Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis formed the most electric comedy team in the history of show business. Joining together in the summer of 1946, their act caught on like wildfire. A combination of Dean Martin’s smooth, cool, baritone-voiced suave and Jerry Lewis’s incredible, creative, explosive, comedic brilliance, Dean and Jerry were the top act in all of show biz from […]
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Kevin asks: Why do we call the stock market trends “bullish” and “bearish”? For those who don’t know, a “bear” market, or when someone is being “bearish” in this context, is marked by investors being very conservative and pessimistic, resulting in a declining market generally marked by the mass selling off of stock. A “bull” market is simply the opposite […]
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Myth: Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the Major Leagues The great Jackie Robinson accomplished an amazing amount in his lifetime both on and off the field. Despite all the adversity and pressure he experienced, he somehow managed to put up legitimate Hall of Fame numbers doing what is often described as the hardest thing in […]
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Today I found out why Greenland is an island and Australia is a continent. There are several different ways of thinking about how many continents there are, with models ranging from 4 to 7 continents. However, in most English speaking countries, as well as other nations around the world, the 7-continent model is taught. Using this model, the continents of […]
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As weird and whacky as some human mating practices can sometimes be, other animals’ reproductive habits can be even stranger at times. While one species gives birth through a penis, another’s testicles’ explode after sex. Further, post-coital cannibalism and V-shaped penises are not all that uncommon. We’ll start with the hyena. Depending on if you notice her udders, the female […]
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Today I found out that Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disney Land are modeled after Bavaria’s Neuschwanstein Castle. Each castle was also inspired by several other castles, including Fontainebleau and Versailles, but with Neuschwanstein’s dainty turrets and romantic views, it’s easy to see how one castle could take the credit for such iconic masterpieces. While […]
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Jen asks: What causes pimples? Ah, acne! The facial blemish that powers many a pubescent date request rejection. Like millions of people worldwide, in my youth I waged a war with this aesthetic foe, with many a “Pizza-face” comment thrown my way. Medically known as Acne Vulgaris, this affliction is largely cosmetic and does not usually cause any debilitating problems, […]
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For anyone of a certain age, Saturday mornings in the 90s were holy. It was a time to sit in front of the TV in your Pee Wee Herman PJs, eating your Cap’N Crunch, and watching back-to-back episodes of Garfield and Friends, X-Men, Bobby’s World, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. But there was one Saturday morning program […]
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Today I found out why we have a seven day week and the origins of each day’s name. Two of the earliest known civilizations to use a seven day week were the Babylonians and the Jews. The Babylonians marked time with lunar months and it is thought by many scholars that this is why they chose a seven day week […]
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It all happened over half a century ago on January 6, 1957. One of the more famous, and by today’s viewpoint bizarre, acts of “censorship” in television history. Elvis Presley was deliberately filmed from the waist up only. Why all that fuss over a 22-year-old, fully clothed, young man’s lower half? It is a bit hard for our generation to […]
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When one hears “Canary Islands” who doesn’t think of a colorful chorus of birds in the local pet shop or that bright yellow soul swinging in the living room? While most of us assume the group of islands off the African coast derive their name from the bird, it turns out it’s the other way around- the birds are named […]
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Professional sports teams have always tried to find unique ways to get fans into the seats. Whether it was the legendary Bill Veeck batting the shortest player in baseball history (Eddie Gaedel at 3 foot 7 inches) or Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago, sometimes the game plays second fiddle to the crazy promotions. Hardly anyone was better […]
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Kerry asks: What did people use for birth control before modern methods like the pill and condoms? Pregnancy prevention around the world has a lengthy history that includes many effective yet sometimes lethal methods of early contraception. Early contraceptive options offered an array of colorful, creative (and in some cases, incredibly smelly) choices that included innovative options in barrier devices, […]
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Most people are familiar with the “Morton”s Salt girl“. With her bright yellow dress, oversized umbrella, and leaking container of table salt, she’s an iconic figure in American grocery stores. But who is the Morton’s girl, and where did she come from? The Morton’s story begins in the 1880s, when a man named Joy Morton invested in a Chicago-based salt […]
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Sue T. asks: Why do people say “say cheese” when taking pictures? Also, why did people not smile in old pictures and when did they start? “Say cheese!” This simple command is meant to elicit a smile from potential photography subjects no matter what their age. It has become so commonplace that the word “say” is often no longer uttered. […]
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Mike T. asks: Why were the Viet Cong called “Charlie” during the Vietnam War? First, because I suspect there are at least a few people curious and it pertains to how the name “Charlie” ultimately came about, let’s discuss how the term “Viet Cong” came about at all. It comes from “Việt Nam Cộng-sản”, which just means “Vietnamese Communists”. This, […]
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Although yoga is something of a recent fad in the West, you’re probably aware that this system of gentle exercise and meditation has very ancient roots. What you might not know is just how ancient some aspects of yoga are, or how much yoga has changed on down through the millennia, with some of the most significant changes coming in […]
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Kelly asks: When did women and men start shaving different parts of their body? Both sexes have a love-hate relationship with removing body hair. We’ve been pulling, plucking, burning, tweezing and ripping out undesirable hair since the dawn of time. It’s believed that as far back as 4,000 B.C., women were using dangerous substances like arsenic and quicklime to get […]
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