10 Facts About Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt's Home

Posted in Funny

The family home was known as Tranquility, and was situated two miles southwest from the future Sagamore Hill mansion. Theodore Roosevelt bought the land for Sagamore Hill in 1880. Theodore Roosevelt addresses a crowd of 500 suffragettes from the porch of his Sagamore Hill home around 1905. Sagamore Hill was Theodore Roosevelt's "Summer White House." Theodore Roosevelt died at Sagamore Hill.

By Staff Writer

10 Facts About the Deadliest Mt. Everest Climb That The 2015 Movie Missed

Posted in Cool

It was the deadliest day on Mount Everest. If you’ve seen the movie, you probably know a lot about the climb, which was led by New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall. For example, between 1980 and 2002, over 90 people perished while attempting to climb Mount Everest. The peak of Mount Everest was first reached by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Rob Hall’s body isn’t the only one on EverestAs previously mentioned, Rob Hall’s body is still on Everest, and he wasn’t the first person—or the only person—to die on that dangerous mountain.

By Staff Writer

10 of the Worst Jobs in the Victorian Era

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Next time you complain about your boring desk job, think back to Victorian times—an era before the concept of occupational health and safety rules—and count yourself lucky. Leather was in great demand in Victorian times, as it was used not only as tack for horses but for shoes, boots, bags, and in bookbinding. In the Victorian era, this work was mainly performed by teenage girls who worked in terrible conditions, often for between 12 and 16 hours a day with few breaks. One of the most famous Victorian rat catchers was Jack Black, who worked for Queen Victoria herself. Crossing SweeperThe “job” of crossing sweeper reveals the entrepreneurial spirit of the Victorian poor.

By Staff Writer

10 of Benjamin Franklin’s Lesser-Known Feats of Awesomeness

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Some of Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments—his kite experiment, establishing the first American subscription library, and signing the Declaration of Independence—are pretty iconic. Benjamin Franklin invented a ton of cool stuff, including the rocking chair and the odometer. Mr. Afterwit, a gentleman, wrote humorous letters about married life that appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s own Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin used these pseudonyms to settle a personal dispute; they wrote letters mocking Franklin’s former employer, Samuel Keimer, who had stolen some of Franklin’s publishing ideas. Benjamin Franklin thought getting together with his buddies was a great way to ignite social action.

By Staff Writer

10 Surprising Facts About Benedict Arnold

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Benedict Arnold was descended from Rhode Island's first colonial governor. Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut—the fifth person in his family to be named Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold took part in a failed attempt to capture Canada. Following the dictates of protocol, Jameson sent a letter about this strange man who’d been found with incriminating documents to ... Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold is buried next to a fish tank in England.

By Staff Writer

10 Types of 30-Year-Old Single Guys — Wait But Why

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But perhaps the motliest part of this crowd is the ever-growing group of 30-year-old single guys. If you want a case study in humanity, 30-year-old single guys have pretty much all the bases covered. Let’s examine some of the common types:1) The Total PackageThe Total Package is smart—he went to a top college. The Total Package has a hell of a career going, but don’t you for a second suggest that The Total Package would be a workaholic—The Total Package is a family man. Yes, the woman fit for The Total Package will be the ultimate icing on his cake of perfection.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

10 years of your support

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Here are just ten ways they continue to supercharge the fight against bad information and the harm it causes:10. Safeguarding future electionsIt’s never been more important that voters are protected from bad information online, but our election laws remain wide open to manipulation and abuse. Correcting the recordFact checking alone cannot tackle bad information - and the more an inaccurate claim gets shared and repeated, the more it is believed. Thank you to everyone who sent us offers of biscuits and words of support when we needed it most. Your support is needed more than ever to scrutinise and challenge public debate.

By Staff Writer

100 Blocks a Day — Wait But Why

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Let’s think about those 1,000 minutes as 100 10-minute blocks. Throughout the day, you spend 10 minutes of your life on each block, until you eventually run out of blocks and it’s time to go to sleep. It’s always good to step back and think about how we’re using those 100 blocks we get each day. Cooking dinner requires three blocks, while ordering in requires zero—is cooking dinner worth three blocks to you? ___________If you’re into Wait But Why, sign up for the Wait But Why email list and we’ll send you the new posts right when they come out.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

10 Types of Odd Friendships You're Probably Part Of — Wait But Why

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__________When you’re a kid, or in high school, or in college, you don’t really work too hard on your friend situation. Towards the bottom of the mountain in the orange zone, you have your Tier 3 friends—your Not Really friends. Rock friendships don’t just make us happy—they’re the thing (along with rock family and romantic relationships) that makes us happy. If you’re in your mid-20s or older, your current rocks are probably the only ones you’ll ever have. Your rock friendships don’t warrant 2x the time you give to your other friends—they warrant 5 or 10x.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

11 Amazing Body Hacks That Will Make Your Life Better For Good

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No matter what, we only get one body, so we have to be sure to take good care of it. Who doesn’t like a good life hack? There is such a simple hack for that, you’re going to be so surprised. Touch your toes with easeIf you’re having trouble getting in a good stretch to touch your toes, never fear. Try this simple trick next time and you won’t be waiting to exhale any longer!

By Staff Writer

11 of Titanic's Final Menu Items

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To step inside the last moments of luxury on the Titanic, read through the menu highlights below. Chicken À La MarylandNamed after the U.S. state, this lunch dish consists of breaded and fried chicken served with gravy. Egg à l'ArgenteuilThis item on the April 14 lunch menu is a fancy name for scrambled eggs and asparagus. goose liver spread—appeared on the dinner menu's ninth and penultimate course. Waldorf PuddingAnother dessert item on the dinner menu was this steamed cake made from apples and walnuts.

By Staff Writer

11 People And Animals Who Dare To Follow Their Own Rules

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Here are twelve examples of people and animals that are perfectly willing to break the rules. Personally, I don’t follow the rules when it comes to eating and drinking. I think they were pretty good, and other people seemed to agree—at the very least, they pretended they were good. I just can’t really justify paying for a new phone, though. The BirdYou can’t really expect a bird to follow the rules.

By Staff Writer

11 Presidential Facts About Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt could have run on the same ticket as Herbert Hoover. Franklin Delano Roosevelt touring the construction site of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam. Maine and Vermont were the only two states that never voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When Fidel Castro was 14 years old, he petitioned Franklin Delano Roosevelt for $10. Franklin Delano Roosevelt set up a polio rehab center in Georgia.

By Staff Writer

11 Outdated Nicknames for Marijuana That We Should Bring Back

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Goof ButtsAnother term that gained prominence in the 1930s and 1940s was goof butts, which described marijuana cigarettes. But beginning in the 1920s, people used it to describe marijuana or marijuana cigarettes. The legacy of Toklas’s “entertaining refreshment” was further cemented in the 1968 movie I Love You Alice B. Toklas, which features a batch of weed brownies. If you were offered an “Alice B. Toklas brownie” during that era, it probably wasn't drug-free. He formed a commission to study marijuana, hoping their findings would justify its classification in Schedule I—the most dangerous class of drugs.

By Staff Writer

12 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn't Know About eBay

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We recently published a couple “Fascinating Cell Phone Related Facts” lists, which you can find here and here, on eBay who is currently running a cell phone selling challenge. So if you’re looking to buy or sell a cell phone visit: eBay For The Win for details on the offer and list your phone today. 1) One of the first items sold on eBay shortly after its launch in early September of 1995 was a broken laser pointer. So why is it called eBay today? Once again, don’t forget to check out the eBay cell phone challenge.

By Daven Hiskey

14 of the Many, Many Times People Have Embarrassed Themselves on Social Media

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If your friend posts a picture of you—the kind you didn’t want taken—looking less than your best after a few beers at the bar, he or she is probably kind of a jerk. Rosetta Stone and the LBGTQ CommunityThe Rosetta Stone was a slab found just before the turn of the 19th century in Memphis, Egypt; in short, it was instrumental in deciphering the hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians. Also, in case you’re unaware, Rosetta Stone is language software that helps its users learn foreign languages. One Twitter user, offended about goodness knows what, claimed that “Rosetta Stone” didn’t give up her seat on the bus so that “gays” could be asking for rights. For example, it is more-or-less acceptable to not know who the Vice-President of the United States is, especially if you’re not an American.

By Staff Writer

15 Fascinating Cell Phone Related Facts You Probably Didn't Know

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Engel and his team were Cooper’s chief rival and had also been attempting to make the world’s first handheld mobile phone. 5) The Fear: The fear of having no cell phone signal or otherwise being unable to make or receive cell phone calls is called Nomophobia. For cell phones, the FCC requires very strict location parameters either via GPS tracking of the cell phone or by cell network location. 13) The Gap: It was a full 10 years after public demonstration of the first handheld cell phone in 1973 before the first commercial handheld cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000x (“Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage”), hit the market on March 6, 1983. It took another seven years to reach one million cell phone subscribers, hitting that figure in 1990.

By Daven Hiskey

14 People Who Really Needed To Pause For A Moment And Think

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Here are fifteen examples of people who really needed to take a minute and just think. Really, when you think about it, it is sort of amazing how many different types of salsa there are. In that one picture, the guy really does look like he is having a great time. They are mostly just water, really. It just isn’t a good look.

By Staff Writer

15 People Who Didn’t Know What They Found, But Redditors Were There For Them

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There are people who have the time to share the curious things they find. The previous owners left it and the new owner wanted to know what it was. Since the house was located near an Ottoman-era fortress and an ancient Roman road, they thought it was related. We all see what these are but it is still curious to see the things anyone could stumble upon. The rusty elementHere is the curious item someone found in the Adriatic sea.

By Staff Writer

17 Mysteries Scientists Can NOT Explain

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Finding the answer to one question usually led to creating several other mysteries, but scientists all over the world were working hard to explain each and every one of them. Well look no further, as we have done the dirty work for you and compiled 15 mysteries from our everyday live, that no scientists on this planet can explain to this day. Not only that scientist have not proven the exact mechanism behind a cat’s purring, they actually have no idea why do cats purr at all. Cats purr not only when you pet them, they don’t even purr only when they feel comfortable. Some have tried the simplest explanation – cats pass air through their vocal chords, and the purring sound comes to live.

By Staff Writer

20 Problems Almost Everyone Has Today That Did Not Exist A Couple Of Decades Ago

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People get used to new stuff and they even forget that they have things today that never occurred to them 20 years ago. It shows the kind of problems we all have today but that were also non-existent a couple of decades ago. Decades ago, almost nobody had the privilege to browse the Internet all day long but we do it all the time today. A couple of decades ago, there were no such services similar to Netflix and we had to wait for a good show on TV to grab a snack and see it. The phoneThis is yet another habit we have today but we used no have a couple of decades ago.

By Staff Writer

21 of Theodore Roosevelt’s Most Memorable Pets

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Mental Floss launched a new podcast with iHeartRadio called History Vs., and our first season is all about Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library . When the bunny passed away in 1904, he was buried with all the pomp and circumstance the White House could muster. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library . Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library .

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22 Polar Exploration Terms You Should Know

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Before listening to our new podcast The Quest for the North Pole, familiarize yourself with these polar terms. Glaciers are much thicker than sea ice. Ice FloeA large, flat sheet of free-floating sea ice that measures at least 60 feet in diameter. Large pieces of ice moving toward each other could catch a ship between them, causing damage to or sinking the vessel. Inuit used these lightweight but strong boats to transport multiple passengers and goods.

By Staff Writer

25 Times When Past Posts Did Not Age As Expected

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The articleThis is how a group of researchers decided to publish their statement saying that users would be massively reduced. The presidentWell, this was a nice idea for a post but the problem with such posts is the alignment of the events to come. This notebook was supposed to be funny but when they created it, they hardly expected the cat to pass away. The physicistHere is how even brilliant minds could say things that were proven to be wrong. The InternetHere is how one economist decided to demonstrate his analytical skills but he probably had no idea how wrong he would be.

By Staff Writer

26 Fascinating Football Facts

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With the Super Bowl this weekend, we thought we’d do a “Football facts” roundup to help you impress your buddies with amazingly interesting Football knowledge. He later went on to play in Major League Baseball and after that in the American Football League. On this day, student Johnny Campbell of the University of Minnesota reportedly directed a crowd at a football game into cheering “Rah, Rah, Rah! 904) Digitally projecting yellow lines onto the fields during football game broadcasts is no simply task. 906) The tradition of having the Detroit Lions play on Thanksgiving stemmed from the even older tradition of various football programs at high schools and colleges often holding football games on Thanksgiving.

By Daven Hiskey

27 Facts About Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt

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Mental Floss just launched a new podcast with iHeartRadio called History Vs., and our first season is all about Theodore Roosevelt. While at Harvard, Roosevelt met his first wife, Alice Lee. Vice President Roosevelt became president in 1901 immediately following the assassination of sitting president William McKinley. Roosevelt’s White House was no place for anyone skittish over animals. The eldest of Roosevelt’s children—and the only one with his first wife, Alice— Alice Roosevelt was 17 when her father took office and quickly became infamous for a series of public indiscretions.

By Staff Writer

27 Times When People Definitely Had No Luck At All

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The allergyIt seems that this person has the tough luck of having a number of allergies. The sofaHere is why sometimes you need to use professional services instead of trying to do things your way. The tree guardHere is how you should never paint a tree guard using paint spray in windy weather. The sandwichRiding a bicycle to work is always a good idea but one must be prepared for the unexpected. There are moments like this one: a person was stuck because she ran over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

By Staff Writer

36 People Whose Genetics Made Them Unique In The Entire World

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This person probably has no idea why. The fingerThe pinky on this person’s hand was the only finger that went numb in cold weather. The fingersThis person’s hand is different in more ways than one but two of the fingers are the main one. The eyesIt seems that this boy is probably aware of just how unique his looks are thanks to his eye color. The body hairThis is one man’s enormous congenital pigmented nevus which is probably one of the biggest in the world.

By Staff Writer

35 Fascinating Facts About Presidential Inaugurations Past

Posted in Funny

From drunk vice presidents to poisoned pigeons, anything can happen on Inauguration Day—and often does, as these 35 fascinating facts prove. His second inauguration took place on March 4, 1793, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, which was then the nation’s capital. Today, we know January 20 as Inauguration Day, but that wasn’t always the case. Following Washington’s first inauguration, the Continental Congress declared March 4 as Inauguration Day. Second, his Inauguration Day parade included a Macy's Parade-like balloon of a peanut to celebrate his past.

By Staff Writer

40 Times Husbands And Boyfriends Proved That Relationships Are Always Fun

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The Easter photoOne of the sons-in-low in this picture decided to alter it and this was the hilarious result. The phraseHere is how one husband decided to mess around with her shortcuts and it was brilliant. The baby monitorThis person wanted to create the perfect prank and put a zombie mask on the baby monitor. The sceneHere is what a husband decided to do as a way to have fun and it seems he always attracts attention. The cakeHere is how one person decided to celebrate the first time his girlfriend farted in front of him for the first time.

By Staff Writer

43 Images Showing What Tall People Have To Cope With On A Daily Basis

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Being tall is considered a blessing by many but it seems that tall people are not exactly thrilled by their height. In more situations than none, being tall is an obstacle that can really be annoying and the images below give a few examples of that. The hunkHere is how one person looked like when standing in front of a door. The headThese scars are evidence of the struggles tall people face when they need to pass through low doors. The signsOne tall person was not paying attention and hit their head on the signs while at the airport.

By Staff Writer

6 Products That Celebrate and Support U.S. National Parks

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National Geographic x Parks Project Vintage Magazine Cover T-Shirt for Adults; $37National Geographic/The Parks Project/ShopDisneyThe Parks Project, which helps fund specific projects for different national parks, has teamed up with National Geographic for a clothing collection featuring items like hats and shirts. This T-shirt shows off the cover of the July 1979 issue of National Geographic celebrating the U.S. national parks. Each set comes with three notebooks, all of which sport a beautifully painted cover, and inside, you'll get a rundown of each park's history, including Zion National Park, Denali National Park, Sequoia National Park, Mount Rainer National Park, and more. Cape Clasp Tikós Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Ocean Plastic Recycled Bracelet; $20Cape Clasp/AmazonCape Clasp created a series of bracelets made from 100 percent recycled ocean plastics inspired by different national parks, including Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, and Acadia National Park. Pendleton Grand Canyon National Park Blanket; $259Pendleton/AmazonPendleton has been supporting the U.S National Parks for over 100 years through their National Park Collection.

By Staff Writer

7.3 Billion People, One Building — Wait But Why

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We’ve talked about rich humans and famous humans and baby humans and dead humans and humans from all over the world. But before we ask all 7.3 billion humans to stop what they’re doing so I can arrange and bunch them together at my whim, let’s discuss the number 7.3 billion. 7.3 billion humans in one-dimensional configurationsThe first activity today will be putting all humans in a single file line. The world’s median age is 29, and the youngest billion humans tend to be quite little. Specifically:Manhattan could fit 590 million peopleBrooklyn could fit 1.38 billion peopleQueens could fit 2.83 billion peopleThe Bronx could fit 1.09 billion peopleStaten Island could fit 1.51 billion peopleSo let’s try it.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

7 Ways to Be Insufferable on Facebook — Wait But Why

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It made me think about what makes terrible Facebook behavior terrible, and why other Facebook behavior isn’t annoying at all. It comes down to a pretty simple rule:A Facebook status is annoying if it primarily serves the author and does nothing positive for anyone reading it. To be unannoying, a Facebook status typically has to be one of two things:1) Interesting/Informative2) Funny/Amusing/EntertainingYou know why these are unannoying? Core reasons for posting: Attention CravingI refuse to believe you feel a genuine outpouring of love for your 800 Facebook friends. And if you felt suddenly emotional about your best friends and family, is a public status really the way you’d express it?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

8 Things You Might Not Know About Andrew Johnson

Posted in Interesting

The presidency of Andrew Johnson arrived as the result of a tragedy that shook the nation. Andrew Johnson never went to school. Andrew Johnson straddled the line during the Civil War. Andrew Johnson bought Alaska. Andrew Johnson tended to a family of mice.

By Staff Writer

9 Incredibly Creative People Who Got A Way Too Creative

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You are probably familiar with inventions that, while interesting, really don’t serve any particular purpose. Here are ten examples of incredibly creative people who might be just a little too creative. You really don’t want pieces of your car falling off as you drive down the road. I don’t really know what a book for tall people is, but I’d be interested to find out. The Shoes That Look Like FeetI must say I find this an incredibly creative shoe; someone did a very nice job designing these.

By Staff Writer

9 Weird Historical Ways to Ward Off a Plague

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Here are nine more strange, gross, or downright dangerous historical ways to ward off the plague. “Even amid the havoc of that plague,” wrote Aulus Gellius, “by temperate and abstemious habits he is said to have avoided the ill-effects of indulgence.”4. Officials in Venice actually recommended citizens drink their own urine each morning to rid the city of plague in the 16th century. Bradley’s fellow Royal Society member, Richard Mead, also recommended measures to fight plague grounded in scientific reasoning, like contact tracing. But Mead’s more thoughtful recommendations helped build support for modern public health measures.

By Staff Writer

A framework for information incidents: five levels of severity

Posted in Funny

A framework for information incidents: five levels of severity18 December 2020 | Nicola Aitken and Phoebe ArnoldThis year Full Fact has been developing a new collaborative model for tackling information incidents, with funding support from Facebook. Information incidents happen where the information environment changes in a way that merits an exceptional and often collaborative response above and beyond ‘business as normal’. Once a sense of the incident’s severity has been established, the next step is to consult the framework which offers direction on how to tackle the challenges which are occurring, in ways that are proportionate to severity. We would be interested to hear thoughts from other organisations who are involved in responding to bad information on:Are these five levels of severity clear to you? How would you expect the response to levels differ, for example from level 2 to level 4?

By Staff Writer

9 Examples Of People With Degrees And No $$$ (Money)

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In most places throughout the world, you need to go to college or university if you want to become wealthy. In the beginning, they often don’t make very much at all—considering the cost of their degrees. You don’t worry about money, and you pretty much know that you’ll be getting a meal at the beginning and end of every day. The Financial PlanThis one isn’t necessarily related to a university degree. There are a lot of people who don’t want to work and also don’t have much money in their bank accounts.

By Staff Writer

A Japanese Soldier Who Continued Fighting WWII 29 Years After the Japanese Surrendered, Because He Didn’t Know

Posted in Funny

Today I found out about a Japanese soldier who continued fighting World War II a full 29 years after the Japanese surrendered, because he didn’t know the war was over. Shortly after the island was conquered the remaining Japanese soldiers split up into small groups of 3 or 4 and headed into the jungle. At a certain point, when most everybody they saw was dressed in civilian clothing, they began thinking that this too was a ruse from the Allied forces to lull the Japanese guerrilla soldiers into a false sense of confidence. Eventually, after about 5 years in the jungle, Akatsu decided he would surrender, but didn’t tell the other three soldiers. The Japanese had long thought he had already died, they didn’t think he could have survived so long in the jungle.

