{"id":35003,"date":"2014-08-16T00:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T07:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=35003"},"modified":"2014-08-27T23:54:36","modified_gmt":"2014-08-28T06:54:36","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-51","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/08\/weekly-wrap-volume-51\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 51"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"Theodore-Hook-e1299156499610\"<\/a>The Greatest Practical Joke of the 19th Century, the Berners Street Hoax<\/a><\/p>\n

The year was 1809. Famed English author, Theodore Hook, made a bet with one of his close friends, the noted architect and writer, Samuel Beazley, that within one week, he could make any house in London the most talked about place in the city. The house he ended up choosing was the home of the widow Mrs. Tottenham on 54 Berners Street, London, which was the same street that Earl Stanhope and the Bishop of Carlisle and of Chester, among other wealthy and well-to-do individuals, lived on at that time. It isn\u2019t known why Hook chose Mrs. Tottenham\u2019s home as no connection between the two is known and Hook himself never explained his selection. It\u2019s entirely possible that it just happened… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"neanderthal\"<\/a>Where Did All the Neanderthals Go?<\/a><\/p>\n

For over 150,000 years, our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), thrived throughout Europe until, in the blink of an eye (geologically speaking), they disappeared off the face of the Earth. Several theories have been proposed to explain their extinction, although a consensus is growing that the primary factor was competition with us (Homo sapiens). Despite their annihilation, however, their legacy lives on today \u2013 in the human genome. Neanderthal Basics: Living in Europe and Asia from about 200,000 to 40,000 years ago, the Neanderthal shared many characteristics with modern humans, and in fact… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"cheese-platter\"<\/a>The Corrupt and Ruthless Californian Who Gave us the Name for \u201cMonterey Jack\u201d Cheese<\/a><\/p>\n

Cheese predates written history. Ancient Egyptians loved cheese so much that depictions of the cheese-making process were painted in tombs. Homer\u2019s Odyssey talks about how Cyclops stored his cheese. The Greeks and Romans used cheese as a delicious currency. During the Middle Ages, if there was cheese on the dinner table, it meant the family was of at least moderately wealth. (For more on all this, see: A Brief History of Cheese) While cheese has been around for ages, many cheeses we eat today were invented over the last five hundred years. A few were even invented in the United States, Monterey Jack cheese being one of them. So, how did Monterey Jack get its unique name? Before we get into that, we must go back about three hundred years to the Spanish monasteries of California. In the 18th century, Spanish missionaries began their takeover of California. It was on July 16, 1769 when the first Catholic mission was founded… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"hangover\"<\/a>What Causes a Hangover<\/a><\/p>\n

There are several things that contribute to hangovers, but one of the principal factors is simple dehydration.\u00a0 Alcohol has a dehydrating effect by inhibiting the release of vasopressin, which is an anti-diuretic hormone.\u00a0 So, in layman\u2019s terms,\u00a0 the result of alcohol inhibiting the vasopressin is that your body produces a lot more urine than normal, with the result that you become dehydrated easily. This dehydration is a major contributor to the headache, dry mouth, and general feeling of lethargy that is often experienced during a hangover. Another major contributor to a hangover (many think even more significant than dehydration) is acetaldehyde.\u00a0 Acetaldehyde is produced when alcohol is converted within your body by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to acetaldehyde.\u00a0 Why\u2019s this bad?\u00a0 Acetaldehyde is a carcinogen in humans and has been shown to cause damage to DNA… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"migrant-mother\"<\/a>The Bum Brigade<\/a><\/p>\n

On October 29, 1929, on what would become known as \u201cBlack Tuesday,\u201d the stock market crashed. In one terrible day, the market lost fourteen billion dollars (about $188B today), signaling the beginning of the (roughly) ten-year-long Great Depression, with most of the last vestiges of the downturn only ceasing around 1939 due to the onset of World War II.\u00a0 Just as the effects of an economic downturn spread from Wall Street to the farmers of rural America, another major problem arose: a severe drought struck middle America. Starting in 1931, the drought, coupled with poor farming practices, caused hellacious dust storms to envelope much of America\u2019s midwest. Through much of the 1930s, these storms ravaged land, crops, and topsoil… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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