This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why There is Braille on Drive-Thru ATM Machines Mainly, it is because it is required by law, thanks to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities.  There are certain exceptions, in terms of these requirements, when it comes to drive-up ATMs […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. How Honey Bees Keep Their Hives Warm Given That They are Cold Blooded Up until only a few years ago, it was thought by many scientists that Honey bee hives were kept warm by pupae in the brood and that the bees […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Curious Case of Sun Sneezing Have you ever been in a dark place, say a movie theatre or a room with all the blinds close, and walked outside into the daylight when, all of a sudden, you begin to sneeze uncontrollably? […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Hobbs and His Lock Picks: The Great Lock Controversy of 1851 In April 1851, Alfred C. Hobbs boarded the steamship Washington bound for Southampton, England. His official duty was to sell the New York City-based company Day and Newell’s newest product – […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Causes Dark Circles Under Your Eyes? It is often claimed that periorbital dark circles are caused by tiredness or working too hard or even just staying up late. While this can be true, the truth is that your genes play a […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Causes the Smell After Rain There are three primary sources of smells that commonly occur after rain. The first, the “clean” smell, in particular after a heavy thunderstorm, is caused by ozone.  Ozone (scientifically known as trioxygen due to the fact […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. When Doctors Literally “Blew Smoke Up Your Arse” When someone is “blowing smoke up your arse” today, it is a figure of speech that means that one person is complimenting another, insincerely most of the time, in order to inflate the ego […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. WWII Files: Japan’s Secret Weapon- Exploding Balloons WWII saw the development of some zany designs for weapons, such as when the U.S. developed pigeon guided missiles and (literal) bat bombs (the latter of which were a little too effective, accidentally destroying the testing base […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. That Time 26-Year-Old Edgar Allan Poe Married His 13-Year-Old Cousin As if his stories weren’t occasionally disturbing enough, it turns out Edgar Allan Poe’s love life was more than a little creepy as well. Poe met his bride-to-be, Virginia Clemm, when she […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Eleven Thousand Year Old Contagious Cancer Still Multiplying Today Eleven thousand years ago, one saucy canine got busy and, as can happen with unprotected sex, gave its partner a venereal disease, although uniquely, this VD was cancerous. Over the course of […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Was Colonel Sanders Actually a Colonel? Kentucky Colonel is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (Incidentally, if you’re curious: Why Colonel is Pronounced “Kernel”) To be named a “Colonel” is to be recognized for “outstanding service […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. What Causes Pasta to Froth We’ve all done it: you put the pasta on to boil, turn your back for a few minutes to wipe off the counter or read the newest Today I Found Out article, and suddenly you hear that […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Can Color Blind People See More Colors When They Take Hallucinogenic Drugs? First a little primer on colour blindness from the good people at ColorBlindAwareness.org: “Most color blind people are able to see things as clearly as other people but they unable […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why There is an Area of New York Called “The Bronx” and Why Ambulances are Called That This is thanks to a seventeenth century Scandinavian man by the name of Jonas Bronck, originally from Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands. In 1639, Bronck […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Cashews are Not Sold to Consumers in Their Shells and Why Pistachios Used to Be Dyed Red Cashews are a member of the same family as poison ivy, Anacardiaceae. Like poison ivy and many other members of the family, part of […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Tuberculosis was Called “Consumption” Originally, of course, nobody knew what caused the various forms of tuberculosis, and they certainly didn’t understand it was caused by what would eventually be called tubercle bacillus (usually the offending microbes are specifically Mycobacterium tuberculosis). The […]

This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why Three Strikes in a Row in Bowling is Called a “Turkey” This is thought to have its origins in bowling tournament prizes. Late eighteenth and early nineteenth century prizes given out during these tournaments were often food items, such as a […]