10 Interesting Sports Related Facts
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Read moreMonthly Archives: July 2011
The Declaration of Independence was Approved on July 2nd and Signed on August 2nd, So Why is July 4th Independence Day?
While it is often said that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, this isn’t actually correct. In fact, nobody signed it on the 4th. This is contradictory to Thomas Jefferson’s, John Adams’, and Benjamin Franklin’s account of events. On top of their accounts, the public congressional record of events back their story. So how do we […]
Read moreIt Is Not Necessary To Drink At Least Eight Glasses Of Water A Day To Stay Properly Hydrated
Myth: You should drink at least eight glasses of water per day to stay properly hydrated. Probably one of the most widely spread urban health myths of all time is that the average person needs to drink at least eight 8oz glasses (approx. 2 liters) of water per day to remain properly hydrated. Popularly known as the ‘8×8’ (for eight, […]
Read moreWhere the Words “Crayola” and “Crayon” Come From
Today I found out where the words “Crayola” and “Crayon” come from. The word “Crayola” was originally thought up by Alice Binney. Binney, a one-time school teacher, combined the French word “craie”, meaning “chalk”, with “ola”, shortened from the French word “oléagineux”, meaning “oily”. Oléagineux derives from the Latin “oleāginus”, which is the adjective form of “olea”, meaning more or […]
Read moreAs a Child, Phil Collins was an Extra on Chity Chity Bang Bang
##EMBED## Before devoting himself more or less exclusively to music, Phil Collins was a child actor, appearing in various rolls, including: playing The Artful Dodger in the London production of Oliver!; an extra in the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night; one of the extras in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; and various other minor roles. Click here for sources and to […]
Read moreWhy Bird Poop is White
##EMBED## Bird poop is white due to their kidney’s extracting nitrogenous wastes from their bloodstream and subsequently excreting it in the form of uric acid, which has a very low solubility in water and emerges as a white paste-like substance. Click here for sources and to find out why human poop is brown.
Read morePeanuts Are Not Nuts
Myth: Peanuts are nuts. Peanuts are a food with an identity crisis. While most people think of peanuts as nuts, they are actually legumes. What is a legume? It is a type of plant with seeds that grow inside pods such as peas or beans. Unlike nuts, which are grown on trees, peanuts grow underground. Peanut seeds flower above ground […]
Read moreGraham Crackers Were Invented by a Presbyterian Minister Obsessed with His Health
##EMBED## Graham crackers were invented by Sylvester Graham in 1829. Graham was farm-hand and a teacher who turned Presbyterian minister due to poor health. During his time as a minister, Graham developed a unique system for maintaining health. He recommended hard mattresses for sleeping; keeping your bedroom windows open at all times for fresh air; cold showers; loose clothing; consuming […]
Read moreWhy Woodpeckers Don’t Hurt Their Brains While Pecking Trees
##EMBED## A woodpecker’s brain is protected by a spongy elastic material between their bill and their skull that holds their brain snugly and provides a cushion. This keeps their brains from getting injured while they bang away at at tree at a remarkable rate and force. For instance, the pileated woodpecker can strike a tree trunk at around 20 times […]
Read moreHow the Graphite and Clay Cores are Placed Inside Wooden Pencils
##EMBED## How the cores are placed into wood pencils is as follows: An Incense Cedar plank is cut with several long parallel grooves. The core is then inserted into the grooves. A separate Incense Cedar plank is then glued to the top of this first plank. The combined planks with the core inside are then cut into pencil size, varnished, […]
Read moreDaylight Saving Time Almost Got an Innocent Student Arrested for Supposedly Making a Bomb Threat
##EMBED## In March 2007, an honor student in Pennsylvania was accused of threatening his school with a bomb. It was later found he had actually called an automated school phone line to get information about class schedules; someone else made the bomb threat exactly an hour later, but, due to Daylight Saving Time, the time seemed to match up to […]
Read moreIt is Possible to Mummify Yourself
Today I found out it is possible to mummify yourself. One such method of self-mummification was practiced by Japanese Shugendō monks as the ultimate act of self denial. Shugendō is a form of Buddhism that originally combined elements of Buddhism, animism, Old Shinto, mountain worship, and Taoism, among other religions. “Shugendō” itself means something to the effect of “the way […]
Read moreThe Last Soldier to Die of Wounds Incurred During the Civil War
##EMBED## Joshua L. Chamberlain was the last Civil War soldier to die of wounds incurred in the Civil War. He also has the distinction of being the only soldier to be battlefield promoted to General. Click Here for Sources and to Learn Why No One Knows Why Maine is Called Maine
Read moreWhere the Word “Toilet” Comes From
##EMBED## The term “toilet” itself comes from the French “toilette”, which meant “dressing room”. This “toilette” in turn derived from the French “toile”, meaning “cloth”; specifically, referring to the cloth draped over someone’s shoulders while their hair was being groomed. During the 17th century, the toilet was simply the process of getting dressed, fixing your hair, and applying make-up and […]
Read moreHow Birds Navigate
##EMBED## Many avian life forms posses a region of their bodies that contain a biological magnetite, generally in their beaks. It is believed this gives them a strong magnetoception and thus allows them to sense direction accurately. More recently, it has been shown that certain birds have the ability to see magnetic fields. How this works is the Earth’s magnetic […]
Read moreThe Real Life “George Bailey” Who Founded Bank of Italy which Became Bank of America
Today I found out about the real life “George Bailey” (It’s a Wonderful Life), who founded the Bank of Italy which became Bank of America. The man was A.P. Giannini who was said to be who Capra modeled the character of George Bailey as well as the bank president in Capra’s 1932 movie, American Madness, after. At the age of […]
Read moreWhy Many Website Addresses Begin with “www”
##EMBED## Most web addresses begin with “www” because of the traditional practice of naming a server according to the service it provides, in this case “World Wide Web”. So outside of this practice, there is no real reason for any website URL to need to be preceded by “www”; the administrators of whatever website can set it up so that […]
Read moreWhere the Word “Blond” Comes From
##EMBED## The word blond derives from the Old French word “blund”, meaning literally “a color midway between golden and light chestnut”. “Blund” then is typically thought to have come from the Latin word “blundus”, which was a vulgar pronunciation of the Latin “flavus”, which means “yellow”. The French origin of the word “blond” is how we get the added “e” […]
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