By Daven Hiskey

Alexander Graham Bell

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Alexander Graham Bell with teachers and students from the Scott Circle School for deaf children in Washington, D.C. Gilbert H. Grosvenor Collection of Photographs of the Alexander Graham Bell Family (Library of Congress), Wikimedia //Public domainAlexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and from a young age, he was primed for a future in innovative thinking. Alexander Graham Bell invented more than one way to communicate. Alexander Graham Bell makes the first phone call between New York and Chicago. Bell Telephone Memorial Society, Wikimedia //Public domainAlexander Graham Bell died on August 2, 1922, at age 75 as a result of complications from diabetes. Famous Alexander Graham Bell Quotes:

By For Most People, The Name Alexander Graham Bell Conjures Up The Man Who Helped Invent The Telephone In And While Bell Was Responsible For Radically Changing How The World Communicates, There Was Far More To His Life Than Just One Invention, Both Good, Bad. Take A Look At Some Of The Lesser-Known Facts About The Inventor Who Made It Possible For Us To Stay Connected.

5 Instagram Stars Who Were Proven To Be Total FAKES

Posted in Funny

Naturally, however, not all fame-seeking social media efforts are completely honest and on the up and up. If you can buy likes and comments, you too can become a social media star! Let’s be honest here: if you want to be a social media star, you should probably be under 25. Stakhiva had to make her Instagram account private after it came out she’s been lying to the world about who she is. Over the course of several weeks, she posted several pictures a day to her Instagram account, and she had tens of thousands of Instagram followers.

By Staff Writer

8 Ways To Live a Really Long Time, According to The Oldest People Ever

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Official studies have claimed that to live a very long life, it’s important to maintain friendships, to keep a positive attitude, not to stress out too much, and to just have really amazing genes. Here are some seemingly odd ways that centenarians and supercentenarians (a person who lives at least 110 years) claimed helped them live such a long time. He did a favour for one of the locals and this guy said, 'drink this and you'll live til at least 100.'" Calment credited her long, long, long life to drinking Port wine every day, eating two pounds of chocolate every week, and keeping a sense of humor. His motto was “to eat light and live long," never smoking, only moderately drinking alcohol, and eating until he is 80 percent full.

By Staff Writer

Alexander Hamilton

Posted in Interesting

Alexander Hamilton was born in the Caribbean islands—but we’re not exactly sure when. Apart from their eldest son, the Hamiltons’ other seven children all lived relatively long lives—here’s the full list:Philip Hamilton (1782-1801)Angelica Hamilton (1784-1857)Alexander Hamilton Jr. (1786-1875)James Alexander Hamilton (1788-1878)John Church Hamilton (1792-1882)William Stephen Hamilton (1797-1850)Eliza Hamilton Holly (1799-1859)Philip Hamilton (1802-1884)3. Alexander Hamilton was close friends with his wife’s sister, Angelica Schuyler Church. Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton musical was based on the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Notable Pamphlets and Essays by Alexander HamiltonA Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress (1774)The Farmer Refuted (1775)The Remarks on the Quebec Bill (1775)The Continentalist (1781)The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)The Reynolds Pamphlet (1797)For Further Reading: Books About Alexander Hamilton

By Though Never A President Himself, Alexander Hamilton Was Just As Important In The Formation Of The United States As Many Who Were. Born On A Small Caribbean Island In The, Hamilton Moved To New York, Fought In The Revolutionary War, Ardently Defended The U.S. Constitution, Helped Establish The First National Bank, Of Course, Eventually Became The Inspiration For Lin-Manuel Miranda S Hit Broadway Musical. Learn More About His Life, Legacy, Devastating Death Duel Below.

Andrews Mc Meel Almanac For January 16, 2021

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ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANACToday is the 16th day of 2021 and the 27th day of winter. TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1920, the first meeting of the League of Nations was held in Paris. In 1969, the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 completed the first docking of manned spacecraft. -- Lin-Manuel MirandaTODAY'S NUMBER: 23 -- countries that were members of the League of Nations for its entire duration. TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 12) and first quarter moon (Jan 20).

By Staff Writer

Are the "Snozzberries" in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Referring to Male Genitalia?

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Domenic V. asks: Is it true that the snozzberries in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory were dicks? Given the dark undercurrent of Roald Dahl’s works, perhaps it wouldn’t be surprising if his famous snozzberries mentioned in the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) made into the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), were, in fact, penises. Much more importantly, 31 years before My Uncle Oswald and 16 years before Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dahl published Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen. Thus, from the evidence at hand, it would appear Dahl’s mention of it in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is probably just an inside allusion to his made up main food source of mythical gremlins. The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!

By Staff Writer

Astro Graph For January 16, 2021

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Hard work will pay off and help you find a unique way to overcome a dilemma. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Help a cause or someone going through hard times. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- You'll pick up information quickly. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- You'll come up against some tough competition. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Don't ask for too much or you will end up disappointed.

By Staff Writer

Better communication needed to tackle gaps in understanding of economic statistics

Posted in Funny

Better communication needed to tackle gaps in understanding of economic statistics25 November 2020 | Rebecca HillEconomic measures affect our lives in many ways. The economic concepts the researchers looked at, such as inflation or interest rates, each have an impact on us. This research, carried out by the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE), as part of the research programme of the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence, can help Full Fact and others identify where to focus our efforts. It looked at a range of economic measures, including unemployment, trade and government deficit. We know how complex these economic concepts are, but they are vitally important to us all, especially now.

By Staff Writer

Black Widow Trivia | 40 facts about the Marvel movie

Posted in Interesting

Black Widow is a character that has played an important role in the Marvel comics and currently, Marvel decided to “dedicate” a movie about her. Before Black Widow became the heroine we know and love today, she was a much different character. In 1940, Claire Voyant became the first Black Widow, receiving her name due to the fact that she would touch her victims on the forehead, leave a black widow mark, and send their souls to hell. This essentially halted the aging process and gave her super strength and agility The Black Widow film was originally scheduled to release on May 1st, 2020. Back in 2004, Marvel Studios sold the rights to Black Widow to Lionsgate, who planned on making a Black Widow film, and even had a script from X-Men writer David Hayter ready to go.

By Staff Writer

Bill Clinton

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Bill Clinton accomplished much during the first years of his presidency. Marshall/Getty ImagesAll presidents can lay claim to sweeping changes in policy, but Bill Clinton was very active with his signature. President Bill Clinton was officially impeached on December 19, 1998. President Bill Clinton photographed with his wife and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea. Famous Bill Clinton Quotes:

By As The President Of The United States, Bill Clinton Served Two Terms In Office, To Thanks To A Well-Played Saxophone Solo On Television, An Impeachment Due To Extramarital Indiscretion, He Was As Resonant In Popular Culture As He Was In Politics. For More On Bill Clinton'S Life, Accomplishments, Keep Reading.

Bringing together the UK government, Facebook, and others to combat misinformation crises

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Bringing together the UK government, Facebook, and others to combat misinformation crises20 November 2020 | Nicola Aitken and Phoebe ArnoldIn September we announced that Full Fact was convening a range of experts to develop a new collaborative model for tackling misinformation crises, with funding support from Facebook. With a coronavirus vaccine now potentially just months away, a wave of related bad information could undermine trust in medicine when it matters most. This project is an attempt to learn the lessons of previous waves of bad information, whether during elections or pandemics, to make sure we’re all ready to contain the next crisis before it unfolds. If you would like to contribute, or if you have feedback on the first discussion paper, please contact us. Download our first draft paper of the frameworkSubscribe for updates, or check back here to stay informed.

By Staff Writer

Anne's Lesser Known, More Frank, Diary and What Happened After

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On June 12, 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her 13th birthday. In fact, the version of Anne Frank’s diary many of you are likely familiar with, depending on the publisher, has had upwards of 30% of the original content removed. Margo and Anne Frank were among those forced to make the trip, but their mother, Edith, was left behind. She knew Anne and Margot Frank and remembers their last days. After the war ended, Otto Frank returned to Amsterdam where he ultimately learned that none of his family had been among the survivors.

By Karl Smallwood

Bob’s Burgers Trivia | 44 facts about the hit TV series

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Bob’s Burgers is an American animated sitcom. The series centers on the Blecher family who run a hamburger restaurant. So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the hit TV series. Bob’s Burgers is an American animated sitcom It is created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company The series centers on the Belcher family – parents Bob and Linda and their children Tina, Gene and Louise – who run a hamburger restaurant The show was conceived by Bouchard after he developed Home Movies Bob’s Burgers is a production by Bento Box Entertainment and 20th Television While reviews for the first season were mixed, feedback for subsequent seasons has been much more positive The series premiere, “Human Flesh”, drew in 9.39 million viewers Making it the highest-rated series premiere of the season It finished ninth in the ratings for the week it aired Reruns began airing on Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block Adult Swim on June 23, 2013 and its sister channel TBS in 2016 It began airing in syndication on local stations in September 2015 A comic book series based on the show, published by Dynamite Entertainment, began in September 2014 A soundtrack album was released on May 12, 2017 In 2013, TV Guide ranked Bob’s Burgers as one of the top 60 Greatest TV Cartoons of All Time The series has been nominated for several awards, including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program seven consecutive times It won in 2014 and 2017 The show has been renewed past its current eleventh for a twelfth and thirteenth production cycle A feature film of the animated television series is scheduled for release on April 9, 2021 The team of writers includes Loren Bouchard, Jim Dauterive, Scott Jacobson, Lizzie Molyneux, Wendy Molyneux, Holly Schlesinger, Nora Smith, Steven Davis, Kelvin Yu, Dan Fybel, Rich Rinaldi, Jon Schroeder, Greg Thompson, and Katie Crown Past writers on the show include Kit Boss, Aron Abrams, and Mike Benner H. Jon Benjamin, Rachel Hastings, Justin Hook, Dan Mintz, and Mike Olsen have also written or co-written episodes After the writing has been completed, the voice actors read the script as written, but later are allowed to improvise lines The editors and writer decide what improvised lines make the final cut Bob’s Burgers has six main cast members They are H. Jon Benjamin as Bob Belcher, John Roberts as Linda Belcher, Dan Mintz as Tina Belcher, Eugene Mirman as Gene Belcher, Kristen Schaal as Louise Belcher, and Larry Murphy as Teddy At the Bob’s Burgers Comic-Con 2018 panel, show creator Loren Bouchard stated they were aware of the predominantly male gender imbalance amongst the voice actors, saying they would “strive to do better…to have balance” He stated one of the driving factors behind this was voice actor Kristen Schaal “reprimanding” them on the issue Bob’s Burgers initially received mixed reviews for season 1, with a Metacritic score of 60 out of 100 However, by season 2, the ratings had reached a score of 78 out of 100, proving a rise in popularity with praises about its “daffy comedic momentum” and how it is “new and fresh Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a 73% score based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 6.1/10 The site’s critical consensus states “A modestly immature workplace cartoon, not without potential, that needs to work on finding its rhythm” Season 3 has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88% based on 8 reviews Season 4 has a score of 89% based on 9 reviews Season 5 has a score of 100% based on 12 reviews Season 6 has 100% based on 10 reviews The A.V. Club voted Bob’s Burgers as the 10th best TV show of 2012 It was also voted the 3rd best show of 2013, the 20th best show of 2014 and the 35th best show of 2015 After airing, the show became the highest-rated series premiere of the season and also finished 9th in the ratings for the week it aired Despite this, the ratings went on a slide with ratings expert Bill Gorman of TV by the Numbers calling it a “toss up” for renewal before the series was renewed for a second season A virtual pinball adaptation of the series was developed and released by Zen Studios in 2015 It is available as an add-on for the games Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3 As well as a standalone, paid app on iOS and Android This table is one of four tables featured in the “Balls of Glory” pinball pack produced as a result of Zen’s partnership with Fox Digital Entertainment It features 3D animated figures of the Belcher family

By Costas Despotakis

Cats and Fleas: Safe Preventions

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DEAR DR. FOX: In a recent column, you mentioned a safe flea control for cats. Rub the liquid between the cat’s shoulder blades, on the back of the neck and behind the ears. The only problem is that our youngest cat, Phoebe, keeps defecating and urinating outside of the litter box. Some cat-rehoming experts tell me that some house-soiling cats never fully recover and use the litter box. He will probably join the remaining 15% as permanent residents for behavioral reasons: being fearful or aggressive toward people, or spraying and not using the litter box.

By Staff Writer

Builders Can’t Keep Up

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“Builders simply can’t build homes fast enough to meet the remarkable demand,” says Caballero, whose HomesUSA is the broker of record for dozens of builders in four of Texas’ biggest markets. In its latest poll, marketing and research firm Zonda found that 30% of builders reported taking “weeks longer” to start work. Some builders have stopped selling altogether because they can’t keep up. Sullivan adds: “Wait lists are back!”Taking more deals than they can handle isn’t the only thing slowing builders down, though. That means there’s nobody around to approve plans and make on-site inspections, among the myriad other services builders require.

By Staff Writer

Cats, COVID-19 and Other Public Health Concerns

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: You are referring to my warning about keeping cats indoors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of mink routinely escape from these fur farms, and virologists are concerned that infected mink could pass the virus on to other wildlife. DEAR DR. FOX: Can we catch poison ivy from the fur of our cats and dogs? : Yes, the oils from poison ivy can indeed be transferred from our pets to our skin. Several years ago, my son got poison ivy after playing with our malamute mix, who had been out running with us earlier in the woods.

By Staff Writer

Charles Dickens

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Charles Dickens intended Great Expectations to be funny. This plaque located on Bayham Street in Camden, London, shows where author Charles Dickens once lived. “And to find fresh ones coming down to dinner in a perfect procession, when I thought there were no more.”Here’s the full list, from oldest to youngest:Charles Culliford Boz Dickens, Jr. (1837-1896)Mary “Mamie” Angela Dickens (1838-1896)Catherine "Kate" Elizabeth Macready Perugini (1839-1929)Walter Savage Landor Dickens (1841-1863)Francis Jeffrey Dickens (1844-1886)Alfred D’Orsay Tennyson Dickens (1845-1912)Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens (1847-1872)Sir Henry Fielding Dickens (1849-1933)Dora Annie Dickens (1850-1851)Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (1852-1902)6. The signature of author Charles Dickens. Books by Charles Dickens.

By Born In Portsmouth, England, On February, Author Charles Dickens Will Forever Be Linked To The Streets Of London, Where So Many Of His Books Took Place. But There'S A Lot To Learn About The Writing Process Behind Those Novels, The Man Himself, So Read On For Some Interesting Facts About One Of The Most Celebrated English Writers Of All Time.

Christmas Celebrations: A Time for Reflection

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She serves as a message to us all to reflect on her plight, and on why we kill trees to celebrate Christmas. Christmas celebrations should not include the sacrifice of trees, but rather the generosity of a truly Christian spirit through ahimsa: avoiding causing harm to any living being and helping those in need. DEAR DR. FOX: After reading your latest article you are obviously just another anti-Trump eliteist (sic). -- P.G., Manahawkin, New JerseyDEAR DR. FOX: In your recent column, you said some are complaining because you are too political. (Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

By Staff Writer

Claude Monet

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Claude Monet was friends with other Impressionists. Édouard Manet paints in his studio, surrounded by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and other 19th-century artists. 'Impression, Sunrise' by Claude Monet (1872) Claude Monet, Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainThe artists had given their group a not-so-catchy name: The Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. 'Grainstack (Sunset)' by Claude Monet (1891) Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty ImagesThe rich, wild garden wasn’t the only part of Giverny Monet felt compelled to immortalize on canvas. Claude Monet in 1923.

By Over The Course Of His Career, Claude Monet Painted Hundreds Of Magnificent, Dreamy Landscapes Of Everything England S Houses Of Parliament To The Water Lilies In His Own Garden In Giverny, France. He S Considered The Father Of Impressionism, Not Only For His Involvement With The Artistic Movement Of The Century, But Also Because It Was One Of His Own Works That Helped Coin The Term. Find Out More About The Prolific Painter Below.

Christopher Columbus

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It's said that Christopher Columbus stayed here while awaiting ship repairs in 1492. There's also the theory that Christopher Columbus was from Portugal. bdsklo/iStock via Getty Images PlusItalians have long claimed Christopher Columbus as one of their own, but not everyone is in agreement about the explorer’s birthplace. An illustration of Christopher Columbus at the court of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II. A Norse settlement discovered in Newfoundland, Canada, points to European journeys in North America that predate Christopher Columbus.

By Most People Who Went To Elementary School In The United States Know The Name Christopher Columbus. Born Cristoforo Colombo, He'S One Of History'S Most Famous Explorers, But His Accomplishments, Legacy Are Hotly Disputed Today. Christopher Columbus May Not Have Discovered America, But He Did Take Several Voyages To The Continent That Helped Ignite Europe S Age Of Exploration. And While He'S Celebrated For His Achievements In Some Circles, He'S Vilified In Others, Due To His Mistreatment Of Indigenous Populations, Even His Own Crew. Find Out More About The Complicated Life Of Christopher Columbus.

Clueyness: A Weird Kind of Sad — Wait But Why

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One weekend day, my grandfather went to the store and brought a new board game home for the family: Clue. It was the neighbor kids, who said they were on their way outside to play some outdoor game they all used to play. Without a second thought, my dad and aunt jumped up from their seats and left with their friends. The FedEx man probably forgot about what I did to him five minutes later. But knowing that it’s totally irrational doesn’t make clueyness any less excruciating—something I’m reminded of every time my night is ruined by post-Uber-ride-when-the-friendly-driver-tried-to-start-a-conversation-and-I-wasn’t-in-the-mood-so-I-gave-curt-answers-until-he-finally-got-the-hint-and-then-felt-embarrassed-and-stopped guilt.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Carl Sagan

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Carl Sagan posing with a model of the Viking lander in Death Valley, California. Carl Sagan wanted Contact to be an early video game. Carl Sagan was married to author and 'Cosmos' co-writer Ann Druyan from 1981 until his death in 1996. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray (seated), Louis Friedman (standing, left), and Harry Ashmore (standing, right) formed The Planetary Society in 1980. Famous Carl Sagan quotes.

By Not Many Astronomers Become Household Names, But Carl Sagan Was An Exception. Born In Brooklyn, New York, On November, Sagan The Author Of Books Like

Astro Advice Weekly For January 10, 2021

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Travel down the information highway on the 12th and 13th, and you'll gather enough knowledge to help bring about significant change. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Dig in on the 10th and 11th, and don't stop until you are satisfied with the results. Make adjustments on the 14th and 15th that encourage better relationships with those who share your space or live near. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be careful not to reveal secret information on the 10th and 11th while under emotional duress. Consider what's important to you on the 12th and 13th, and make arrangements to put your plans in motion.

By Staff Writer

Communication With College Friend Is a One-Way Street

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DEAR ABBY: A friend of mine from college (I graduated four years ago) is incredibly kind but terrible at keeping in touch. Her wedding reception was postponed because of COVID-19, but I watched the Zoom ceremony. I miss my friend, but I'm conflicted about whether I should RSVP "yes" to the postponed reception. -- HOLDING ONTO FRIENDSHIPDEAR HOLDING: You stated that your friend has never been good at responding. You can stop sending the "thinking of you" messages because they are not being appreciated in the manner you would like them to be.

By Staff Writer

Coming to America: The Life of Frederick Trump

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Regardless of your politics, I think we can all agree that Donald Trump is by no means a humble man, and he’d be the first to admit that the Trump Family comprises something of a rich and powerful dynasty. This has led to a persistent idea that the Trump family’s fortune was made primarily by selling alcohol and sex to the masses. This would become one of the first of many bizarrely fortunate business decisions made by Frederick in his adult years. Despite strong objections from Fred’s mother owing to the supposed lower social standing of the Christ family, Frederick ignored his mom’s wishes and eventually proposed to Elizabeth. This, again, is why it’s not quite accurate to say the Trump family fortune was made from gambling, hair cutting, and prostitution.

By Karl Smallwood

Common Misconceptions About the Roman Empire

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Between Russell Crowe’s 2000 movie Gladiator and William Shakespeare’s much older play Julius Caesar, we’ve gotten a pretty good overview of what went down in ancient Rome—or so we think. On this episode of Misconceptions, Mental Floss host Justin Dodd is heading back to the time of togas to find out if, for one, people actually wore togas. In the 1500 years or so since the Roman Empire ceased to exist, much of its rich history has gotten a little lost in translation. And what did Julius Caesar actually utter in his last moments? Press play below for all the answers, and subscribe to the Mental Floss YouTube channel for future episodes of Misconceptions and more.

By Staff Writer

Dante Alighieri

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Dante and the Divine Comedy in Duomo. Statue of Dante Alighieri on the Piazza della Signoria in Verona, Italy. Dante Alighieri is considered the father of the Italian language. Even today, there are still Dante Alighieri Societies found across the globe, with a mission to promote the Italian language and culture. As a result, Dante spent his remaining years as a wanderer, a lifestyle that afforded him the inspiration to write The Divine Comedy.

By Staff Writer

Dip Into This Bowl for a Winter Escape

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This is a perfect bowl for a winter day. Khao Poon is a traditional Lao soup with red curry and rice noodles, fragrant with lemongrass and coconut. It’s light, spicy and aromatic, finished with a shower of fresh herbs, bean sprouts and chiles to create a meal in a bowl. While the noodles are cooking, heat the oil in a soup pot. Divide the rice noodles between serving bowls.

By Staff Writer

"Dirty Bertie’s" Throne: the Sex Chair of Edward VI

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This is somewhat ironic, as for most of his life the namesake of the era, King Edward VII, embodied exactly none of these virtues. Born Albert Edward, Prince of Wales – but known to his family as ‘Bertie’ – Edward was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Edward commissioned famous Paris cabinetmaker Louis Soubrier to create what he called a “Siege d’Amour”, or “Love Chair”. In 1901 Queen Victoria finally died, and after 60 years of waiting Edward was at last able to ascend to the throne. Bed sharing was done as a matter of necessity.

