Julie N. asks: Why is “C” the default drive letter in 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 letter “C”. But why? The idea for designating different storage devices with simple letters is generally attributed to […]
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Sometimes the worst nightmares are the ones you don’t have. There are numerous conditions, disorders, and illnesses that either limit or prevents the amount of sleep an individual is able to get. Many of them are quite dangerous, but none of them are as frightening or rare as fatal familial insomnia. Prion diseases are a category of rare fatal brain […]
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Just wanted to say quickly that if you’re having the site freeze up on you on occasion right now, I’m aware of the issue and have tracked it down to a certain ad network’s ads being the culprit. I now have my ad people on it and they are attempting to track down which network within their network is serving […]
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Whether caused by a tumor, a stroke, a blow to the head, or they were just born that way, people with achromatopsia have a limited or no ability to see color. Each of the possible physical causes of the condition, such as a growing tumor or a brain hemorrhage, damage either the thalamus (a relay station in the brain for […]
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Don H. asks: Do car blinkers click naturally or is there some mechanism added to make the clicking noise to let you know your blinker is on? Motor vehicle directional signals have been around almost as long as cars, and as early as 1909, a device was patented that had hand-shaped lights that indicated to other drivers which way a […]
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Extending nearly 1.2 million square miles across Belarus and Poland, the 7,000 year old Białowieża Forest is home to more than 12,000 distinct species of plants and animals. Comprising the largest, and one of the last holdouts of, primeval forest in Europe, the Białowieża has been designated a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations. As […]
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Through the latter half of the 19th century, Mark Twain was on a mission to attack pretense with satire. One of his most hilarious, if completely scandalous and by many standards inappropriate, works was a lecture he gave to The Stomach Club in 1879 about masturbation titled, “Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism.” During the 19th century, medical practice […]
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Sean M. asks: Why does chicken go bad so much faster than other meats at room temperature? Food-borne bacteria are the primary cause of spoilage and food poisonings. Thriving in moist, low-acid environments where lots of protein is present, pathogens like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli live with the bird during its life and stay with its meat after slaughter; […]
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Prized since ancient times for its alluring fragrance, today musk can mean any of a number of substances used to scent perfumes. However, while in our modern era most musk is synthetically produced, when it first came on the scene, musk was only found in a scrotum-like sac on the bellies of male musk deer. Musk deer are found throughout […]
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Mark D asks: How does the witness protection program really work? Is it like in the movies or what? Born of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, and the brainchild of longtime Department of Justice attorney, Gerald Shur, the U.S. Marshall Service Witness Security Program (WITSEC) has successfully protected more than 18,000 people since it first began operations in […]
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Lindsey asks: How fast do electrons flow inside electrical cables? You may be surprised to learn that electrons flow through a typical copper wire much slower than a turtle walks. Each wire that conducts a flow of electrons, producing usable electric current, is composed of billions of atoms. To move along it, the electrons have to traverse these atoms, randomly […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Jiggly History of Jell-O For over a century, Jell-O has been a part of American culture and, according to a 1904 edition of the Ladies Home Journal, “America’s Favorite Dessert” (conveniently enough named such in an advertisement paid for by […]
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Keith D. asks: I was just wondering who came up with the expression “This ain’t my first rodeo”? For the uninitiated, “This ain’t my first rodeo” is roughly equivalent to telling a person that you’re more than prepared for a given situation or that it offers little challenge to you. It’s more often than not used derisively, usually in situations […]
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Ivory has been producing their uniquely floating soap for the well over a century now and in that time they’ve become one of the most popular soap brands in the world. For many years, the company has maintained that the discovery of its trademark floating soap was a complete accident, but exactly how true is this? For those of you who […]
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Byron H. asks: When exactly does a speed limit come into effect? Is it when you see the sign or the instant you cross it? If it’s an increase in speed can you legally accelerate up to the speed so your speed matches the sign right when you get to it, or do you have to wait? On paper, speed […]
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Jacob M. asks: Does juicy fruit gum actually contain any fruit juice? With a brand recognition rate somewhere close to 99% in the States, it’s pretty safe to say that almost everyone reading this has at least heard of Juicy Fruit gum, if not also chewed it at some point. The question we’re looking at today is- exactly what fruit […]
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Nick C. asks: How did they settle on six feet deep for graves? If there’s one thing everyone knows about graves other than the fact that they’re really spooky at night, it’s that they’re always six feet deep. In truth, despite “six feet under” being synonymous with the very idea of death, it has little to no relevance in burial […]
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This is the time of year when millions of Americans are being stricken with March Madness (See: How March Got So Mad). Over a hundred teams (both men’s and women’s) are competing against one another for the right to be called a champion. This is a goal that all of these collegiate athletes work towards and most would never give […]
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