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How Dwight D. Eisenhower Playing Semi-Pro Baseball for a Handful of Games Nearly Changed American History

May 22, 2014 Matt Blitz

U.S. Presidents and sports have always been connected. Gerald Ford played football as a University of Michigan undergrad. George H.W. Bush played in the first two College World Series. George W. Bush was part owner of the Texas Rangers’ baseball franchise. Barack Obama frequently plays pickup basketball games with his staff (no doubt all terrified of accidentally hurting the Commander-in-Chief […]

The Accidental Discovery of Saccharin, and the Truth About Whether Saccharin is Bad for You

May 21, 2014 Karl Smallwood

Saccharin is noted as being the first artificial sweetener, outside of the toxic Lead(II) acetate, and the first product to offer a cheap alternative to cane sugar. Interestingly enough, like the Chocolate Chip Cookie, it was also discovered entirely by accident. The chemical was discovered in 1878/9 in a small lab at Johns Hopkins University. The lab belonged to professor […]

The Cargo Cults and John Frum (America)

May 21, 2014 Melissa

“When the outside world, with all its material wealth, suddenly descend[ed],” on remote cultures whose technology was limited to stone and wood, new belief systems often arose. On many of the islands of the southwest Pacific, the affluence and power of Western explorers, missionaries and colonists led to the creation of a number of religious sects that all shared a […]

Is it Possible to Target Belly Fat When Losing Weight?

May 21, 2014 TheMedicineJournal.com

This is yet another great article from our friends over at The Medicine Journal– Jessica asks: Is it true there are ways to target losing the fat around your stomach? If so, how? A quick internet search will yield countless claims of ways to remove the unwanted fat from around your mid-section. From over-hyped diet pills promising to reduce levels […]

The Man Who Captured Four Armed German Soldiers With an Empty Gun

May 20, 2014 Karl Smallwood

Very little is known about Lance-Corporal James Welch prior to his actions during WWI. However, we do know some basic details. According to Welch’s grave in Bournemouth crematorium, he was born in 1889 on July 7th in the small English village of Stratfield Saye. Welch must have had a fairly boring childhood because literally the next thing recorded about his […]

Mozart’s Much Less Family Friendly Works

May 20, 2014 Terynn Boulton

Warning: By necessity, this one contains profanity and vulgar references. So you may or may not want to read through it first if you normally share these articles with humans of the particularly youthful persuasion. 😉 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is famously known for being a child prodigy and one of the greatest musical composers of all time. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is one […]

When Women Started Growing Out and Painting Their Nails

May 19, 2014 Emily Upton

Becky asks: When did women start growing out and painting fingernails? On humans and other primates, nails are a flattened version of a claw which likely developed to aid in gripping and climbing. However, they can also act as a visible “health report.” Someone in poor health, or infected by a fungus, might have yellow, brittle nails, while someone in […]

When Doctors Literally “Blew Smoke Up Your Arse”

May 19, 2014 Terynn Boulton

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 of the individual being flattered. Back in the late 1700s, however, doctors literally blew smoke up people’s rectums. Believe it or not, it was a general mainstream medical procedure used to, among many […]

Weekly Wrap Volume 39

May 17, 2014 Daven Hiskey

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. WWII Files: Japan’s Secret Weapon- Exploding Balloons WWII saw the development of some zany designs for weapons, such as when the U.S. developed pigeon guided missiles and (literal) bat bombs (the latter of which were a little too effective, accidentally destroying the testing base […]

The Origin of the Phrase “Pulling Your Leg”

May 16, 2014 Emily Upton

Diane M. asks: Where did the expression “pulling my leg” come from? For those who aren’t familiar with the phrase, when someone says, “You must be pulling my leg!” they usually mean, “You must be joking/teasing/making something up.” Extremely popular in the 20th century, the origin of this phrase is still something of an enigma to etymologists. There are two […]

Is It True That a T-Rex Couldn’t See You If You Didn’t Move?

May 16, 2014 Matt Blitz

Derek asks: Is it true that a T-Rex couldn’t see you if you didn’t move? If so, how do scientists know this? In the immensely popular movie Jurassic Park, there’s the famous scene where the giant T-Rex is attacking a jeep during a thunder storm. As it attacks, Dr. Alan Grant, a self-respecting paleontologist, yells, “Don’t move! He can’t see […]

Why Can’t You Use Blood from Someone Who Has a Different Blood Type Than You?

May 15, 2014 Melissa

Brandon asks: Why can’t you use blood from someone who has a different blood type than you? Hot, cold or just plain bad, throughout history, people have used blood as a metaphor to describe their changing moods. One aspect of blood, however, is immutable – its type. Since each blood type carries unique characteristics that can wreak havoc in the […]

Where Did the Word “Scumbag” Come From?

May 15, 2014 Matt Blitz

Mondagiriaksita asks: I was told a scumbag was originally a condom. Is this really where the word came from? “Scum” originated in the early 14th century from the Middle Dutch word “schume” meaning foam or froth. There was also a similar word in old French – escume. For about two hundreds years, the word evolved to mean a “thin layer […]

What Causes Heart Palpitations

May 14, 2014 TheMedicineJournal.com

Our resident medical expert, Scott, and a buddy of his recently started The Medicine Journal, where you can learn all sorts of interesting facts about all things medical related. Below is a sample article from their site. Almost everyone has felt them at some point in their life. Doctors will generally tell you they’re nothing to be concerned about, just […]

Why Do Armpits Smell So Bad?

May 14, 2014 Melissa

Robin asks: Why do armpits smell bad compared to other parts of your body? Those millions of bacteria have to live somewhere. Sweat and Odor There are two universally-accepted types of sweat glands. Eccrine Glands The most abundant of the sweat glands, eccrine are found on most of the body and secrete a sweat that is: “A sterile, dilute electrolyte […]

Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way to Navigate

May 14, 2014 Emily Upton

Dung beetles have long surprised scientists with their remarkable navigation abilities, despite the relatively small sizes of their brains. Scientists have also known that after dung beetles collect the dung, they do a little dance on top of it before moving it in a straight line to their destination. The dancing was once written off as a “happy dance,” but […]

When Aluminium Cost More than Gold

May 13, 2014 Karl Smallwood

Aluminium is literally one of the most common elements on Earth. So how did it come to be that aluminium cost more than gold? Was it similar to how the relatively common and easily acquired mined diamond came to be seen as valuable in the last century due to strict control of supply to consumers and some of the best marketing […]

The Sacred Band of Thebes Entirely Made Up of Male Lovers

May 13, 2014 Melissa

In the 4th century B.C., for a period of 50 years a small force of 300 elite Theban soldiers dominated Grecian battlefields. What makes this band of brothers unique in history is that it was comprised entirely of male lovers. The Elephant in the Room – Pederasty in Ancient Greece The classical Greeks tolerated a wide range of sexual appetites. […]

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