By Gilles Messier

Did Cavemen Ever Really Exist?

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But did humans ever really live in caves en masse or is this just something that exists only in popular consciousness and not in reality? To begin with, when you think of cavemen, you probably picture thick browed simpletons clad in tattered furs, sitting around a fire in a cave. Both Neanderthals and modern humans built structures inside caves and at rock shelters to make the place more comfortable. They went from place to place to hunt and gather food and other supplies. So to sum up, yes, there really were so-called “cavemen”, but as we can see from the preceding examples, they did not all live in caves, or at least not all the time.

By Pierre-Louis Blanchard

Do Kids Really Learn Languages Faster Than Adults?

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But the truth is, while the notion that kids learn languages faster and more easily is an almost universally held belief, even among some linguists, it turns out adults actually learn languages faster and, in some sense, more easily than kids. So how did the idea that kids learn languages faster become so pervasive and how do we know it’s not true? When discussing whether kids learn a first language faster than adults, studies to date do strongly support this idea. Of course, when people talk about kids being able to learn languages faster than adults, nobody is discussing first languages- they are lamenting how difficult it is to learn a second language. It still takes them many years of practice to become fluent in this second language at anywhere close to an adult-like level.

By Daven Hiskey

Do Expert Fighters and Military Personnel Really Have to Register Their Hands as Deadly Weapons?

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As to the easiest part of this particular topic to address- are those highly trained in hand to hand combat required to register their hands as deadly weapons in the U.S.? But before we get into that, this might all have you wondering how the myth that expert fighters do have to register their hands as deadly weapons became established and so prevalent. For example, in the past, U.S. courts have found everything from knees to elbows to teeth to be deadly weapons in court cases. When Christie and his group approached and Christie yelled his question at McNeil, McNeil subsequently misinterpreted Christie and his friends with being with the other teens and punched Daniel in the face, as well as punched Daniel’s brother, Peter. You can also see from this why an expert fighter might be much more prone to getting into trouble while defending themselves.

By Daven Hiskey

Community Trivia | 50 facts about the sitcom

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In one episode, Abed (Danny Pudi) says he got offered and accepted a screen appearance on his favorite show, Cougar Town (2009). Abed (Danny Pudi) was based on a real person, also named Abed: Abed Gheith. Ray Liotta was Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna’s first choice for the character of Buzz Hickey in the fifth season. After a low-rated fourth season, Harmon was rehired, and Guarascio and Port were fired. When the Dean is listing off the prom queen contestents, one of the names he says is “Danielle Harmon”, this is a reference to Dan Harmon, the show’s creator.

By Staff Writer

Edgar Allan Poe was Once Court-Martialed And Convicted

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His foster father gave him a $100 (about $2,000 today) to cover living expenses for the year. Well, it’s likely Poe didn’t have the latter two, but with other college expenses and his gambling habit, he nevertheless quickly fell into debt. Likely Poe didn’t care where he was, as long as he continued to get his $5 per month (about $100 today) from the military. Just as he had in the army, Poe proved a diligent pupil, great with math and languages and well-suited to Academy life. With no response from John, Poe set out to make good on his threat.

By Emily Upton

Doing a TED Talk: The Full Story — Wait But Why

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And that was all fine until August of 2015, when I was invited to do a TED Talk. And a few years later, almost everyone knew what a TED Talk was. This can be a little confusing, so here’s the deal: There’s still one annual TED conference, a week-long event in Vancouver, and it’s run by the TED staff. It turns out that even rad people are terrified to do a TED Talk. The irony of a guy rehearsing his TED Talk about how he’s a bad procrastinator, and being clearly underprepared while doing so, was not lost on anyone.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Emily Dickinson

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Kryssia Campos/iStock via Getty ImagesSince Emily Dickinson didn’t title her poems, her editors took the liberty of giving some of them titles before publication. Speaking of unconventional, Amherst College owns a lock of Emily Dickinson's hair, which she originally saved for her friend, Emily Fowler. The house where Emily Dickinson was born is now part of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Not only does the college house the largest collection of Emily Dickinson’s work, it also owns the Emily Dickinson Museum, which includes the Homestead—Dickinson’s birthplace and home—and the neighboring property the Evergreens, where her brother’s family lived. Famous Emily Dickinson Poems“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (1863)“‘Hope’ Is the Thing With Feathers” (1861)“I’m Nobody!

By Though Almost All Of Emily Dickinson S Famous Poems, The Morbid, Because I Could Not Stop For Death, To The Uplifting, Hope, Is The Thing With Feathers, Were Published After Her Death, She S Now Considered One Of The Greatest American Poets Of The Century. Read On For Facts, Quotes, More Emily Dickinson S Life

Elon Musk: The World's Raddest Man — Wait But Why

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Elon Musk, for those unfamiliar, is the world’s raddest man. So I’m sure this first post, whose title is “Elon Musk: The World’s Raddest Man,” will annoy him. But this was Elon Musk, and Elon Musk fixes shit for humanity. Further info came from the sources below:Documentary: Revenge of the Electric CarTED Talks: Elon Musk: The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCityKhan Academy: Interview With Elon MuskQuora: What is it like to work with Elon Musk? SXSW: Interview with Elon MuskConsumer Reports: Tesla Model S: The Electric Car that Shatters Every MythWired: How the Tesla Model S is MadeInterview: Elon Musk says he’s a bigger fan of Edison than TeslaInterview: Elon Musk gets introspectiveBusiness Insider: Former SpaceX Exec Explains How Elon Musk Taught Himself Rocket ScienceEsquire: Elon Musk: The Triumph of His WillOxford Martin School: Elon Musk on The Future of Energy and TransportMIT Interview: Elon Musk compares AI efforts to “Summoning the Demon”Documentary: Billionaire Elon Musk : How I Became The Real ‘Iron Man’Reddit: Elon Musk AMAChris Anderson: Chris Anderson on Elon Musk, the World’s Most Remarkable EntrepreneurEngineering.com: Who’s Better?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Employee Feels Obligated To Date Boss

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DEAR HARRIETTE: I began seeing my boss romantically outside of work. -- Can’t Be DumpedDEAR CAN’T BE DUMPED: What an awkward situation at a stressful time. The reality, though, is that your boss may be in more of a precarious position than you, depending on the size and infrastructure of your company. You willingly got involved with your boss, but you no longer want to be romantically tied to him. Get a lawyer who can speak for you to your boss’s boss.

By Staff Writer

Environmentally Smart Gardening

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Smart gardening practices can help reduce its impact without compromising the pleasures of a beautiful garden. Climate-smart gardening practices aren't radical recommendations, but sensible suggestions. Take every element of a garden's design into account. Thinking ecologically about garden design naturally leads to responsible decisions about the choice of appropriate plants that thrive in your region -- without pampering and with minimal supplemental water. -- The National Wildlife Federation's online field guides, apps and guidelines for environmentally smart gardening practices (all at nwf.org), are excellent and encouraging resources for backyard gardeners.

By Staff Writer

Eight days. Eight hundred donors. One huge thank you.

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One huge thank you. Our supporters just helped us raise £55,014 in the Big Give Christmas Challenge–that’s £2,000 over our intended target. Our own research showed that trust in politicians was dismally low following an election that saw voters manipulated on all sides. The generosity of our 2,000 monthly supporters, and thousands more one-off gifts, were a lifeline for fact checking coronavirus claims throughout the year. – Susan, Full Fact ReaderThe Christmas Challenge is now over, but we still need your help to fight bad information in the new year.

By Staff Writer

F.A.Q.

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On your site, yes, so long as you make it very clear that it came from TodayIFoundOut.com and give link credit back to the original article and a link back to TodayIFoundOut’s homepage. In this latter case, email me here and we can work something out. For email subscriptions and comments where it requires me to leave my email address, what is your Privacy Policy? For email subscriptions, your email is just used for sending you the emails you requested to be subscribed to. Today I Found Out gets several hundred spam comments a day, so we have an automatic spam filter in place.

By Staff Writer

Fact checkers need to work together to create better models for distributing our fact checks online

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Fact checkers need to work together to create better models for distributing our fact checks online5 October 2020 | Phoebe ArnoldThis post is published on the websites of the International Fact-Checking Network (in English, Portuguese and Spanish), Maldita.es (in Spanish) and Full Fact (in English). Artificial intelligence helps internet companies spot potential misinformation and connect it to fact checks, while mass distribution technology helps put fact checks in front of people who may never have heard of us before. Based on our workshop discussions at Global Fact, fact checkers would benefit from having private discussions about the design of new programmes. Fact checkers need to take time to have these conversations collectively, so that we can have better relationships with internet companies and others in the future. Fact checkers hold up standards of integrity and truth in societies, at a time when we cannot take this for granted in any country around the world.

By Staff Writer

Did Any Medieval Knight Ever Actually Rescue a Damsel in Distress?

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But in recorded history, has there ever been a well documented case of a knight actually rescuing a damsel in distress? On that note, looking at various instances of kidnapped women, we figured surely at least one kidnapped woman of noble birth in history had some officially knighted individual dash off to save her, right? You might think her knight of a husband would come to her rescue, but unfortunately for her, and us looking for a case of a knight rescuing a damsel in distress, Sir Thomas was dead at the time, Margery just didn’t know it at first. However, sadly for our quest to find a well documented case of a knight rescuing a woman, Thomas was not a knight. From this, perhaps it’s not surprising there don’t seem to be well documented cases of knights actually rescuing women.

By Daven Hiskey

Flawed comparisons between test and trace systems go viral

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Flawed comparisons between test and trace systems go viral8 January 2021What was claimed England’s test and trace system cost £22 billion. What was claimed Wales’s test and trace system cost £102 million. What was claimed Ireland’s test and trace system cost £775,000. WalesThe post then says that “Welsh Test and Trace cost £102 million.”This figure doesn’t provide the full picture. The Welsh government did allocate £102 million to the Welsh Test Trace and Protect programme across its first and second supplementary budgets, but this isn’t its total cost.

By Staff Writer

Fringe Trivia | 50 facts about the science fiction series

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Fringe was a popular, science fiction TV series that aired for several years. Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. The team uses fringe science and FBI investigative techniques to investigate a series of unexplained, often ghastly occurrences, which are related to mysteries surrounding a parallel universe. When the adult Peter first arrives in the alternate universe, slightly altered DC comic book covers can be seen mounted on a wall. Red is the color code for this show’s alternate universe.

By Staff Writer

Forgotten Heroes: The Hobby Scientist Who Discovered Global Warming and Its Cause

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Thus, contrary to the notion of a stable historic global climate, at some point, things must have been very different from documented history. To accomplish both of these things, Callendar was tasked with developing the trench burners, among other elements. In any event, going back to Keeling’s research, after he published his data, climate scientists and a handful of world leaders finally started paying attention. At the cost of only in the billions for such a program, this is far less than is already being spent to counter the current effects of climate change on coastal cities. And in the last decade particularly, we’ve finally started admitting en masse that we have a cheeseburger, and climate change, problem, which is always the first step to finding a solution.

By Daven Hiskey

Figuratively Speaking For January 15, 2021

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Percentage of Americans who say they overspent during the holidays, according to WalletHub's Post-Holiday Shopping Survey: 39Percentage who said the 2020 holiday season was worth going into debt for -- a 46% increase over the prior year: 26Net projected decrease in credit card debt when the final data for 2020 comes in: $89 billionSource: WalletHub. Number of times more likely that today's children are to aspire to be a YouTuber than an astronaut, according to a Harris Poll/LEGO survey conducted in the U.S., U.K. and China: 3Source: The LEGO Group. Value of the global online food delivery market, according to research by Comprar Acciones: $136.43 billionProjected percentage growth in 2021 (to $151.3 billion): 11As of October 2020, ranks of Door Dash, Uber Eats and Grubhub on the list of food delivery companies with the highest percentages of market share: 1, 2, 3Source: Comprar Acciones. Idle Thought"Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles." -- George Jean Nathan, author and editor (1882-1958)(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)

By Staff Writer

Everything You Should Know About Sound

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When you think of sound waves, you probably think of something like this:1But that’s not how sound waves work. A sound wave is more like an earthworm situation:2Like an earthworm, sound moves by compressing and decompressing. Since the low pressure can’t go any lower, that point determines the max amplitude of a sound wave, and the loudest a sound can be, in any given place. The concept of sound is by definition a biological being’s perception of the pressure wave—and if there are no ears around to perceive the pressure wave, there’s no sound. Decibelcar.com: Decibel Equivalent TableMake it Louder: Ultimate Sound Pressure Level Decibel TableNASA: Sound Suppression Test Unleashes a FloodIdiom Zero: How Loud is the Sun?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Full Fact publishes new report on Facebook’s Third-Party Fact-Checking programme

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Full Fact publishes new report on Facebook’s Third-Party Fact-Checking programme17 December 2020 | Team Full FactToday we publish our second report on our experience of the Third-Party Fact-Checking programme run by Facebook. We attempt in these reports to create further transparency around the Third-Party Fact-Checking programme, so that people can reach informed judgements and others can learn from it. On balance it is our view that the other internet companies should emulate the Third-Party Fact-Checking programme. But a partnership such as the Third-Party Fact-Checking programme can only be one part of an effective response to misinformation and disinformation. Full Fact joined the programme in January 2019 as the first UK fact checker.

By Staff Writer

From 1,000,000 to Graham's Number — Wait But Why

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Before we dive in, why is Graham’s number even a number people talk about? That’s why Graham’s number is a thing—it’s not just an arbitrarily huge number, it’s actually relevant in the world of math. On Level 6, aka hexation or iterated pentation, we’re dealing with a string of power tower feeding frenzies—what we’ll call a “power tower feeding frenzy psycho festival.” Here’s the basic idea:A power tower feeding frenzy happens. The final number the frenzy produces becomes the number of towers in the next feeding frenzy. Since there are four arrows, it looks like we have a power tower feeding frenzy psycho festival on our hands.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Full Fact, Africa Check and Chequeado explore conspiracy theories and communicating uncertainty

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Full Fact, Africa Check and Chequeado explore conspiracy theories and communicating uncertainty15 October 2020 | Full Fact TeamThe work of professional fact checkers is a constant pursuit of evidence. In two new research briefings, Africa Check, Chequeado and Full Fact have teamed together to explore two major issues for fact checkers around the world - conspiracy theories, and communicating uncertainty. Conspiracy theories: who, how, what next? Conspiracy theories can cause serious harm when beliefs turn into behaviours, such as when vaccine hesitancy results in lower immunisation rates, or false claims about the 5G network leads to arson. Download the full briefing - communicating uncertainty

By Staff Writer

Game of Thrones’ Dire Wolves Existed, But May Not Have Been Wolves

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Though most people may know dire wolves from their many scene-stealing appearances in Game of Thrones, they didn’t spring straight from the mind of George R.R. The remains dated from 50,000 years ago to about 13,000 years ago (around the time dire wolves died out). After comparing the dire wolf sequences to ones from gray wolves and several other canids, the researchers discovered that dire wolves and gray wolves diverged genetically from their common ancestor about 5.7 million years ago. James St. John, Flickr // CC BY 2.0Based on these findings, it’s possible that dire wolves spent millions of years evolving in the Americas—far separated from the gray wolves back in Eurasia. In that case, it could’ve been the eventual migration of other species—even humans—that steered dire wolves toward extinction.

By Staff Writer

George Orwell Trivia | 40 facts about the famous writer

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George Orwell was an English writer, that amongst his two most popular books were the “1984” and “The animal farm”, which are considered classics. In 2008, The Times ranked George Orwell second among “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945”. Eric Blair (aka George Orwell) spent five years at the St. Cyprian School for boys in Eastbourne, England. Actually, he chose to publish the book under a pseudonym, George Orwell, for the first time and -guess what- the name stuck. While working as a police officer in Burma, George Orwell got his knuckles tattooed.

By Staff Writer

George Washington

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This portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale depicts what Washington would have looked like in his Virginia regiment uniform during the French and Indian War. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington served as Commander-in-Chief. This statue of George Washington stands in front of Federal Hall in New York City. AndreaAstes/iStock via Getty ImagesBefore he became president, George Washington served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. An engraving of Martha Washington, who married George Washington in 1759.

By George Washington Served As The First President Of The United States Age In To Age In, But Before That, He Was Known For His Military Leadership During The French, Indian War, The Revolutionary War. Other Aspects Of This Founding Father Are Less Well-Known Such As What His Teeth Were Really Made Of, How His Home Of Mount Vernon Was Saved An Unlikely Group Of Women. Here Are The Facts You Should Know About George Washington.

Genghis Khan

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A bronze statue of Genghis Khan located in central London. Once he achieved infamy, he became known as Genghis Khan, or “universal ruler.”3. Legend says Genghis Khan and his armies killed more than 40 million people. An illustration of Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, being presented a letter by Pope Gregory X by Marco Polo and his brothers. Genghis Khan probably would have hated the Genghis Khan statue.

By Staff Writer

Get Rid of Rabies

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Rabies and other infectious diseases are a leading cause of mortality in African wild dogs, another rare species whose numbers are declining. Approximately 59,000 people die annually from rabies, and the World Health Organization has a goal to eliminate human rabies deaths by 2030. But rabies vaccination programs for wild dogs require local, political and economic support. What do rabies vaccinations for animals -- wild and domestic -- in other countries have to do with you and your pets? Vaccinating animals against rabies, anywhere in the world, helps to reduce the risk and incidence of rabies.

By Staff Writer

Grand Canyon Trivia | 30 facts about the popular sight

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The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540. The Tibetan canyon is also about 30 miles longer than the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon Pink Rattlesnake is only found in the Grand Canyon, and is one of six rattlesnake species that live within park boundaries.

By Staff Writer

Grandma's Make-over Confuses Granddaughter

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DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My grandmother just turned 63. I not only don’t get it, but I think she’s getting weird or something. She said that she thought there might be a new man in Grandma’s life, and that she was waiting to hear about him from Grandma. --- GRANDMA’S ONLY SANE FAMILY MEMBERDEAR GRANDMA’S ONLY SANE FAMILY MEMBER: I’m strongly with your mom on this. It’s entirely possible that what you think of as a radical makeover is simply a redo of a look she felt worked for her in her younger days.

By Staff Writer

Has Anyone Ever Actually Created a Suitcase Nuke?

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The portable nuclear weapon or “suitcase nuke” has long been a staple of popular fiction, appearing in dozens of movies, TV shows, and video games including The Peacemaker, 24, and Battlefield 3. But is it actually possible to make a nuclear weapon small enough to fit in a suitcase, and if so, has anyone actually built one? This made it difficult for SADM teams to move quickly or stealthily and significantly increased the risk of injury. By the late 1970s the concept of a limited, winnable nuclear war had become antiquated, with both NATO and the Warsaw Pact realizing that any conventional conflict was likely to escalate into a full-blown global nuclear war. Nonetheless, the SADM teams remained alert and ready to jump into action until 1989, when the W54 was finally declared obsolete and all stockpiled warheads were recalled and decommissioned.

By Gilles Messier

Happy New Year

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News of the Weird extends greetings for a happy and blissfully less weird 2021. "I asked what the heck he was doing," Smith told Metro News, "and he just remained pooing whilst asking me what my problem was -- the cheek of it." "I've had four people come out and tell me that they can't take it anymore," O'Donnell told Miller. Dwaine White, who lives across the street, told The Washington Post that the mower isn't even capable of cutting grass. [The Washington Post, 12/27/2019]CreepySrinivas Gupta, a businessman in Koppal, India, and his wife, Madhavi, were building their dream home when she died in a tragic car crash in 2017.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Bonus Episode: Theodore Roosevelt and the Round-Robin Letter Incident

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Theodore Roosevelt has been in the news lately—not the president, but the ship named for him. But the current news does give me the opportunity to discuss an interesting historical precedent for this situation—one that involved Theodore Roosevelt himself. I’m your host, Erin McCarthy, and in this bonus episode of History Vs., we’re going to look at the round-robin letter incident of the Spanish-American War. To the public, it looked as though Roosevelt’s letter and the round-robin had forced the McKinley administration to act, which wasn’t the case. If you want to find out more about this episode, and Theodore Roosevelt, visit MentalFloss.com/historyvs.

