On December 22, 1849, members of a Russian intellectual literary group known as the Petrashevsky Circle were sent to Semyonov Square to meet their fate – death by firing squad. With the men pointing their rifles and fingers resting on the trigger, a messenger from the Tsar rode into the square waving a white flag. Like something out of a […]
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In March of 2008, the world lost one of the most fearless soldiers to have served during WWII; a man who single-handedly cleared five heavily fortified positions with nothing more than a knife, a few grenades, a rock, and a complete disregard for the bullets flying around him the whole time. This is the story of Bhanbhagta Gurung. First thing first, […]
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Jeremy R. asks: Is it true that more words break the I before E rule than follow it? If so, how come this is taught at all? If you ever want to start a fight among a group of linguists and orthographers, bring up the grammar school rule: “I before E, except after C,” which has been around since at […]
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On a field about fifty miles from Boston, Strawberry Hill, on the evening of September 3, 1880, history was made. It is unlikely the department store employees who were tossing around a ball knew that this game would still be talked about 135 years later. As the crowd took their seats, the ball players took their positions; the Sun dipped […]
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This is a weekly wrap of our popular Daily Knowledge Newsletter. You can get that newsletter for free here. The Surprisingly Poor Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Prior to his role as Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Willard Smith (yes, Willard) enjoyed a successful career as a rapper under the pseudonym, “The Fresh Prince” as part of a […]
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Denny G. asks: Why do baseball managers wear the team’s uniform instead of a suit or something like that like you see in other sports? It especially seems weird because managers in baseball seem to universally let themselves go after their playing days are over and tubby old men do not look good in sports uniforms! Football coaches wear clothes […]
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Jim R. asks: Is it true that the word jumbo came from the name of an elephant? The word “jumbo” can roughly be understood to mean “a large specimen of its kind” and it’s often posited that the word entered the English language thanks to an elephant. While this is certainly a nice story, the truth is a little more complicated. First […]
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Beyond being a staple of any self-respecting peace officer, thanks to the popularity of things like Movember, the humble moustache has made a glorious, bristly return to the faces of men all over the world in recent years. As a result, there is an almost endless supply of moustache related products one can buy, which means it’s only a matter […]
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Kyle H. asks: Who wrote rockaby-baby and how did it become a nursery rhyme? Seems kind of morbid to sing to a baby. First found in print in 1765 in Mother Goose’s Melody (see: Who was the Real Mother Goose?), the lyrics in this first printed version are essentially the same as today: Mush-a-bybaby On the tree top, When the […]
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Charles Darwin said humans descended from monkeys. Darwin coined the term “survival of the fittest.” Darwin was the first person to theorize evolution as the origin of species. Darwin did not believe in God. Darwin played shortstop for the New York Yankees. These are just few of the common myths that are associated with Charles Darwin. (Well, maybe not playing […]
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Unless you didn’t quite get enough info from the title- yes, it is entirely possible for a chicken to lay an egg that contains another fully developed egg, what we now officially dub an Xzibit Egg. A wonderfully bizarre Matryoshka doll made of protein and disgusting (when you think about it) deliciousness. As you may or may not know, a […]
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Prior to his role as Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Willard Smith (yes, Willard) enjoyed a successful career as a rapper under the pseudonym, “The Fresh Prince” as part of a duo with Jeffrey “DJ Jazzy Jeff” Townes. The partnership, performing under the rather unimaginative name of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, made Smith a […]
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Anonymous asks: Through most of history there were few clocks and only recently alarm clocks, so how did people know when to get up precisely? Or how did they schedule meetings or when to open up shop or close, etc.? Basically, I guess I’m just wondering how people kept track of time in order to go about managing daily life? […]
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Mark R. asks: Why do drawn hearts look nothing like real hearts? Who first drew them this way? The heart symbol is one of the single most enduring and widely recognised symbols in modern culture. But where did it come from? Something like the familiar heart symbol goes back many thousands of years. Specifically, several pieces of pottery going back […]
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Elizabeth F. asks: Is white gold really gold? If it is, how do they make it white when it’s an element? The purest form of gold is, of course, golden and is referred to as 24 karat gold. Pure gold is much too soft for use in jewelry and can even be dented by simply pressing your fingernail hard against […]
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Oxford University is well known for being one of the most prestigious and elite places of learning in history. Over the years, it has seen some of the finest minds the world has ever known pass through its halls. It’s also the place where over six centuries ago a bunch of students and a fair number of townsfolk were killed […]
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Taking the job as President of the United States means that people across the world know just about everything you do or say, including occasionally making a fool of yourself. Former President George W. Bush understood that when he choked on a pretzel while watching a football game, and President Barack Obama knew that the whole world would find out […]
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The legendary Roald Dahl’s book Charlie & Chocolate Factory from 1964 (and its subsequent two film adaptations from 1971 and 2005) told the story of a magical candy factory and its eccentric and mysterious owner Willy Wonka. A chocolate river, gum that is a whole turkey dinner, never-ending gobstoppers, and, of course, the singing and dancing oompa-loompas are just a […]
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