Category Archives: Articles

Where the Word “Witch” Came From

Witch On A Pumpkin

For more Halloween related information, be sure and check out: 15 Facts About Halloween [Infographic]. Today I found out where the word “witch” came from. The word “witch” derives from the Old English words “wicca” and “wicce” (masculine and feminine forms, respectively).  This later became “wicche”, in Middle English, which meant the same thing as “wicca” and “wicce”, but didn’t […]

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Viking Warriors Didn’t Wear Horned or Winged Helmets

Myth: Vikings warriors wore horned or winged helmets. To date, there is no evidence that any Viking warrior wore a horned helmet and there is significant evidence that they didn’t wear such impractical headgear. So how did this myth get started? A probable source is found in romanticized versions of the Vikings appearing around the mid17th century to 18th century, […]

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What Causes a Hangover

hangover

Today I found out what causes a hangover. There are several things that contribute to hangovers, but one of the principal factors is simple dehydration.  Alcohol has a dehydrating effect by inhibiting the release of vasopressin, which is an anti-diuretic hormone.  So, in layman’s terms,  the result of alcohol inhibiting the vasopressin is that your body produces a lot more […]

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The Name “Hot Dog” Was Not Coined at a New York Giants Baseball Game

Myth: “Hot dog” was coined at a New York Giants baseball game. You’ll often hear that the name “hot dog” comes from a cartoon drawn by T.A. Dorgan during a New York Giants baseball game at the Polo Grounds around 1902-1906 (date varies depending on who’s telling the story). At this game, he supposedly observed a vendor, Harry Stevens, selling […]

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It Has NOT Been 823 Years Since the Last Time October Had 5 Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays

Myth: It has been 823 years since the last time October had 5 Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays You may have seen this spread about in little cartoon pictures and on twitter/facebook/etc. In fact, it’s actually not rare at all for this to happen (last time it happened was 2004). It actually happens in the following pattern for months containing 31 days, not just […]

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The Reason There is No “Nobel Prize for Mathematics” Had Nothing to Do With Any Wife/Mistress of Alfred Nobel

Myth: The reason there is no Nobel Price for Mathematics is because Alfred Nobel’s fiancée wife had an affair with a mathematician. You’d be hard pressed to take any upper level university level mathematics course and not hear some variation of this story at least once per term from your mathematics professor (I personally have heard it from three different […]

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