This Day In History: February 19, 1910 On February 19, 1910 “Typhoid Mary” regained her freedom, albeit briefly. After years of being forced to live in isolation, Mary gladly agreed to never work as a cook again if she was allowed to live among the public. Mary signed an affidavit stating that she “is prepared to change her occupation (that […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about why you used to have to use #2 pencils on Scantron tests, as well as a boatload of fascinating facts about pencils and their surprisingly interesting history. [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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This is a video from MinuteEarth created by Henry Reich et al. If you like TodayIFoundOut, odds are you’ll also greatly enjoy their videos. So go check them out and subscribe to their channel here. You can also join us in supporting their efforts to make more videos like this by donating via their Patreon page here. If you liked […]
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Kyle H. asks: Who wrote rockaby-baby and how did it become a nursery rhyme? Seems kind of morbid to sing to a baby. First found in print in 1765 in Mother Goose’s Melody (see: Who was the Real Mother Goose?), the lyrics in this first printed version are essentially the same as today: Mush-a-bybaby On the tree top, When the […]
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Charles Darwin said humans descended from monkeys. Darwin coined the term “survival of the fittest.” Darwin was the first person to theorize evolution as the origin of species. Darwin did not believe in God. Darwin played shortstop for the New York Yankees. These are just few of the common myths that are associated with Charles Darwin. (Well, maybe not playing […]
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This Day In History: February 18, 1885 “Sequels aren’t inherently bad-remember that Huckleberry Finn was a sequel to Tom Sawyer. But Twain understood what modern storytellers seem to have forgotten-a compelling sequel offers consumers a new perspective on the characters, rather than just more of the same.” -Henry Jenkins On February 18, 1885, Mark Twain’s celebrated yet controversial book The […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about what was essentially the king of the ocean for many millions of years, the terrifying and gigantic Megalodon. [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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Unless you didn’t quite get enough info from the title- yes, it is entirely possible for a chicken to lay an egg that contains another fully developed egg, what we now officially dub an Xzibit Egg. A wonderfully bizarre Matryoshka doll made of protein and disgusting (when you think about it) deliciousness. As you may or may not know, a […]
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This Day In History: February 17, 1986 “When one loses the deep intimate relationship with nature, then temples, mosques and churches become important.” – Krishnamurti Death came peacefully to the 90 year-old Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, who passed away on February 17, 1986 at his home in Ojai, California. Always a reluctant guru, his final wish was that the several […]
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In this episode, you’re going to find out what exactly is going on in your body when you get an ice cream headache. [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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Prior to his role as Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Willard Smith (yes, Willard) enjoyed a successful career as a rapper under the pseudonym, “The Fresh Prince” as part of a duo with Jeffrey “DJ Jazzy Jeff” Townes. The partnership, performing under the rather unimaginative name of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, made Smith a […]
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This Day In History: February 16, 600 C.E. “Bless You!” is the knee-jerk response of most of us in the Western world when someone sneezes. We say it without thought or hesitation, and sometimes dozens of times a day during flu or allergy season. And every time we do, we’re obeying the edict a pope made on February 16, 600 […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn why hair turns grey as you get older, why stress can cause your hair to turn grey sooner, and a lot of other interesting facts about hair. [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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Anonymous asks: Through most of history there were few clocks and only recently alarm clocks, so how did people know when to get up precisely? Or how did they schedule meetings or when to open up shop or close, etc.? Basically, I guess I’m just wondering how people kept track of time in order to go about managing daily life? […]
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Mark R. asks: Why do drawn hearts look nothing like real hearts? Who first drew them this way? The heart symbol is one of the single most enduring and widely recognised symbols in modern culture. But where did it come from? Something like the familiar heart symbol goes back many thousands of years. Specifically, several pieces of pottery going back […]
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This Day In History: February 13, 1961 On February 13, 1961, legendary singer Frank Sinatra unveiled his recording label, Reprise. Unhappy with the limitations he felt Capital Records had placed on his creativity, “Ol’ Blue Eyes” had the means and the clout in the business to strike out on his own, and the result was some of the best music […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about a bizarre medical condition where those who suffer from it have difficulty “seeing” faces, and in the extreme case, the individuals can’t even recognize their own face in the mirror or in pictures. [TRANSCRIPT] As mentioned in the episode, if you’re curious whether you’re on the “Facial Blindness” spectrum, you can take […]
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This is a video from the very talented Brady Haran who, among other channels, produces phenomenal videos such as this one over at Numberphile, which you can subscribe to here. You can also join us in supporting Numberphile on Patreon here. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: Why Superheroes Wear Their Underwear on the Outside The Reason […]
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