{"id":34567,"date":"2014-07-27T00:15:50","date_gmt":"2014-07-27T07:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=34567"},"modified":"2014-07-27T00:15:50","modified_gmt":"2014-07-27T07:15:50","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-48","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/weekly-wrap-volume-48\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 48"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"jefferson-davis\"<\/a>What Ever Happened to Confederate President Jefferson Davis?<\/a><\/p>\n

Jefferson Davis was attending a Sunday church service in the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, when he heard the news. Union General Ulysses S. Grant had broken General Robert E. Lee\u2019s defenses in Petersburg, less than twenty five miles from Richmond. By nightfall, the evacuation of Richmond needed to be completed. At approximately midnight, Confederate cabinet members, officials, their families, and the entire treasury (the mythical \u201cConfederate gold\u201d) were finally making their way south to Danville, Virginia on the only railroad still open. This was April 2, 1865. One week later, on April 9th, General Grant and General Lee met at the Appomattox Court House to sign the Confederacy\u2019s official surrender<\/a>. America\u2019s Civil War was finally over. Even with a surrender signed and the Civil War effectively over, the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, didn\u2019t want to admit defeat. He set-up a temporary government in… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"apple\"<\/a>Why Teachers are Associated with and Traditionally Given Apples<\/a><\/p>\n

Widespread publicly funded, mandatory education has only been around since about the 19th century. Before then, the responsibility of providing schooling to children fell primarily on their families. Upper- and middle-class families tended to hire tutors or send their children to a private school run by a schoolmaster. That didn\u2019t mean the children in lower-class families missed out on learning how to read and write. They often learned this at home, through apprenticeships, or at church-funded schools. In addition, some poor families scraped together enough money to pay for their children to receive an education. Some even worked out a… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"spud\"<\/a>Why are Potatoes Called \u201cSpuds\u201d?<\/a><\/p>\n

Among other definitions, a \u201cspud\u201d is a \u201csharp, narrow spade\u201d used to dig up large rooted plants.\u00a0 Around the mid-19th century (first documented reference in 1845 in New Zealand), this implement of destruction began lending its name to one of the things it was often used to dig up, namely potatoes.\u00a0 This caught on throughout the English speaking world and this slang term for a potato is still common to this day. A false origin of how potatoes first began being called \u201cspuds\u201d you might often read is that it came from the 19th century group \u201cThe Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet\u201d (SPUD), who among other things felt potatoes shouldn\u2019t be eaten.\u00a0 Previous to the… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"trap-340x226\"<\/a>Why Certain Types of Traps are Called \u201cBooby Traps\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

It turns out this has nothing to do with the mammaries of the fairer sex, but rather has its origins in the Spanish word \u201cbobo,\u201d meaning \u201cstupid,\u201d \u201cfool,\u201d or \u201cna\u00efve.\u201d This Spanish word in turn comes from the Latin \u201cbalbus\u201d meaning \u201cstammering\u201d, which to the Romans was thought to be a sign of stupidity. So, essentially, a \u201cbooby trap\u201d is a trap that \u201cboobies,\u201d or idiots, are the victims of. Around the same time this first popped up, we also had expressions like \u201cbooby prize,\u201d meaning a prize given… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"juliane-koepcke\"<\/a>A 17 Year Old Girl Survived a 2 Mile Fall Without a Parachute, then Trekked Alone 10 Days Through the Peruvian Rainforest<\/a><\/p>\n

On Christmas Eve, 1971, just a few hours after attending her high school graduation, 17 year old Juliane Koepcke and her mother, Maria, got on a flight from Lima, Peru to Pucallpa. The two were headed out to join Juliane\u2019s father, Hans-Wilhelm, a famous German zoologist who was working at a remote research station in the rainforest. Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the plane entered very thick, black clouds. \u201cThe clouds became darker and darker and the flight became more turbulent. Then we were in the midst of pitch-black clouds and a proper storm with thunder and lightning,\u201d said Koepcke. \u201cIt was pitch-black all around us and there was constant lightning. Then I saw a glistening light on the right wing\u2026 The motor was hit by lightning. \u201c While planes get struck by lightning all the time with no real problems ensuing, this time there was a big problem.\u00a0 Directly after the… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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