The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Here’s an inside look at the world’s most popular comic strip and the man who created it. BACKGROUND To say that Peanuts is the most famous daily comic strip in the history of the art form is an understatement. Like Superman and Mickey Mouse, Peanuts transcended its medium and became […]
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Officially the Apollo 10 mission of 1969 was a dress rehearsal for the more famous Apollo 11- designed to test all of procedures and equipment needed to land on the Moon save for the actual act of the landing itself. (To assure it was just a practice run, they did not put enough fuel in the LM to land and […]
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Karl G. asks: Why does cheddar cheese turn orange when the milk used to make it is white? Milk is made up of about 87% water and 13% solids, such as fat and various proteins. Chief among these proteins is something called casein, four types of which make up about 80% of the proteins in milk. The casein protein molecules […]
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Born in Sydney Australia in 1905, Henry Robert Pearce, better known as Bobby Pearce, dominated the world of competitive rowing throughout the 1920s and 1930s and was extremely popular with fans of the sport due to a combination of the ease with which he seemed to best opponents and his affable personality. Perhaps the greatest example of both of these […]
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In 1962, Jack Paar, the controversial but popular host of The Tonight Show, unexpectedly quit and Johnny Carson was chosen to be the NBC show’s new host. In the interim, several temporary guest hosts took over, including Art Linkletter, Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, Jan Murray, and Jerry Lewis. Jerry did a stellar job as a guest host and ABC had […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Oh, the poor potato—a symbol of laziness (couch potato) and unhealthy eating (cheese fries). But it deserves much better. Here’s how the lowly potato altered the course of human history. SPUDS OF THE INCAS For at least 4,000 years, potatoes have been cultivated in the Peruvian Andes. The Incas called […]
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The Beatles’ 1967 hit “Strawberry Fields Forever” has long been considered one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. Released in February of that year as a double A side single along with Penny Lane, the song peaked at number eight on the US Billboard charts (The Turtles’ “Happy Together” was number one that week). In 2011, Rolling Stone named […]
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Kevin G. asks: Is it true Houdini died performing a water tank trick? Few people in any field of human endeavor rise to become the unquestioned “top-dog” in their profession in their generation, let alone of all time. But ask almost anyone who the greatest illusionist / escape artist in history was and take the proverbial “dollars to doughnuts” wager […]
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As we all know, acting is a precarious, roller-coaster type business. The Meryl Streeps, Jack Nicholsons, and Brad Pitts are few and far between. Most actors or actress will hit at least an occasional “dry spell,” if not a permanent one. For a very select few, a seemingly easy solution to help get them through the dry spell financially might […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader READY, SET, GO! For you, the trip has ended. You’ve “done your business,” (hopefully you’ve also had a few minutes of quality reading time), you’ve flushed the toilet, and you’ve moved onto the next thing. But for your “business,” a.k.a. organic solid waste, a.k.a. “Number Two,” the trip is just […]
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In 1983, Paul Mockapetris proposed a distributed database of internet name and address pairs, now known as the Domain Name System (DNS). This is essentially a distributed “phone book” linking a domain’s name to its address, allowing you to type in something like todayifoundout.com instead of the IP address of the website. The distributed version of this system allowed for […]
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Jan B. asks: Who invented cottage cheese and why did they call it that? The ancient Mesopotamians made a type of salty, sour cheese very similar to cottage cheese that dates back to at least 3000 B.C. A common legend is that it was invented when a desert traveler filled his sheep stomach saddle bags with milk prior to beginning […]
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Walter K. asks: Why is U.S. paper money mostly green when other countries use different colors for different bills? In Article I of the U.S. Constitution, ratified on June 21, 1788, Congress was granted the power to “coin money” and “regulate” its value, but not to issue paper money. The result of the near complete devaluation of the paper money […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader When you hear the name Eli Whitney, you probably think of his invention, the cotton gin. But you may not realize how profoundly it (and his other inventions) changed the world. Here’s the history they never taught you in school. LOOKING FOR WORK In 1792 a 27-year-old Massachusetts Yankee named […]
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David asks: When did the tradition of rolling out a red carpet for celebrities start? Throughout history, red carpets have led luminaries to momentous events, both good and bad. Aeschylus (525 BC – 455 BC), the “father of tragedy,” wrote various plays where his heroes fell from grace due to a combination of unwinnable circumstances, arrogance and/or simply stepping on […]
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The records of William Buckley’s early life are vague at best. Even Buckley himself stated that he did not remember much of it. What is known is that Buckley was born sometime in 1780, most likely in Marton, Cheshire, England. His parents had three other children, two girls and another boy, and his maternal grandfather was raising Buckley by his […]
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If we learned anything from the excellent Bill and Ted movies, it’s that the word “dude” is a remarkably versatile utterance that can either be used to refer to any male acquaintance or as a general vocalisation of surprise or confusion. Go back a hundred years or so to the 1800s and the word dude could actually roughly be understood […]
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Noah R. asks: What causes people to be claustrophobic? If you have a friend who refuses to ride the elevator to his 15th floor office every day, he may be a fitness freak, but chances are, he is claustrophobic. Similarly, when someone’s action seems illogical as shown by their persistent, determined avoidance of enclosed spaces or restrictive clothing, the likely explanation […]
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