By Staff Writer

Full Fact launches a WhatsApp fact checking service in the UK

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Full Fact launches a WhatsApp fact checking service in the UK29 September 2020 | Full Fact teamSince the coronavirus pandemic began we’ve seen more and more harmful content coming to us via WhatsApp. It spread like wildfire across WhatsApp, but the Ambulance Trust and Public Health England later said that the information in the voice recording is not correct and urged people not to share it. That’s why we’re partnering with WhatsApp to create a Full Fact WhatsApp service. The next time you see something being shared on Whatsapp that you’re not sure of, you can forward it on directly to us, and we’ll fact check it for you. We’re testing this service as a pilot for the next 3 months, so hop onto WhatsApp and give it a try.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast Bonus Episode: Theodore Roosevelt and the Perdicaris Affair

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What happens next will soon become an international incident that garners the intervention of none other than President Theodore Roosevelt. From Mental Floss and iHeartRadio, this is History Vs., a podcast about how your favorite historical figures faced off against their greatest foes. The cable was received by Assistant Secretary of State Francis B. Loomis, who informed President Roosevelt. Days after the kidnapping, Raisuli contacted Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco with his demands to let Perdicaris and Varley free. Roosevelt agreed—despite these new findings, Roosevelt knew this was an issue of both pride and politics at this point.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: The Case of the Missing Colt .38

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McCarthy: So when something like this goes missing on national park land, what's the next step? Rossen: When a crime takes place in a national park or on a national park site, it's technically federal land. But this time was a little bit different in the sense that the museum really had no practical security features. The FBI eventually realized that no employee was at fault. Eventually, it took its place back in a case in the museum, one that was now much more secure.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: Fact Checking Theodore Roosevelt

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It'll be like, you spent five minutes with him 10 years ago, you're suddenly writing a book, the time I spent with Theodore Roosevelt. And then the other thing that makes this harder, that we've talked about, is the changing views of Theodore Roosevelt. But the whole triptych is Taft riding an elephant, Theodore Roosevelt riding a moose, and Woodrow Wilson riding a donkey. I think that says a lot not about Theodore Roosevelt, but about how our view of Theodore Roosevelt is shaped. McCarthy: OK, so the rumor goes that Theodore Roosevelt had a tattoo on his chest of the Roosevelt Family crest.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: Epilogue - The Other Roosevelts

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Mental Floss has a new podcast with iHeartRadio called History Vs., about how your favorite historical figures faced off against their greatest foes. She worked with the Roosevelt Memorial Association, penned many heartfelt poems about him, and published a memoir titled My Brother Theodore Roosevelt in 1921. (According to the Theodore Roosevelt Center, this was partly to clarify that Roosevelt wasn’t her son, as some Americans had assumed.) He survived, but a month after the battle, while still in France, Ted died of a heart attack. In 1955, at the request of the Roosevelt family, his brother Quentin’s remains were relocated to rest there, too.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: Theodore Roosevelt vs. Bigfoot

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Erin McCarthy: Hello and welcome to a very special bonus episode of History Vs., a podcast from Mental Floss and iHeartRadio about how your favorite historical figures faced off against their greatest foes. According to a Montana Historical Society journal, this Carl L. Bauman was born in Germany in 1831. Bauman told TR how, as a young man, he and a friend went into the Montana forest to hunt beaver. McCarthy: What’s the differences between what’s in this account and what’s in the account of indigenous peoples’ encounters with the sasquatch? McCarthy: They were like “we don’t see you, and based on that noise, we don’t want to see you.”Long: Yeah.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: Theodore Roosevelt vs. Harry Houdini

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Spring of 1914 was an especially busy time for both TR and Houdini, though neither was ever really not busy. “Go ahead, Houdini,” Roosevelt goaded. A less committed magician might have thought that any old spirits would do, but Houdini wasn’t the best in the business for nothing. In an almost unbelievable stroke of luck, Roosevelt had written the very question Houdini had hoped for. Considering his close companionship with Houdini, TR might have attended the event.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: History Vs. Theodore Roosevelt

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Our first season is all about President Theodore Roosevelt. This episode is History Vs. Theodore Roosevelt. Alice lives on until the 1980s but by that stage, Theodore Roosevelt had kind of become a bipartisan figure. In his view, it was destiny for the white race to take over the continent, and it wasn’t surprising that the superior white race had conquered the savage Indian race. He's got this ideological connection to Theodore Roosevelt and if Theodore Roosevelt hadn't been president, I can't imagine how FDR would have developed his own ideology.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: Theodore Roosevelt Vs. Christmas Trees

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“I want you to glance into this old closet.”He presses a button and opens the closet door to reveal … a Christmas tree. Well, the Roosevelts didn’t typically have a Christmas tree, because—according to legend, anyway—Theodore Roosevelt, avid conservationist, had banned them. The same held true for the Executive Mansion: Christmas trees wouldn’t become an integral part of the holiday celebration there until the 1920s. Theodore Roosevelt’s ban on Christmas trees even made it onto an episode of Drunk History. Christmas tree farming practices are sustainable, and the trees do a lot for the environment before they’re cut down.

By Staff Writer

History Vs. Podcast: Theodore Roosevelt Vs. Death

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Our first season is all about President Theodore Roosevelt. I’m your host, Erin McCarthy, and in this round, we’re pitting Theodore Roosevelt against the greatest opponent of all: Death. That’s Alyssa Parker-Geisman, lead ranger at Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City. That’s Eileen Andes, the Chief of Interpretation and Public Affairs at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. Still, Theodore Roosevelt was Theodore Roosevelt.

By Staff Writer

Horizontal History — Wait But Why

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Without a foundational, tree-trunk understanding of all parts of history, we often forget the things we do learn, leaving even our favorite parts of history a bit hazy in our heads. That’s why not only can’t even the most perfect history buff fully understand history, but the key people involved at the time can’t ever know the full story. History is a giant collective tangle of thousands of interwoven stories involving millions of characters, countless chapters, and many, many narrators. So there’s some horizontal history for you. ___________If you’re into Wait But Why, sign up for the Wait But Why email list and we’ll send you the new posts right when they come out.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

How Cap'n Crunch Gave the World the iPhone and the Surprisingly Heated Debate Over Whether He's Really a Captain

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Sarah Flaherty explained that “our personnel records do not show a ‘Cap’n Crunch’ who currently serves or has served in the Navy.” More ominously, Lt. Cmdr. At most, Cap’n Crunch might be tried under 18 U.S. Code § 912, which would see him serving at least three years in prison. Team Crunch was forever at odds with the villainous Jean LaFoote who was forever trying to steal the Guppy’s store of Cap’n Crunch. One such prize was offered by Cap’n Crunch in the 1960s: a seemingly innocuous whistle. He wasn’t an engineer and he didn’t do any original design…” Another friend of Jobs’, Daniel Kottke, said, “Between Woz and Jobs, Woz was the innovator, the inventor.

By Jared Miracle

How (and Why) SpaceX Will Colonize Mars — Wait But Why

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___________ContentsPart 1: The Story of Humans and SpacePart 2: Musk’s MissionPart 3: How to Colonize Mars→ Phase 1: Figure out how to put things into space→ Phase 2: Revolutionize the cost of space travel→ Phase 3: Colonize MarsA SpaceX Future2365 AD, GanymedeOne more day until departure. Many more people on the moon, a permanent moon base, people on Mars, and beyond. A small percentage of other satellites are in medium Earth orbit (MEO), which is everything in between LEO and GEO. Earth space agencies track about 17,000 objects in space, only 7% of which are active satellites. That’s why each and every manned mission of the past four decades has kept within the thin blanket of space surrounding the Earth—Low Earth Orbit.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

How Do Arab Nations Teach the Crusades?

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In the first, represented by Amin Maamlouf’s 1983 book “The Crusades Through Arab Eyes”, the events are viewed as a general clash of Western and Eastern culture. The second is represented by an Al-Jazeera documentary series of 2016, “The Crusades: An Arab Perspective”, where the theme of Christianity versus Islam is particularly highlighted. The school textbooks in Arab countries are generally regulated by a government institution, such as the Ministry of Education of each country. This brings us to the timeline of the Crusades which focuses on the main themes as taught by history books in Arab countries. Moving on to modern times, as can be seen by now, in Arab countries, the Crusades are hardly perceived as a remote event of little consequence.

By Nasser Ayash

How Do They Teach the American Revolution in Great Britain?

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The American Revolution is one of the historical events that together with things like the French Revolution, among other things, helped usher in the modern era. But what do schools in Britain have to say about the American Revolution? Scotland and England were joined together in 1707, along with the previously joined Wales, to officially form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Ireland decided to join up in 1801, at which point the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. So in summary:Great Britain = England, Scotland, and WalesUK = England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (and the full name is the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”)England = Just the part of the island that is EnglandExpand for References

By Nasser Ayash

How Earth Got Its Name

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The modern English word and name for our planet ‘Earth’, is said to go back at least 1,000 years. Bonus Facts:Translations of the Bible into English was one of the earliest recorded use of the name Earth – ” God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. The first doesn’t actually orbit the Earth, but has a synchronized orbit with our planet, that makes it look like it’s following the Earth in orbit, but it’s actually following its own, distinct path around the Sun. The first doesn’t actually orbit the Earth, but has a synchronized orbit with our planet, that makes it look like it’s following the Earth in orbit, but it’s actually following its own, distinct path around the Sun. It is believed that, in another million years time, a day on Earth will be 27 hours long.

By Staff Writer

How Most People Got Schrödinger’s Cat Thought Experiment Wrong

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Given that his career has been so extensively dedicated to quantum mechanics, you might wonder; how could he be skeptical of quantum mechanics’ description of nature? You see, the problem the physicist had with quantum mechanics was that no one knew where its probabilistic effects ended. The easiest misconception to make about the thought experiment is that Schrödinger was serious about this experiment, and that “it could be done”. This normally branches into linking consciousness and quantum mechanics in a very holistic way to give mystic-like philosophies some kind of credibility. But knowing that he established very well known formulas and that everyone knew that quantum mechanics works, this is not the case at all.

By Gerardo Amador

How Much Caffeine Would It Take To Kill You?

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So how much caffeine would it take to kill you? Thus, as you might expect, we couldn’t find any studies that show what amount of caffeine would definitively kill your average human. Although that might not sound like that much, in terms of raw amount of caffeine, it should be noted that that’s the amount of caffeine in about 1,200 cups of coffee! So this all might have you wondering how caffeine actually manages to kill? In toxic doses, caffeine can cause extremely low blood pressures, seizures, cardiac rhythm problems, and lactic acidosis.

By Staff Writer

How Much Would it Cost to Fill a Swimming Pool With Booze? Has Anyone Ever Actually Done This?

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The same can be said concerning the headlines you may have seen about the Starkenberger beer pools. So how much would it cost to fill an actual proper sized swimming pool entirely with a genuine undiluted alcoholic beverage rather than half-assing like mere plebians? Depending on how much you like to spend on wine, the cost of filling the pool would vary dramatically. Once again plopping this into our little swimming pool equation, you’d need 1,666,666 bottles to fill the pool almost to the top, then most of another bottle to fill it to the brim. But to sum up, any stories you have heard about the uber rich having debauched parties with alcohol filled swimming pools are most assuredly myths or wild exaggerations.

By Karl Smallwood

History Vs. Podcast Episode: The Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt

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The memorial was designed by architect John Russell Pope and included the museum’s Central Park West entrance, its Theodore Roosevelt rotunda, and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. In 1925, the Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt was commissioned to become a part of that larger memorial. Michael Cullinane, the historian and author of Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost who I interviewed for this podcast, wrote in a recent op-ed for The Washington Post that “Theodore Roosevelt never wanted a statue. If the Theodore Roosevelt Facebook group I’m in is any indication, opinions about the statue’s removal are heated. To learn more about this episode, and Theodore Roosevelt, check out our website atmentalfloss.com/historyvs.

By Staff Writer

How 14 Car Companies Got Their Names

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Until the early 1980s, the Datsun badge appeared on the cars Nissan exported out of Japan. ToyotaToyota didn't start out as a car company. He teamed with Swiss race car driver and mechanic Louis Chevrolet [https://www.geneseehistory.org/louis-chevrolet.html] to start a new motor company in 1911. CadillacA New Yorker named Henry Leland founded the Cadillac Car Company in 1902. The company’s name, which translates to “The People’s Car Company,” was a reflection of the then-government’s push for German nationalism.

By Staff Writer

How Teddy Roosevelt Became a G.I. Joe Action Figure

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Hasbro's special-edition Theodore Roosevelt G.I. Joe figure from 1999 doesn't have kung-fu grip or an arsenal of tank-busting accessories to go into battle with. Joe action figure. Hasbro's Theodore Roosevelt G.I. Joe figure was based on his Rough Rider uniform worn during the Spanish-American War.

By Staff Writer

How the Nazis Managed to Capture the World's Strongest Fortress in Under 20 Minutes

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To understand the importance of Fortress Eben Emael, we must first go back to the start of the First World War. And the centrepiece of these modernization efforts was Fortress Eben Emael. If Eben Emael couldn’t be taken from the ground, Hitler thought, then how about from the air? Only minutes later, the 9 remaining gliders of Group Granite descended upon the grassy roof of Fort Eben Emael. Then, at noon on the 11th of May 1940, only 30 hours after the assault had begun, the garrison of Fortress Eben Emael finally surrendered.

By Gilles Messier

How to Pick Your Life Partner

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If you live a long life, that’s about the number of years you’re going to spend with your current or future life partner, give or take a few. For a woman who wants to have biological children with her husband, she has one very real limitation in play, which is the need to pick the right life partner by forty, give or take. Still, if it were me, I’d rather adopt children with the right life partner than have biological children with the wrong one. Fear-Driven FridaFear is one of the worst possible decision-makers when it comes to picking the right life partner. Shallow SharonShallow Sharon is more concerned with the on-paper description of her life partner than the inner personality beneath it.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

How to Pitch a Story to Mental Floss

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So, you’d like to write for Mental Floss? In order to craft the best pitch possible, please take a few minutes to review the information and pointers below. If your pitch is not within the scope of subject areas that particular editor covers, it will be forwarded on to the correct person. Keep your pitch short—one or two paragraphs max—and if you have a particular expertise on this subject, tell us that. Due to the number of pitches we receive each day, we are unfortunately not able to respond to every pitch we receive.

By Staff Writer

If Children Grew up Isolated from Adults, Would they Create Their Own Language?

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The goal was to determine whether the Egyptians or the Phrygians were the “eldest of all men” by observing whether these isolated children grew to speak the Egyptian or Phrygian language. Similar language difficulties have been observed in other children isolated from human contact for extended periods of time. Lack of early exposure to language makes it more difficult for children in this situation to later learn any language, spoken or signed. In some situations, children may grow up in an environment where a pidgin is the main language spoken around them. In many ways, this system resembled a pidgin, the kind of emergency, makeshift language that lets speakers who don’t share a common language communicate.

By Ann Burchfield

Is It Too Late To Save My Marriage?

Posted in Funny

I keep having flashbacks of all the s--tty things he’s done to me. He’s finally doing the things I’ve asked him to do for years and I still want to leave. What kind of person doesn’t leave after someone slams cabinets but leaves after that same person starts to love and appreciate them? That’s real, that’s legitimate, and that’s something that needs to be addressed. In fact, that could very well make things worse — even as your husband tries to make things better.

By Staff Writer

Is It True Women Retain the DNA of Every Man They've Ever Slept With in Their Bodies?

Posted in Interesting

So how do these cells get there and where did the rumor that women retain the DNA of every man they ever slept with start? The results were the first group who only had daughters had an 8% rate of male microchimerism. Because these cell lines from the fetus can survive for decades after the pregnancy, subsequent pregnancies a given woman has can then see some of these cell lines find their way into the new little. Demonstrating this cellular exchange, directly after pregnancy, approximately two thirds of women will carry fetal immune cell lines, for example. On the flipside, about 1/3 of the time the baby will have maternal immune cell lines after they are born.

By Daven Hiskey

It’s 2020 and you’re in the future

Posted in Funny

So here are some New Years 2020 time facts:When World War 2 started, the Civil War felt as far away to Americans as WW2 feels to us now. Speaking of World War 2, the world wars were pretty close together. If World War 2 were starting today, World War 1 would feel about as far back to us as 9/11. As for you, if you’re 60 or older, you were born closer to the 1800s than today. Worth mentioning that my 94-year-old grandmother was born closer to the Andrew Jackson administration than to today.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

J.R.R. Tolkien

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During his service in World War I, J.R.R. Before heading into the war, Tolkien married Edith Bratt, whom he had known since he was 16. But he also found his muse in his wife, Edith Tolkien. Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien, carried on his father’s legacy. Jason Scott, Flickr // CC BY 2.0Born in 1924, Christopher Tolkien was said to have assisted in his father’s work at a very early age.

By Staff Writer

Jimmy Carter

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Jimmy Carter has authored more than 30 books during his lifetime. Jimmy Carter was the son of a peanut farmer. Jimmy Carter was president of the United States from 1977-1981. The family business endured even as Jimmy Carter rose through the political ranks, with Carter Farms owning between 2000 and 3000 acres of land when he won the presidential election in 1976. Since leaving office, Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter have earned global acclaim for their dedication to humanitarian causes.

By Staff Writer

John Adams

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A portrait of Abigail Adams, who married John Adams on October 25, 1764. One of John Adams’s children, John Quincy Adams, became president. The inauguration of John Quincy Adams as President of the United States took place on March 4, 1825. traveler1116/iStock via Getty ImagesJohn Adams and Abigail Adams had six children together, four of whom lived to adulthood. In total, the Adams children included:Abigail Amelia Adams (1765-1813)John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)Grace Susanna “Suky” Adams (1768 -1770)Charles Adams (1770-1800)Thomas Boylston Adams (1772–1832)Elizabeth Adams (1777)John Quincy Adams was the most successful of the clan, becoming president in 1825, 24 years after his father left office. Today, it's part of John Adams National Historical Park, a site where tourists can learn about the Adams family and experience their lives in the 18th and 19th centuries.

By In Addition To Being The United States S Second President After George Washington, John Adams Was A Prominent Lawyer, Political Author. He S Also Remembered For The People He Surrounded Himself With, Including His Wife, Abigail Adams, His Son, Sixth President, John Quincy Adams, His Infamous Rivalry With Thomas Jefferson. Find Out More About One Of America'S Most Important Founding Fathers.

Joan of Arc

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Joan of Arc was only 19 at the time of her execution, and it’s estimated that 10,000 people gathered to watch. Joan of Arc was known to pray at the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix in Orléans, France, which now features a statue of her. Titled The Passion of Joan of Arc, this 1928 silent film is the product of director Carl Theodor Dreyer and star Renée Jeanne Falconetti, who played Joan of Arc. Jules Bastien-Lepage's Joan of Arc Painting Has Been in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art Since 1889. Joan of Arc again became a symbol of French unity following the Franco-Prussian War and inspired this painting by artist Jules Bastien-Lepage.

By Today, Joan Of Arc, Or Jeanne D'Arc, Is Most Often Referred To As A Heroine, Early Symbol Of Female Empowerment. But During Her Brief Life, She Was Deemed A Heretic, Burned At The Stake For It In Rouen, France On May, When She Was Just Years Old. Read On To Learn More Facts About Joan S Early Life, Premature Death

Julius Caesar

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An engraving of Julius Caesar from 1860 GeorgiosArt/ iStock via Getty Images PlusFor centuries, it was believed Julius Caesar was the first baby born via Cesarean section, but that's likely far from the truth. William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar left out a key player in Julius Caesar’s assassination. An illustration of William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar bycostello/iStock via Getty Images PlusWilliam Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, is set in 44 BCE. The assassination of Julius Caesar Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainIn 44 BCE, Caesar declared himself dictator for life. Julius Caesar coins jgaunion/iStock via Getty Images PlusWhen Caesar was 25 years old, he was sailing the Aegean Sea and was kidnaped by Cicilian pirates.

By A Powerful Politician, Army General, Emperor, Julius Caesar Helped Transform Rome Into One Of The Most Powerful Empires In History. Caesar Was Beloved Many, However, His Power Also Garnered Much Resentment His Fellow Politicians. Read On For More About Caesar'S Life, His Affair With Cleopatra, His Assassination, The Famous William Shakespeare Play That Helped Immortalize Him, Despite Taking Plenty Of Liberties With The True Story.

Last Word In Astrology For January 16, 2021

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Share your intentions and plans, and the year will unfold just the way you want. Hard work will pay off and help you find a unique way to overcome a dilemma someone is instigating. 2 starsCANCER (June 21-July 22): You'll have a unique perspective regarding a project you are pursuing. 5 starsLEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You'll come up against some tough competition. Be secretive about your personal life and plans, and it will be more manageable to get things done your way.

By Staff Writer

"King Con"- The Conman Who Simply Walked Out of Prison Four Times

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Russell states of this, “When I lost my job, that really screwed with my head. He states, “I didn’t think it was possible. With such a high paying, comfortable gig, you might be wondering why Russell didn’t just go straight and simply resume a rather normal life working for NAMM. This was an amount Russell didn’t think was fair. And so it was that Russell was granted medical parole and simply walked out of the prison.

By Karl Smallwood

LEAD STORY -- Bright Idea

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The operation was found in a little-used building at the plant, where, Lingerfelt said, "Things happen like that." The sale of alcohol had been illegal in Rainsville until the city council passed an ordinance approving it in September. "This doesn't happen every day at the airport," said Lenis Valens, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. [New York Times, 12/22/2020]Awesome! In a Dec. 22 statement, Zed said the idea "of yoga ... being performed on a mat made from a killed cow is painful," The Associated Press reported.

By Staff Writer

LEAD STORY -- Home of Your Dreams

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Geneus, who had an outstanding warrant, was taken into custody, WPEC reported, and the contents of both bags tested positive for molly or ecstasy. The Smoking Gun reported Burczyk pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for an April appearance in District Court. Venderley was sober and cooperative, and the next day she was fined $1,250 after pleading guilty to climbing the monument in federal court. "I was going to go visit him in hospital," Faust said, but a paramedic said "'he's in hospital with handcuffs on, two cops babysitting him' so ... maybe we'll leave it." The man had been terrorizing people by riding through the city on his motorcycle while wearing a werewolf mask and roaring, The Independent reported.

