{"id":35918,"date":"2014-09-27T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2014-09-27T07:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=35918"},"modified":"2014-09-27T03:00:02","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T10:00:02","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-57","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/09\/weekly-wrap-volume-57\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 57"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"ward-cunningham\"<\/a>Who was Cunningham of Cunningham\u2019s Law?<\/a><\/p>\n

Cunningham\u2019s Law is an internet adage that states \u201cThe best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, but to post the wrong answer.<\/em>\u201d It\u2019s an interesting hypothesis for sure. And, if you\u2019ve spent any time on the internet whatsoever, you\u2019re likely well aware that posting something incorrect online is a sure-fire way to illicit a smarmy correction from a fellow internet denizen. (That\u2019s not to mention the phenomenon of Grammar Nazis, or as I prefer, Grammar Nazi\u2019s.) In fact, Today I Found Out<\/a><\/a> wouldn\u2019t exist if it wasn\u2019t for our deep-seated desire to correct all of those little… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"gypsies-340x220\"<\/a>Where Do the Gypsies Originally Come From?<\/a><\/p>\n

They do not have a shared homeland or national identity. They are a people who are scattered across the globe and whose origins have always been shrouded in myth and mystery (among other reasons because they have kept no written records of their early history). Many saw them (and continue to do so in many cases) as dirty, thieving and undesirable, others as artistic, romantic and carefree. In France, they are referred to as gitanes, in Spain they are called gitanos, and in Germany, zigeuner. There are an estimated 12 million Romani \u2013 better known as Gypsies \u2013 living worldwide. Most of them (8-10 million) live in Europe, making them the continent\u2019s largest ethnic minority group. So where did they come from? A recent genetic analysis of 13… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"internet\"<\/a>Who Invented the Internet?<\/a><\/p>\n

While the World Wide Web was initially invented by one person (see: What was the First Website?<\/a>), the genesis of the internet itself was a group effort by numerous individuals, sometimes working in concert, and other times independently.\u00a0 Its birth takes us back to the extremely competitive technological contest between the US and the USSR during the Cold War. The Soviet Union sent the satellite Sputnik 1 into space on October 4, 1957. Partially in response, the American government created in 1958 the Advanced Research Project Agency, known today as DARPA… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"iodine-e1339402643852\"<\/a>Why Iodine is Added to Salt<\/a><\/p>\n

Iodine first began being added to salt commercially in the United States in 1924 by the Morton Salt Company at the request of the government.\u00a0 This was done as a response to the fact that there were certain regions in the U.S., such as around the Great Lakes and in the Pacific Northwest, where people weren\u2019t getting enough iodine in their diets due to it not being prevalent in the soil in those regions.\u00a0 Among other problems, this caused many… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"aluminum-foil\"<\/a>Why is Aluminum Foil Shiny on One Side But Not the Other?<\/a><\/p>\n

The most abundant metal in the Earth\u2019s crust, aluminum naturally occurs as a compound with other elements, such as aluminum oxide or potassium aluminum sulfate. As such, it was not isolated as a separate element until 1825 when a Danish chemist, Hans Christian Oersted, was able to produce a small amount. By 1845, a German chemist, Friedrich W\u00f6hler, had perfected a way of producing enough aluminum to be able to study it. In 1854, the French chemist, Henri \u00c9tienne Sainte-Claire Deville improved on W\u00f6hler\u2019s method and developed a process to commercially produce the… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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