As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve now got a brand new site design for Today I Found Out. The new layout offers a lot more flexibility in terms of adding some different kinds of content we’re working on to compliment the articles. For instance, we’ve just launched This Day In History. Starting today and from now on, there will be a […]
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Today I found out why lead used to be added to gasoline. “Tetraethyl lead” was used in early model cars to help reduce engine knocking, boost octane ratings, and help with wear and tear on valve seats within the motor. Due to concerns over air pollution and health risks, this type of gas was slowly phased out starting in the […]
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Today I found out Elizabeth Taylor was at one time Carrie Fisher’s step-mother. Carrie Fisher, who’s best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, is the daughter of famed entertainers Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. At the height of Eddie Fisher’s fame as a singer and eventual TV show host in the 1950s, he married actress Debbie […]
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The story of Play-Doh began when Kutol, a Cincinnati based soap company, was about to go under in the late 1920s. Cleo McVicker, just 21 years old, was tasked with selling off the company’s remaining assets, which at the time comprised mainly of powdered hand soap. Once that was done, the company would be too. Cleo, however, managed to turn […]
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Today I found out Post-It Notes were invented by accident. There were actually two accidents that lead to the invention of the Post-It note. The first was by Spencer Silver. According to the former Vice President of Technical Operations for 3M Geoff Nicholson (now retired), in 1968, Silver was working at 3M trying to create super strong adhesives for use […]
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Today I found out laminated glass, also known as “Safety Glass”, was invented by accident. Laminated glass can be found in car windshields, bank teller protective barriers, and a variety of other places where shatterproof glass is a necessity. This type of safety glass was invented by Frenchman Édouard Bénédictus. Bénédictus is probably more popularly remembered for his art, but […]
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Today I found out Silly Putty was invented by accident. Silly Putty was originally invented by James Wright, working at General Electric’s New Haven, Connecticut lab in 1943. At the time, the Allies were desperately short on rubber thanks to Japan invading various rubber producing countries in the Pacific Rim. This shortage on rubber was negatively affecting certain wartime […]
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Today I found out about a woman who lost the ability to smell, taste, see, and hear as a child, but went on to become the first deaf-blind person to be fully educated. The woman was Laura Bridgman. Bridgman was born in 1829 and it is thought she had full use of all her senses at birth. However, at the […]
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Next week will be accidental inventions week part two. This means all the full articles will be themed towards accidental inventions, though the quick facts will still be on random topics. If you happen to know of any popular products that were invented by accident, feel free to email me here and let me know. If the history of […]
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Today I found out about the Tunguska Event, which was a 1908 explosion estimated to have been nearly 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 and about 1/3 as powerful as the largest ever detonated atomic bomb, the Tsar Bomba. The Tunguska event occurred around 7:00 a.m. local time on June 30, 1908 near […]
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Today I found out the Bluetooth standard is named after a 10th century Scandinavian king. The man was Harald I of Denmark. “Bluetooth” is the English translation of “Blåtand”, which was an epithet of Harald I (Harald Blåtand Gormsson). Legend has it, he received this name due to being extremely fond of blueberries and consuming them so regularly and in […]
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Today I found out why your nose gets runny when it is cold. On an average day, a typical person’s nose will produce about one quart of mucus/fluid (just under one liter). Most all of this snot generally gets passed back into your throat and swallowed, often without you even really being too conscious of it. When you’re breathing cold […]
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Today I found out about one of the great practical jokes of the 19th century, the Berners Street Hoax. The year was 1809. Famed English author, Theodore Hook, made a bet with one of his close friends, the noted architect and writer, Samuel Beazley, that within one week, he could make any house in London the most talked about place […]
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Today I found out caterpillars’ bodies “melt” almost completely before morphing into butterflies in the chrysalis. In order for the change from a caterpillar to a butterfly to take place within the pupa, the caterpillar begins releasing enzymes that literally digest nearly all of its own body. What’s left inside the chrysalis is mostly just a very nutrient rich soup […]
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Today I found out a 61 year old potato and sheep farmer once won one of the world’s most grueling athletic competitions. The man was an Australian by the name of Albert Ernest Clifford “Cliff” Young, who decided to take up running as a sport at the age of 57. The competition was the Westfield run, which is an ultra-marathon that […]
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Today I found what causes birthmarks. There are several different types of birthmarks. What causes them is an excess of pigment cells (Melanoctyes), or an excess of blood vessels confined to one area of the skin. Birthmarks caused by an excess of pigment in certain areas of the skin are known as pigmented birthmarks. The color of your skin is […]
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Today I found out why people’s voices sometimes crack during puberty. The mechanics of a person’s voice is an awesome biological phenomenon. It all starts with the air in the lungs. As air passes from your lungs to the outside of your mouth, it can be manipulated in several ways. Should you decide a vow of silence is appropriate and […]
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Today I found out saying “ahoy-hoy” was at one time the preferred way to answer the phone. The very brief popularity of this telephone greeting stemmed from the fact the “ahoy-hoy” was Alexander Graham Bell’s preferred way to answer the phone. Ahoy-hoy derives from the term “ahoy”, which is generally associated with being a nautical term used for hailing ships. […]
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