Page 96 – Today I Found Out

Who Invented the QWERTY Keyboard, the Truth About the Origin of the Fortune Cookie, Fascinating Harry Potter Facts and More

July 24, 2015 Daven Hiskey

In this week’s “best of” our YouTube channel, we discuss who invented the QWERTY keyboard and how it became the defacto configuration for keyboards, the truth about who really invented the Fortune Cookie, the interesting story behind the song “A Boy Named Sue” and what famous children’s poet wrote it, and a bunch of fascinating Harry Potter facts. Be sure […]

Educational Videos

This Day in History: July 24th- The Old Peak

July 24, 2015 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: July 24, 1911 On the drizzly, damp morning of July 24, 1911, Yale professor Hiram Bingham was leading an expedition through the jungles of the Andes Mountains in Peru. He was searching for the last two capitals of the Inca Empire, Vitcos and Vilcabamba. Instead, with a young local boy leading the way, Bingham happened upon […]

This Day in History

The Great Stink of 1858

July 23, 2015 Karl Smallwood

According to the only book I currently have on my desk, everyone poops and that’s okay. What’s less okay though is when there’s nowhere for that poop to go- something people in Victorian era London found out first hand when all of the sewage they’d pumped into the Thames dried up and caused a stench that spurred London’s City Press […]

This Day in History: July 23rd- The Death of a Legend

July 23, 2015 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: July 23, 1948 “To watch his work is like being witness to the beginning of melody, or the first conscious use of the lever or the wheel; the emergence, coordination, and first eloquence of language; the birth of an art: and to realize that this is all the work of one man.” – James Agee David […]

This Day in History

The NRS-2- The Gun Knife

July 22, 2015 Karl Smallwood

As the general rule goes, you should never bring a knife to a gun fight… unless of course that knife happens to be an NRS-2, a knife that also just so happens to have a gun built into the handle. Designed in early 1980s for Spetsnaz troops, the NRS-2 is still used today by some members of the Russian special forces. The […]

The Truth About the Infamous McDonald’s / Hot Coffee Incident

July 22, 2015 Sarah Stone

Brandon M. asks: Is it true that McDonalds had to pay millions of dollars to someone because she spilled hot coffee on herself or is it an urban legend? The infamous McDonald’s “Hot Coffee” legal battle is considered by many to be a premier example of a frivolous lawsuit. The general story is often told that a woman named Stella […]

This Day in History: July 22nd- Katharine Bates and Her Little Poem

July 22, 2015 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: July 22, 1893 On July 22, 1893, a young professor of English literature from Wellesley, Massachusetts named Katharine Lee Bates wrote a poem that morphed into one of the most iconic songs in American history. She was traveling cross-country by train to lecture at Colorado College that summer. What she saw along the way inspired her […]

This Day in History

Why Smells Sometimes Strongly Trigger Memories

July 21, 2015 Daven Hiskey

In this video from the crew at SciShow, they answer the question of why certain smells end up causing you to remember sometimes long forgotten things from many years before when you smell them again. If you like this video, be sure and subscribe to their channel here. You can also join us in supporting their efforts to make more […]

Educational Videos

The Origin of the Expression “Piss Like a Racehorse”

July 21, 2015 Melissa

R. Cantos asks: I was just wondering who came up with the expression “piss like a racehorse”? When most horses take a leak, it is a dramatic sight, with the stream typically about one-third to one-half an inch in diameter, creating a veritable “river” of urine that seems to have impressed some wordsmith sufficiently to coin the phrase, “piss like […]

This Day in History: July 21st- The “Destruction of All the World”

July 21, 2015 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: July 21, 365 CE The impact of a catastrophic earthquake and mega-tsunami on July 21, 365 CE devastated Peloponnesus, the Greek Islands, Sicily, Cyprus, Libya, Palestine and Egypt. It completely leveled major cities and killed thousands of people. It also changed the topography of the Mediterranean region and, to some extent, the course of history. The […]

This Day in History

Eureka! The Discovery of Photosynthesis

July 20, 2015 Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Imagine that you lived in ancient times and wanted to answer some of life’s big questions: How did we get here? What are those lights in the sky at night? Why do I poop? And, for our purposes here: How the heck do plants grow out of the ground!? Well, […]

Bonsai!

July 20, 2015 Caroline Tucker

Long before the bonsai art form of creating miniature trees came to Japan, the wealthy in China were perfecting their craft known as “penzai” and “penjing.” The former means “tray plant” and the latter “tray scenery.” It is from the Japanese pronunciation of “penzai” that the word “bonzai” ultimately derives- “bon” meaning “tray-like” and “sai” meaning “planting.” (The Japanese equivalent […]

This Day in History: July 20th- First!

July 20, 2015 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: July 20, 1704 The first baby born in the Americas to those who traveled over on the Mayflower was the second child of William and Susanna White, who are thought to have been part of a London merchant group, rather than the Leiden Holland religious movement. The couple boarded the Mayflower in England with their young […]

This Day in History

Weekly Wrap Volume 89

July 17, 2015 Daven Hiskey

This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Truth About Your Flammable Farts Contrary to popular belief, it’s probably not methane leaking from behind that reckless “bros” light on fire (known as pyroflatulence); rather, it’s most likely primarily hydrogen. In a typical, healthy body, human farts are comprised […]

The Vandals and Vandalism

July 17, 2015 Melissa

The English word vandalism derives from the French word, vandalisme, and was first seen in print in 1794 when the Bishop of Blois, Henri Grégoire, included the term in a report of the mayhem, and in particular the destruction of art, that occurred during the French Revolution. Vandalism itself was a modification of vandal, a word that in English dates […]

Why Aren’t Human Fingers All the Same Length?

July 17, 2015 Melissa

Tumarux asks: Why aren’t our fingers all the same length? The human hand is remarkably different from that of other primates, with shorter fingers, a smaller palm and a significantly stronger thumb; of course, the most notable feature of our hands is the ability of the thumb to perfectly and comfortably oppose (come into square contact at the tips) each […]

What Happens When You Freeze Water In a Container That Won’t Let It Expand, Why a Baker’s Dozen is 13 Instead of 12 and More…

July 17, 2015 Daven Hiskey

In this week’s “best of” our YouTube channel, we discuss what happens when you freeze water in a container that won’t let it expand, why figure skaters don’t seem to ever get dizzy when they spin, how smoke detector’s work, and the fascinating story behind how the dwarf planet Pluto got its name. Be sure and subscribe to our YouTube […]

This Day in History: A Yellow Submarine

July 17, 2015 Kathy Padden

This Day In History: July 17, 1968 On July 17, 1968, the world premiere of the Beatles third feature film, the animated “Yellow Submarine”, took place at the London Pavilion on Piccadilly Circus. The Beatles hadn’t been seen in public much recently at this point. They spent most of the year in India with the Marhareshi and recording the White […]

This Day in History

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