By Staff Writer

LEAD STORY -- The Continuing Crisis

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Three of the four graves robbed were of members of the armed forces because, Judd said, Lopez told authorities "the spirit is much stronger in a hero" and "it can protect you from evil." Postal inspectors searched Ellis' home in February, reported the Associate Press, uncovering evidence, and he pleaded guilty in April. "This device gives a dog a voice so that humans can understand," the company's director of global marketing, Andrew Gil, told Reuters. The city's curfew allows for dog-walking after 8 p.m., but police rejected the couple's claim they were following the rules. The East Bay Times reported the mother was unharmed, and Gutierrez was being held on suspicion of kidnapping for carjacking.

By Staff Writer

Leo Tolstoy

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A photo from 1905 of author Leo Tolstoy with his daughter Maria Tolstaya, nicknamed "Masha." Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesWith his wife, Sophia, Leo Tolstoy had 13 children—eight of whom survived to adulthood. Authors Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy photographed together in Moscow in 1904. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesWhen the Nobel Prize for Literature debuted in 1901, many people assumed Leo Tolstoy would be the winner. Memorable Leo Tolstoy Quotes

By Staff Writer

Love, Simon Trivia | 40 facts about the movie

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One of the most popular teen movies on Netflix is “Love, Simon”. Let’s find out more about “Love, Simon”! Although the movie is titled “Love, Simon,” it was actually an adaptation of the book “Simon vs. In the international trailer voice-over, Blue refers to Simon as Simon, not Jacques. In the movie, Simon has a recurring dream about Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter in the “Harry Potter” franchise.

By Staff Writer

Louvre Trivia | 40 interesting facts about the French museum

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One of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe and in France, more specifically, is undoubtedly the Louvre Museum. The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the world’s largest art museum. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation’s masterpieces. One of the most famous works is Victoire de Samothrace, a marble sculpture made between 220 to 185 B.C.

By Staff Writer

How Playing with Construction Paper Resulted in Over a Billion Dollars for Two Dudes

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Despite the crudely animated nature of the short, Parker would later gleefully recall that it won him a Student Academy Award. This second short, also called Spirit of Christmas, was again created using the laborious construction paper cut-out method utilised for the previous short. In addition to that, Shelley Marsh on South Park is also named after Trey Parker’s older sister Shelley. The pair also scanned in hundreds of pieces of actual construction paper so that everything still looked handmade. The speed at which South Park is able to be churned out is one of the reasons the show is able to react to current events so quickly.

By Karl Smallwood

Marie Curie

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Marie Curie discovered the elements radium and polonium. The first is polonium: Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, found it while searching for the root of the radioactivity in uranium-rich ore called pitchblende. Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie were research partners. Photos.com/iStock via Getty ImagesBy the nature of her work, Marie Curie handled a lot of radioactive materials over her lifetime. Notable Marie Curie Quotes:"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.

By Born In Warsaw, Poland, In, Marie Curie Grew Up In A World Where Science Was Strictly A Man S Domain. That Didn T Stop Her Getting An Education An Illegal University, Making Groundbreaking Discoveries With Her Husband, Pierre, Winning Nobel Prizes In Two Separate Sciences. Her Work On Radioactivity To The Death That Likely Resulted It, Here Are The Facts About Marie Curie You Need To Know.

Marilyn Monroe was Not Even Close to a Size 12-16

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Myth: Marilyn Monroe was a size 12-16. She was very big”, you’ll often hear people saying Marilyn Monroe was around the same size as the average American woman today (12-16). So what size was Marilyn Monroe actually? Hugh Hefner purchased the burial vault next to Marilyn Monroe as his future place of final rest. Marilyn Monroe started going by that name in 1946 around the same time she dyed her hair blonde and divorced her husband.

By Daven Hiskey

Medieval Times [Part 5]

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In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at whether chastity belts were ever actually a thing in medieval times or if it is just a Hollywood invention. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor… Ourselves! Next up, in the main course, we look at whether you could actually be transported back in time to Medieval Times and actually communicate to anyone in English or not as is often depicted in popular entertainment. As for the desert for today, we discuss what you actually get for being knighted in modern times and what the process is these days for that. Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XMLYou can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show

By Daven Hiskey

Michelangelo

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The sculpture is notable beyond just being a masterpiece from the artist—it’s also reportedly the only work Michelangelo ever signed. A view of Florence, Italy, a city that has become synonymous with Michelangelo and is home to the Piazzale Michelangelo. Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo did not paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling while lying on his back. One of the bronze recreations of Michelangelo's statue of David at Piazzale Michelangelo. Famous Michelangelo Artwork:DavidThe Creation of Adam (The Sistine Chapel)The Last Judgment (The Sistine Chapel)PietàMoses (Tomb of Pope Julius II)Madonna of BrugesBacchusDoni TondoThe Torment of Saint AnthonyThe Crucifixion of St. PeterFamous Michelangelo Quotes:

By Michelangelo Full Name Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Is Often Regarded As One Of The Most Impactful Artists Of The Renaissance Period, Creating Notable Works Such As The Statues Of

My Wife Keeps Fat-Shaming Our Dog

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My wife says that since she’s a dog, it’s of no matter. DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our very cute dog, “Wally,” has enjoyed the occasional table scrap on top of her usual dog food dinners. Lately, my wife has been gently chastising her, even calling her “pudgy.”DEAR MISS MANNERS: I recently needed to contact my neighbors regarding an issue with our building. Basement flooding has precedence, Miss Manners assures you, over sugarless cakes. (Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

By Staff Writer

Mark Twain

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The sight of a paddle steamer is synonymous with Mark Twain. Thomas Kelley/iStock via Getty ImagesAfter trying out other aliases like “Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass” and “Sergeant Fathom,” Samuel Langhorne Clemens adopted “Mark Twain” in 1863. Samuel Clemens's signature was discovered in the Mark Twain Cave in July 2019. The Mark Twain National Forest could’ve been named after a different famous Missourian. A photo of a lookout tower constructed in Mark Twain National Forest.

By Mark Twain, Author Of Classic Books Such As

Make the Most of a Hopeful Season With Festive Home Looks

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A collection of faux red blooms include poinsettia and amaryllis, all available at Pottery Barn. This burgundy finial beaded butterfly ornament from Neiman Marcus looks like it has been embroidered with gold beads. These mouth-blown glass candles are crafted from glass and glitter, with snowflakes etched in. We're hopeful that this pandemic soon (and we know how relative that may be) will be under control. Mercury glass or glittery glass votives add not only a shimmery elegance, but the candles deliver the intoxicating scents of the season as well.

By Staff Writer

New Vaccine Technology Aided in Speedy Development

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Dear Reader: When the quest for a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine began, early in 2020, we had only previous vaccine development to guide our expectations. In developing the new coronavirus vaccines, scientists were building on an existing body of knowledge. And, because there are multiple ways to deploy mRNA, multiple vaccines are now in different stages of development. That’s also why, when you get the first of the two-dose vaccine regimen, you have to follow up with the same vaccine. These new coronavirus vaccines are game-changers.

By Staff Writer

Nutty Opinions on Roasted Nuts

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DEAR DR. BLONZ: In a recent column, you gave some information on roasted nuts. : Thanks for your note, but I have no confidence in the scientific statements and related opinions of Norman W. Walker. But aside from those medical constraints, peanuts -- when properly grown, harvested and roasted -- are not toxic, nor are roasted nuts in general. Walker’s writings imply that any roasted nuts are dangerous, and I’m afraid that’s not right. We are all entitled to our opinions, but the statements in that paragraph are nutty, to say the least.

By Staff Writer

Odd Lots: Neighbors, Ceilings, Showings

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By the time we got home, though, two of our neighbors had taken it upon themselves to cut the tree into usable firewood. “Neighbors in America tend to like and care for each other,” says Improvenet, a contractor-matching service, after recently polling 2,500 people. “Many spend time socializing, and most are quick to offer a helping hand.”More than two-thirds of those surveyed have gotten to know their neighbors better during the pandemic. Almost that many have made an effort to be more friendly than usual, and nearly 7 in 10 say they appreciate their neighbors more than ever. During the pandemic, 67% have offered aid of some sort to their neighbors, and 62% say they’ve received the same in return.

By Staff Writer

Odd Lots: Parking, Neighbors, Holiday Houses

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And since retail parking is designed for peak loads, lots run at only 45% to 50% capacity for most of the year. Whether or not homeowners are thinking about putting their places on the market, most of us wonder what our houses are worth. Now real estate agents are being offered a new tool that gives their clients a map showing recently sold houses in their areas, complete with the final sales price. “Brokerages are discovering that showing local homeowners the real final sales price -- not just the asking price -- can help motivate some owners to become sellers,” Minard says. Not only were more second homes sold in the July-to-September period, they sold faster when compared to historical norms.

By Staff Writer

Our Most Popular Posts of 2014 — Wait But Why

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In the meantime, here’s our 2014 end-of-year post with the year’s most popular posts. Here are the ten most popular posts of 2014:The Fermi Paradox – Scientists estimate that there are over 100,000 intelligent alien civilizations in our galaxy—but we never see evidence of anyone. Everything You Don’t Know About Tipping – Whenever you’re not sure what to tip someone, you risk ending up in the dreaded Ambiguous Tipping Situation. Your Life in Weeks – Seeing all the weeks of your life in one chart is a weird experience. A Religion for the Nonreligious – A post that tied together a bunch of the ideas we’ve discussed on the site.

By View All Posts Wait But Why

Pablo Picasso

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Artist Pablo Picasso at his 'Villa La Californie' home in Cannes, France, in 1955. This sculpture by artist Pablo Picasso is located in Daley Plaza in the Chicago Loop. The commune of Mougins, France, where Pablo Picasso died in 1973, is located just outside Cannes. The Torre Picasso business building in Madrid, Spain, is located near the city's Pablo Picasso Square. The flood of names is based on those of various saints and relatives, with the "Picasso" part coming from his mother, María Picasso y López.

By Few Artists Have Enjoyed The Stature, Legacy Afforded To Pablo Picasso, The Famed Painter Who Ushered In The Art Style Known As Cubism, Whose Name Became Synonymous With Masterpieces Of Artistic Expression. Keep Reading For More On The Acclaimed Artist S Life

Pieces of a Woman Trivia | 35 facts about the new film

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“Pieces of a Woman” is a new drama film by Kornél Mundruczó. It stars Vanessa Kirby giving a powerhouse performance. Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film. Pieces of a Woman is a 2020 drama film It is directed by Kornél Mundruczó From a screenplay by Kata Wéber It stars Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Molly Parker, Sarah Snook, Iliza Shlesinger, Benny Safdie, Jimmie Fails and Ellen Burstyn Martin Scorsese serves as an executive producer The film is directly related to Mundruczó and Wéber’s 2018 stageplay of the same name The stage was performed by the artistic ensemble of TR Warszawa The film had its world premiere on September 4, 2020 at the 77th Venice International Film Festival There Kirby won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress It was released in select theaters on December 30, 2020 Before beginning to digitally stream on Netflix on January 7, 2021 The film received generally positive reviews With praise for the performances of Kirby, LaBeouf and Burstyn In October 2019, it was announced Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf had joined the cast of the film, with Kornél Mundruczó directing from a screenplay by Kata Wéber Wéber wrote the film based on her own experience losing her child with director Mundruczo, her partner, to an unsuccessful pregnancy Wéber submitted the script to the Hungarian National Film Fund, but did not get support, later an American producer picked it up Sam Levinson and Martin Scorsese serve as executive producers on the film In December 2019, Jimmie Fails, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker and Iliza Shlesinger joined the cast of the film In January 2020, Sarah Snook and Benny Safdie joined the cast of the film Howard Shore composed the film’s score Principal photography began in December 2019 around Montreal Post shoot footage was done in and around Oslo, Norway This includes the end sequence The film had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in official competition on September 4, 2020 Shortly after, Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in late September 2020 It was released in select theaters on December 30, 2020, before beginning to digitally stream on Netflix on January 7, 2021 On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77% Based on 145 reviews With an average rating of 6.9/10 The website’s critics consensus reads: “Pieces of a Woman struggles to maintain momentum after a stunning opening act, but Vanessa Kirby’s performance makes the end result a poignant portrait of grief” On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 Based on 36 critics Indicating “generally favorable reviews” In December 2020, following a lawsuit against LaBeouf for alleged abuse, Netflix removed his name from their For Your Consideration web pageRelated

By Costas Despotakis

Putting Time In Perspective

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Humans are good at a lot of things, but putting time in perspective is not one of them. If the Earth formed at midnight and the present moment is the next midnight, 24 hours later, modern humans have been around since 11:59:59pm—1 second. And if human history itself spans 24 hours from one midnight to the next, 14 minutes represents the time since Christ. To try to grasp some perspective, I mapped out the history of time as a series of growing timelines—each timeline contains all the previous timelines (colors will help you see which timelines are which). And two other big graphics I made that also took me 900 years:Horizontal History – This one puts human history in perspectiveThe Death Toll Comparison Chart – A lot of people die a lot

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Religion for the Nonreligious — Wait But Why

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We’ve taken a big step up the consciousness staircase, very quickly—let’s call this burgeoning element of higher consciousness our Higher Being. But this is actually what’s happening:But even more actually, this is happening:We also tend to kind of think this is the situation:When really, it’s this:You might even think you’re a thing. The way Step 4 can serve humanity is by helping to crush the notion of certainty. Another Look at Religion in Light of this Framework:This discussion helps clarify my issues with traditional organized religion. ___________If you’re into Wait But Why, sign up for the Wait But Why email list and we’ll send you the new posts right when they come out.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Rembrandt

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The Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam hosts art classes. Today, it’s the Rembrandt House Museum. Rembrandt, Photos.com/iStock via Getty ImagesIn 1666, Rembrandt depicted the prodigal son, bereft and poverty-stricken, returning home to a heartfelt embrace from his father. The painting, titled The Prodigal Son in the Brothel, The Prodigal Son in the Tavern, or Rembrandt and Saskia in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, is housed in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany. Rembrandt, National Gallery of Art, Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainIn addition to landscapes, commissioned portraits, and Biblical and historical scenes, Rembrandt also illustrated himself quite often throughout his career.

By Rembrandt Van Rijn, One Of The Most Prolific Painters Of The Dutch Golden Age, Refused To Confine Himself To One Area Of Expertise. Throughout His Career, He Covered Landscapes, Portraits, Historical Scenes, Biblical Stories, Even Animals. Read On To Discover Key Details About His Life, Legacy, Along With Fascinating Facts About His Most Famous Artworks.

Researching bad information: what we learned in 2020

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Researching bad information: what we learned in 202010 November 2020 | Africa Check, Chequeado and Full FactIn 2019, Africa Check, Chequeado and Full Fact embarked on a year-long research project to get to the bottom of many key questions we ask ourselves as fact checkers. Fact checks which identify what is wrong, explain why, and provide the right answer , are the most effective at updating beliefs. How we present fact checks matters. Media and information literacy programmes show promise. Our briefings, though, show that there is room for improvement when it comes to researching fact checking.

By Staff Writer

Responding to the challenges caused by information incidents

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Responding to the challenges caused by information incidents4 December 2020 | NICOLA AITKEN AND PHOEBE ARNOLDThis year Full Fact launched a project to develop a new collaborative model for tackling misinformation crises, with funding support from Facebook. Organisations tackling misinformation can learn a lot about how to prepare for the future by looking at previous waves of bad information. Although not every situation is predictable in terms of the impact it may have on the information environment, there are likely to be many common challenges to each situation. Our goal is to produce a simple and useful framework that helps assess, respond to, and demonstrate success in tackling information incidents – whilst recognising the deep complexity of information environments, and the nuance and care needed to respond to incidents which affect how information is produced, disseminated and consumed. Are there other examples of these challenges which could help different actors involved in tackling misinformation incidents to better understand each other and work together?

By Staff Writer

Return of RMDs Brings Questions

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A number of readers of this column have questions about required minimum distributions (RMDs). (Someone who inherits a tax-deferred or Roth IRA no matter what age is subject to RMDs.) Since the questions have to do with transferring money to Roth IRAs, I’d like to review some Roth basics first. Not everyone is eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. With this in mind, let’s answer a few questions, but be sure to check with your tax adviser before taking any action.

By Staff Writer

Richard Nixon

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Richard Nixon wooed his wife Pat Nixon with love letters. Richard Nixon served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president from January 1953 to January 1961. Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainShortly after suffering a stroke, former president Richard Nixon died on April 22, 1994, at age 81. Documents at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library Received Government Protection. White House photographer Ollie Atkins took the famous picture of Elvis Presley meeting President Richard Nixon on December 21, 1970.

By The Watergate Scandal That Sparked The Process Of President Richard Nixon S Impeachment, Ultimately Led To His Resignation In Remains One Of The Most Infamous Political Events In The Country S History. But Nixon Had A Long Career In Politics Before That, Including An Eight-Year Tenure As Vice President Under President Dwight Eisenhower. Here Are Some More Facts You Should Know About The President.

Safety of Ongoing Mushroom Consumption Raises Questions

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DEAR DR. BLONZ: What is known about the Ganoderma mushroom that gets roasted and used as a coffee substitute? For example, a number of mushroom compounds are being investigated for effects on cancer when taken alone or used in conjunction with more conventional therapies. The beverage you mention is made from roasted Ganoderma, its full name being Ganoderma lucidum, more commonly known as the reishi mushroom. Could there be potential interactions with health conditions, medications or other dietary supplements? If you have ongoing health conditions and are taking meds, please run this by your health practitioner and your pharmacist and track what happens.

By Staff Writer

Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena"

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On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt gave what would become one of the most widely quoted speeches of his career. “The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer,” he said. I like it because people think they know, but they have no idea what we’re thinking from pitch to pitch. With our backs against the wall I wanted to say something that brought us together, a little band of brothers. Mental Floss has podcast with iHeartRadio called History Vs., and our first season is all about Theodore Roosevelt.

By Staff Writer

Sex Education Trivia | 30 facts about the Netflix original series

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Sex Education is considered one of the most successful Netflix original series, that has gained popularity especially among youth. Let’s find out more about Sex Education! Sex Education is a British comedy-drama television series. Both protagonists is an outsider and both help high school student’s with therapy from a public toilet. Maeve’s love life was (very) similar to Samantha’s in ’16 Candles’ The sex scenes are heavily choreographed, as Ncuti Gatwa (Eric) mentioned on a YouTube video.

By Staff Writer

Some Lenders Take Referral Fees, Too

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Specifically, the consumer watchdog agency is wondering whether Rocket Homes Real Estate violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act when it charged fees for referring Quicken’s mortgage clients to real estate agents. Shkipin contends that all of these lenders operate sham “paper brokerages” set up with only one thing in mind: to extract fees from realty agents -- fees consumers ultimately pay, often in exchange for poor service. Power, uses its real estate license “to collect blanket referral fees from the largest number” of real estate agents possible, he alleges. For another, it earns its keep from advertising, not referral fees. He argues that companies like his operate at a competitive disadvantage so long as brokers can trade consumers as leads for blanket referral fees.

By Staff Writer

So What Happens After You Flush?

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From there, it enters ever larger pipes on its way towards a wastewater treatment plant with many connections along the way. For a reference of the scale here, the city of Boston is estimated to have just under 60,000 miles (100,000 km) of sewer pipes all feeding into their wastewater treatment plants. On that note, if you are flushing literally anything but toilet paper or your expulsions down the toilet, your wastewater treatment plant operators think you’re kind of worse than the douche you flushed. Doesn’t mean you should wipe your butt with one and flush it. So what happens is all those baby wipes, and facial wipes, and Clorox bleach wipes and whatever makeup stuff that people flush – tampons, condoms, everything – it comes to the plant.

By Daven Hiskey

Stabbing Bed Bugs, Lloyd Christmas, Cliff from CliffsNotes and More in Yet Another 10 Quick Facts

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1026: Bed bugs reproduce via the male bed bug literally stabbing the female in the abdomen with his hypodermic genitalia rather than using the female’s reproductive tract. 1028: Jim Carrey was initially offered $350,000 (about $600,000 today) for the role of Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber, but turned it down, asking for $400,000 (about $690,000 today). Round and round they went until a deal was struck for $7 million (about $12 million today), which comprised about 44% of the entire $16 million budget of the film. Dumb and Dumber ultimately went on to gross around $250 million (about $430 million today). 41 years later at the age of 81 and having sold a reported 50 million guides, Cliff retired from CliffsNotes, selling the company to IDG Books for $14 million (about $21 million today).

By Daven Hiskey

New Year’s Message: 20/20 Vision for 2021

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DEAR READERS: My New Year’s message for 2020 was to wish America 20/20 vision. And now, we have 20/20 vision of a nation -- and, indeed, a species -- divided on how best to live in the midst of the climate, population and COVID-19 crises. Then she came down with what the dermatology vet diagnosed as an autoimmune disorder, leading us to reconsider future vaccinations. NESTLE USES SUSTAINABLE INSECT PROTEIN IN NEW DOG FOODNestle is launching a new line of Purina dog food in Switzerland based on unconventional protein sources, including black soldier fly larvae. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

By Staff Writer

Star Trek connection, What "Trump" Means in the UK, and more in Yet Another 10 Quick Facts

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1007) Like many aquatic invertebrates, flatworms are hermaphrodites, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs. They felt the song didn’t really fit in the film and painfully dragged on, slowing the pace of the movie too much. The second reason I wear gold is I can afford it. 1015) In the UK “trump” has been another word for “an especially loud fart” since the early 15th century, with the first known documented instance appearing in 1425. The word “trump” appears to have previously entered the English language sometime around the 14th century in reference to blowing a horn.

