Today I found out Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates and convinced them to up their ransom demand. A 25 year old Julius Caesar was sailing the Aegean Sea when he was kidnapped by Sicilian pirates. The pirates who captured him initially asked for a ransom of 20 talents of silver (which is about 620 kg of silver or […]
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Myth: Cats and dogs can only see in black and white The myth that cats and dogs are fully colorblind has been around for quite some time, despite the fact that it has been proven false for nearly half a century. Before this time, though, many thought that cats and dogs could only see in black and white. This myth […]
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Today I found out the difference between The United Kingdom, England, and Great Britain. The actual name of the sovereign state we are talking about is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). The United Kingdom is made up of the countries England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The confusion of the terms seems to revolve around […]
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Myth: The “Big Dipper” is a constellation. In fact, the Big Dipper is an asterism. A constellation is an officially recognized group of stars as defined by the International Astronomical Union. Constellations are used to split the celestial sphere into different sections that aid in locating objects in the sky, kind of like landmarks on a map. An asterism, on […]
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Today I found out the origin of the QWERTY keyboard. The first typewriter was introduced to the United States in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes. His first attempt to build a typing device consisted of a crude and sluggish machine that was far from perfect. The design used letters and characters on the ends of rods which were called typebars. […]
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Today I found out what causes headaches. There are approximately 200 different types of headaches, classified in two main groups: primary and secondary. There are in the neighborhood of 42 types of primary headaches and 157 secondary headaches (unless I lost count, but should you want to verify those numbers, or just need a sleep-aid, feel free to review the […]
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Today I found out about William Burke and William Hare: two men who murdered 15 people (though sold 16 bodies overall) over the course of a year to make extra money, selling the bodies as cadavers for university students to dissect. These murders took place starting in November of 1827 to October of 1828. At the time, it was very […]
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Today I found out who has had the largest human body parts. (the G rated version) Have you ever been walking down the road and you see the human Dumbo, mixed with a Pinocchio, and wondered who might have the biggest nose/hair/ears/hands/etc.? Well wonder no more! The tallest living person is Sultan Kosen from Ankara, Turkey. Born in December of […]
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Myth: Tootsie Roll Industries used to give away prizes if the wrapper of a tootsie roll pop had a Native American boy shooting a star. Children all over the world have whipped wrappers off of the beloved Tootsie Pop lollipop searching for an Indian boy shooting a star in hopes of obtaining a free Tootsie Pop. Turns out, even though […]
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Today I found out was started two years ago on January 1st, 2010. The first year the site was viewed by over four million people worldwide with the best month of the year coming in December, receiving over 1.3 million page views from over 800,000 visitors. At that point, there were about 270 articles on Today I Found Out. This […]
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Today I found out what causes a stroke. A stroke, known in the medical field as a cerebral vascular accident (CVA) or brain attack, is more or less a “heart attack” for the brain. Like any organ in the body, the brain needs blood to supply it with oxygen and nutrients. Should this blood flow become blocked by a clot […]
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Voting for the AllMyFaves “Best Site of 2011” contest ends at midnight tonight (12/31). Today I Found Out is currently in second place under Education just 45 votes behind the leader. It’s also currently in fourth place overall among all the categories (out of 100 sites nominated by AllMyFaves). If you haven’t voted yet, you can vote for any of […]
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Today I found out scorpions can survive as much as a year without eating. Scorpions are amazing little creatures. With almost two thousand known species found on six of the seven continents, these arthropods have been able to adapt to some of the harshest environments on earth. One evolutionary benefit they have gained is the ability to slow down their […]
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Today I found out the difference between a coffin and a casket. The words coffin and casket are often used interchangeably to describe a box used to bury a dead body in. Although the general purpose of each is the same, there are small differences between the two. The term coffin has been used to describe a container that holds […]
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Myth: Billy the Kid’s real name was William H. Bonney William H. Bonny is actually another alias of Billy the Kid, used during the height of his notoriety, but it is not generally considered his real name. Throughout his life, several different names were associated with this 19th century outlaw and gunman, including: William Henry McCarty, Jr. – Billy the […]
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Koala “bears” aren’t a type of bear at all, as it turns out, and their non-scientific name doesn’t include “bear” on the end, as is commonly spoken outside of Australia by the English speaking world. They are simply “Koalas”. So if they aren’t a member of the family Ursidae (bears), what are they? In fact, they are marsupials, along with […]
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Today I found out It’s a Wonderful Life was based on a “Christmas Card” short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, which was originally sent out to around 200 of Stern’s friends and family in December of 1943. The short story was called The Greatest Gift and was inspired by a dream Stern had one night in the 1930s. Stern, […]
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Today I found out that Conan O’Brien spent two years as a writer and producer of The Simpsons before replacing Letterman as the host of Late Night. After becoming burnt out working at Saturday Night Live, Conan quit and decided to do something else, though he had no idea what. When Mike Reiss and Al Jean from The Simpsons heard […]
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