Category Archives: Articles

How Trick Candles Work

Today I found out how trick candles work. There is nothing more humorous then seeing a person become woozy and light-headed at a feeble attempt to blow out candles that fight back! Candles themselves work on a fairly simple and ingenious principle. The three elements to sustain fire are concealed in one convenient package. The fuel itself is the container […]

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Velcro Was Modeled After Burrs of the Burdock Plant that Stuck to Velcro’s Inventor’s Pants After a Hunting Trip

Today I found out Velcro was modeled after burrs of the burdock plant that stuck to Velcro’s creator’s pants after a hunting trip. The inventor of Velcro, more generically known as a “hook and loop fastener” or “touch fastener” as “Velcro” is technically just a brand of that product, was Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral.  After going out on a […]

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Clownfish are All Born Male, a Dominant Male Will Turn Female When the Current Female of the Group Dies

Today I found out clownfish are all born males and the dominant male of a group will turn female when the female of that group dies. Clownfish, also known as anemonefish, are sequential hermaphrodites that first develop into males. In fact, they live in regimented schools made up of all males and just one female- the lone female being the […]

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The Slinky was Originally Intended to be Used as a Tension Spring in a Battleship Engine Horsepower Meter

Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of DumpADay, Jon. Today I found the Slinky was originally intended to be used as a tension spring in a battleship engine horsepower meter. In 1943, Richard James, a marine engineer in a Philadelphia shipyard, was working at his desk, developing a special meter designed to monitor […]

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