By Daven Hiskey

Steve Wozniak

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One of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs’s first collaborations was a prank. Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak (right) attend San Francisco's West Coast Computer Faire in 1977 for the debut of the Apple II, a milestone for personal computers. Steve Wozniak and wife Janet Hill at the Silicon Valley Comic Con in 2016. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs remained friendly until Jobs's death. Andrew Burton/Getty ImagesThough they parted ways professionally, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs remained on good terms.

By Steve Wozniak Isn'T The First Steve Most People Associate With Apple, But Without, The Woz, The Tech Giant, Yes, That Includes Your Iphone, Ipad Wouldn'T Exist Today. Wozniak Was Years Old When He Co-Founded Apple With Steve Jobs In, Though He Left The Company Before Its Explosion In Popularity In A Post-Ipod World, He'S Credited With The Development Of The Apple I, Apple Ii The Company'S First Computers

Student Seeks Nutrition Program

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One place is an academy that is accredited and offers a particular type of diploma in comprehensive nutrition. : I remain skeptical of distance-learning programs’ ability to provide the training needed to serve as an expert in nutrition, or in any area offering medical advice. Learning how to provide health guidance is a multi-layered undertaking. But the complexities of individuals’ problem situations are what lead them to seek expert advice. Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106.

By Staff Writer

Taking Blood Thinners? Don’t Abruptly Change Diet

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DEAR DR. BLONZ: You often mention the benefits of eating fish like salmon or sardines, which are high in omega-3 fats. I have deep vein thrombosis, and have been taking Coumadin. But during a recent call with friends, they warned me that it could be dangerous, and that I should avoid all omega-3 fats from fish or supplements. That does not mean you should stop or avoid them; the key is to be careful when making changes to your routine intake -- whether increasing or decreasing. The omega-3 fats at issue include EPA and DHA (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, respectively), which are found in fish and other seafood.

By Staff Writer

Taming the Chicory

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Winter is chicory season. Bunches and heads of chicory are prolific throughout the season, difficult to miss with their with dramatic frilly, spiky and cone-headed leaves. For instance, when eating fresh chicory leaves, mound them in salads with equally hefty greens and crucifers, such as kale, red cabbage and spinach. It’s fruity, rich and sharp, and, when cooked, the vinegar reduces to a rich sweet-and-sour syrup that shellacs the wilted radicchio wedges. There should be a balance of sweet, salt, bitter and the kick of black pepper in the flavor.

By Staff Writer

That Time a Canadian City Pretended to be Invaded by Nazis

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On a cold February morning in 1942, the residents of the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba awoke to discover that their worst nightmare had come true. It began at 6:30 AM as air raid sirens wailed and streetlights blinked out as a blackout rolled across the city. “If Day” was the brainchild of Manitoba Victory Loan Committee members Henry E. Sellers, John Perrin, and George Waight. Waight, an actor, is thought to have first proposed the idea of reenacting a Nazi takeover of the city. It is estimated that by the end of the war, Victory Loan sales had helped to offset nearly 12 of $22 billion in Government wartime expenditures.

By Gilles Messier

That Time a Russian General Invented Clear Coca-Cola, and Pepsi had One of the World’s Largest Navies

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The negotiations took more than a decade, but finally in 1974 the first Soviet Pepsi bottling plant opened at Novorossiysk in 1974. Riding the contemporary “clear craze” that associated clear products with purity and health, in 1992 Pepsi introduced Crystal Pepsi, which like Bestsvetnaya koka-kola was simply regular Pepsi with the caramel colouring removed. Sergio Zyman, Coca-Cola’s chief marketing officer, hatched a scheme to kill Crystal Pepsi before it could gain a permanent foothold. Naturally, both being clear colas, most stores stocked Crystal Pepsi and Tab Clear very close to one another. In the end, Zyman called the launch of Tab Clear, “a suicidal mission from day one” and in an interview for the book, Killing Giants: 10 Strategies To Topple The Goliath In Your Industry gleefully noted,“Within three or five months, Tab Clear was dead.

By Gilles Messier

That Time Colonel Sanders Tried to Kill the Competition by Literally Trying to Murder the Manager of the Competition

Posted in Strange

Luckily for Sanders and all of us who enjoy KFC, however, as Stewart had shot at the trio first, Sanders would get off scot-free. If you’re wondering, the honor of Kentucky Colonel began in 1813 and it started as a military role. After the War of 1812, Charles S. Todd was named a Kentucky Colonel so he would continue serve as a military liaison for the governor. And if you’re further wondering why “colonel” is pronounced “kernel”, well, you’re going to have to wait for the Bonus Facts later because right now we’re going back to the story of the most famous Kentucky Colonel. He thus worked with Colonel Sanders to drastically simplify the menus at KFC, focusing on a few, select, signature meals.

By Daven Hiskey

SpaceX's Big Fucking Rocket – The Full Story — Wait But Why

Posted in Interesting

So I reached out and asked if I could learn about the big fucking rocket ahead of time and write a post about it. The Big Fucking Rocket is fucking big. Now, to be clear—what I’ve been calling the Big Fucking Rocket this whole time is actually two things: a Big Fucking Spaceship sitting on top of a Big Fucking Booster. The Big Fucking SpaceshipSo then there’s the spacecraft—which SpaceX calls the Interplanetary Spaceship, and which I’m going to keep calling the Big Fucking Spaceship because it’s more fun. The BFS is the big cool-looking thing on top of the BFB (in case you’re getting Big Fucking Confused—the Big Fucking Spaceship (BFS) on top of the Big Fucking Booster (BFB) together make what I’ve been calling the Big Fucking Rocket (BFR)).

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Stephen Hawking

Posted in Interesting

In 2009, President Barack Obama presented Stephen Hawking with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. During his time as a professor at the University of Cambridge, Stephen Hawking worked in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Jane Hawking, Stephen Hawking's first wife, has a PhD in medieval Spanish poetry from Cambridge. During their marriage, Stephen Hawking and Jane had three children together:Robert Hawking (1967)Lucy Hawking (1970)Timothy Hawking (1979)The couple divorced in 1995, and Stephen Hawking went on to marry his second wife, Elaine Mason, the same year. Books by Stephen Hawking.

By Stephen Hawking Discovered That Black Holes Emit Radiation, Wrote The Best-Selling Book

That Time George Clooney Gave Briefcases Containing $1 Million Each to All His Closest Friends

Posted in Funny

If you’ve ever thought George Clooney comes off as a extremely likable kind of guy in many of the roles he plays in films, well, it turns out that part at least isn’t really an act. etc., it turns out the Good Guy Clooney meme is actually a thing in more day to day matters as well. No, we’re here to discuss that time he gave each of his closest friends a briefcase full of $1 Million in cash. Both simultaneously embodying the “Good Guy Clooney” and the “Prankster Clooney” this meant his roommate didn’t have to clean the litter box… for weeks. Enter George Clooney on the set of Three Kings.

By Ariana Kyl

That Time the French Intentionally Bombed a Civilian Ship

Posted in Funny

In 1972, founding member David McTaggart answered a call by the organization for private vessels to sail to Moruroa to interfere with the French nuclear tests. On August 8, while the Rainbow Warrior was open for public viewing, Mafart and Prieur, still posing as tourists, toured the ship to conduct last-minute reconnaissance. Ironically, far from preventing further protests, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior galvanized world opinion against French nuclear testing. In June 1995 Rainbow Warrior II lead another protest flotilla to Moruroa, which resulted in French Marines storming the ship with tear gas and smashing its radio. But as promised, on January 27, 1996 the last French nuclear weapon, codenamed Xouthos, was detonated beneath Moruora.

By Gilles Messier

The 10 Most Insane Arrests of Adult Film Stars

Posted in Best

Some stay in the adult film industry, but as producers or directors. As you’ll see just ahead, some of these adult film stars have also committed crimes. She also works outside the adult film industry. Whether you are a connoisseur of the adult film industry, a casual observer or you would never, you’ve probably heard of at least a few movies or stars from that world. Some are pretty crazy and we have to hope that these adult film stars can recover from them and go back on the straight and narrow.

By Staff Writer

The Absolute Legend That was Timothy Dexter- First in the East and West and Greatest Philosopher in the Western World

Posted in Funny

One of America’s first eccentric rich guys, Lord Timothy Dexter, first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philosopher in the Western World, is just such a man. If you haven’t heard of Timothy Dexter before now, then oh boy are you in for a treat. Enough to make a living, sure, but certainly not enough to make the kind of fortune an ambitious man like Timothy Dexter would need. After living such an unusual life, Lord Dexter found himself curious about what his legacy would be after he was gone. Eventually Timothy Dexter kicked the bucket for real, going at the age of 59 on October 26th, 1806.

By Zach Stewart

The American Brain

Posted in Best

_________Chapter 6: The American BrainIn Chapter 5 we became acquainted with some new toys: the Idea Spectrum, the Thought Pile, and the Speech Curve. With the First Amendment barring restrictions on expression, attention seekers can take advantage of all parts of the Thought Pile. But a democracy works the opposite direction—bottom-up—as the leaders are forced to be wherever the Thought Pile wants them to be. Even though plenty of individual citizens will disagree with them, the ideas at the top of the Thought Pile are what the big communal brain “thinks” at any given point in time. Given all of the obvious benefits of free speech, when a culture or a movement or an individual citizen seems threatened by free speech, the first question you should ask is: “Why?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The American Presidents—Johnson to McKinley — Wait But Why

Posted in Funny

The Mustache Era is an unprecedented time in American history, during which presidential mustaches were rampant. The Civil War has just ended, Lincoln has just been shot, and the country is in total mayhem…17) Andrew JohnsonPresidency: 1865 – 1869 Lived: 1808 – 1875 Ranking: 41/43Mustache? New President Johnson inherited a nation that had just come out of Civil War. Grant wouldn’t allow his kids to attend Johnson’s 60th birthday party, and Johnson refused to attend Grant’s inauguration. Next (Ulysses S. Grant) →All Pages:Andrew Johnson (and Intro)Ulysses S. GrantRutherford B. HayesJames A. GarfieldChester A. ArthurGrover ClevelandBenjamin HarrisonWilliam McKinley

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Anonymous Corpse that Helps Save Millions of Lives

Posted in Cool

And in the 1960s she gained a new lease on life, her likeness helping to save the lives of millions of people. This is the story of the strange afterlife of L’Inconnue de la Seine – the unknown body of the Seine. One day in the 1880s the body of a young woman was pulled from the River Seine near the Quai du Louvre in Paris. Days passed, and no-one identified or claimed the woman’s corpse, and she was prepared for burial in a common grave. But whether anonymous corpse or anonymous model, the legend of L’Inconnue persisted until the late 1950s, when her curious afterlife took a rather unexpected turn.

By Gilles Messier

The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 1

Posted in Interesting

There are three major AI caliber categories:AI Caliber 1) Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI): Sometimes referred to as Weak AI, Artificial Narrow Intelligence is AI that specializes in one area. AI Caliber 2) Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Sometimes referred to as Strong AI, or Human-Level AI, Artificial General Intelligence refers to a computer that is as smart as a human across the board—a machine that can perform any intellectual task that a human being can. Unlike the human brain, computer software can receive updates and fixes and can be easily experimented on. Unlike the human brain, computer software can receive updates and fixes and can be easily experimented on. And given the advantages over us that even human intelligence-equivalent AGI would have, it’s pretty obvious that it would only hit human intelligence for a brief instant before racing onwards to the realm of superior-to-human intelligence.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Badassary of Dorothy Lawrence

Posted in Interesting

In the summer of 1915, a lone British soldier cycled down a country road outside the French town of Albert. He was in fact one Dorothy Lawrence, an English journalist who risked everything to report on the horrors of the trenches first-hand. Thus disguised, Lawrence left Paris in mid-August 1915 and made once more for the front. Sergeant Dunn found Lawrence an abandoned cottage on the outskirts of town and regularly brought her food and other provisions. This was published in 1919 as Sapper Dorothy Lawrence, the Only English Woman Soldier.

By Gilles Messier

The Big and the Small — Wait But Why

Posted in Cool

I haven’t told anyone this before, but I actually live in the fun room. I have visitors in the fun room from time to time, but after a few minutes, they’re usually pretty funned out and leave me to my crises. Philipp—this random man in Germany—also lives in the fun room. Whenever Philipp and I get dinner, we head straight to the fun room to talk about the universe. ___________Also: To commemorate the app launch, Kurzgesagt did their own fun room creation today—a delightful video about the sizes of stars.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Bizarre Market for Old Battleship Steel

Posted in Cool

Even shipwrecks have been salvaged for their low-background steel, most notably the remains of the WWI German High Seas Fleet scuttled at Scapa Flow in 1919. In order to obtain sufficiently low-background lead, the manufacturers proceeded to dismantle 400-year-old medieval stained glass windows and swap out the old lead for new. Experiments at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have used lead pipes pulled up from Boston’s old plumbing system while Duke University and the University of Chicago has used lead ballast from the 300-year old Spanish Galleon San Ignacio. Which brings us back to the question: was HMS Exeter salvaged for low-background steel? More than likely the answer is no, as the demand for low-background steel has actually all but dried up in recent years.

By Gilles Messier

The Bizarre Story of the Imitation Queen of Soul

Posted in Funny

Her spot on imitation of Franklin was witnessed by a fellow performer that night, 24 year old Lavell Hardy. An irate Jones told Hardy that she’d do no such thing… The problem was she was now stuck in Florida without money to get home. These owners were understandably unconvinced that the very young Hardy represented THE Aretha Franklin, with some going so far to laugh in his face. At the end of her performance, Jones quietly thanked the crowd and was given a standing ovation. We were thoroughly convinced that ‘Vickie’ was forced into being Aretha Franklin… I wanted to protect this girl.

By Karl Smallwood

The challenges of online fact checking: how technology can (and can’t) help

Posted in Cool

The challenges of online fact checking: how technology can (and can’t) help17 December 2020 | Phoebe ArnoldFull Fact has carried out research into the main challenges faced by fact checkers around the world when finding and checking claims which appear in online places. Download the report (pdf)Over the past few years online misinformation has become a concern for many fact checking organisations. Meanwhile, technology is viewed with skepticism by fact checkers, with many believing that the phrase “automated fact checking” describes a project to misguidedly automate processes that require human judgments. Up until now, fact checking organisations have generally reacted to proposals from internet companies in a piecemeal and unsystematic way, for example signing up individually to Facebook’s fact checking program before having joint discussions or asking collectively for certain conditions. Nevertheless, fact checkers now need to consider these questions.

By Staff Writer

The Cosmic Postcard

Posted in Best

On March 10, 1972, an Atlas-Centaur rocket blasted off from pad LC-36A at Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the unmanned probe Pioneer 10 on humanity’s first mission to the planet Jupiter. This was the Pioneer Plaque, a message to the stars on behalf of all mankind – our first attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial beings. Then, with the addition of the outline of the spacecraft for scale, the Pioneer Plaque was at last complete. When the Pioneer Plaque was revealed to the American public, it ignited a storm of controversy. Yet despite this backlash, NASA was impressed by Sagan’s work on the Pioneer Plaque, and in 1977 they invited him to create another cosmic message to place aboard the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 planetary probes.

By Gilles Messier

The Curious Case of Exploding Whales

Posted in Funny

Whales are among the largest animals to have ever lived, with the Blue Whale, at a whopping 173 metric tons, holding the absolute record. This is exactly what happened on January 29, 2004, when a 17-meter Sperm Whale washed ashore at Tainan City, Taiwan. The exploding whale of Florence soon became a part of Oregon folklore, and as the years passed the incident began to be regarded as little more than an urban legend. They thought the whale had washed ashore recently, and were hot on the trail of a governmental blubber flub-up. “It amazes me that people are still calling about this story after nearly 25 years.”Fifty years later, the Exploding Whale still evokes mixed feelings for those who were there.

By Gilles Messier

The Curious Case of Radioactive Apartments

Posted in Best

On July 31st of that year, a worker from Taipower was showing his son how a Geiger counter worked when the device began detecting abnormally high radiation levels coming from the walls of his apartment. Whatever the case, at first the Atomic Energy Commission, Taiwan’s nuclear regulatory agency, was slow to act, reassuring residents that the radiation levels were actually safe. The investigation, which lasted four years and cost $15 million dollars, ended up searching some 30,000 apartments throughout Taiwan, a full 2% of which were found to be dangerously radioactive. In 2007, a team from the Taiwan Nuclear Science and Technology Association lead by W.L. Chien published a study analyzing the health outcomes of 10,000 residents of radioactive apartments, all of whom had been exposed for between 9 and 20 years.

By Gilles Messier

The Curious Case of Ronald Opus

Posted in Interesting

Here’s a cliffnotes version of the pertinent events:A medical examiner receives the body of a man called Ronald Opus who has been killed by a shotgun blast to the head. As a result, the medical examiner ruled that Opus would have survived the fall, meaning the shooter could potentially be tried for homicide. With this new information, the examiner ruled that the son was guilty of causing Ronald Opus’ death and asked the man for his son’s name. The man responded- Ronald Opus. Thus, one Ronald Opus, through a bizarre confluence of events, ended up being responsible for his own murder.

By Karl Smallwood

The Difference Between a Fact and a Factoid

Posted in Cool

Today I found out the difference between a fact and a factoid. I have gotten several helpful commenters pointing out recently that perhaps I am using the word “factoid” incorrectly in my articles here, thinking that it means the same as “fact”. Due to the confusion surrounding this word, I can absolutely see where they are coming from as “Factoid” has two somewhat distinct definitions, one being more or less a subset of “Fact”, the other not meaning the same thing at all as “Fact”. “Fact” obviously means something that is unquestionably true, or as Webster more eloquently puts it, it is the “quality of being actual”. Mailer described a factoid as “facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper”.

By Daven Hiskey

The Empty Crypt Beneath the U.S. Capitol Rotunda

Posted in Strange

The U.S. Capitol Crypt is home to 40 Doric columns, a dozen statues, and no human remains. In fact, the Capitol Crypt wasn’t exactly intended as a crypt. Architects altered the Capitol building plans to make room for a tomb below the so-called “Grand Vestibule,” which itself was below the Rotunda (the extravagant circular chamber beneath the Capitol dome). The Capitol Crypt, circa 1900. USCapitol, Flickr // Public DomainA few years later, to celebrate what would’ve been Washington’s 100th birthday in 1832, Congress at last reached an agreement to bring his body to the Capitol Crypt.

By Staff Writer

The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 4)

Posted in Best

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at how chopsticks came to be and why they became so popular in certain parts of the world vs things like spoons and forks. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor… Ourselves! As for the desert for today, we discuss who actually invented the Fortune Cookie, which pretty much everyone always gets wrong. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some feedback related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XMLYou can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show

By Daven Hiskey

The Fermi Paradox

Posted in Interesting

That would mean there were 10 quadrillion, or 10 million billion intelligent civilizations in the observable universe. Depending on where The Great Filter occurs, we’re left with three possible realities: We’re rare, we’re first, or we’re fucked. We’re Fucked (The Great Filter is Ahead of Us)If we’re neither rare nor early, Group 1 thinkers conclude that The Great Filter must be in our future. Bostrom believes that when it comes to The Fermi Paradox, “the silence of the night sky is golden.”Explanation Group 2: Type II and III intelligent civilizations are out there—and there are logical reasons why we might not have heard from them. Beyond its shocking science fiction component, The Fermi Paradox also leaves me with a deep humbling.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Forgotten Plague During Prohibition

Posted in Cool

When Prohibition began, bootleggers largely drew from existing stockpiles of commercial liquor or smuggled in alcohol from Canada and Mexico. But when these supplies began to dry up, they turned to alternative sources, such as homemade moonshine and industrial alcohol. After tracking down and investigating more than 60 cases, the pair soon noticed an intriguing pattern: all the victims were regular users of Jamaica Ginger, a popular brand of Patent Medicine. Jamaica Ginger was especially popular among poor labourers in the South. Jamaica Ginger had been sold since 1863 without any negative effects.

By Gilles Messier

The Golden Girls: Rose Nylund’s Rules to Live By

Posted in Interesting

Don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something. “Well, it's been my experience that people who talk about it a lot don't do it very often.”Even the most casual fans of The Golden Girls know that Blanche is the resident maneater. (But don't for a second think that Rose slept with any of those dozens of men ...)8. Rose knows that Sophia, with her years of wisdom, has a lot to offer—even if a lot of it is just get-rich-quick schemes delivered with a side of snark. Rose, for example, has been known to eat raw cookie dough and run through the sprinklers without a bathing cap.

By Staff Writer

The Hollywood Movie That Killed Nearly Half its Cast and Crew

Posted in Best

The reasons why an actor might be cast in a role for which they are ill-suited are many and varied. 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. The first known movie trailer to appear in a theater was in November of 1913. The most common trailer format today is the three-act structure, very similar to the structure of most films and plays. For the final Bonus Fact today, the maximum allowed length for any movie trailer shown in theaters or on TV is set by the MPAA.

