Candie asks: How is the Pope chosen? When a pope goes to his eternal reward or otherwise retires, there are certain traditions that are dusted off each time to elect his successor. Only the British royal family can rival the Vatican when it comes to (seemingly) ancient and elaborate rituals, so you know it’s going to be a big production. […]
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K. Jones asks: Where does the symbol “Rx” come from? The phenomenon of ubiquitous prescription drugs (retail sales in recent years have topped $200 billion in the U.S. alone) is a relatively new experience in human history. However, its common abbreviation, ℞, has deep roots in the relatively distant (and some even claim ancient) past. Recipe for Wellness While there […]
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Kaiden asks: What causes the dark circles under my eyes when I’m tired? It is often claimed that periorbital dark circles are caused by tiredness or working too hard or even just staying up late. While this can be true, the truth is that your genes play a huge role here. So what exactly is happening when you get dark […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Causes the Smell After Rain There are three primary sources of smells that commonly occur after rain. The first, the “clean” smell, in particular after a heavy thunderstorm, is caused by ozone. Ozone (scientifically known as trioxygen due to the fact […]
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Rodney asks: What’s the difference between black, white, and red pepper? Do they all come from the same plant? Although black pepper is the most popular spice in the world, it is by no means the only pepper in the peck. Black, White and Green Pepper Piper nigrum Grown throughout Southern India and Sri Lanka, the vine Piper nigrum is […]
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Since ancient times, the fusion of man and wolf has been the stuff of legend and folklore (“wer” was the word for “man” in old English, with “man” being completely gender neutral). Virtually every culture across the globe has its own werewolf mythology, with this beastly shape-shifter being one of the oldest monsters to terrorize humans. Werewolf legends span so […]
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Hammurabi was the oldest son of Sin-Muballit, and he became the sixth king of Babylon upon his father’s abdication around 1729 BC (based on the short chronology timeline). Even though he didn’t inherit much power from his father and at the time he controlled only a small part of Babylonia, the city of Sippar, he later became the first king of […]
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The Statue of Freedom sitting atop the dome of the U.S. Capitol building in Washing D.C. has more alternate names than the obscure half of the Wu Tang Clan. Over the years, the names attributed to it have ranged from things like “Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace” to the far simpler, “Armed Freedom“. However, the one, common thread is […]
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Sarah Palin never said “I can see Russia from my house.” Tina Fey did, in a hilarious skit on Saturday Night Live. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, on the other hand, said something a little bit different from which the Tina Fey line derived. When Palin was introduced as the running mate to Arizona Senator John McCain at the Republican […]
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Phosphorus is an essential element for life. Forms of it are found in DNA, RNA, and all living cell membranes. It is the sixth most abundant element in any living organism. Phosphorus can also be highly poisonous and combustible (white phosphorus is used in many destructive weapons, such as napalm). It was also the first element discovered since ancient times. […]
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On July 23, 1983, in the small town of Gimli, Manitoba, Captain Robert Pearson and Co-Pilot Maurice Quintal expertly glided a 100-ton Boeing 767 carrying 69 people to a safe landing without engines, air brakes or flaps, and minimal control of the aircraft. Bad Math The flight plan for Canada 143 that day began with a short jaunt from Montreal, […]
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Shannon asks: Where did the phrase “coin a phrase” come from? Thanks! For those unfamiliar, “to coin a phrase” traditionally means “to create a new phrase.” These days, “coin a phrase” has also taken on a new meaning, first documented around the mid-twentieth century: “to introduce a cliché sentiment.” Funny enough, we have no idea who first coined the phrase […]
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On September 11, 1857, the Baker-Fancher emigrant wagon train was rolling through Mountain Meadows, Utah, about 35 miles southwest of Cedar City. The train was made up of several smaller parties that joined together on their journey northwest from Arkansas. Some of the emigrants were on their way to settle permanently in California; others were simply searching for greener pastures, […]
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Joe T. asks: What causes the smell after rain? There are three primary sources of smells that commonly occur after rain. The first, the “clean” smell, in particular after a heavy thunderstorm, is caused by ozone. Ozone (scientifically known as trioxygen due to the fact that it is comprised of three oxygen atoms) is notably pungent and has a very […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. When Doctors Literally “Blew Smoke Up Your Arse” When someone is “blowing smoke up your arse” today, it is a figure of speech that means that one person is complimenting another, insincerely most of the time, in order to inflate the ego […]
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In 1941, Carl N. Karcher, a 24 year old man who had dropped out of school in the 8th grade to work on a farm, and his wife had $15 in cash (about $241 today). They took out an additional $311 loan against their car, and used the money to purchase a hot dog cart. It must not have seemed […]
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At nearly twice the size of its nearest relatives and holding enough venom to kill a man, the Asian Giant Hornet is a menace to people, bees and wasps alike. Eusocial, like other stinging insects, Vespa mandarinia live in well-organized colonies with a single queen and a host of drones and female workers. Habitat The Asian Giant Hornet is found […]
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Dustin asks: Where did the expression “dead ringer” come from? You have probably heard the often-repeated story about how the original “dead ringer” was a person believed to be dead who was then buried alive. For various reasons, there is a good amount of evidence that being buried alive wasn’t the most uncommon thing in the world until relatively recently […]
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