How many of you science fiction buffs have fantasized about zipping around town in your very own flying car? Sure, a trip in a helicopter or airplane has now become the standard or even mundane mode of long distance travel, but imagine taking your very own flying machine on a trip across town, presumably with The Jetsons’ theme song blasting […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Start with a New Jersey businessman who has questionable ethics, add soybean oil, and let it stew in a broth of fraud and greed. Pretty soon you’ve got yourself a nice little scandal. YELLOW GOLD In the late 1940s, a combination of several factors led to an enormous increase in […]
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This Day In History: September 21, 1897 Arguably one of the most famous editorials ever written (still the record holder for the most reprinted English newspaper editorial of all time) was published on September 21, 1897 in the New York Sun. It didn’t address matters of importance in the city, in the country, or even in the world at large. […]
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For all Charles Dickens knew, his second American tour starting in 1867 might be a trip into hostile territory. His first tour in the country during 1842 left him disillusioned, and his subsequent books American Notes and Martin Chuzzlewit offered stinging criticism of the America he experienced. But he was desperate. Between his banished wife’s monthly stipend and supporting his […]
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This Day In History: September 18, 1970 Although he was only prominently in the public eye for four years, Jimi Hendrix is hailed by many as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. He was a cultural icon for the Woodstock generation, a psychedelic, sexy voodoo child who fused the blues, R&B and rock into a heady mix that no-one […]
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In this video from our new YouTube channel (click here to subscribe), we take a look at when and why humans started shaving different parts of our bodies. For many more videos like this, be sure and subscribe to our channel. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: What Happens When You Freeze Water in a Container So […]
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Amongst the pantheon of notable public television personalities, Bob Ross easily ranks alongside the likes of Mr Rogers and Elmo as a star who is almost universally loved and respected by the public. Despite being famous the world over for his balmy, soothing demeanour, his show The Joy of Painting and his amazing ‘fro, we know surprisingly little about arguably one of the best […]
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This Day In History: September 17, 1967 “I have severe hearing damage. It’s manifested itself as tinnitus, ringing in the ears at frequencies that I play guitar. It hurts, it’s painful, and it’s frustrating.” – Pete Townsend A defining moment in television and rock and roll history occurred on September 17, 1967, when the Who appeared on The Smothers Brothers […]
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History is littered with individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, but it could be argued that few have made a last stand as explosive and witty as the Dutch Naval hero, Jan van Speijk. Born in 1802 on January 31st in the city of Amsterdam, Jan van Speijk (or Speyk, if you prefer), was orphaned just weeks after being […]
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This Day In History: September 16, 1498 During Tomas de Torquemada’s watch as Spain’s Grand Inquisitor, he was responsible for the deaths of at least 2,000 suspected nonbelievers. As such, it’s pretty safe to say there wasn’t a lot of weeping among certain segments of the Spanish community when Torquemada died on September 16, 1498. Born in 1420, Tomas de Torquemada […]
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In this video from our new YouTube channel (click here to subscribe), we take a look at 13 fascinating food facts you probably didn’t know. For many more videos like this, be sure and subscribe to our channel. If you liked this video, you might also enjoy: The Greatest Practical Joke of the 19th Century Who is Craig from Craigslist? […]
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Generally speaking, most men these days tend to sport closely cropped haircuts. If you happen to be one of the men that enjoys having a neatly trimmed, easy to maintain ‘do you can thank an unpopular English tax and a bet made by a duke for saving you countless minutes every morning. While the likes of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary […]
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This Day In History: September 15, 1853 “Women are needed in the pulpit as imperatively and for the same reason that they are needed in the world—because they are women.” – Antoinette Blackwell Antoinette Brown Blackwell, reformer, author, and women’s rights activist was ordained as a Congregationalist minister on September 15, 1853. Blackwell is recognized as the first woman to […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Aristotle didn’t have it. Neither did Pythagoras or Euclid or other ancient mathematicians. We’re talking about zero, which may sound like nothing, but, as it turns out, is a really big something. Here’s the story. COUNT LIKE A HINDU Sometime in the early 9th century, a Persian mathematician named Muhammad […]
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This Day In History: September 14, 1982 “I would like to be remembered as a decent human being, and a caring one”- Princess Grace Before Princess Diana came along, the world’s favorite princess was Princess Grace of Monaco, the beautiful movie actress who married the handsome Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She left Hollywood for his picturesque principality on the […]
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Robert Frost is one of the most critically acclaimed American poets of the 20th century, which is a roundabout way of saying you almost certainly studied one of his poems in school. Most likely, it was a short piece called The Road Not Taken- a poem famous for being one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted poems ever written, and […]
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This Day In History: September 11, 1599 “There is a fixed and pale composure upon the features; she seems sad and stricken down in spirit, yet the despair thus expressed is lightened by the patience of gentleness … The lips have that permanent meaning of imagination and sensibility which her suffering has not repressed … Her eyes, which we are […]
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Meri K. asks: Who invented pole vaulting? Although it’s difficult to find written accounts, it appears that people have been propelling themselves through the air with poles since ancient times. In fact, depictions of people leaping with poles can be found as far back as 400 BC. A practical and inexpensive way to traverse swampy marshy areas, propelling over wet […]
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