By Gilles Messier

The Marriage Decision: Everything Forever or Nothing Ever Again

Posted in Interesting

And if too many years go by in a relationship without The Decision being made, society decides that something must be wrong. This is a beautiful way to make The Decision when you’re in a strong, healthy relationship, and a tragedy when you’re not. If you’re typically a brain person, when it comes to The Decision, you want to try to not be you. Unable to come to a trustworthy conclusion, the brain person becomes a Paralyzed Pre-Marriage Relationship Person. And making a black-and-white binary decision about something that’s anything but black-and-white is kind of an insane thing to do.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Mental Floss Store Is Reopening Today!

Posted in Cool

If you've been missing your one-stop shop for all things Flossy, you’ll be happy to know we have officially reopened the Mental Floss Store! Mental Floss StoreFor all the book lovers out there, you'll find titles like The Mental Floss History of the United States and the History Lovers Bookmarks set, featuring 20 notable figures like Betsy Ross and Napoleon. And if you just want some swag decorated with the Mental Floss logo, you can slap it onto phone cases, tote bags, baby bibs, and more. Mental Floss StoreMake sure to head on over to the Mental Floss Store to see everything we have to offer, and keep checking back each week to take advantage of more deals. Sign Up Today: Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter!

By Staff Writer

The Mute Button

Posted in Funny

The first isn’t a new character exactly—it’s the combined workings of the Primitive Mind and Higher Mind: the Inner Self. The Inner Self is the product of the struggle between the Primitive Mind and the Higher Mind. For all these reasons, of all a dictator’s possessions, the most precious one is his mute button. By silencing certain ideas, the mute button prevents the giant from having the wrong thoughts. In the Power Games, someone is usually holding a mute button over your head, lining your discourse with electric fences.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Nazi Interrogator Who Killed Them With Kindness

Posted in Interesting

Of the millions that were killed by German hands during World War II, countless thousands were prisoners of war. Often massive numbers of prisoners were killed at a time in acts of retaliation for the killing of German soldiers. Over the decades, the image of the sadistic Nazi interrogator has become commonplace. His father, Hans Hermann Scharff, was a highly decorated soldier in the East Prussian Army who was killed during The Great War. During the remainder of the war, Scharff interrogated all manner of famous, high ranking pilots.

By Kent Cubbage

The President Who Randomly Liked to Challenge People to Fist-Fights

Posted in Cool

Impressed with how honorable a man Roosevelt was, one of the criminals even wrote him later from prison thanking him for being a peerless sentinel of justice. As Vice President and later President, Roosevelt continued with this practice, lining the White House’s basement with wrestling mats so he could suplex people whenever he felt like it. Rather than fret about it, Roosevelt simply joked it was a good thing it was his left eye he went blind in, as he used his right to aim when shooting. Nevertheless, the injury effectively ended Roosevelt’s pugilistic endeavours in the White House, for fear he might lose the other eye. Eventually Germany considered simply going to war with France, but were concerned that the British would ally with the French in retaliation.

By Karl Smallwood

The Origin of the Word “Soccer”

Posted in Cool

Today I found out the origin of the word “soccer”. When that happened, the term “Football” gradually began dominating over “Soccer” and the then official name “Association Football”. Association Football was then much better known as “Assoccer”, which quickly just became “Soccer” and sometimes “Soccer Football”. The first name of the league was the “United States Soccer Football Association”. The last genuine leather soccer ball used in the World Cup was the Adidas Tango Espana, used in the 1982 World Cup.

By Daven Hiskey

The Procrastination Matrix — Wait But Why

Posted in Interesting

Note: To best understand this post, you should first read Part 1 of Wait But Why’s previous post on procrastination. Future Tim also has a discipline and balance to his lifestyle I could only ever dream of. But the most important role Future Tim plays in my life brings us back to the Eisenhower Matrix. ___________When I started writing posts for Wait But Why, I knew I wanted to write about procrastination. After assigning that daunting mission to Future Tim for a while, I finally bit the bullet and did it.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Quest for the North Pole: 39 Key Players You Should Know

Posted in Strange

Here's a collection of some of the most important and influential figures discussed in Mental Floss's new podcast, The Quest for the North Pole. Cook declared that he had reached the North Pole in 1908, a year before Peary, who would denounce his claim. Iggianguaq (Egingwah) was a hunter, guide, and member of the 1909 North Pole party with Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. He was one of the four Inughuit members of the 1909 North Pole team with Peary and Matthew Henson. Ukkaujaaq (Ooqueeah) was one of the four Inughuit guides who accompanied Robert Peary and Matthew Henson toward the North Pole in 1909.

By Staff Writer

The Richest People by Century

Posted in Interesting

That being said, the question was asked and we aim to please, so this is our best attempt at a “richest person” list. 14th centuryMansa Musa I – Worth approximately $400 billionThe richest person in history wasn’t Bill Gates or John D. Rockefeller, but the 14th century ruler of West Africa’s Malian Empire (covering modern-day Ghana, Timbuktu, and Mali), Mansa Musa. 18th centuryStephen Girard – Worth approximately $105 billionThis was a tough century because several moguls amassed their wealth in the 18th century, but continued to accumulate into the 19th century. 20th centuryJohn D. Rockefeller – Worth approximately $340 billionAs the 19th century turned into the 20th century, the greatest commodity in the world wasn’t land or people or harems, but oil. 21st centuryMuammar Gaddafi – Worth approximately $200 billionWe are only 14 years into the century, but the richest person of the 21st century is considered to be about the eighth richest person in all of history, give or take.

By Matt Blitz

The Second Presidential Debate — Wait But Why

Posted in Funny

In case you missed it, I took the time to transcribe the entire second presidential debate. The last presidential debate could have been rated as MA—mature audiences—per TV parental guidelines. I’m also lowering taxes on the wealthy, and by the way Hillary is raising your taxes, which is a disaster. Audience Question: I’m Kenneth Bone. ___________If you’re into Wait But Why, sign up for the Wait But Why email list and we’ll send you the new posts right when they come out.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Secret Origins of 11 Famous Video Games

Posted in Funny

Secret origins aren't just for superheroes in need of a good backstory. Many of the most popular video games to ever find their way onto shelves have arrived with elements of their development that make a great product even more memorable. Whether it's surprising celebrity tie-ins or random discoveries that went on to define a franchise, these 11 games each have a “secret” origin that adds yet another footnote to the impressive place they hold in gaming history. Mario Bros.After making his Japanese debut in Donkey Kong, the game's mustachioed hero was still going by the name “Jumpman” ahead of the game's arrival on shelves in the U.S. "I also thought that red went well for a character who can run really fast, when his legs are spinning."

By Staff Writer

The Spiteful End of the Great Auk

Posted in Funny

However, perhaps no creature was wiped from the face of the planet for as silly a reason as the great auk. Once endemic to the North Atlantic, the great auk was a flightless seabird not too dissimilar in appearance from a penguin. This, in turn, caused sailors to hunt the few remaining great auks in existence with a renewed zeal. The sailors, under orders from a merchant who wanted a pair of great auk pelts for display, found the birds nesting on a rock. Then, for no particular reason other than “screw the great auk” we guess, Ketilsson then stomped the birds’ nest a few times to destroy the egg they’d been incubating.

By Karl Smallwood

The Tail End — Wait But Why

Posted in Cool

But since doing the Life in Weeks post, I’ve been thinking about something else. If I’m around a third of my way through life, I’m also about a third of my way through experiencing the activity or event. We’re in the tail end. ___________If you’re into Wait But Why, sign up for the Wait But Why email list and we’ll send you the new posts right when they come out. If you’re interested in supporting Wait But Why, here’s our Patreon.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Teen Years: 9 Cringe-Inducing Realizations — Wait But Why

Posted in Cool

When I graduated high school, I decided to gather up everything I owned that had meaning to me and put it in a big cardboard box. First, it’s been fascinating—it’s amazing how many things you remember incorrectly, and I’ve been doing a lot of revising of off-base memories. Anyway the point is, when it comes to high school couples, a vast majority of them who are still together after high school ends will be finished by Thanksgiving (late November) of their freshman year of college—the high school relationship wall. 8) You’re not a Communist, you’re not a Marxist, you’re not an Anarchist, you’re not a Nihilist. Related Wait But Why Posts11 Awkward Things About Email7 Ways To Be Insufferable On FacebookAll the Weird Toys From Your Childhood

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Thing about 'The Thing'

Posted in Strange

The thing is, it turns out The Thing was so poorly received when it debuted that it nearly ruined Carpenter’s career. Throughout the film, in traditional horror movie fashion, the eponymous Thing slowly kills off the cast while Kurt Russell, sporting the bushiest beard of his career, tries to incinerate it with a flamethrower. The endless dunking on Carpenter didn’t stop with reviews, though, and the director of the film The Thing was loosely based upon, The Thing from Another World, Christian Nyby would later release a statement saying that the film was terrible. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was released just two weeks before The Thing. and The Thing was the opposite of that… I was called ‘a pornographer of violence’… I had no idea it would be received that way… The Thing was just too strong for that time.

By Karl Smallwood

The Trump-Biden Debate — Wait But Why

Posted in Cool

I’m Chris Wallace and I welcome you to what I predict will be a very bad personal experience for me. Wallace: Stop picking on Joe, Mr. President. Dr. Fauci and all the Democrat governors said, “President Trump did a phenomenal job.” And they’re not the only ones. The gowns, the masks, the ventilators, you don’t know how to make a ventilator, the vaccine is here, any week now. Mr. President, what do you believe about the science of climate change, and what is your plan to confront it?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Truth About the Origin of Floating Soap

Posted in Strange

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? But the nail in the coffin came in 2004, when this accidental floating soap origin story was officially debunked. According to the archivist, a notebook from 1863 was found, in which a chemist working for P&G nonchalantly noted, “I made floating soap today. The first bar of Ivory floating soap sold to consumers happened in 1879, advertised from the beginning as the soap that floats.

By Karl Smallwood

The Two Billion Year Old Earth-Based Nuclear Reactor

Posted in Strange

The theoretical existence of natural nuclear reactors was first predicted by Japanese-American chemist Paul Kuroda in 1956. To understand how they work, it is first necessary to understand the operation of man-made nuclear reactors. A nuclear chain reaction is initiated when a Uranium-235 atom absorbs a neutron, causing it to split or fission. In a man-made nuclear reactor this is accomplished by bundling together rods of uranium fuel so that neutrons can travel freely between the rods. So if natural Uranium can’t be used as nuclear fuel, how did the Oklo ore bodies sustain a chain reaction?

By Gilles Messier

The Worst Military Airplane Ever

Posted in Strange

He attended St. John’s Military Academy, the University of Virginia, and George Washington University, earning a Masters in the Arts before switching to a career in medicine. Though throughout his life he styled himself as “Doctor” Christmas, there is no evidence he ever obtained a formal medical degree. Though again there is no evidence this aircraft was ever built or flown, soon thereafter Christmas set out in search of business partners with which to launch his own aircraft company. On October 26, 1909, Christmas incorporated the Christmas Aeroplane Company in Washington D.C, along with investors Creed M. Fulton, Lester C. McLeod, and Thomas W. Buckley. The company’s conversion from peacetime automobile production to wartime aircraft production had taken herculean effort, its five eastern automotive plants having to be torn down and rebuilt essentially overnight.

By Gilles Messier

This Guy Sent His Mom An ‘Innocent’ Photo Of His Girl And It Backfired… Big Time

Posted in Interesting

I don’t think there is one among us who hasn’t accidentally sent a text to the wrong person. One man, Madison Vallance, sent a picture to his mother, and got way more than he bargained for because of it. His mother had sent him a shirt with their last name on it. Mom and girlfriend got on well, and like most young men, Maison liked showing off his lady love. He not only sent the picture to Mom, but decided to share it on social media, too.

By Staff Writer

Thomas Edison

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Thomas Edison's six children had a lot to live up to, and Thomas Alva Edison Jr. had a lot to live down. An illustration of Thomas Edison experimenting with electric lamps on his wedding day. Photos.com/iStock via Getty ImagesAcross two marriages, the first to Mary Stilwell from 1871 to her death in 1884 and the second to Mina Miller in 1886, Edison had six children:Marion Estelle Edison (with Stilwell)Thomas Alva Edison Jr. (with Stilwell)William Leslie Edison (with Stilwell)Madeleine Edison (with Miller)Charles Edison (with Miller)Theodore Miller Edison (with Miller)Edison attempted to instill a love of knowledge in each of his children, though his methods were not always kind. Thomas Edison had six siblings:MarionWilliam PittHarriet Ann ("Tannie")CarlileSamuelElizaWhen Edison was born in Milan, Ohio in 1847, he was the seventh and last child of parents Samuel Edison and Nancy Elliott Edison. Most Notable Thomas Edison Inventions:PhonographIncandescent light bulbElectric vote recorderCarbon telephone transmitterAlkaline batteryElectric penFamous Thomas Edison Quotes:

By Thomas Alva Edison Was An Inventor Unlike Any Throughout History, His Impact Can Still Be Felt In Your Everyday Life. Born In Milan, Ohio, On February, Edison'S Inventions, Which Included Perfecting The Light Bulb, Phonograph, Radically Transformed Modern Civilization, Helped Make The Century One Of The Most Technologically Progressive Eras Ever.

Tinkle Bells, the Parasitic Poop Twig, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Marketing Stunt and more, in a Special Christmas Quick Fact List

Posted in Strange

Nothing like finding one’s true love kissing under a parasitic poop twig…1017: In the 1930s, Montgomery Ward gave away promotional coloring books each holiday season. In 1939, in order to save on the price of the books, they selected Robert L. May, who was a copywriter for Montgomery Ward in Chicago, to write them a short Christmas story. 1018: Copywriter Robert L. May initially earned nothing from writing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer outside of his normal Montgomery Ward salary, as he wrote it as a part of his job. 1023: The song Silver Bells was originally titled Tinkle Bells, first appearing in “The Lemon Drop Kid,” a 1951 film starring Bob Hope. 1024: The 4,000 word short story, The Greatest Gift, written by Philip Van Doren Stern was inspired by a dream Stern had one night in the 1930s.

By Daven Hiskey

Top 5 First Aid Tricks Everyone Should Know, Part 4: CPR

Posted in Interesting

First Aid Trick #2: CPRComing in at #2 on our top 5 first aid tricks everyone should know list is CPR. (Note: “cardiac arrest” and “heart attack” are not the same thing, more in the Bonus Facts below.) According to the AHA, immediate CPR for someone in cardiac arrest will increase their chance of survival by 300%. In this situation, CPR is one of the only first aid tricks that will save their life. Because of this, and because it has become so easy to do, CPR makes it to #2 on our Top 5 First Aid Tricks Everyone Should Know list.

By Staff Writer

Top 5 First Aid Tricks Everyone Should Know Part 5: Defibrillation

Posted in Interesting

Those minutes that it takes for emergency medical aid to arrive can make a huge difference in whether the person survives in cases of cardiac arrest. According to the American Red Cross, after a person experiences cardiac arrest, the person’s chance of surviving drops by 7%-10% per minute until treated with defibrillation. They can be bought at several national retailers, and doctors often prescribe them to patients at risk of cardiac arrest. CPR just extends the amount of time a person can be in cardiac arrest and still have this defibrillation work. Good quality CPR and rapid defibrillation together will give the person in cardiac arrest the greatest chance of survival.

By Staff Writer

UExpress

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It’s understated and comforting, yet carries the swag of fresh-cooked lobster meat. If you prefer not to use lobster meat, shrimp are an excellent alternative, and they will bump this recipe onto your roster of easy weeknight meals. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down and their juices release, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the lobster meat to the skillet and stir to coat. Divide the pasta between serving plates and garnish with additional basil, freshly ground black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.

By Staff Writer

Ulysses S. Grant

Posted in Funny

An illustration of Robert E. Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant at the end of the Civil War. At the start of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant was put in charge of a volunteer regiment. Campwillowlake/iStock via Getty Images PlusThe “S” in Ulysses S. Grant has long invited questions about his middle name. As president, Ulysses S. Grant was not necessarily the most qualified. Famous Ulysses S. Grant Quotes

By Fresh Off His Victory As Commander Of The Union Armies During The Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant, Became President Of The United States In March While His Time In Office Wasn T Without Controversy, Grant Has Taken His Place Among The Most Fascinating Of The Country S Leaders. Today, You Can Find Him On The, Bill, The, Coin That Was Issued In For More On Grant, Including The Mystery Of His Middle Name, Keep Reading.

Vaping Tide Pods – The Latest Challenge Trend Is Even More Dangerous

Posted in Cool

Well, we would like to remind you of the “Tide Pod Challenge”, folks. The manufacturer of Tide—Procter & Gamble—already made a statement about the trend and simply reminded everyone to use common sense and not eat laundry detergent capsules. Tide pods are certainly not a toy to play with which to be played. It is truly unbelievable that there exists a necessity for someone to remind certain people that they should not eat laundry detergent capsules. So be wise and do something less stupid—please don’t fall for the Tide pod challenge.

By Staff Writer

Vincent van Gogh

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Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night in an asylum. 'Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear' by Vincent van Gogh, painted in 1889. Also, while it’s possible that van Gogh only lopped off the lobe, his physician sketched an image that shows van Gogh’s entire ear is missing. Vincent van Gogh died from a (likely) self-inflicted gunshot wound in France. It's believed that Vincent van Gogh used this gun when he died by suicide in 1890.

By Staff Writer

Virginia Woolf

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Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThough technically a novel, Virginia Woolf called The Waves a “play-poem”—and for good reason. Author Virginia Woolf is also known for her non-fiction essays and literary criticism. Elizabeth Taylor won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1966 movie version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Keystone/Getty ImagesIn the early 1950s, playwright Edward Albee saw the question "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Famous Virginia Woolf BooksThe Voyage Out (1915)Night and Day (1919)Jacob’s Room (1922)Mrs. Dalloway (1925)To the Lighthouse (1927)Orlando: A Biography (1928)A Room of One’s Own (1929)The Waves (1931)Flush: A Biography (1933)The Years (1937)Roger Fry: A Biography (1940)Between the Acts (1941)Famous Virginia Woolf Quotes

By Staff Writer

Wait But Hi – Full Report

Posted in Funny

Last weekend (August 13th and 14th) was Wait But Hi—a global hangout weekend for Wait But Why readers. (But people don’t tend to be into having a picture of them on a date posted on the internet so we’ll leave it at that.) One rule was that no one could talk or ask about anyone’s job for the first hour of the night. And there were mishaps—which people handled the best they could:But mostly, Wait But Hi was full of good things. ________There are many more pics than I had room to post here—you can see the full set of pictures here and here.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Were Nunchucks Ever Actually Used in Combat or are They Just Primarily a Hollywood Thing?

Posted in Funny

But were nunchucks ever actually used in combat? More specifically, popular hypotheses include nunchucks beginning life as rice flails, used with horses, or even wooden clappers used to attract attention during emergencies by Japanese night watchmen in feudal times. That said, this doesn’t rule out such a different type of flail being the inspiration, as there was a type of flail used for this. So it’s possible someone might have gotten the bright idea to make both ends the same, short, length, to make for an effective weapon. This brings us to whether nunchucks were ever used during combat.

By Karl Smallwood

What are the Best Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally?

Posted in Funny

Mark asks: What are some good ways to lower my blood pressure without drugs? “High blood pressure” is defined as any systolic pressure (the top number) above 140 or diastolic (the bottom number) higher than 90. So let’s look at what we are trying to control and the best natural ways to lower blood pressure. However, it’s the environmental factors we can control which give us the opportunity to naturally control high blood pressure. When it comes to high blood pressure, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2002 showed that exercise alone can not only reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure, but will also help in people with normal blood pressures.

By Staff Writer

What Causes “Eye Floaters”

Posted in Strange

Today I found out what causes “eye floaters”. There are a few different things that can cause this, but in most cases these eye floaters are caused by pieces of the gel-like vitreous breaking off from the back portion of your eye and then floating about in your eye ball. This shadow is actually what you are seeing when you see the eye floaters. Children and teenagers almost never experience these types of eye floaters as there must first be some deterioration of the gel-like substance in their eye, creating the watery core, for these floaters to appear. Surgeries do exist for getting rid of eye floaters, if they seriously hamper your vision.

By Daven Hiskey

What Did People Use for Wiping Before Toilet Paper?

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JOJOs asks: I think we all want to know right now- what did people use to wipe before toilet paper? This brings us to the question of the hour- what did people use for wiping before toilet paper? For example, around 1857, Joseph Gayetty came up with the first commercially available toilet paper in the United States. They did a lot better than Gayetty, presumably because their original toilet paper wasn’t coated with aloe and moistened, thus was much cheaper. Of note here on this, in 1935, Northern Tissue boasted a “splinter free” toilet tissue in an advertisement, which would seem to imply that it was still somewhat common for toilet tissue to have the occasional splinter before that.)

By Daven Hiskey

What Happens in the Real World if You Find a Buried Treasure?

Posted in Strange

Ever wonder what happens if you actually found a buried treasure or some sort of National Treasure-esk haul of ancient loot? Yet through the precise mapping and identification of objects, archæological sites can be identified, which can later be dug out by archæologists. Certain states use old English common law which includes the treasure trove law. A problem arises when amateur treasure hunters just dig up archæological sites, armed with metal detectors to find valuable artifacts like golden brooches or coins. This activity is highly damaging to archæological sites to the point of making the sites worthless for research.

