The town of Celebration was first loosely imagined by Walt Disney himself, though the current town differs wildly from Disney’s original idea. Whereas Disney pictured a “perfect” futuristic city where technology blended seamlessly with real life and all possible needs were taken care of, an idea that served as the basis for the Epcot theme park in Disney Land, Michael Eisner (the CEO of Disney at […]
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This Day In History: April 30, 1904 For much of history, eating was a very formal affair and the concept of food you could grab and eat on the go was not terribly common. This all began to change in the 19th century, with the advent of things like hot dogs in a bun and, of course, ice cream in […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the fascinating origin of one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. [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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Calvin Graham was the youngest of seven children of a poor Texas farm family and because of his abusive stepfather, he and one of his older brothers decided to move out. Calvin supported himself by selling newspapers and delivering telegrams on weekends and after school. He was just eleven when he first thought of lying about his age to join the Navy. The […]
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Today in History: April 29, 534 Believed to have been born on April 29, 534, C.E.,Taliesin was a renowned bard who served at the courts of three British Celtic kings. It is purported that his work in a Middle Welsh manuscript is preserved today as the Book of Taliesin. At least 11 of the poems have been confirmed to date […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about why we call our galaxy the Milky Way and what it’s called in other languages around the world. [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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Kelly C asks: What happens to a person when they are tarred and feathered? Do they die? In times gone by, tarring and feathering was a go-to method used by mobs to punish or otherwise humiliate criminals or people believed to have wronged the community in some way. While it’s mostly recognised as being a punishment handed down in colonial […]
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This Day In History: April 28, 1945 Mussolini rose to power after the March on Rome in 1922. Just six years later he had established himself as absolute dictator and took the title of “Duce.” He conquered Ethiopia in 1935 and annexed Albania in 1939 – the same year he joined a Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the tiny tweak to the game of basketball that saw it go from a dying sport, to one of the most popular professional sports in the world. [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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Karen A. asks: How prevalent is homosexuality in animals? Are there any animals besides humans that have members that are exclusively homosexual? While it is sometimes claimed that only humans engage in bisexual or homosexual relationships, this is far from the truth and the practice is actually quite common in the animal kingdom. For example, nearly 10% of male sheep […]
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Mark A. asks: Who invented tea bags? Legend says that brewing tea dates back to around 2737 BC, when tea leaves fell into water being boiled for Emperor Shennong of China. There does not appear to be any hard evidence of tea being discovered this way, but evidence we do have suggests that brewing tea did indeed likely start in […]
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This Day In History: April 27, 1865 The greatest commercial maritime disaster (just edging out the Titanic by death-toll) occurred on April 27, 1865 when the steamboat Sultana exploded and sank on the Mississippi River near Memphis Tennessee. Approximately 1,700 passengers, most of them recently discharged Union soldiers on their way home, lost their lives. The Sultana was considered a […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn why aluminum foil is shiny on one side and not the other. [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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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader It involved only a half-dozen cars and 17 men, but this was one race that not only made history- it changed it. Get a Horse In 1908 the promise of the automobile was just that- a promise. The industry was in its infancy, and most people still relied on horses […]
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This Day In History: April 24, 1800 On April 24, 1800, President John Adams established the Library of Congress by approving legislation to appropriate $5,000 (about $68,000 today) “for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress … and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.” The legislation was enacted along with […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the surprisingly short history of The Pony Express and how surprisingly inconsequential it was given the way it’s often presented today. [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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Piot R. asks: Where do mosquitoes disappear to during the daytime? Mosquitoes are the bane of anyone who steps outside during the hours around dusk and dawn. If not caught in time, the creatures take a drink of blood, and then leave behind an itchy bump, and maybe a disease or two. But very rarely do the insects come out […]
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The term crowdfunding, a process by which a person raises money by asking others for small donations, has become popular online during the past few years. Websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo offer individuals a platform from which to make their cases to an international community. Mike Hayes of Illinois used crowdfunding to pay for all four years of his college […]
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