Neil asks: Who invented the slot machine? The story of the slot machine is one of intrigue, theft, controversy, and murder. Okay, not murder, but everything else. And it starts in Bavaria…. Augustinus Charles Fey was the youngest of sixteen children born in 1862 in the small village of Vohringen, Bavaria which sits at the edge of the Alps. Early […]
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This Day In History: September 23, 1912 On September 23, 1912, movie history was made in several different ways. When Mack Sennett’s first groundbreaking Keystone comedy, “The Water Nymph” was released, Mabel Normand became the first actress to appear on-screen wearing a bathing suit. Additionally, Sennett promoted the film using Normand’s name and likeness, which was a big deal because […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn about the creation of the famous Freedom Statue, and the slave who was integral to its making. [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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Mekala asks: Is the black box in airplanes really black? Also, who invented it? Thanks! Like many inventions, versions of an airplane “black box” were independently invented by several people, in this case beginning around the 1930s and 1940s. As for the version that began being installed on commercial aircraft, it was invented in response to a tragic loss of […]
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Cunningham’s Law is an internet adage that states “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, but to post the wrong answer.” It’s an interesting hypothesis for sure. And, if you’ve spent any time on the internet whatsoever, you’re likely well aware that posting something incorrect online is a sure-fire way […]
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This Day In History: September 22, 1529 Thomas Wolsey, as high and mighty as he became, rose from humble beginnings. He was born around 1473 as the son of a butcher – as common as it gets. His climb to the top began after he attended Oxford University and was ordained into the clergy in 1498. His ambition and ability […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Golfers Yell “Fore” and Other Interesting Golf Facts There is a long-standing belief that golf was invented by the Scottish, sometime in the 14th or 15th centuries. This maybe false, at least according to Chinese professors and the Hong Kong Heritage […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the truth about whether Nero really “fiddled when Rome burned” and other interesting facts about Nero and the fire that (supposedly) ravaged the city. [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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Michael R. asks: How did Oktoberfest get started? As we move past the summer and into the fall, we can count on certain things: the leaves changing color, the weather growing crisper, ghost stories being told, and the celebration of the Bavarian tradition of Oktoberfest. Even here in America, Oktoberfest is beloved as a time for dancing, dressing in lederhosen, […]
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Happy “Talk Like a Pirate” day! Besides learning about port and starboard in the video below, you can also learn the origin and meaning of things like “Avast,” “Arrrr,” “Scuttlebutt,” and many more in our video, The Origin and Meaning of 9 Pirate Words and Expressions. If you liked this video, be sure and subscribe to our YouTube channel here. […]
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This Day In History: September 19, 1952 “A democracy is a place where you can express your ideas freely—or it isn’t a democracy.” – Charles Chaplin During the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s, legendary actor and film maker Charlie Chaplin, who never gave up his British citizenship and was well-known for his liberal politics, ran afoul […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn the surprisingly recent origin of the sporting wave, also known as the “Mexican Wave” outside of the United States, which funny enough has little to nothing to do with Mexico. [TRANSCRIPT] Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: Daily […]
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Given that most have still heard of the Pony Express today, unlike so many other messaging companies long gone, you may think that the Pony Express was once an integral part of communication between the East and West in the United States. It turns out, this was never the case and the Pony Express was around only for an extremely […]
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Kevin A. asks: I was just wondering how Felix Hernandez became known as “King”? The religious Abraham was commanded by God to leave his homeland and travel to a distant, already occupied, place in which Abraham would eventually rule with the aid of divine blessing. Maybe it was fate that Felix Abraham Hernandez, born in Venezuela, would come to baseball’s […]
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Today in History: September 18, 1923 On September 18, 1923, Princess Anne Antoinette Francois Charlotte of Bourbon-Parma was born in Paris, France. The second child of Prince Rene of Bourbon-Parma and princess Margrethe of Demark, she spent her early years with her parents and three brothers in France before they fled from the Nazis and headed for Spain in 1939. […]
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In this episode, you’re going to learn how the Himalayas originally formed and how they are changing even today, along with some other interesting Himalaya related 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
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Matthew C. asks: Who made the first diet pop? In order to make a diet soda (at least one people would popularly drink), a sugar substitute was needed. The first such artificial sweetener, saccharin, was discovered by accident. In the late 19th century, Constantin Fahlberg, after a long day working at the lab of the famed chemist Ira Remsen in […]
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Kay P. asks: Is spider blood really blue? When it comes to spiders, people generally know two facts about them- that you swallow around eight of them per year and that their blood is bright blue. Fortunately, the former is absolutely not true at all, the latter, on the other hand, is mostly correct. While it’s certainly true that spiders […]
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