By Pierre-Louis Blanchard

What Happens to the Bodies if a Cryogenic Company Goes Bankrupt?

Posted in Strange

Joseph Bennett asks What happens to the bodies if a Cryogenic company goes bankrupt? So what happens to the approximately 350 people (and rising fast) stored this way when a cryonic company goes the way of their customers? His still frozen body was transferred to his son when the company storing him went under. His son then dutifully took steps to keep Bedford frozen for many years before handing the body over to Alcor, a more modern cryonics company. This all brings us to the likelihood of reanimation given modern methods.

By Daven Hiskey

What Makes You You? — Wait But Why

Posted in Strange

The Body Theory says that that’s what makes you you. The Brain Theory says that wherever the brain goes, you go—even if it goes into someone else’s skull. Body Theory says “Of course you woke up in your own body—your body is what makes you you. Likewise, you’re not a set of brain data, you’re a particular database whose contents are constantly changing, growing, and being updated. ___________If you’re into Wait But Why, sign up for the Wait But Why email list and we’ll send you the new posts right when they come out.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

What was It Actually Like to Be a Knight in Medieval Times?

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Anakin_bagel asks: What was the daily life of a medieval knight like? There are a variety of myths about what it was like to be a knight during medieval times, not just spread by Hollywood, but even by the contemporary legends during medieval times themselves- in both featuring widespread depictions of the chivalric knight rushing to the aid of damsels in distress and generally spending their time being bastions of all that is good and the very definition of “noble”. But what was it actually like to be a knight in medieval times, and what did they actually get up to in their day to day lives? As alluded to, knights in Medieval Times were rather well known for their penchant to cause a bit of anarchy wherever they went. In any event, to sum up, the life of a given Medieval Knight could vary considerably based on era and wealth of the knight in question.

By Daven Hiskey

When Theodore Roosevelt Refused Geronimo's Plea

Posted in Cool

On March 4, 1905, Theodore Roosevelt settled in to watch his first inaugural parade. They were Native American leaders and warriors, "arrayed in all the glory of feathers and war paint," according to The New York Times report the next day. For a quarter-century, Geronimo had attacked Mexican and American troops and civilians, putting up a fierce resistance to settler encroachment. Geronimo's Tearful RequestThe 1905 meeting between Roosevelt, Geronimo, and some of the other Native American men took place a few days after the inauguration, once the crowds had thinned out and things had calmed down a little. Our first season is all about President Theodore Roosevelt.

By Staff Writer

When Theodore Roosevelt's Antique Gun Was Stolen From Sagamore Hill

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Roosevelt's Colt revolver on display at Sagamore Hill. Courtesy of Sagamore Hill National Historic SiteRoosevelt later took it into battle, using it to shoot at enemy forces. Following Roosevelt’s death in 1919, the Sagamore Hill estate in Oyster Bay, New York, was home to his wife, Edith, until her death in 1948. The property was later donated to the National Park Service in 1963 and became Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. Courtesy of Sagamore Hill National Historic SiteAfter Anderson contacted Sagamore Hill, FBI agents were dispatched from the Daytona Beach office to DeLand to question Anderson.

By Staff Writer

Where Did the F-Word Come From?

Posted in Cool

BaKlol asks: Where did the word fuck come from? In its various incarnations, the F-word can be a noun, verb, adjective, and even an infix. Moving on from there, the first documented instance of some version of the F-word appears in a name- that of John le Fucker in 1278. Notably here the author is Latinizing the then English word “fucc”, which was common at the time when the person didn’t know the Latin equivalent of the English word, or if one didn’t seem to exist. This line of words, in turn, is speculated to come from the Proto-Indo-European *pewg meaning “to strike/hit”.

By Daven Hiskey

Who Invented Shock Therapy, and How Does It Work?

Posted in Interesting

Yet despite this stigma, shock therapy – more properly known as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT – remains an accepted psychiatric treatment to this day, and has proven highly effective in cases of severe depression and bipolar disorder which have not responded to other treatments. But how was ECT invented in the first place, and how does it actually work? But while Insulin Shock Therapy boasted a success rate of 80%, it was a time and labour-intensive treatment, requiring a dedicated unit of doctors and nurses to administer. Thus, unlike Insulin Coma Therapy, a round of Metrazol therapy could be performed by a single doctor with a handful of nurses or orderlies to hold the patient still. By the 1940s Metrazol therapy had all but replaced Insulin in British psychiatric hospitals.

By Gilles Messier

Who Invented the Emoticon and Emoji? (And How They're Forever Changing Written Language)

Posted in Funny

Historically, written language has always been rather limited in its ability to adequately represent the nuance of in-person communication, which comes with a whole slew of gesticulations, facial expressions, subtle shifts in tone and the like. As alluded to, throughout this progression of written language, even through modern times, many of even the most distinguished writers have lamented that the basic written language tools available are insufficient to make the meaning of certain statements and words in the context of a written work inherently clear. One reason for this was a lack of perceived need by the masses, as humans historically used writing very different than conversational speech. So we naturally tend to think, because we see language written so often, that that’s what language is, but actually what language is, is speech. Take that person from 1993…and they read a very typical text written by a 20-year-old today.

By Daven Hiskey

Why Are You Not Supposed to Use Twice Boiled Water for Tea?

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Jeremy W. asks: Is it true that drinking tea made from twice boiled water is bad for you? Twice boiled water is definitely bad for you… Except, this water is actually still not bad for you, unless it was already bad for you to begin with (i.e. In the end, there’s a reason not a single public health agency in the world advises against drinking twice boiled water. Another factor in twice boiled water that may affect the flavour is higher concentration of impurities, which, as we already discussed, in realistic tea making scenarios isn’t actually going to be much different than once boiled water. Twice boiled water simply isn’t bad for you at all unless your particular water source was already bad for you at the once boiled level.

By Karl Smallwood

Why can We Make Vaccines for Some Viruses and Not Others and Why Do Most Experts Think One Will be Successful for Covid-19 Very Soon?

Posted in Cool

Because of this, different types of vaccines are needed for different types of viruses. There are 4 main types of vaccines- live-attenuated, inactivated, toxoid, and finally SRPC, which stands for subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate. Traditionally to create a Flu vaccine, scientists take samples of the most common types of Flu virus being circulated during the previous year- usually 3-4 types (quadrivalent and trivalent flu vaccines). The H protein in Flu virus (the H part of H1N1) contains a head and a stem. Seasonal Flu vaccine will target the head of H which can mutate readily- again why new vaccines need created regularly.

By Staff Writer

Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy — Wait But Why

Posted in Funny

Lucy is part of Generation Y, the generation born between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s. She’s also part of a yuppie culture that makes up a large portion of Gen Y.I have a term for yuppies in the Gen Y age group—I call them Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies, or GYPSYs. To provide some context, let’s start by bringing Lucy’s parents into the discussion:Lucy’s parents were born in the 50s—they’re Baby Boomers. Generation, or “the Greatest Generation,” who grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, and were most definitely not GYPSYs. With a smoother, more positive life experience than that of their own parents, Lucy’s parents raised Lucy with a sense of optimism and unbounded possibility.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Why I'm Always Late — Wait But Why

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I’m late because I’m insane. This is when the late person being late does not negatively impact anyone else—like being late to a group hangout or a party. This is when the late person being late does negatively impact others—like being late to a two-person dinner or meeting or anything else that simply can’t start until the late party arrives. But that’s misunderstanding the entire second group, who, despite being consistently late, usually detest the concept of making other people wait. Finally, I’m late because I’m mad at myself.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Why is Superman Described as Leaping Tall Buildings with a Single Bound When He Can Fly?

Posted in Cool

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!”Well, of course Superman could hurdle skyscrapers. But by the time that the one true Superman finally hit newsstands in Action Comics #1, all the essential elements of his powerset were in place. First was Fleischer Studios – famous for fellow strongman and Superman influence Popeye – in the inaugural of their animated shorts, titled Superman (a.k.a. It wouldn’t be until 1943 that he was depicted unequivocally flying on the comics page.” The 1943 dating is in reference to Action Comics #65. Up in the sky!”Still, for the majority of his eighty plus years as a strange visitor on our planet, Superman has been able to fly.

By Matthew Theriault

There are excess deaths in England and these PHE reports don’t prove otherwise

Posted in Cool

There are excess deaths in England and these PHE reports don’t prove otherwise11 January 2021What was claimed The two most recent PHE reports show no statistically significant excess all-cause mortality. Our verdict There are excess deaths in England at the moment. The PHE reports used estimates that were distorted by the reporting lag over Christmas. “The two most recent Public Health England All-Cause Mortality Surveillance reports (31 December and 7 January) show no statistically significant excess all-cause mortality.” The Critic, . PHE’s separate “Excess mortality in England” report shows that deaths in the week ending 25 December were 1.3 times the expected level.

By Staff Writer

Why is the McRib Only Offered Occasionally and Why so Randomly?

Posted in Funny

Barbeque meat is also often hand butchered. When McDonald’s entered the chicken fast food market in 1979 with the Chicken McNugget, there was little competition. There used to be a web tracker of McDonald’s restaurants offering the McRib so that McRib aficionados could travel to find the sandwich when not locally available. Each time it reintroduced the McRib, McDonald’s management learned new things about the patrons that liked and, eventually, loved their sandwich. In November 2005, McDonald’s announced that it would no longer be carrying the McRib and started the McRib Farewell Tour.

By David Harris

Why It Sucks to Be Rich

Posted in Funny

And this can cause major issues when you’re wealthy, particularly if wealthy in a high profile way. Now, from all of this, you might have gathered that one way around such problems is to simply keep the fact that you’re rich a secret. In the end, rich or poor, having a purpose or something to work towards, for whatever reason, seems to be yet another fundamental need. Of course, if you’re super rich and aren’t giving to various causes, many will hate you for that too. But, it turns out, rich or poor, human nature is human nature.

By Karl Smallwood

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate — Wait But Why

Posted in Funny

To understand why procrastinators procrastinate so much, let’s start by understanding a non-procrastinator’s brain:Pretty normal, right? It seems the Rational Decision-Maker in the procrastinator’s brain is coexisting with a pet—the Instant Gratification Monkey. He doesn’t understand the Rational Decision-Maker any better than the Rational Decision-Maker understands him—why would we continue doing this jog, he thinks, when we could stop, which would feel better. The Instant Gratification Monkey, normally unshakable, is terrified of the Panic Monster. Why else would an extraordinarily lazy person begin a rigorous workout routine other than a Panic Monster freakout about becoming less attractive?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think (Taming the Mammoth)

Posted in Interesting

It looks something like this:Your Great2,000 Grandfather’s Social Survival Mammoth was central to his ability to endure and thrive. We’re all here in 2014, accompanied by a large, hungry, and easily freaked-out woolly mammoth who still thinks it’s 50,000BC. In contrast to the black-and-white simplicity of the Social Survival Mammoth, your Authentic Voice is complex, sometimes hazy, constantly evolving, and unafraid. Part 2: Taming the MammothSome people are born with a reasonably tame mammoth or raised with parenting that helps keep the mammoth in check. Here’s how the mammoth thinks things are:Here’s how things actually are:No one really cares that much about what you’re doing.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Winning the Battle of Britain with Miss Shilling's Orifice

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When the throttle is opened, more air is drawn into the engine and the air velocity in the manifold increases. Of course, Miss Shilling’s Orifice was only ever intended as stopgap solution, and eventually all Merlin-equipped fighters were fitted with new Bendix pressure carburetors which did not rely on gravity to operate. And of course, today this same idea is used all over the place in various wireless technologies. As noted, in the end, Hedy’s unrealized contribution to World War II and wireless technology lay dormant for many years. She didn’t invent wireless itself, as you’ll often read, but she did patent an idea with huge potential.

By Gilles Messier

You Should Know About Jury Nullification

Posted in Funny

an impartial jury.” The states are equally obliged to provide a jury trial in criminal cases according to the Due Process Clause of Amendment XIV. Likewise, and more pertinent to nullification, if a jury acquits a criminal defendant, she cannot be tried again in that jurisdiction for that crime. In the US, jury nullification appeared well before the founding of the country. Nonetheless, American jury nullification remains alive and well. Of course, thanks to jury nullification, the jury could have let her off for the second instance if they wanted.

By Staff Writer

You Won't Believe My Morning — Wait But Why

Posted in Cool

You won’t believe my morning. Normally, I spend the time diddling around my phone, but I forgot to bring my phone this morning, so I just looked around. We’d say 180 micrometers tall, but I know in your world, micrometers don’t mean very much.”I stared at her. The little virus was sitting neatly on her palm. Where are they all anyway?”“The thing is, they don’t like our world, and they really don’t like your world.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Your Birthday For January 16, 2021

Posted in Funny

Help that doesn't help is no help at all! GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Pick up the pace and tend to business matters as quickly as possible today. CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- You're likely to head in a direction that separates you from the crowd -- which suits you just fine, actually. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You'll want to be sure that you take any and all complaints to the right people today. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- You're the only one who has to derive pleasure from what you do today, so there's no need to expose yourself to criticism from others.

By Staff Writer

Your Stars This Week For January 10, 2021

Posted in Cool

(May 6-May 20) -- The more you do for others this week, the more you'll be doing for yourself. (Aug. 8-Aug. 22) -- You're likely to be reminded this week of a few familiar lessons. (Sept. 8-Sept. 22) -- You may begin the week fearing that you do not meet certain requirements, but you're good to go. (Oct. 8-Oct. 22) -- You're trying to do something that's never been done -- at least not under your watch. (Jan. 7-Jan. 19) -- As you wait for others to catch up to you this week, you'll be able to use the time for a personal journey.

By Staff Writer

Their Finest Hour

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Perhaps the most famous speech Churchill ever gave was the one he spent the longest time agonising over- This was their finest hour, where he stated in part,What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over … the Battle of Britain is about to begin. The speech had to somehow rally the entire country during what Churchill would eventually come to call “The Darkest Hour”. This is a goal the speech is generally accepted as having accomplished and then some, with Churchill’s words deeply resonating with the British public. In particular, Churchill’s sentiments about the British Isles standing strong in the face of what appeared to be impossible odds. Of course, no matter how good something is, even in the days before internet comments there’s always someone to criticize and, despite “This was their finest hour” being considered one of the finest oratory performances ever given, Churchill’s own secretary, Sir Jock Colville, was wildly unimpressed.

By Karl Smallwood

Theodore Roosevelt: A Timeline of the 26th President's Life

Posted in Funny

The first season of our new podcast, History Vs., is all about Theodore Roosevelt: author, rancher, naturalist, and 26th president. Sources: Timeline of Theodore Roosevelt's Life, Library of Congress; Timeline, Theodore Roosevelt Center; Timeline, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site. 1858October 27, 1858Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. is born to Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. (Thee) and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt (Mittie) at 28 E. 20th Street in New York City. 1915America and the World War by Theodore Roosevelt is published. November 1918The Great Adventure by Theodore Roosevelt is published.

By Staff Writer

A Sick Giant — Wait But Why

Posted in Cool

Primitive Mind land—where exposure to all the low-rung-ness jolts your Primitive Mind awake, dragging your psyche downward. In that instant, my Primitive Mind deflated like a balloon and my Higher Mind burst out of the closet, suddenly fully empowered. In the months leading up to the election, the nation’s air becomes more and more saturated with toxic, contagious Primitive Mind smoke. The country’s giant collective Primitive Mind gets stronger and louder, pulling the national tug-of-war downward a bit on the mountain. On its face, the downward trend I’m referring to looks like an increase in political polarization, both among voters and among politicians.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You) — Wait But Why

Posted in Interesting

Career-path-carving is definitely one of those really really deeply important things. It’s really really deeply important, putting it squarely in “Definitely absolutely make sure to be a chef about it” territory. The overlapping area contains your optimal career path choices—the set of arrows you should consider drawing on your Career Map. He really really really wants to be in the in-group and he really really really doesn’t want to be in the outgroup. Today’s careers—especially the less traditional ones—are really really not like tunnels.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Idea Labs and Echo Chambers — Wait But Why

Posted in Interesting

In an Idea Lab, conviction is used sparingly and with caution—because conviction levels in an Idea Lab are used as “degree of certainty” stamps. When you float upwards on the Knowledge-Conviction graph, Idea Lab culture pulls you back down to the tightrope.3Or, depicted far more hilariously: People in an Idea Lab are like this squirrel trying to get to a bird feeder, and Idea lab culture “greases the arrogance pole.”All of these forces combine together to make an Idea Lab a big magnet on top of our ladder. One of the coolest properties of an Idea Lab is its ability to play nicely with other Idea Labs and seamlessly meld together with them into larger Idea Labs. How Echo Chambers affect individualsTo understand how Echo Chambers work, just think about how Idea Labs work and then imagine the opposite. As we discussed earlier, Idea Labs merge seamlessly together with other Idea Labs, because while micro-divided in their viewpoints, they’re macro-united by common values like civility and truth.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Neuralink and the Brain's Magical Future — Wait But Why

Posted in Best

When I wrote about Tesla and SpaceX, I learned that you can only fully wrap your head around certain companies by zooming both way, way in and way, way out. (For the non-squeamish, here’s a video of a professor peeling the pia off of a human brain.) Even though they can’t do that, the motor cortex still fires normally, as if they can. And the beginning of this video shows the physical struggles of a man with a perfectly functional motor cortex but impaired proprioception. Nicolelis created an experiment where the motor cortex of one rat in Brazil was wired, via the internet, to the motor cortex of another rat in the US.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Political Disney World — Wait But Why

Posted in Interesting

At least one of the parties involved in a nightmarish Thanksgiving political conversation is from the low-rung political world. Political Disney World turns confirmation bias into its own team effort—it does confirmation bias on a systematic, industrial scale. In Political Disney World, the beliefs and viewpoints of people in different tribes are premised on entirely different conceptions of reality. It seems like a ridiculous tactic—until you remember that Political Disney World is a ridiculous place. Political Disney World is a land of sprawling baileys, dotted with motte hills.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

How Tesla Will Change The World — Wait But Why

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Here’s the combined world energy flow in 2007:The unit, PJ, is in petajoules. Ford and his new company charged ahead making gas-powered cars, but at the time, gas cars were hardly the norm. Suddenly, a lot of the things that sucked about gas cars didn’t suck anymore—and they had become much cheaper than electric cars. The cost of driving a gas car is harder, because gas prices and car fuel efficiency widely vary. The best case scenario for a gas car is unusually cheap gas (let’s say $1.40/gallon) coupled with unusually high fuel efficiency (let’s say it’s a rare gas car that gets 35 mpg).

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 2

Posted in Cool

And in the scheme of the intelligence range we’re talking about today, or even the much smaller range among biological creatures, the chimp-to-human quality intelligence gap is tiny. Now imagine that you made a spider much, much smarter—so much so that it far surpassed human intelligence? In this way, AI boosts the case for what I called, in my Fermi Paradox post, Camp 1. ASI Turry knew humans better than humans know themselves, so outsmarting them was a breeze for her. Vincent C. Müller and Nick Bostrom – Future Progress in Artificial Intelligence: A Survey of Expert OpinionMoshe Y. Vardi – Artificial Intelligence: Past and FutureRuss Roberts, EconTalk – Bostrom Interview and Bostrom Follow-UpStuart Armstrong and Kaj Sotala, MIRI – How We’re Predicting AI—or Failing ToSusan Schneider – Alien MindsStuart Russell and Peter Norvig – Artificial Intelligence: A Modern ApproachTheodore Modis – The Singularity MythGary Marcus – Hyping Artificial Intelligence, Yet AgainSteven Pinker – Could a Computer Ever Be Conscious?

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Cook and the Chef: Musk's Secret Sauce — Wait But Why

Posted in Strange

Hardware and SoftwareThe first clue to the way Musk thinks is in the super odd way that he talks. But when you don’t know how to reason, you don’t know how to evolve or adapt. We don’t think of brains as computers, so we don’t think about the distinction between hardware and software at all. That’s why it’s so important that we begin with “I don’t know shit.” That’s when we know we’re in the lab. But this epiphany—that the collective “other people” and their conventional wisdom don’t know shit—is a much larger challenge.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

The Thinking Ladder

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The addition of the Psych Spectrum turns our thinking spectrum into a thinking square—and now our discussion can get interesting. The basic process we’re examining is belief formation, which we can notate like this:In our thinking square, a person’s x-axis position shows us where they landed at Point B—the output of their thinking process. The Thinking Ladder is my favorite lens to use to think about thinking. Rung 1: Thinking Like a ScientistMeet the Scientist:This is who you are in moments when your Higher Mind is in charge of your thinking. It only took you along this path:But the crazy thing about humans is, when you’re thinking like an Attorney, you still believe you’re thinking like a Scientist.

By View All Posts Tim Urban

Why Cryonics Makes Sense — Wait But Why

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Here are the steps:Step 1) Pick a companyThere are four major companies that provide cryonics services—Alcor in Arizona, Cryonics Institute (CI) in Michigan, American Cryonics Society (ACS) in California, and KrioRus in Russia. Step 6) Cool off ASAP and get transferred to the cryonics facilityAfter you’re declared legally dead, the cryonics team will, ideally, immediately get going. The concept of info death makes sense when we compare the brain to a computer’s hard drive. In the ideal situation, your heart stops and before any changes happen in your brain, you’re stabilized and put on ice. The theory is that with enough future technology, you’ll one day be revivable.

By View All Posts Tim Urban