##EMBED## The custom of wearing costumes or masks comes from the Celtic tradition of young men impersonating evil spirits by dressing up in white costumes with blackened faces or masks in an attempt to placate the spirits. Trick or treating comes from the Middle-Age practice of the poor dressing up in costumes and going around door to door during […]
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Today I found out a 61 year old potato and sheep farmer once won one of the world’s most grueling athletic competitions. The man was an Australian by the name of Albert Ernest Clifford “Cliff” Young, who decided to take up running as a sport at the age of 57. The competition was the Westfield run, which is an ultra-marathon that […]
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Today I found what causes birthmarks. There are several different types of birthmarks. What causes them is an excess of pigment cells (Melanoctyes), or an excess of blood vessels confined to one area of the skin. Birthmarks caused by an excess of pigment in certain areas of the skin are known as pigmented birthmarks. The color of your skin is […]
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##EMBED## Today in North America around $3 billion is spent on Halloween costumes alone. Haunted house attractions bring in about half a billion dollars annually Around 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins were produced in the United States in 2009. They were valued at $141 million and the vast majority of those pumpkins were sold around Halloween. Halloween candy sales average […]
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##EMBED## Trick or Treating Stats Around 35 million children in the U.S. between 5 and 13 years old go trick or treating every year, which is around 90% of all children in that age group. Around 50% of adults in the U.S. will dress up for Halloween and about 67% will attend a Halloween party or go trick or treating […]
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Today I found out why people’s voices sometimes crack during puberty. The mechanics of a person’s voice is an awesome biological phenomenon. It all starts with the air in the lungs. As air passes from your lungs to the outside of your mouth, it can be manipulated in several ways. Should you decide a vow of silence is appropriate and […]
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Today I found out saying “ahoy-hoy” was at one time the preferred way to answer the phone. The very brief popularity of this telephone greeting stemmed from the fact the “ahoy-hoy” was Alexander Graham Bell’s preferred way to answer the phone. Ahoy-hoy derives from the term “ahoy”, which is generally associated with being a nautical term used for hailing ships. […]
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Today I found out that the youngest person to ever become pregnant and give birth was only 5 years old! Lina Medina was born on September 27th, 1933 in Ticrapo, Peru. At age 5, her mother, Victoria, brought her to a hospital because her stomach was increasing in size. Her parents originally thought Lina was possessed by evil spirits, but […]
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Today I found out how a car’s rear-view mirror works. Ever wonder what is happening when you flip a rear-view mirror up or down to increase or decrease the amount of glare coming from the vehicle behind you? I assume if you’re still reading, you have, or at least have nothing better to do at the moment than find out! […]
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Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of DumpADay.com, Jon. Today I found out that lighters were invented before the match. This one had me scratching my head for a bit. There are several sites out there that say the match came first. However, by definition of the “match”, they are incorrect. The match […]
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Today I found out how the lines projected on the field during a televised football game work. What is happening behind the scenes of this seemingly simple line projection is actually quite complex. Putting that yellow line across your television screen to mark a first down or a blue line to mark the line of scrimmage requires numerous technicians, 3-D […]
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Today I found out what causes blisters. We’ve all seen them, and unfortunately most of us have had one. Those painful, pockets of goo that form because some over exercised, over caffeinated, happy to be living life, outdoors-man decides to include you in their daily torture fest that is a hike up mount agony! So what exactly is going on […]
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Today I found out that there is a type of duck that sometimes lassos potential mates with its penis to prevent them from getting away. Most male birds do not have penises. They typically copulate by briefly touching genital openings with a female, called a “cloacal kiss”. However, most ducks do have penises. The theory behind why this is the […]
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Myth: Aerosol sprays damage the Earth’s ozone layer. This misconception stems primarily from the fact that, originally, aerosol cans used chlorofluorocarbons as a propellant. Chlorofluorocarbons were also used commonly in refrigerators, air conditioners, and for many industrial applications. Chlorofluorocarbons were particularly popular because they are non-flammable, non-toxic, and non-reactive to most compounds. However, after scientists began to observe that the […]
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Today I found out that all 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 positions of a standard Rubik’s Cube can be solved in 20 moves or less. Anyone who is serious about solving a Rubik’s Cube uses some sort of algorithm, or sequence of steps to help them solve the puzzle. There are many different algorithms, varying in complexity and number of moves required, but those that […]
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Today I found out Jimmy Stewart was a two star general in the United States military. In 1940, Jimmy Stewart was drafted into the United States Army, but ended up being rejected due to being five pounds under the required weight, given his height (at the time he weighed 143 pounds). Not to be dissuaded, Stewart then sought out the help […]
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Today I found out how a Jake Brake works (also known as “Jacobs Engine Brake” or “compression release brake”). For those who don’t know, a “Jake Brake” is what makes that machine-gun like noise that you might hear from semi-trucks when they head down long steep hills. A normal gas motor uses the air flow from the intake manifold to […]
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Today I found out Randy and Sharon Marsh and Gerald and Shelia Broflovsky were named after Trey Parker’s and Matt Stone’s parents respectively. Trey Parker’s dad’s name is Randy Parker and, like Randy Marsh, he’s a geologist. Sharon Parker is an insurance broker, unlike Sharon Marsh, who is a receptionist at Tom’s Rhinoplasty. In addition to that, Shelley Marsh on […]
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