Jared H. asks: Why do we call medicine balls that when they’re just round weights? Medicine balls, for those of you who haven’t been to a gym or never accidentally kicked one thinking it was like a soccer ball (true story), are heavy weighted balls coming in a variety of sizes and weights (with the biggest we could find ringing […]
Read more
Saburō Sakai is perhaps one of the most famous Japanese air aces to emerge from WWII, credited with at least 28 aerial victories and shooting down or severely damaging well over 60 Allied aircraft, despite later in the war flying a plane that was vastly inferior to his opponents’ planes. Saburō Sakai was born one of seven children in a poor farming […]
Read more
This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. How the Practice of Pricing Fuel with 9/10th of a Penny Got Started The practice of pricing fuel with a fraction of a penny is thought to have started around the 1930s. While we can’t be sure who was the first […]
Read more
Karla R. asks: Why is a tiny bit of vanilla added to so many recipes? What does adding this substance actually do? Enhancing the flavor of the other ingredients in a sweet dish, vanilla also adds a spicy, delicate taste and packs a strong, enticing aroma. This is why, despite its expense, vanilla is wildly popular among home cooks and […]
Read more
Alex P. asks: What’s the difference between green and black tea? Isn’t it all just tea from the same plant? Both black and green tea is harvested from an evergreen, tree-like shrub known as camellia sinensis. Most likely originating in China, the camellia sinensis is thought to have first been used to brew a medicinal elixir during the Shang Dynasty […]
Read more
J. Emerson asks: Is it really possible to learn to speed read and if it is what are the best methods? 95% of college educated individuals read at a rate between 200-400 words per minute according to extensive research done by University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Dr. Keith Rayner. However, there exists a small, but rather vocal subset of people […]
Read more
When it comes to nations with a long and rich history of space travel and exploration, Britain isn’t normally a country that comes to most people’s minds. However, they were the third country in the world to operate a satellite in orbit. It’s just a shame America ended up accidentally killing it just a few months later… The satellite in […]
Read more
L. Van asks: What happens if a cemetery owner loses their ownership of the land? What about when their land fills up and no new dead people can be put in to pay? How do they afford to keep it going? Cemeteries are just like any other business; they need to make money in order to stay open. However, unlike […]
Read more
Julia G. asks: Why do gas stations get to set their prices ending at 9/10ths of a cent, but nothing else is priced that way? The practice of pricing fuel with a fraction of a penny is thought to have started around the 1930s. While we can’t be sure who was the first to price fuel this way, it seems […]
Read more
Our very good friends over at Neatorama are currently running a sale in their popular NeatoShop, including free world-wide shipping (yes, world-wide) on their awesome t-shirts. The sale ends tonight (Sunday) at 11:59pm. So if you’re looking to stock up on some T-shirts and other Neato stuff at a great price, go check it out now before the sale ends!
Read more
This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. Why “C” is the Default Hard Drive Letter in Many Computers For nearly as long as hard disk drives have been placed in personal computers running certain popular operating systems (notably MS-DOS/Windows), the primary hard disk has been designated with the […]
Read more
Wrestling for honor and victory can be traced back to a least 4000 years ago, to the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia. The first great work of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was written around 2100 BCE. In it, the two main characters Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and Enkidu, who was sent by the gods to challenge Gilgamesh over his appalling abuse […]
Read more
It is undisputed that Josh Gibson was the greatest position player in Negro League history. He could field, throw, catch, and most of all, he could hit. His power was legendary. It was claimed by Chicago American Giants infielder Jack Marshall that Gibson hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium in 1934, in the history of the stadium the only player […]
Read more
Nancy P. asks: How were raisins made before seedless grapes? Leaving fruit to dry out in the sun is one of the oldest and easiest ways of preserving this variety of food- our ancestors being the type to never waste anything edible, even if it is sometimes past its prime (see: The History of French Toast). Not only did dried […]
Read more
Ladybugs, sometimes known as Ladybirds and less commonly Lady Beetles, are a rarity in the insect world in that they’re one of the few creepy crawly insects we as a species don’t actively dislike, due to their habit of eating the things that destroy our crops. But just how did this little insect get such a strange name? To start, […]
Read more
Mark S. asks: Why does brown sugar form lumps but regular sugar doesn’t? When we say the word “sugar”, it’s highly likely that the first image to pop into your head is that of the ultra-fine, pure white granulated kind you can buy in most supermarkets. But how does this kind of sugar differ from the less popular brown kind, […]
Read more
During WWI, when an Allied soldier wanted to read a map or letter at night, his choices were very limited- wait until it gets light, or risk exposing himself to enemy fire by firing up something like a bright lamp or lighter, if he had one. However, there was a seldom discussed third choice that was readily available- gather up […]
Read more
Paul H. asks: Why doesn’t the moon have a cool name like the moons of other planets in our solar system? Almost every planet in our solar system and their respective orbiting moons have names taken directly from Greek and Roman mythology. For example, Mars is named for the Greek and Roman god of War, also known as Ares, while […]
Read more