Category Archives: Articles

The Song Commonly Called “Teenage Wasteland” is Actually Named “Baba O’Riley”

Myth: The Who song with “teenage wasteland” in the chorus is named “Teenage Wasteland” The song “Baba O’Riley”, written by Pete Townshend and performed by The Who, is often incorrectly called “Teenage Wasteland”. The actual name of “Baba O’Riley” was chosen in tribute to famed spiritual leader, Meher Baba, and musician Terry Riley, who provided the philosophical and musical influences […]

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“Daddy Long Legs” Are Not the Most Poisonous Spider

Myth: Daddy Long Legs are the most poisonous spider in the world. Daddy Long Legs are not the most poisonous spider as you’ll often hear people say. We’ll just ignore the fact that there’s a big difference between “poisonous” and “venomous”, which makes the previous sentence even more ridiculous and assume people mean “venomous” when they make that statement. We’ll […]

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“Hip Hip” in “Hip Hip, Hooray” Was Once an Anti-Semitic Phrase

hip hip hooray

Today I Found Out the “Hip Hip” in “Hip Hip, Hooray” was once anti-Semitic. This phrase is thought to have its origins in the middle-age Latin battle-cry “Hieroslyma est perdita’, which means “Jerusalem is fallen” or “Jerusalem is lost”.  This was later shortened by Germanic tribes fighting Jews to “Hep Hep Hu-raj”, meaning loosely “Jerusalem is fallen and we are […]

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How Earth Got Its Name

Today I found out how ‘Earth’ came to be called so. Firstly, it’s important to understand that nearly every language has its own name for the planet. It’s called ‘terra’ in Portuguese, ‘dünya’ in Turkish and ‘aarde’ in Dutch, just to name a few with their own etymology. However, the common thread in all languages is that they were all […]

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The Guy Who Invented One of the First Artificial Hearts Was Also the Voice of Gargamel on the Smurfs, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger Too

Paul Winchell

Today I found out the guy who invented one of the first artificial hearts was also the voice of Gargamel on the Smurfs; Mr. Owl on the Tootsie Pop commercials; Winnie the Pooh; and Tigger too. The man was Paul Winchell, who is perhaps best remembered for hosting the Winchell-Mahoney Time children’s show in the 1960s with his ventriloquist dummies […]

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Caesar Salad Was Named After Caesar Cardini, Not a Roman Emperor

Myth: Caesar Salad was named after the Roman Emperor title. Caesar Cardini was an Italian born chef who immigrated to the United States after World War I. Despite having a home in San Diego, the Cardini family operated a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, primarily because of prohibition. Many Americans would go to Tijuana to drink, so business for restaurants at […]

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