Chelsea asks: Why are potatoes called “spuds”? Among other definitions, a “spud” is a “sharp, narrow spade” used to dig up large rooted plants. Around the mid-19th century (first documented reference in 1845 in New Zealand), this implement of destruction began lending its name to one of the things it was often used to dig up, namely potatoes. This caught […]
Read more
Country music was originally called “hillbilly music”. In the 1940s, Ernest Tubb helped re-brand this type of music “country music”. In an interview about this, Tubb stated, “Hillbilly, that’s what the press used to call it, ‘hillbilly music’. Now, I always said, ‘You can call me a hillbilly if you got a smile on your face.’ We let the record […]
Read more
You should know how to prevent Windows Update from automatically restarting your computer. There are few more annoying default settings than Windows’ developers choosing to have the default on Windows Update be to automatically restart your computer and further not providing any obvious way to disable auto-restarts after a Windows update.. Sure, they have a “postpone” button that pops up, […]
Read more
The first president of the United States, George Washington, upon his death bed told his attendants “I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead. Do you understand?” He was terrified of accidentally being buried while he was still alive. Among […]
Read more
In The Phantom Menace, in scenes where Yoda was walking around, Warwick Davis played Yoda, obviously in a Yoda suit. Davis also played the Ewok, Wicket, in Return of the Jedi and of course is most famous for playing Willow (phenomenal movie) and of course Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the Harry Potter series, among many other roles. Reference
Read more
Each second about four million metric tons of matter is converted to energy within the Sun’s core. This gives the Sun a lifetime as a main sequence star of about 10 billion years with about 5 billion years to go. The surface temperature of the Sun is about 5780 K, which is equivalent to just under 10,000 F and 5,500 […]
Read more
A typical kernel of popcorn once it pops will complete the popping/expanding process in under 1/50th of a second. Why Popcorn Pops
Read more
Dolphins have been observed to teach their young to use tools. They also have a complex communication system and have been observed to display a variety of cultural characteristics such as holding a type of funeral ceremony for their dead. Reference
Read more
Miss Piggy’s full name is “Pigathia Lee”, as revealed on episode 106 and 116 of The Muppet Show. ‘Pigathia’ is derived from ‘Piganthius’, which is Greek for “river of passion”. Reference
Read more
You should know the difference between an acronym and an initialism. Both acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, but there is a key difference between the two, at least at present. Due to rampant misuse of the term “acronym” some dictionaries are now starting to add an extra definition to it, allowing acronyms to expand their scope to include initialisms. So […]
Read more
Thomas Jefferson didn’t just write the Declaration of Independence, he also re-wrote the Bible to his liking. Jefferson didn’t hold with the supernatural elements of the Bible. He thus set about making his own Jeffersonian translation that basically excluded every part he didn’t agree with. In his view, separating the wheat from the chaff. Reference
Read more
Redheads are harder to sedate than any other group. Using most common anesthetics, they require on average about 20% more anesthesia. They also have a higher tolerance for pain than ‘normal’ people. This is because the Melancortin 1 Receptor mutation that gives them red hair also triggers the excess release of Pheomelanin, which among other things stimulates a brain receptor […]
Read more
Funny enough, the term ‘retarded’ was used to replace the terms ‘idiot’, ‘moron’, and ‘imbecile’ due to the fact that these terms gradually became thought of as derogatory. This obviously only worked for a while and now ‘retarded’ is itself considered not politically correct. It seems any word that basically means ‘low intelligence’ is fated to be thought of as […]
Read more
Caryn Elaine Johnson, better known as Whoopi Goldberg, chose the first part of her stage name from often being called “like a whoopee cushion” due to her fondness for frequent flatulence when performing. The second part of her stage name, Goldberg, was suggested by her mother as she felt using a Jewish last name would help Caryn in Hollywood. Bonus […]
Read more
You should know that the expression to describe when someone is falsely convicted of a criminal charge or is on the receiving end of unjustified criticism is “bad rap”, not “bad wrap”. Further, “rap” in this sense is not an acronym of “Record of Arrest and Prosecution”, though has since been backronymed as such. The reality is that the meaning […]
Read more
Henry Chadwick, the creator of the baseball box score, was the first to setup a demonstration proving that the rotation of a baseball could cause the ball to curve. Before this, some pitchers had already observed and used this to their advantage (even though many of the day considered it cheating), but no one had yet proved that it was […]
Read more
Once regarded by astronomers as a small and relatively insignificant star, the Sun is now known to be brighter than about 85% of the stars in the Milky Way. Contrary to popular belief, it is also white, not yellow, despite being classified as a “yellow” dwarf. Reference
Read more
J. Doherty asks: How do Honey bees produce a queen bee? I mentioned this in an article on Honey bees a couple years ago in the Bonus Facts, but for those who missed it, Honey bees create a queen bee for a few different reasons, such as the death of the previous queen bee, if the hive gets overpopulated resulting […]
Read more