Our very good friends over at Neatorama are currently running a Black Friday weekend sale in their popular NeatoShop. They are offering all their awesome shirts for just $14.95 each and are also giving free world wide shipping (yes, world-wide) on orders over $75. The sale runs now until Sunday the 30th at 11:59pm. So if you’re looking for some […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Truth About Prepositions and the End of Sentences A great man once said, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” Eloquently highlighting the ridiculousness of strictly adhering to the rule against ending a sentence […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn how Black Friday got started, the real reason it’s called that, and a few other interesting facts about this “supposed” biggest shopping day of the year. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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Little pearls swimming in a creamy custard flavored with vanilla or lemon, many of us have fond (and others not so fond) childhood memories of tapioca pudding. Although this staple dessert of the 1970s went out of vogue for a while, today it’s making a comeback. You may not know, however, that the tapioca we use is a refined product […]
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Jill A. asks: Why does the panama canal have locks? Isn’t the ocean the same level on both sides? Rising 85 feet above the surface of one ocean, and then descending again to be gently floated on another one, ships that traverse the Panama Canal shave nearly 8,000 miles off of their voyage to the other side by investing a […]
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This Day In History: November 28, 1925 On November 28, 1925 at 8 p.m., George D. Hay, who dubbed himself “The Solemn Old Judge”, and an 80-year-old fiddler named “Uncle” Jimmy Thompson launched the inaugural broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry, the longest continuously running radio program in history. As you might have guessed from the date, the Grand Ole […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn how one of the great, but little known today, women in American history brought about the United States’ Thanksgiving holiday, as well as introduced most of the traditions now commonly associated with that holiday, including what we eat. You’re also going to learn what this has to do with “Mary Had a Little […]
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For those of you in the United States who are about to celebrate Thanksgiving and want to look particularly knowledgey at your family get-together tomorrow, here is a roundup of all the Thanksgiving related articles we’ve made here at TodayIFoundOut for you to peruse. Or, you know- don’t. But when there are awkward pauses in the conversation at your Thanksgiving […]
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James I. asks: I was at Lowes and noticed mailboxes say “approved by the postmaster general”. What specifications do a mailbox need to reach to be approved in this way? I mean, it’s a box with a little door and a flag. Are those the requirements? What’s the process here? Thanks! While the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the […]
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Today in History: November 27, 602 “He was a better judge of policy than of men.” – Previté-Orton On November 27, 603, the 20-year reign of Byzantine Emperor Maurice came to a most violent conclusion when he was forced to watch his five sons beheaded, and was then executed himself. Maurice’s road to the throne began when he was serving […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn whether there is any truth to the idea that eating turkey will make you drowsy. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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Andy L. asks: Who first said “penny wise and a pound foolish”? The person credited with coining the phrase, “penny wise and pound foolish,” Robert Burton, also said about writers, “They lard their lean books with the fat of others’ works,” and “We can say nothing but what hath been said.” So, with Robert Burton’s insight in mind, here’s a […]
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John Dalton (1766-1844) was a distinguished scientist who is known for, among many other things, his theories about atoms, his law of partial pressures of gases and liquids (published in 1803), and being one of the first scientists to study color blindness. In fact, because of his work, for some time a common term for color blindness was “Daltonism,” and […]
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This Day In History: November 26, 1922 “You can’t create humor out of happiness” – Charles Schulz Charles Schulz’s life-long relationship with comic strips began within days of his birth on November 26, 1922 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His uncle nicknamed him “Sparky” after the horse, Spark Plug, from the Barney Google strip when he was two days old, and it […]
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On the last day of October in 1517, a scholar and priest named Martin Luther did as priests commonly did at the time when they had something to discuss amongst the clergy- he nailed a piece of paper to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Unlike many other such documents nailed to the doors of churches, this […]
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In this video by the talented team over at MinuteEarth, they explain how the Earth got its deserts and rainforests and why they are where they are. If you like this video, be sure and subscribe to their channel here. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: It’s “Just Deserts” Not “Just Desserts” From Desert to Party Central: […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the many myths surrounding the supposed “first” Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast Transcript: Myth: Pilgrims wore black and white clothing with buckled top hats. The myth that they dressed […]
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This Day In History: November 25, 1990 On November 25, 1990, the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge broke into pieces and sank to the bottom of Lake Washington. After a week-long windswept rainstorm, the old bridge succumbed to the forces of nature and gradually disappeared beneath relentless waves. Since the bridge’s demise was a gradual process, the local media could […]
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