Elizabeth F. asks: Is white gold really gold? If it is, how do they make it white when it’s an element? The purest form of gold is, of course, golden and is referred to as 24 karat gold. Pure gold is much too soft for use in jewelry and can even be dented by simply pressing your fingernail hard against […]
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This Day In History: February 12, 1789 Ethan Allen, Vermont’s beloved but elusive folk hero, died on February 12, 1789. The manner of his death was an enigma; some say he suffered a stroke crossing Lake Champlain as he was heading to his Winooski River homestead; others contend his death was caused by falling from his sleigh in a drunken […]
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Oxford University is well known for being one of the most prestigious and elite places of learning in history. Over the years, it has seen some of the finest minds the world has ever known pass through its halls. It’s also the place where over six centuries ago a bunch of students and a fair number of townsfolk were killed […]
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Taking the job as President of the United States means that people across the world know just about everything you do or say, including occasionally making a fool of yourself. Former President George W. Bush understood that when he choked on a pretzel while watching a football game, and President Barack Obama knew that the whole world would find out […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the only woman to ever bat during an official Major League Baseball game. In the second half of the show, you’re also going to learn why we sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch of baseball games, as well as the truth about what actually inspired the […]
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This Day In History: February 11, 1858 Marie-Bernarde (known as Bernadette) Soubirous was a barely literate 14-year-old girl from a poverty stricken family in the small town of Lourdes, France. On February 11, 1858, she had gone to collect firewood with her sister and a friend. When they reached a small stream near a grotto, her companions removed their shoes […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about what funny thing 50% of the ownership of the company that would become Domino’s Pizza was sold for. You’re also going to learn an equally humorous story about a man named Kenneth Noid and what he had to do with Domino’s Pizza. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: […]
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The legendary Roald Dahl’s book Charlie & Chocolate Factory from 1964 (and its subsequent two film adaptations from 1971 and 2005) told the story of a magical candy factory and its eccentric and mysterious owner Willy Wonka. A chocolate river, gum that is a whole turkey dinner, never-ending gobstoppers, and, of course, the singing and dancing oompa-loompas are just a […]
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This Day In History: February 10, 1840 “I felt so happy when the ring was put on, and by my precious Albert.” – From the diary of Queen Victoria February 10, 1840 dawned cold and rainy in London, but this did not dampen the spirits of the crowds gathering to witness the spectacle of their young Queen’s wedding procession. It […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about how one of the largest creatures on Earth has a very tiny, doughnut shaped brain with their equally tiny esophagus running right through it, along with a lot of other interesting facts about this amazing animal. In the Bonus section, you’re also going to learn why turkeys (as in the bird) are […]
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Gared O. asks: Who invented the cardboard box? The cardboard box goes largely unappreciated. Yet, it is indispensable to our daily living. It holds all of our knick-knacks and personal mementos when we move or have things shipped. It holds our breakfast cereal. It has been used for countless children’s art projects; fashioned into a robot head or a horse’s […]
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Hollywood often makes up stories about nigh-unkillable, enemy-stomping individuals who laugh in the face of certain death, only to deliver that death to countless bad guys instead. In real life, if you put a single individual up against a large contingent of well armed soldiers, the soldiers tend to effortlessly dispatch said individual, no matter how much courage and determination […]
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This Day In History: February 9, 1964 “Congratulations on your appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and your visit to America. We hope your engagement will be a successful one and your visit pleasant. Give our best to Mr. Sullivan. Sincerely, Elvis & The Colonel.” – Telegram the Beatles received pre-show The build-up to the Beatles appearance on the Ed […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Bizarre Mating Practices of the Arabian Camel Some people are into feet, others like dressing up in furry costumes, and a rare few will even get scatological (See: Mozart’s Much Less Family Friendly Works). But when it comes to weird […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn where the expression “I, for one, welcome our new X overlords” came from. In the Bonus section, you’re also going to learn why a week is 7 days long. [TRANSCRIPT: Overlords | Week] 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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Juana R. asks: Why do judges wear robes? Is this still a requirement or just a tradition? Most of us in the western world expect judges to wear a robe when they sit behind their bench in a courtroom, and they usually do not disappoint. But we rarely think about how the long, usually black, robe became the standard outfit […]
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Considering how most dogs in the Western world these days are treated as a member of the family, it’s often easy to forget that the vast majority of our furry friends up until very recently were bred for a specific purpose. Perhaps no dog was bred for a more specific purpose than the now extinct, turnspit. The turnspit was so named […]
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This Day In History: February 6, 1928 On February 6, 1928, an attractive young woman arrived in New York on the ocean liner Berengaria. She held a press conference before she disembarked, explaining she had come to the United States to have her jaw reset. She alleged she had been injured by a Bolshevik soldier at Ekaterinburg, Russia, in July […]
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