Jeremy R. asks: Why do we still teach kids to write in cursive when it’s almost literally never used anymore except in signatures, which are also becoming a thing of the past thanks to e-signing and advancements in payment options? I mean, even teaching kids any handwriting skills is bound to go the way of the Dodo at some point […]
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Rita H. asks: Why do we serve ham on Easter? Under Jewish dietary laws (called kashrut), eating pork in any form is strictly forbidden. Jesus Christ was Jewish. So why, on the anniversary of his resurrection, do people traditionally serve ham? You’ll often read it’s because ham is supposedly a “Christian” meat, able to be consumed by Christians but not […]
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This Day In History: March 20, 1778 In the 18th century, as is the case now, politics was a dirty, self-serving business. During its earliest days as a nation, the United States of America deftly took advantage of France’s age-old antipathy towards England. In turn, King Louis XVI of France was using the Americans to vex his old enemies as […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the truth about the last surviving American Civil War veteran, who died surprisingly recently. [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 Central Asia, bordered on the north by Uzbekistan, the southeast by Afghanistan, the southwest by Iran and the east by the Caspian Sea, lies the country of Turkmenistan. With the world’s fourth largest proven reserves of natural gas, Turkmenistan is the world’s 11th largest exporter of this valuable resource. A dangerous substance, if not properly managed, rather than becoming […]
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Bon-hwa S. asks: Worms drown in the water, so how do fish know they are food? Is the reason they like them just the movement? Thanks! Worms, or more specifically earthworms which are by far what most people mean when they use the term “worms” in the fishing scenario, don’t live in water. In fact, the reason you see so many on […]
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This Day In History: March 19, 1976 Divorce has become as commonplace, if not more so, in the British Royal Family as it is among us mere peasants; three out of the present Queen’s four offspring have had failed marriages. But before the rash of royal divorces in the 1990s, the break-up of a royal union was a Really Big […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the breakthrough that allowed hieroglyphics, formerly thought to be picture writing, to be correctly translated for the first time. [TRANSCRIPT] And, as mentioned in the episode, you can check out a version of the translation of the object that resulted in the breakthrough here. Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe […]
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Erin G. asks: Why do we color code electric wires the way we do? Black, white, green, red, blue, orange, brown and grey, the color of the insulating sheath on an electrical wire generally designates its purpose. So, before you start fiddling around with that new light fixture, besides switching off the breaker to a given circuit, it’s a good […]
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When I was a kid, my parents had a collection of historic old, yellowed newspapers. For example, I distinctly remember an old Washington Post newspaper sitting on a bookshelf from July 21, 1969 with the headline “The Eagle Has Landed – Two Men Walk on the Moon.” Or a fading, brownish-yellow one from August 8, 1974 with the big headline, “Nixon […]
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This Day In History: March 18, 1911 “My struggles didn’t actually begin until after I’d written Alexander’s Ragtime Band. It’s been a struggle ever since to keep success going.” – Irving Berlin Before the phonograph and radio became common fixtures in most homes, popular music still thrived through the sale of sheet music. Families would gather around the piano and […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about paw preferences in cats and dogs, as well as methods for figuring out whether your cat is right or left pawed. [TRANSCRIPT] As mentioned in the episode: Nora the Piano Playing Cat Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going […]
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From the first Trinity test in Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945 until a unilateral moratorium was declared on October 2, 1992, the United States conducted hundreds of nuclear tests around the globe and in the lower 48. Early on, nearly all of these nuclear devices were detonated above ground, including those tested between 1952 and 1958 at the […]
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Jim asks: Do non-human animals ever get sunburned? Why don’t things like snakes and other cold blooded animals seem to get burned even though they lay in the sun all day? Without a protective coating of feathers, fur or scales, pretty much any animal with exposed skin can get a sunburn; luckily, most animals have adapted methods of avoiding the […]
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This Day In History: March 17, 461 After St. Patrick’s death on March 17, 461, his story was largely forgotten. It took centuries for him to attain mythological status, and even at that, the St. Patrick that is revered today bears little resemblance to the man who actually existed. To begin with, St. Patrick wasn’t Irish. He was born as […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about Al Capone’s lesser known brother and the ironic profession he held. [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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Melissa K. asks: Do high end wine makers really have people walk all over grapes with their bare feet? Perhaps no image is more synonymous with the act of wine making than that of a person smushing grapes with their bare feet to extract the precious juices contained therein (in the grapes, not the inevitably sweaty feet). But did winemakers […]
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Karl W. asks: Why are calico cats always female? While any breed of cat can be born with calico fur, the vast majority of these cats are female, with only about one in three thousand calico cats born male according to the Humane Society. So why are most calico cats female? As you may or may not be aware, females […]
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