Kara asks: Did unicorns ever exist? On November 30, 2012, the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s government “news” agency, reported that scientists had “reconfirmed” the existence and location of the final resting place of the unicorn ridden by King Dongmyeong, the founding father of Goguryeo of an ancient Korean kingdom. The unicorn’s grave was located under a rock near […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. From Dream to 3-D Reality: The Fascinating Origin of Pixar Before a story about toys, before monsters went corporate, before anyone went searching for Nemo, and before twenty seven Academy Awards, Pixar was a high-end computer hardware company whose clients included the […]
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This is an excerpt from our new book: The Wise Book of Whys, available in: Print | Kindle | Nook | Audiobook Today I found out why those aboard planes and ships use the word “Mayday” to indicate they are in extreme distress. In 1923, a senior radio officer, Frederick Stanley Mockford, in Croydon Airport in London, England was asked to […]
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Whenever there is a list released of the world’s most dangerous jobs, tree loggers, steelworkers, electrical power-line installers, and fisherman usually are the professions that populate the list. But none of those things are nearly as dangerous as being propelled out of a long cylinder tube, flown through the air completely untethered, and attempting to land safely on the ground. […]
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Seagulls, or gulls depending on how much you dislike syllables, are considered a pest to many, a minor, avoidable annoyance to many more and the harbingers of death OH GOD LOOK AT THEIR COLD DEAD EYES! to my neighbour who doesn’t get out much. Over the years, there has been a persistent and rather macabre urban myth circulating that gulls […]
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Joh asks: Why is someone in charge called “the big cheese”? It’s amazing how many English idioms contain food references and cheese has proven to be immensely popular when it comes to the English language. For example, one may be “cheesed off”, meaning that they are miserable, annoyed, or angered. One may also refer to something as being “cheesy” in […]
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Justina asks: Why don’t figure skaters get dizzy after they spin? To understand why, it’s important to know why people get dizzy in the first place. Dizziness is controlled by the vestibular system in your upper inner ear. Within the vestibular system, there are three canals that contain fluid called endolymph, as well as sensory nerve cells that look sort […]
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What if we told you that around 90 years ago an epidemic swept across the world that killed over a million people while affecting numerous others, before disappearing, leaving the finest scientific minds of the age absolutely stumped . Then what if we told you that when it didn’t kill you, this illness could instead potentially trap you inside your […]
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Masen P. asks: Where did the expression “have your cake and eat it too” come from? The idiom “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” deliciously illustrates the concept of making trade-offs and realizing that you can’t have something if you have another. The phrase is often used when referring to compromises and alludes to making a choice […]
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Greece is one of the most historically rich nations, with a culture and civilization that exceeds five thousand years of continuous human activity, producing such notable historical influencers as Alexander the Great, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Homer; it’s no wonder that some other individuals well-known throughout Greece remain unknown to other nations. One such individual is Athanasios Diakos who is […]
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In the 1920s, gang warfare threatened the streets of Chicago. In the midst of prohibition, mobsters were making a killing by providing alcohol to thirsty cityfolk from all walks of life. The infamous Al “Scarface” Capone ruled with an iron fist, and at his peak was earning an astounding $60 million per year (about $700 million today)—and yet he controlled […]
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Kevin asks: What would happen if you froze water, but the container was so strong the water couldn’t expand into ice? Some readers may recall a science class in which an excitable teacher walked to the front of the class to show off a small, cracked steel container, seemingly damaged by an incredibly powerful, but tiny force; only for said […]
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There are a lot of different salts (like potassium nitrate for gunpowder and sodium bicarbonate for baking) but only one that truly meets our dietary needs and satisfies our craving for that salty taste – sodium chloride (NaCl). Containing two elements necessary for our survival, its cultivation goes back thousands of years to the birth of civilization. Why? The human […]
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Before a story about toys, before monsters went corporate, before anyone went searching for Nemo, and before twenty seven Academy Awards, Pixar was a high-end computer hardware company whose clients included the government and the medical community. The story of Pixar isn’t exactly full of superheroes, adorable robots, or talking bugs. The tale of the most profitable and critically adored […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Actress Who Died on Stage While Portraying Her Theatrical Death Several artists have died on stage while conducting live performances; however, one case is highly unique and probably the most ironic at the same time. The incident involved actress Edith Webster. […]
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Today I found out why pasta causes boiling water 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 foreboding hissing sound of water boiling over. (Perhaps if you simply subscribed […]
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Marvel “John” (everyone called him Jack) Whiteside Parsons was born in Los Angeles, California in 1914 to a upper-middle class parents. Upon learning about her husband’s affair with another woman, Jack’s mother, Ruth, did something rather shocking for the time: she filed for divorce. Ruth was now an unmarried woman with two kids (Jack had a sister). Lucky for her […]
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Karla asks: Where did the “Hokey Pokey” come from? There’s no one definitive answer to where the Hokey Pokey (or Hokey Cokey) ultimately derives from. Even the modern history of it is somewhat convoluted. Proposed origin theories span oceans, and even centuries. That said, the convoluted nature of the history of something has never stopped us from trying to trace […]
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