{"id":42265,"date":"2015-07-25T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-07-25T07:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=42265"},"modified":"2015-07-24T22:41:25","modified_gmt":"2015-07-25T05:41:25","slug":"weekly-wrap-volume-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/weekly-wrap-volume-90\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap Volume 90"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\"bonsai\"<\/a>Bonsai!<\/a><\/p>\n

Long before the bonsai art form of creating miniature trees came to Japan, the wealthy in China were perfecting their craft known as \u201cpenzai\u201d and \u201cpenjing.\u201d The former means \u201ctray plant\u201d and the latter \u201ctray scenery.\u201d It is from the Japanese pronunciation of \u201cpenzai\u201d that the word \u201cbonzai\u201d ultimately derives- \u201cbon\u201d meaning \u201ctray-like\u201d and \u201csai\u201d meaning \u201cplanting.\u201d\u00a0 (The Japanese equivalent of penjing is bonkei, meaning \u201ctray landscape.\u201d) In the earliest form of penjing, first emerging as a developed art form around 600-700 AD in China, people would collect native trees and grow them in small containers as a part of elaborate miniaturized landscapes. Those tiny landscapes were often given as gifts among China\u2019s elite. While Buddhist monks and delegations sent from Japan to China had been bringing back to Japan miniaturized crafted landscapes as souvenirs starting not that long after the art of penjing had been established in China… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"horse-racing\"<\/a>The Origin of the Expression \u201cPiss Like a Racehorse\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

When most horses take a leak, it is a dramatic sight, with the stream typically about one-third to one-half an inch in diameter, creating a veritable \u201criver\u201d of urine that seems to have impressed some wordsmith sufficiently to coin the phrase, \u201cpiss like a (race)horse\u201d \u2013 today denoting a full human bladder that needs emptied yesterday. Although authoritative sources for the expression\u2019s origins are non-existent, luckily, the tools of the modern world are at our fingertips to try to track down the origin and progression of this rather uncouth phrase. To begin with, a version of the expression was born sometime just after the mid-20th century. At this point, the combustion engine had long since supplanted horse power for transportation and other work… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"coffee2\"<\/a>The Truth About the Infamous McDonald\u2019s \/ Hot Coffee Incident<\/a><\/p>\n

The infamous McDonald\u2019s \u201cHot Coffee\u201d legal battle is considered by many to be a premier example of a frivolous lawsuit. The general story is often told that a woman named Stella Liebeck visited a McDonald\u2019s drive-thru and purchased a cup of coffee. She then drove away with the coffee sitting between her legs while also removing the lid. That combination caused coffee to spill all over her lap. The resulting burns allowed her to file suit and win almost $3 million from McDonald\u2019s. While that oft\u2019 repeated version makes for an entertaining story, it is a bit removed from what really happened and why Liebeck managed to win the case. Stella Liebeck was seventy-nine years old in February of 1992 when she and her grandson went through the drive-thru at a McDonald\u2019s in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The retired store clerk sat in the passenger seat of her grandson\u2019s car when she bought a coffee, and he… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"M0012507<\/a>The Great Stink of 1858<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the only book I currently have on my desk, everyone poops and that\u2019s okay. What\u2019s less okay though is when there\u2019s nowhere for that poop to go- something people in Victorian era London found out first hand when all of the sewage they\u2019d pumped into the Thames dried up and caused a stench that spurred London\u2019s City Press to note- \u201cGentility of speech is at an end\u2014it stinks, and whoso once inhales the stink can never forget it and can count himself lucky if he lives to remember it.\u201d To begin with, let\u2019s talk a little about the Thames, or more specifically, all of the stuff Victorian Londoners dumped into it. While the tons of raw, unfiltered sewage was probably the most noticeable thing being pumped into the river, the Thames… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"circumcision\"<\/a>When Did Men Start Getting Circumcised?<\/a><\/p>\n

Having served variously as a mark of virility, servility and gentility, circumcision has throughout the centuries worn many symbolic hats. While anthropologists disagree as to the definitive origins of circumcision, the earliest hard evidence comes from the first ancient Egyptian mummies of considerable vintage, around 2300 BC. That being said, Egyptian paintings date circumcision to centuries prior, depicting ritual circumcision as prerequisite to entering the priesthood. Contention remains as to whether circumcision was a sign of pride rather than prejudice among the ancient Egyptian world. While popular among the elite… (more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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