Olivia Wilde’s real name is Olivia Cockburn. She took the professional name “Wilde” in high school in homage to famed writer Oscar Wilde. Olivia Wilde’s mother is 60 Minutes producer and award winning journalist, Leslie Cockburn. Her father, Andrew Cockburn, is also an award winning journalist. In addition to that, her aunt and her grandfather were also professional writers. Source
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Today I found out bubble wrap was originally designed to be used as wallpaper. Bubble Wrap was invented by two engineers Al Fielding and Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes in Hawthorne, N.J. in 1957. The two were not, however, trying to make a product to be used as packaging material. Rather, they were trying to create a textured wallpaper. They started […]
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This Day In History: November 23, 534 BC November 23 marks the traditional date when the first ever human being to take the stage and portray someone else other than himself took place. This person, according to various sources, most notably Aristotle, was a man named Thespis of Icaria. (which is also where we get the word “thespian”, meaning “actor”) […]
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Many of Mr. Rogers’ famous sweaters he wore on the show were made by his mother. Source
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This Day In History: November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy was shot first in the back and next in the head while traveling through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas on this day in 1963. Two other people were also accidentally shot due to their proximity to the President. One was the governor of Texas, John Connally, sustaining a serious chest […]
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Today I found out what the company name “3M” stands for. While today 3M makes a variety of products from medical and office supplies to electronic circuitry, in 1902 they started out as a mining company, who, as it turned out, wasn’t very good at mining. Specifically, they started out with the intention of mining the necessary types of stone […]
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The term “baker” dates back to around the year 1000. Another term that meant the same thing from that time was “bakester”. This latter word referred to female bakers; this is similar to how a “webster” was a female weaver, with the “-ster” ending implying a woman. “Bakester” is also where the surname “Baxter” comes from. Source
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Today I found out dog mouths are not cleaner than human mouths. If this were the case, I’m pretty sure a dog’s mouth would be some sort of medical miracle, considering: they rarely if ever have their teeth brushed or mouths cleaned; they literally put their mouth on everything; and they use their tongue as toilet paper for not only […]
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Menthol can be used in solid form as mineral ice, a substitute for real ice. As far as your brain is concerned, the drink you drink with the menthol is cold, even though it might actually be warm. This makes for handy “icing” of your drinks on camping trips. Source
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This Date in History: November 20, 1820 On this date in 1820, an estimated 80 ton sperm whale attacked and destroyed the whaling ship, Essex, an event that partly inspired the novel Moby Dick. Sailing around 2,000 miles west of South America, the crew of the Essex encountered a huge whale, which they claimed was around 85 feet long, though […]
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Applying Super Glue (cyanoacrylate) to cotton or wool results in a rapid chemical reaction that releases enough heat to cause minor burns, so typically this should be avoided. However, if enough cyanoacrylate is added to the cotton or wool, the fabric will catch on fire, making this a great trick to keep in mind in survival situations. Generally, cotton and […]
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This Day In History: November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln was invited to the dedication ceremony of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, not as the primary speaker, but simply to follow famed orator and U.S. Senator Edward Everett. Everett first gave a well received speech that lasted around two hours; Lincoln then got up and gave his now famous address which was […]
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Embed This Infographic: Source: Today I Found Out How the Black Friday Tradition Got Started While it wasn’t called “Black Friday” until the 1960s, and then not popularly called such until the last two decades, retailers have been trying to push people to shop the Friday after Thanksgiving since the late 19th /early 20th century. Around this time, it was […]
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The classic “arrrrr” noise that accompanies pirate-speak in movies is thought to have its origins in the 1950s version of Treasure Island. Actor Robert Newton played a particularly memorable pirate character, Silver. He later popularly reprised the role in sequels and on TV. His accent on the films featured a very strong rolling of the R’s, which is thought to […]
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Mouse urine glows under florescent light. Further, despite their propensity to spread disease and the like, surprisingly, mice are very clean animals. They clean themselves regularly, not unlike cats, and they organize their homes with specific areas for storing food, going to the bathroom, sleeping, etc. Another interesting mouse factoid is that the incisors in a mouse’s mouth never stop […]
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This Day In History: November 18, 1883 The U.S. and Canadian railroads instituted a five standard continental time zone system on November 18, 1883, “The Day of Two Noons”, marking the beginning of the end for thousands of local times that were used by cities across North America at that point. Just one year later, 85% of all cities in […]
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Today I found out Whitey Ford gave Pete Rose his “Charlie Hustle” nickname. It was during spring training of what would turn out to be Pete Rose’s rookie year that Ford gave the nickname to him. The exact event that lead to the nickname is somewhat in dispute. The most commonly held story is that he gave Pete Rose the […]
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This Day In History: November 17, 1970 The Soviet Union successfully landed a remote controlled roving robot on the moon, making it the first roving robot from Earth to land on another astronomical object. The robot was the Lunokhod 1, designed by Alexander Kemurdjian. It was launched during the Soviet Luna program, which ran from 1959-1976. More specifically, the Lunokhod […]
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