When doing research for interesting facts that would in turn make good fodder for articles on TodayIFoundOut.com, invariably I come across a lot of commonly held “facts” that really aren’t and various other myths and misconceptions. So I decided to start a companion site to Today I Found Out called Misconception Junction (http://www.misconceptionjunction.com). Basically, it is a site bringing you […]
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It’s “I could not care less”, not “I could care less”. These two phrases are often used interchangeably when someone is referring to something that they don’t care about at all, even though the latter implies that you do care somewhat, possibly a lot or just a little; it’s unclear from the statement itself. The former leaves nothing in doubt. […]
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Today I found out why mint tastes cold. Similar to why peppers taste hot, what’s going on here is there is a chemical in mint, menthol, which is tricking the brain into thinking that the area the menthol is applied to is cold; even though in fact, it’s the same as it was before. More specifically, menthol binds with cold-sensitive […]
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Today I found out bananas are naturally radioactive. This comes from the fact that they contain relatively high amounts of potassium. Specifically, they contain Potassium-40, which is a radioactive isotope of potassium. The fact that bananas are radioactive has actually given rise to the radiation unit: “banana equivalent dose” (BED); this is the average amount of radiation you are exposed to by eating […]
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Today I found out why peppers taste hot. The heat sensation is caused by capsaicin, which is a colorless, odorless, oily chemical found in peppers. Capsaicin binds with certain sensory neurons which then more or less trick your body into thinking that it is being burned or at least experiencing excessive amounts of heat in the area that the capsaicin […]
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Today I found out the only member of ZZ Top that doesn’t have a beard is Frank Beard. Beard is the drummer for ZZ Top and former band member of the Cellar Dwellers, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues. ZZ Top was originally formed in 1969, in Houston Texas. The band, with the original members, is still making records […]
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Today I found out what the “ZIP” in “ZIP Code” stands for and what the numbers signify. ZIP Code or “Zone Improvement Plan Code” was a system put in place by the U.S. Postal Service on July 1, 1963. The hope was that these ZIP codes would allow the postal service to more efficiently and therefore more quickly route mail. […]
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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of ampm. All opinions are 100% mine. Now, as I state in my “about” page, I enjoy free food, particularly ridiculously unhealthy variety, and soda while I peck away at my keyboard for hours on end. Getting free Dr. Pepper and snacks from my readers (or money for Dr. Pepper […]
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Mark S. asks: Do ostriches really hide their heads in the sand in response to being attacked? Today I found out that ostriches don’t hide their heads in the sand, contrary to popular belief. When an ostrich feels genuinely threatened, rather than hiding its head in the sand, it will take off running- fast. In fact, the ostrich is the […]
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Today I found out the origin of the name of the sport Cricket. The name is originally thought to either have been derived from the Old French “criquet”, meaning “goal, post, or stick” or from the Middle Dutch “kricke”, meaning “stick” or “staff”. The latter Middle Dutch derivation from “kricke” is generally considered more likely due to the strong medieval trade connections […]
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Today I found out why mosquito bites itch. When female mosquitoes poke their proboscis through your skin so they can suck some of your blood to be later used to make eggs, they inject you with some of their saliva. This saliva helps them to drink your blood more quickly, because it contains a cocktail of anticoagulants. Once the female mosquito is […]
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Today I found out why the toilet is sometimes called a “John”. The term is thought to derive from Sir John Harrington or, at the least, to have been popularized due to Harrington. (There are a few references of the toilet being called “Cousin John”, as well as many references to it being called “Jake” and other such generic names, […]
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Today I found out what causes muscle soreness after workouts. Since the early 20th century, this specific type of muscle soreness, called “delayed onset muscle soreness” (DOMS), was thought to be cause by lactic acid buildup in the muscles during strenuous workouts where your body’s oxygen supply is depleted. Recent research has shown this is not the case at all […]
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Today I found out, contrary to popular belief, George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter. The earliest reference to peanut butter being made goes all the way back to the Ancient Incas and the Aztecs, though whether they were the first or not isn’t known (peanuts themselves are known to have been cultivated as far back as 7000-8000 years […]
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Today I found out that the medical term for the irrational fear of being buried alive is called Taphophobia, also occasionally spelled Tephephobia, which means the same thing. Taphophobia derives from the Greek “taphos” meaning “grave”. Today, this would be considered a somewhat irrational fear. However, it wasn’t too long ago that this wasn’t irrational at all. Taphophobia hit […]
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Today I found out the origin of the term “booze”. The first references to the word “booze” meaning “alcoholic drink” in English appear around the 14th century, though it was originally spelled “bouse”. The spelling, as it is today, didn’t appear until around the 17th century. The word “booze” itself appears to have Germanic origins, though which specific word it […]
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Today I found out the biblical expression “40 days and 40 nights” just means a really long time. At the time among the Jews, the number forty wasn’t generally used to signify a specific number, per se, but rather more used as a general term for a large figure. When it was used in terms of time, it simply […]
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Today I found out that in an effort to scare people away from drinking alcohol, the American government once poisoned certain alcohol supplies; this resulted in the death of over 10,000 American Citizens. This, of course, was during Prohibition. The government became frustrated with the fact that despite the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol being banned, the number of […]
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