Today I found out that Elvis didn’t naturally have black hair. He was born a blond and, when he got older, his hair was more of a sandy blond color. He started occasionally dying it black all the way back when he was in high school and eventually just always kept it as black. Other fun Elvis Related Facts: There […]
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Today I found out why short movie advertisement clips are called “trailers”, even though they are typically shown before the movie. It turns out, the first movie trailers occurred not at the beginning of the films, as they do today, but rather at the end of the films. They were called “trailers” because the advertisements would be spliced directly on the end of […]
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Today I found out bread goes stale about six times faster in the refrigerator then when kept at room temperature. On the surface, this might seem counter intuitive; after all, everyone knows if you want to keep food fresher longer, you put it in the fridge. The problem stems from what bread is made out of, specifically starch molecules, and […]
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Today I found out that toilet paper was first used by the Chinese about 1300 years before it caught on with the rest of the world. The first references of people using toilet paper dates back to the 6th century AD in the Chinese Imperial courts and amongst the other wealthy citizens of China. This eventually spread throughout China and […]
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Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of DumpADay, Jon. Today I Found Out that Dolph Lundgren (A.K.A. Ivan Drago) is a real life genius. I guess the phrase “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is true. Just looking at Mr. Lundgren, I’d think he was a fun guy to hang out […]
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Today I found out the world’s most fearless creature is the Honey Badger, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Honey Badgers have many reasons to be fearless. They have very thick (about 1/4 inches), rubbery skin, which is so tough that it’s been shown to be nearly impervious to traditionally made arrows and spears. Further, their skin can […]
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Today I found out how the “I’m going to Disneyland/Disney World” saying got started. In January of 1987, CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner, and his wife were having dinner with Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. Rutan and Yeager had just recently become the first to fly an aircraft around the world without re-fueling or stopping. At a certain point in […]
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Today I found out Robert Downey Jr. modeled his portrayal of Tony Stark after Elon Musk, one of the founds of Zip2, Paypal, Tesla Motors, Solar City, and SpaceX. During the planning stages of Iron Man, after Downey Jr. had been cast, director Jon Favreau and Downey Jr. sat down to discuss how to make a really believable Tony Stark […]
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Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of DumpADay, Jon. Today I found out that in the 1960s, the CIA spent 5 years and over $20 million training spy cats. I guess it’s not as strange as it might first seem. Cats are stealthy, smart, fast, can jump tall objects, and most people when […]
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Today I found out the origin of the lolcat meme. It turns out, the oldest known reference to an lolcat style picture/caption dates all the way back to 1903 from photographer Harry Whittier Frees, who would take photos of small animals, including cats, dressed up in various outfits. These photos were then often sold in postcards by Rotograph, the company […]
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Today I found out making tires black, instead of the natural white color of rubber, produces a much stronger and longer lasting tire. Originally rubber tires were white, which is the natural color of rubber. In the early 1900s, Binney & Smith began selling their carbon black chemicals to Goodrich Tire Company, as it was found that the use of […]
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Today I found out, before becoming one of the world’s most famous TV chefs, Julia Child was a top secret research assistant for the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the CIA. After graduating from college with a degree in English, Julia Child, then named Julia McWilliams, worked in the advertising department for W. & J. Sloane in New […]
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Today I found out that dolphins don’t breathe automatically, rather it is always consciously done. An interesting consequence of the fact that they need to be conscious to control their breathing is that they can never be truly unconscious, even when they sleep. However, being mammals, their brains do need to enter a type of unconscious state every now and […]
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Today I found out AstroTurf was originally named “ChemGrass” before being used by the Houston Astros Major League Baseball team in the Astrodome. Contrary to popular belief, AstroTurf was not first used or invented for the Houston Astros. For instance, before being used by the Astros, it was used at such sporting venues as Moses Brown School in Rhode Island, […]
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Today I found out Charles Osborne (1894-1991) had the hiccups non-stop for approximately 68 years, from 1922 to June 5th, 1990. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this is the longest bout of the hiccups ever recorded. His hiccups first started in 1922 while weighing a hog for slaughter. As he says, “I was hanging a 350 pound […]
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Today I found out that the correct term for referring to a group of cats is ‘clowder’. Interestingly, there are also two other valid ways to refer to a group of cats, other than just saying “group of cats” or “cats”. Those other two terms are ‘clutter’ and ‘glaring’. In addition to this, if one wants to refer to a group of […]
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Today I found out Nicolas Cage was originally offered the part of Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. Cage stated in an interview that he turned down the offer due to the around three year time commitment. Cage also stated in the same interview that he was offered the role of Neo in The Matrix, but turned that one down […]
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Today I found out that some Tibetan monks can control the temperature of their skin through meditation. Specifically, they have been shown to be able to raise their skin temperature, measured from their toes and fingers, as much as 17 degrees Fahrenheit, while their core temperature stays normal. Scientists from Harvard University, lead by Herbert Benson, were first able to […]
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