Page 223 – Today I Found Out

The Famous “Wilhelm Scream” Heard in Over 200 Films is Thought to Have Come from the Vocal Talents of the Guy Who Wrote and Sang the Song “Purple People Eater”

March 15, 2013 Amanda Poitras

Even if you don’t recognize the name, odds are you’ve at least heard the Wilhelm Scream (listen to it here). It’s that classic scream that movie goers around the world remember and is sometimes also called the “Star Wars Scream”. You hear it when Luke Skywalker shoots that Stormtrooper on the Death Star, when Indiana Jones takes down that Nazi, […]

10 Fascinating Food Facts (Part-4)

March 14, 2013 Noreen

Embed This Infographic [Source: Today I Found Out] [Some images used in the infographic via Shutterstock] For Part 1 of this series go here: 12 Fascinating Food Facts For Part 2 of this series go here: 10 Fascinating Food Facts (Part-2) For Part 3 of this series go here: 10 More Fascinating Food Facts (Part-3)

This Day in History: A Proposal by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Suggesting That the U.S. Military Should Commit Acts of Terrorism in the U.S. and Blame it on Cuba is Presented to the Secretary of Defense

March 13, 2013 Daven Hiskey

This Day In History: March 13, 1962 On this day in history, 1962, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Lyman Lemnitzer, submitted a proposal to the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, developed by the Joint Chiefs and the Department of Defense, outlining plans to commit various acts of terrorism on U.S. soil and then to frame the […]

This Day in History

It Does Not Take “7 Years” to Digest Gum

March 12, 2013 Ann Pietrangelo

“Don’t swallow your gum! It’ll take seven years to digest it!” If you chew gum, chances are you’ve been told that it’s dangerous to swallow it. You’ve probably even heard horror stories about giant wads of chewing gum hanging around in your gut for as many as seven years. Where this bit of folk wisdom originated is unclear, but the […]

Why Mustard is Yellow

March 12, 2013 Matt Blitz

Today I found out why mustard is yellow. A common misconception is that yellow mustard (the kind you put on your hot dog) is yellow because of the mustard seed. This is not true. The mustard seed is a dullish gray, brown color. The striking, bold yellow color actually comes from the rootstock of a plant called turmeric. Turmeric, native […]

Häagen-Dazs and Frusen Glädjé are Both American Companies

March 11, 2013 Daley Francis

Today I found out that both Häagen-Dazs and Frusen Glädjé are American companies, something that may come as a shock to the many people who assumed – and presumably still assume in some cases – that the two brands were not as “American as apple pie”, and more likely to be of Scandinavian heritage. But no, the Scandinavian vibe surrounding the two […]

How Shrunken Heads Were Made

March 11, 2013 Staci Lehman

Today I found out how shrunken heads were made. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, a shrunken head is a decapitated human head that is shrunk through a cooking process by members of the Jivaroan tribes of the northwestern region of the Amazon rain forest in Ecuador and Peru. Why do this? Tribal members believed in the […]

New Authors

March 11, 2013 Daven Hiskey

I recently put out a job listing for some new writers to add to the team here on Today I Found Out. I received well over 300 applicants, with a shockingly high percentage of them being amazingly good. After going through all the applications a few times, I managed to narrow the list down to the top 10% and gave […]

Announcements

The Woman Who Carried a Fetus in Her Body for 60 Years

March 8, 2013 Daven Hiskey

The woman was Huang Yijun from China. When she was 31 in 1948, she became pregnant only to find out that she had an ectopic pregnancy, meaning the egg had not attached in the uterus. In most ectopic pregnancies, the egg will implant in the Fallopian tubes, but in Huang’s case, the egg implanted just outside her Fallopian tubes causing […]

The Origin of Saint Patrick’s Day

March 7, 2013 Daven Hiskey

Today I Found Out has teamed up with Jeremiah Warren to show his awesome “trivia” related videos here. You can subscribe to Warren’s YouTube Channel here. If you liked this video and the Bonus Saint Patrick’s Day facts below, you might also enjoy: Why Superheroes Wear Their Underwear on the Outside The Origins of Halloween and Trick or Treating The […]

Why Sideburns are Named as They Are

March 6, 2013 Daven Hiskey

Today I found out why sideburns are named as they are. It turns out, despite this particular brand of facial hair style being around as far back as at least 100 BC (with one of the earliest known instances being in a mosaic of Alexander the Great), sideburns were named after a specific man in the late 19th century. The […]

The Only Major League Baseball Player to Refuse a Hit

March 5, 2013 Eddie Deezen

Paul Glee Waner played baseball in the big leagues for 20 seasons, from 1926 to 1945. They called him “Big Poison” despite Waner being a small man at 5 ft. 8 1/2 in. in height and never weighing more than 153 pounds. Despite his somewhat diminutive stature and the fact that he thought that he played better slightly drunk or […]

How Nintendo, Lego, Adidas and 17 other Major Companies Got Their Names

March 4, 2013 List25

This is a guest post by List25.com for more interesting lists, subscribe to their newsletter here. Lego: In 1934, Danish carpenter Ol Kirk Kristiansen, the founder of what we now know of as Lego®, asked his staff to come up with a good name for his growing toy company. The two names that ended up being finalists were “Legio” and […]

Cracking Your Knuckles Does Not Cause Arthritis

March 1, 2013 Scott

Myth: Cracking your knuckles throughout your lifetime will eventually cause you to have arthritis. Have you ever cracked your knuckles and had someone yell at you to stop because it causes arthritis? 25-54% of the world’s population cracks their knuckles, men more so than women. Does this mean up to 54% of us will get arthritis? The short answer is […]

12 Facts You May Not Know About John Lennon

March 1, 2013 Eddie Deezen

John Lennon was the leader and founding member of the Beatles. Whether as a singer, composer, musician, writer, or actor, John was a true original. Not only was he a great artist, but he was a truly fascinating man. (And yes, it has now been over 32 years since John Lennon was gunned down senselessly; my how the time has […]

Facts Lists

11 Popular Urban Legends Dispelled

February 28, 2013 List25

This is a guest post by List25.com for more interesting lists, subscribe to their newsletter here. 1) The Dissolving Tooth: There are numerous urban legends involving Coca Cola. In fact, there are so many that these legends all now have their own category known as “Colklore”. The most popular is that if you were to leave a tooth in a […]

Facts Lists

What are the Best Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally?

February 28, 2013 Scott

Mark asks: What are some good ways to lower my blood pressure without drugs? Over the past few decades, controlling high blood pressure has been one of the priorities for health care professionals and organizations worldwide. “High blood pressure” is defined as any systolic pressure (the top number) above 140 or diastolic (the bottom number) higher than 90. (See: What […]

The Beatles’ Worst Experience

February 28, 2013 Eddie Deezen

The Beatles arrived in Manila to give two concerts in early July of 1966. This was to be one of their gigs on their 1966 final-ever tour; they had just finished a few very pleasant gigs in Germany. There were “bad vibes” almost from the word “go” as the boys arrived at the Manila airport. Ringo: “I hated the Philippines. […]

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