10 More Common Misconceptions Dispelled

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Read moreThe name “Kodak” was devised by George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, and his mother, while playing with an anagram set. They were looking for a name that adhered to three principles: short; cannot be mispronounced; and should not resemble anything or be associated with anything else except for the business that would eventually be called by that name. Sources
Read moreToday I found out scorpions can survive as much as a year without eating. Scorpions are amazing little creatures. With almost two thousand known species found on six of the seven continents, these arthropods have been able to adapt to some of the harshest environments on earth. One evolutionary benefit they have gained is the ability to slow down their […]
Read moreThis Day In History: December 29, 1890 On this day in history, 1890, the Seventh Cavalry opened fire on a Lakota Native American encampment with four rapid fire Hotchkiss guns, killing 150-300 of the group, including women and children. Along with the dead Lakota, around 25 of the cavalry troops themselves were killed with another 39 wounded, largely due to […]
Read moreToday I found out the difference between a coffin and a casket. The words coffin and casket are often used interchangeably to describe a box used to bury a dead body in. Although the general purpose of each is the same, there are small differences between the two. The term coffin has been used to describe a container that holds […]
Read moreClapton’s son, Conor, who he had with model and actress Lori del Santo while still married to Patti Boyd, died at the age of four years old after falling from a window in del Santo’s 53rd floor, New York City apartment. The window was a full wall window that had been removed by a janitor to let fresh air in […]
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Read moreMyth: Billy the Kid’s real name was William H. Bonney William H. Bonny is actually another alias of Billy the Kid, used during the height of his notoriety, but it is not generally considered his real name. Throughout his life, several different names were associated with this 19th century outlaw and gunman, including: William Henry McCarty, Jr. – Billy the […]
Read moreSuper Glue really is “super”. A one square inch bonding of Super Glue can hold around one ton. Super Glue has even been used to bond a small surface area of metal attached to a crane, which was then glued to the top of a car. The car was lifted successfully by the crane without the bond breaking. Sources and […]
Read moreKoala “bears” aren’t a type of bear at all, as it turns out, and their non-scientific name doesn’t include “bear” on the end, as is commonly spoken outside of Australia by the English speaking world. They are simply “Koalas”. So if they aren’t a member of the family Ursidae (bears), what are they? In fact, they are marsupials, along with […]
Read moreThe first documented case of a hammerhead shark reproducing asexually happened on December 14, 2001 at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska where a female hammerhead shark, which was kept in isolation from males, miraculously gave birth to a pup. The pup was unfortunately killed by a stingray shortly thereafter, but testing showed that the pup was, in fact, a […]
Read moreToday I found out It’s a Wonderful Life was based on a “Christmas Card” short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, which was originally sent out to around 200 of Stern’s friends and family in December of 1943. The short story was called The Greatest Gift and was inspired by a dream Stern had one night in the 1930s. Stern, […]
Read moreThis Day In History: December 23, 1823 On this day in history, 1823, the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known today as The Night Before Christmas or ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas was first published. The poem first appeared in the New York Sentinel with no author listed, having been delivered for publication by a friend of Clement […]
Read moreEeyore’s name is based off the British Cockney dialect version of the phrase “hee-haw”. Interestingly, the guy who did the voice for Optimus Prime also did the voice for Eeyore and was the first person to voice Nintendo’s Mario character. *the more you know* Sources and Further Reading
Read moreThe “Dr.” in “Dr. Seuss” was in homage to Theodore Geisel’s father’s hope that his son would get his PhD. Geisel instead dropped out of the PhD program at Oxford where he was pursuing a PhD in English. “Seuss” was his mother’s maiden name as well as his own middle name. Interestingly, he did eventually receive several honorary doctorates, more […]
Read moreToday I found out that Conan O’Brien spent two years as a writer and producer of The Simpsons before replacing Letterman as the host of Late Night. After becoming burnt out working at Saturday Night Live, Conan quit and decided to do something else, though he had no idea what. When Mike Reiss and Al Jean from The Simpsons heard […]
Read moreThis Day In History: December 21, 1898 On this day in history, 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered the radioactive element radium (in the form of radium chloride), extracting it from uraninite. They first removed the uranium from the uraninite sample and then found that the remaining matter was still radioactive, so investigated further. Along with the barium in the […]
Read moreResearchers in Israel have successfully trained mice to be used as bomb and drug detectors. The mice are kept in containers and if the mice detect any explosives or drugs, they will trigger an alarm by pressing a button. Each mouse can work in four hour shifts and have proven to be more accurate than x-ray machines and dogs at […]
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