For those of you in the United States who are about to celebrate Thanksgiving and want to look particularly knowledgey at your family get-together tomorrow, here is a roundup of all the Thanksgiving related articles we’ve made here at TodayIFoundOut for you to peruse. Or, you know- don’t. But when there are awkward pauses in the conversation at your Thanksgiving […]
Read more
James I. asks: I was at Lowes and noticed mailboxes say “approved by the postmaster general”. What specifications do a mailbox need to reach to be approved in this way? I mean, it’s a box with a little door and a flag. Are those the requirements? What’s the process here? Thanks! While the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the […]
Read more
Today in History: November 27, 602 “He was a better judge of policy than of men.” – Previté-Orton On November 27, 603, the 20-year reign of Byzantine Emperor Maurice came to a most violent conclusion when he was forced to watch his five sons beheaded, and was then executed himself. Maurice’s road to the throne began when he was serving […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to learn whether there is any truth to the idea that eating turkey will make you drowsy. [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
Read more
Andy L. asks: Who first said “penny wise and a pound foolish”? The person credited with coining the phrase, “penny wise and pound foolish,” Robert Burton, also said about writers, “They lard their lean books with the fat of others’ works,” and “We can say nothing but what hath been said.” So, with Robert Burton’s insight in mind, here’s a […]
Read more
John Dalton (1766-1844) was a distinguished scientist who is known for, among many other things, his theories about atoms, his law of partial pressures of gases and liquids (published in 1803), and being one of the first scientists to study color blindness. In fact, because of his work, for some time a common term for color blindness was “Daltonism,” and […]
Read more
This Day In History: November 26, 1922 “You can’t create humor out of happiness” – Charles Schulz Charles Schulz’s life-long relationship with comic strips began within days of his birth on November 26, 1922 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His uncle nicknamed him “Sparky” after the horse, Spark Plug, from the Barney Google strip when he was two days old, and it […]
Read more
On the last day of October in 1517, a scholar and priest named Martin Luther did as priests commonly did at the time when they had something to discuss amongst the clergy- he nailed a piece of paper to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Unlike many other such documents nailed to the doors of churches, this […]
Read more
In this video by the talented team over at MinuteEarth, they explain how the Earth got its deserts and rainforests and why they are where they are. If you like this video, be sure and subscribe to their channel here. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: It’s “Just Deserts” Not “Just Desserts” From Desert to Party Central: […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to learn about the many myths surrounding the supposed “first” Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. 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 Transcript: Myth: Pilgrims wore black and white clothing with buckled top hats. The myth that they dressed […]
Read more
This Day In History: November 25, 1990 On November 25, 1990, the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge broke into pieces and sank to the bottom of Lake Washington. After a week-long windswept rainstorm, the old bridge succumbed to the forces of nature and gradually disappeared beneath relentless waves. Since the bridge’s demise was a gradual process, the local media could […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to learn just who is “Craig” and how he got started making lists, as well as how the site evolved to what it is 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
Read more
A great man once said, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” Eloquently highlighting the ridiculousness of strictly adhering to the rule against ending a sentence with a preposition, Winston Churchill may not have realized that his defiance is supported by history. As it turns out, there was never any such generally recognized rule. […]
Read more
Nothing put more fear into this author as a child more than being told, right before bedtime, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” I was a logical kid and I knew that ghosts, boogie men, vampires, and the monster living under my bed were all imaginary. But reminding me that there are very real bugs that may be living […]
Read more
Today in History: November 24, 1859 When Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species” was published on November 24, 1859, it sold out that same day. That’s not as impressive as it may initially seem as only 1,250 copies were available for purchase. The truly remarkable thing was the ground-breaking subject matter contained within its pages. Like Galileo two centuries earlier, Darwin […]
Read more
This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Don’t Birds’ Legs Freeze? How a bird reacts to the cold depends on what kind of a bird it is and there are a variety of methods they use to keep their legs warm, from the mundane to the much […]
Read more
In this episode, you’re going to learn how penguins manage to keep their exposed feet from freezing, along with some other interesting penguin facts. [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
Read more
F. Whisten asks: Is it true that all clams are male? If so, how do they reproduce? Encased in a hard shell, brainless and possessing only a single limb (a retractable foot that looks like a tongue), clams seem like a species for which reproduction would be difficult. And yet, each year, millions of clams are born – thanks in […]
Read more