Fifty white stars on a field of blue (one for each state) and 13 horizontal stripes, alternating red (7) and white (6) for the original 13 colonies, the U.S. flag is a revered symbol by many of the nation. And in recognition of the honored place Old Glory holds, in 1947, Congress passed a series of laws, specifically proscribing how […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Movie soundtracks have long generated popular songs, from “Stayin’ Alive” to “Whistle While You Work,” to “Goldfinger” and hundreds more. Here are the origins of a few more soundtrack hits. Movie: Titanic Song: “My Heart Will Go On” Story: While making his $200-million movie in the mid-1990s, director James Cameron […]
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Joshua F. asks: Is it true that in the UK they have big power surges every time soap operas end because everyone makes a cup of tea at the same time? At first glance the idea of the UK being simultaneously addicted to both trashy soaps and tea to such an extent that the country’s national power grid experiences a […]
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Kelley M. asks: Is a guy’s hand or foot size actually a good indicator of the length of their penis or is that a myth? Given that public nudity is generally considered unacceptable in most of the modern world (and if you’re wondering, see: When Did Humans Start Wearing Clothes?), people have long tried to come up with other potential […]
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Blake M. asks: Does the queen of England have any real power anymore or is her position just ceremonial at this point? A short while ago we wrote about the fact Queen Elizabeth II needs neither a passport nor driving license thanks to a quirk of British law. But what other powers does the Queen of many titles have and […]
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John T. asks: Is it true that there’s a special black credit card they only give to billionaires that they can buy anything with? Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a legend that was passed around speaking of a special credit card only issued by American Express to people with more zeroes in their bank balance than […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader “Scattered around our planet are hundreds of creatures that have been to the Moon and back again. None of them are human.”—NASA ORBITAL ORCHARD On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, launching astronauts Edgar Mitchell, Alan Shepard, and Stuart Roosa to the moon. Roosa, an […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader To help win World War II, the Allies used every skill they could come up with—including illusion, trickery…and magic. WIZARD SCHOOL In 1940 Britain’s Ministry of Home Security created a military unit dedicated to “civil camouflage.” Their job would be to provide safety through “seriously ridiculous deception.” The unit of […]
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Julia C. asks: Why do you get a lump in your throat when you are sad? If, like me, you’ve been subjected to watching The Notebook with your spouse, you might have experienced an uncomfortable lump in your throat. As you attempt to breath heavy and avoid crying like a little kid who has just skinned her knee, you might […]
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Joseph B. asks: How long would it take to count to a million? What about a billion? What’s the highest anyone has ever counted? Counting is one of life’s most basic skills and something most humans are quite adept at. Despite most of us being experts on the subject, theoretically capable of counting infinitely high with the ceiling bounded only […]
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The Power Rangers are a cultural juggernaut that have been a staple of kid’s entertainment for over two decades now- an impressive feat considering the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers series was literally cobbled together from snippets from a popular Japanese series called Super Sentai, more specifically the 16th series of Super Sentai, known in Japan as Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. […]
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Providing a unique wrinkle to the phrase, “throw the bums out of office,” twice, first in 1419 and again in 1618, frustrated citizens of Prague (today in the Czech Republic) literally threw their leaders out of the upper story windows of their public buildings. The word for throwing someone or something out of a window, defenestration, is also sometimes used […]
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On a particularly blustery February South Side day, it is easy to understand why the city of Chicago has the nickname of the “Windy City.” After all, it has one of the roughest winters of all major American cities and it does get pretty regular gusts. But, in truth, it actually isn’t all that windy, relatively speaking; in terms of […]
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader AS SEEN ON TELEVISION The proliferation of reality TV started in the United States with MTV’s The Real World in 1992, and spread globally with Survivor and Big Brother a few years later. The success of these programs proved that nonscripted shows full of nonactors could deliver huge ratings at […]
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Shannon D. asks: How come people who smell really bad can never seem to smell their own stench? Have you ever sat next to a woman on a bus who lost her sense of smell? Or, at least, you assume so as the eye-watering fragrance wafting from her perfume is so overpowering that the nausea it induces makes you appreciate […]
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Jack T. asks: What happens when a town votes to make a cat or something mayor? Surely the cat needs an assistant, right? Do they have official duties? Salary? Do they pay taxes? How do the townspeople actually take care of things the mayor should be doing? Inquiring minds want to know. We’ve talked before about animals who’ve gone above […]
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With rents for even the smallest quarters exceeding the equivalent of $1000 monthly, a relatively large number of working class people in Asia’s largest cities have become, essentially, homeless. Rather than being completely destitute, as many homeless are, a not inconsiderable number of these individuals earn enough to otherwise support themselves outside of being able to afford housing. To solve […]
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Jonathon M. asks: Is it true that the Chinese government owns every panda in the world? Whether in D.C., London, Adelaide or Madrid, nearly all giant pandas in today’s zoos are technically there on a 5 or 10-year loan from China, and at a substantial price. It hasn’t always been this way, though. Beginning in the late 1950s and through […]
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