This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. A COPS Story COPS has been a Saturday night TV staple for so long—29 seasons—that it’s easy to forget what a groundbreaking show it was when it debuted in 1989. FIRST-PERSON PERSPECTIVE In the early 1980s, an aspiring filmmaker named John Langley […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The U.S. Military’s Proposed “Gay” Bomb One doesn’t commonly associate the slogan “make love not war” with the U.S. military. Indeed, the United States military is feared and formidable precisely because it has proven so effective at conceptualizing clever and innovative […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. How Dick Came to Be Short for Richard The name Richard is thought by most etymologists to derive from the Proto-Germanic ‘Rikharthu’, meaning more or less “hard ruler” (‘Rik-‘ meaning ‘ruler’ and ‘-harthu’ meaning ‘hard’).  This was adopted into Old High […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Does the Dangly Thing in the Back of Your Throat Do Hanging from the back edge of your soft palate, the palatine uvula seems to serve several functions, none of which are particularly necessary for most people, which is why […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Dentist Who Helped Make Cotton Candy a Thing While candy floss / cotton candy-like spun-sugar confectioneries have been around since at least the 15th century, if not earlier, it’s only been recently that cotton candy has been something practical to […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Are Sea-Monkeys? The product of a collaboration between a marketer and inventor and a marine biologist, Sea-Monkeys are a hybrid of several species of brine shrimp (Artemia), bred to have a particularly long dormant period, as well as to foster […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. 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. […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. When Rubber Duckies Started Making Bath Time Lots of Fun In 1970, everyone’s favorite orange roommate sang a song to his bathtime buddy. “Oh, rubber duckie, you’re the one. You make bathtime lots of fun,” cooed Ernie to his squeaky yellow […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Are You Not Supposed to Use Twice Boiled Water for Tea There’s a rather persistent idea that “reboiling” water (i.e. boiling water two or more times and allowing it to cool in-between) while making a cup of tea is potentially […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. THE SURPRISINGLY RECENT TIME TESTS USING RABBITS AND FROGS WERE THE GOLD STANDARD TO ACCURATELY DETECT HUMAN PREGNANCY We live in an age where determining if a woman is pregnant is ridiculously simple and cheap. Go back a few decades, though, […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Life of Larry the Cat- Cheif Mouser to tbe Cabinet Office of the UK A while ago we shared the story of F.D.C. Willard, an ordinary housecat who through a confluence of mistakes and errors, ended up being listed as […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Do Books’ Copyright Pages Have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10? The number line, or printer’s key, often seen on the copyright page of books is simply a method of record-keeping that helps identify the book’s […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why are People So Much Taller Today Than Historically? Over the last century and a half or so, humans, as a group, have grown significantly taller, with men from western, industrialized countries today being on average between 3 and 7 inches […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Dustbin of History: The Other Network You may not remember when TV was black and white. You may not remember when there were no remotes and you had to get up to change channels or adjust the volume. Even if you […]

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. When Did People Start Using Punctuation? The earliest writings, which were syllabic and/or logographic (think Mayan and Chinese), had no need for either spacing or punctuation, as each word was typically self-contained in the symbol. However, as previously demonstrated, the lack […]