For major league pitchers, getting a grip on a baseball can get a bit muddy. That’s because, at least for now (this may well be changing in the next few years), every single baseball used in a major league game is coated with a little bit of actual mud, known as Lena Blackburne Original Baseball Rubbing Mud, which comes from a […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader The business side of music can be a world of cutthroat legal practices and endless litigation. Here’s the story of one of the biggest music legal battles of all time. SOLO FLIGHT In 1969 George Harrison was on a break from the Beatles and was doing some concerts in Copenhagen, […]
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With the possible exception of the mysterious, enigmatic figure known only as Bob Ross (see: The Surprisingly Mysterious Life of Famed Artist Bob Ross), Pablo Picasso is perhaps the most well-known artist from modern times. (Although, I think most are probably unaware that his actual name was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano […]
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Shih C. asks: Why are McGuffin’s in films called that? In the last scene of the 1941 film classic, The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade (played by Humphrey Bogart) hands over a murderer (played by Mary Astor) and a black falcon statuette to authorities. When asked what the statuette was exactly, Spade looks off in the distance and rather unsatisfactorily explains, […]
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Jerrod A. asks: How do trees pump water from their roots all the way to their tops and tips of their branches? Trees need water throughout their bodies, from the depths of the roots to the tips of their leaves, sometimes tens of meters above the ground. So how do they manage to get the water up there? To begin […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader When PBS executives started planning a new science show in the early 1970s, people in the TV business were baffled. A show about…science? Were they crazy? Audiences wanted Happy Days and M*A*S*H*, not educational shows! Luckily for us, they were wrong. IN THE BEGINNING… In 1971 an American television producer […]
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Andrew C. asks: Is it possible to get the flu from getting a flu shot? Vaccines, in general, have been a massive boon to humanity. They’ve rid the world of an affliction that has plagued humanity for thousands of years in smallpox (for reference killing over 300 million people in the 20th century alone before it was eradicated), and have […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Are you scared of the dark? Do you sleep with the light on? Do you hear noises in other parts of the house when you know you’re alone? You’re about to read a ghostly tale with an incredible twist: It really happened! DOCTOR WHO? William Wilmer, an ophthalmologist who practiced […]
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In William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar,” Caesar mocks the soothsayer’s earlier prediction to “Beware the Ides of March.” Later, Caesar says, “The Ides of March have come” to point out the supposed dreaded day did not bring disaster. The soothsayer responds with a prophetic point, “Ay, Caesar; but not gone.” Shortly thereafter, Caesar is stabbed many times over by conspirators […]
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Mark C. asks: Why does drinking coffee almost always make me have to poop? As any barista beginning their 5am shift will tell you, a morning cup of coffee is essential for a chipper attitude and a healthy psyche! The dilemma some have is that right after you indulge- it hits you. The #2 train is about to arrive and […]
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The KV-1 and KV-2 are recognised as being amongst the most heavily armoured tanks deployed during WW2. At least initially largely impervious to anything less than a direct, point-blank hit from a dedicated anti-tank weapon, the KV series was so formidable that the first time the Wehrmacht encountered them, Soviet soldiers destroyed dozens of anti-tank guns by simply driving towards […]
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Jeremy A. asks: Why is stress bad for you? Shouldn’t we have evolved to not get stressed given it’s harmful? Stress, in general, comes in a few different forms- acute, episodic, and chronic. Acute stress can be very beneficial to you. Have you ever come face to face with a rabid puma? If so, the ability of your body to […]
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James M. asks: Why does putting a car battery on cement cause it to drain when the casing is made of plastic? Shouldn’t that insulate it? Contrary to very popular belief (even touted by many a mechanic), today’s car batteries with their hard plastic shells will not discharge or otherwise be damaged when placed on a concrete floor. (The other […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader You’ve probably heard of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Here’s a story you probably haven’t heard—about two men who pulled off a similar miracle in Poland. OCCUPATION Dr. Eugene Lazowski was a young Red Cross physician living in the village […]
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Travis P. asks: Is it true that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow? It’s impossible to say precisely how many words for snow certain native peoples of the far north have. Why? To begin with, we are talking about a group of related languages, not just one, and even within these languages there are variations from specific region to […]
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For many people, being dead is a fairly limiting handicap that prevents them from doing most of the things the living take for granted. In the 1930s, a man called Charles Vance Millar challenged that unfair stereotype via various stipulations of his will that allowed him to continue playing jokes on people despite being dead. A lawyer by trade, Millar […]
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Walter Hunt is a man who is simultaneously considered to have possessed one of the finest inventive minds in all of American history while also being an individual almost no one has ever heard. This is despite the fact that it’s almost guaranteed that one of his inventions is currently lying somewhere in your home, the safety pin. This was […]
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chastitydetori. asks: Why do athletes dump Gatorade on their coaches after winning a game? During a typical sticky, unbearable August weekend in 1965 in Gainesville- the home of the University of Florida Gators- football practices were well underway in anticipation for the upcoming season. However, the weather had wreaked havoc on the freshman football team over the weekend. 25 players […]
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