0 Had he… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"carlsjr\"<\/a>$311 and a Hot Dog Cart- The Founding of $928 Million Company<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1941, Carl N. Karcher, a 24 year old man who had dropped out of school in the 8th grade to work on a farm, and his wife had $15 in cash (about $241 today). They took out an additional $311 loan against their car, and used the money to purchase a hot dog cart. It must not have seemed like much at the time, and certainly the hot dog cart business might have failed, leaving them in debt. Fortunately for them, it didn\u2019t take long for their hot dog cart to do well enough that they were able to buy another one. A couple years after starting their little business, the Kerchers were operating four hot dog carts. Business just kept booming… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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