{"id":38703,"date":"2015-01-24T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-01-24T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=38703"},"modified":"2015-01-23T20:53:49","modified_gmt":"2015-01-24T04:53:49","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-72","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2015\/01\/weekly-wrap-volume-72\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 72"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

20 Interesting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Facts<\/a>\"martin-luther-king-jr-facts-340x233\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1) His name was originally Michael, not Martin. His father was also Michael King, hence why Martin Luther King Jr. was originally named Michael King Jr. However, after a trip to Germany in 1931, Michael King Sr. changed his own name in homage to historic German theologian Martin Luther. Michael King Jr. was two years old at the time and King Sr. made the decision to change his son\u2019s name to Martin Luther as well. 2) At the age of 12, he seems to have tried to commit suicide. It was May of 1941 when his grandmother passed away after… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"The-Couch-Potato\"<\/a>The Origin and Trademarking of \u201cCouch Potato\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

If you want to call someone lazy, a time-honoured way to do so would be to call them a \u201ccouch potato\u201d. But why is it we compare lazy people to potatoes and why on Earth did some random guy own the trademark rights to such a silly sounding expression? Unlike most etymologies, we actually know the exact date that the phrase in question was first written down for mass public consumption as well as the exact date it was first spoken out loud. In regards to… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Francis-e1348801706803-340x362\"<\/a>The Teenager Who was Executed Twice<\/a><\/p>\n

The teenager was Willie Francis, the youngest of 13 children in a poor black family living in Louisiana. Francis supposedly murdered 53 year old pharmacist Andrew Thomas in St. Martinville, Louisiana in 1944.\u00a0 Thomas was found shot five times at close range just outside of his home. Unfortunately for Francis, he had to go through the ordeal of being strapped to the electric chair, \u201cGruesome Gertie\u201d, and having it switched on both times, with a little over a year separating the instances. The first time he found himself in the chair on May 3, 1946, it was improperly setup as the two in charge of setting it up, Captain Ephie Foster and an inmate who was also an electrician, Vincent Venezia, were drunk… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"snowflake\"<\/a>Why is Snow White Given That Snowflakes are Clear?<\/a><\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s important to understand what\u2019s going on when we see certain colors. Visible light from the Sun or other light source comes in a variety of wavelengths that human eyes interpret as colors.\u00a0 When light interacts with an object, the wavelengths that the object reflects or absorbs determines what color our eyes perceive. When an object reflects all the wavelengths of light from the Sun that are in the visible spectrum, the object appears white. Something like a fire truck appears red because the paint reflects back certain wavelengths in the red area of the visible spectrum, while absorbing the rest. This now brings us to water, snowflakes, and snow. Pure water is quite clear, meaning the wavelengths of light more or less… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"cheez-whiz\"<\/a>The Cheese in Cheez Whiz<\/a><\/p>\n

As America gets ready for their upcoming Super Bowl parties (or Royal Rumble<\/a> party, if that\u2019s your thing), Cheez Whiz \u2013 the yellowish-orange, gooey, bland tasting \u201ccheese\u201d product \u2013 will surely make an appearance at some of them. But what is Cheez Whiz? Why did get it invented? And is there really cheese in Cheez Whiz? James L. Kraft was born in 1874 in Stevensville, Ontario on a dairy farm. When he was 28 years old, he immigrated to the United States, where he first chose Buffalo, New York to settle in. (Where a little over a half century later another common Super Bowl snack, the Buffalo Wing, was born. See: Who Invented Buffalo Wings<\/a>) Why he chose… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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