At only a few inches long and with no distinguishing external physical features to speak of, Scutisorex somereni, better known as the Hero or Armoured Shrew, is seemingly an unremarkable creature. That is, until you accidentally step on one. You see, the Hero shrew can comfortably survive being stood on by a typical adult human without any injury. The secret to […]
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This Day In History: May 21, 1992 On May 21, 1992, 17-year-old Amy Fisher was arrested two days after shooting her lover’s wife on the porch of their home in Long Island, New York. The victim, though gravely injured, survived the attack and eventually forgave her assailant. When the sordid details of her affair with her much older, very married, […]
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In this video from MinuteEarth, created by Henry Reich et al, you’re going to learn about the invasion of the Yellow Crazy Ants, and other interesting spreading of animals. In the Bonus Facts below, you’re also going to learn a lot of other fun animal facts. If you like this video, go check them out and subscribe to their channel […]
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Olivia B. asks: Why do women always seem to be fainting in classic books? Dropping like flies (or at least as far as many stories indicate), it seems as if well-bred ladies in the 1800s struggled to maintain consciousness when faced with even the slightest emotional or physical shock. Over the years there have been several theories as to why […]
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This Day In History: May 20, 1908 James Maitland Stewart, one of the most likable and versatile actors in motion picture history, was born on May 20, 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He appeared in over 80 films during his long career. Stewart is most loved and fondly remembered for his various portrayals of Mr. Every Man, a simple, hard-working American […]
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Clocking in at 5 minutes and 55 seconds long and encompassing elements of hard rock, opera and pop, Bohemian Rhapsody is certainly one of the more eclectic songs to make it into the charts, but it’s by no means the longest. Hey Jude by The Beatles (7:11), I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) by Meatloaf (7:58) and All Around […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Ice Folly It’s not like Spain, with its mild Mediterranean climate, is well known for its frozen lakes and canals. So why would its king contact craftsmen and tell them to drop everything and make 7,000 pairs of skates? And this was back in 1572, long before there were indoor […]
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This Day In History: May 19, 1836 A very young Cynthia Ann Parker moved from Illinois to Texas by wagon train with members of her family in 1832. They built a civilian stockade around their settlement, located approximately 40 miles east of present day Waco, which came to be known as Parker Fort. Their solidly constructed protective barricade was supposedly […]
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This Day In History: May 18, 1989 On May 18, 1989, an estimated one million Chinese protestors swarmed Tiananmen Square and the surrounding streets of Beijing demanding a democratic system of government. It was the largest popular demonstration in the 40-year history of communist China. Student-driven protests calling for democracy had begun in China a month before but ramped up […]
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Richard K. asks: How do they set the dividing line in hardness between what’s considered a hard wood vs. a soft wood? Generally speaking, wood is often put into one of two categories- hardwood and softwood. But what exactly makes a given piece of wood qualify as either hard or soft and how did those definitions come about? Perhaps the most […]
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Nathan G. asks: Why is lead bad for us? Given that humans have been using lead in various product for over 8,000 years (with the first known mining of it in Anatolia around 6500 BCE), you might be surprised to learn that we have known that lead is dangerous and shouldn’t be trifled with since at least 150 BC, when […]
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This Day In History: May 15, 1869 “Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less!” – The Revolution On May 15, 1869, The National Woman Suffrage Association was formed in New York City. The group was the result of ideological and political disagreements between two factions of the suffrage movement, one difference being whether to support […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about a fascinating time in history when England had its security world shattered when a man waltzed into town and promptly easily picked the previously unpickable type of lock securing most of the valuables in the country. This is the story of the “Great Lock Controversy of 1851” [TRANSCRIPT] As mentioned in the […]
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Oakley420 asks: Why is a lap called a lap? Used as a noun, verb and adjective, most with several distinct meanings, lap is a prominent word in the English language. One of its most common meanings denotes the upper part of the legs when seated. Derived from a Proto-Germanic word *lapp, meaning the “skirt or flap of a garment,” or […]
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Given that he’s mostly famous for playing a “more brawn than brains”, emotionless robot who speaks in fractured English (both in politics and on the big screen…), Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t exactly thought of by the general public as a very shrewd, intelligent, and calculating businessman. But, it turns out, Arnold was (and is) just that; through a heck of a lot of […]
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This Day In History: May 14, 1932 During the height of the Great Depression, getting 100,000 people hyped up about anything other than available paid work would seem an impossible task. Jobs were scarce, money was tight, and morale was low. But there was one thing that could drive the masses to the streets of New York City in the […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn why people get dark circles under their eyes when they get tired. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily Knowledge Podcast
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In this video from MinuteEarth, created by Henry Reich et al, you’re going to learn how water in the air ultimately forms rain drops and what critical thing is required to make this happen. If you like this video, go check them out and subscribe to their channel here. You can also join us in supporting their efforts to make […]
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