This Day In History: November 28, 1907: On this day in 1907, scrap-metal dealer Louis B. Mayer, who was struggling to make ends meet with his scrap-metal business, purchased an old 600 seat burlesque house in Massachusetts and re-opened it as a movie theater he named the “Orpheum”. His first theater was such a success that within a few years, […]
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Today I found out “Brontosauruses” technically never existed. As children, we went through school learning the fascinating facts about dinosaurs that roamed the earth millions of years ago. We studied the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Stegosaurus, and the beloved Brontosaurus. What many of us may have never learned, however, was the controversy of the giant gentle Brontosaurus. Did it really exist? […]
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If you have a computer hard drive that failed, you should try putting it in the freezer inside a plastic bag for about 20 minutes. After that, immediatley put it back into your computer. This may sound ridiculous, but sometimes that will cause it to work long enough for you to copy your data to another drive. Repeat as necessary […]
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Today I found out alcohol does not “cook out” of food in most cases. The myth that alcohol does all cook out stems from the fact that alcohol has a much lower boiling point temperature (173° F / 78.5° C) than water (212° F / 100° C). Thus, if the temperature is above 78.5° C, then the alcohol should boil […]
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Most of the characters and names in Winnie the Pooh were based on creator A.A. Milne’s son’s toys and stuffed animals with the exception of Owl, Rabbit, and Gopher. The character of Christopher Robin himself was based on Milne’s son Christopher Robin Milne. Christopher Robin Milne’s toy teddy bear, who Winnie the Pooh was created after, is currently on display […]
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The type of radiation emitted by microwave ovens is non-ionizing. This means that it doesn’t contribute to your chance of getting cancer like x-rays, ultraviolet light, etc. do. Outside of potential burn risks, experiments done with rodents have yet to show any major adverse effect to prolonged exposure to microwaves at the 2.45 GHz range seen in most microwave ovens, […]
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This Day In History: November 26, 43 BC On this day in 43 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, (also known as Caesar Augustus) the great nephew of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus formed the political alliance that became known as the “Second Triumvirate”, which officially ended the days of Rome as a Republic. Before their alliance, the […]
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Today I found out Al Capone’s brother was a police officer who at one point was also a prohibition enforcement officer. James Vincenzo Capone, born in 1892, was 7 years old when his infamous brother Al was born. Growing up in Brooklyn, he felt the city life didn’t suit him and decided to head out west. As such, he left […]
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In 1896, there was a group called the “Society for the Prevention of People Being Buried Alive” started by Victorian Americans. Among other things they attempted, they tried to get a law established making it so you could only bury someone after strong smell and putrefaction were evident. Source
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In a marketing effort to boost jewelry sales, the American National Retail Jeweler Association in 1937 revised the system by which certain wedding anniversaries are to be marked by giving various jewels, precious metals, and other artifacts on certain anniversaries. Prior to their marketing scheme, it was traditional only to give standardized gifts on the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, […]
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This Day In History: November 24, 1971 An unidentified man referred to as D.B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 airplane between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Cooper bought a one-way ticket on a Northwest Orient Airlines, Flight 305 to Seattle, Washington leaving Portland, Oregon at 2:50 p.m. He brought with him aboard the plane a black suit-case supposedly containing a […]
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Olivia Wilde’s real name is Olivia Cockburn. She took the professional name “Wilde” in high school in homage to famed writer Oscar Wilde. Olivia Wilde’s mother is 60 Minutes producer and award winning journalist, Leslie Cockburn. Her father, Andrew Cockburn, is also an award winning journalist. In addition to that, her aunt and her grandfather were also professional writers. Source
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Today I found out bubble wrap was originally designed to be used as wallpaper. Bubble Wrap was invented by two engineers Al Fielding and Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes in Hawthorne, N.J. in 1957. The two were not, however, trying to make a product to be used as packaging material. Rather, they were trying to create a textured wallpaper. They started […]
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This Day In History: November 23, 534 BC November 23 marks the traditional date when the first ever human being to take the stage and portray someone else other than himself took place. This person, according to various sources, most notably Aristotle, was a man named Thespis of Icaria. (which is also where we get the word “thespian”, meaning “actor”) […]
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Today I found out how Gecko’s feet stick to almost anything. It has been observed since the 4th century BC that geckos have the ability to climb walls, hang upside down, and apparently “stick” to anything. Aristotle was the first known to have commented on the phenomenon, stating gecko’s have the ability to “run up and down a tree in […]
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Many of Mr. Rogers’ famous sweaters he wore on the show were made by his mother. Source
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This Day In History: November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy was shot first in the back and next in the head while traveling through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas on this day in 1963. Two other people were also accidentally shot due to their proximity to the President. One was the governor of Texas, John Connally, sustaining a serious chest […]
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This Day In History: November 21, 1783 In Paris, France, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes made the first untethered manned flight in a Montgolfier hot air balloon. After several practice runs to get the feel for how to work the balloon, de Rozier and d’Arlandes finally made their first untethered flight leaving at 2:00 p.m. from the […]
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