March 2010
31 posts
4 tags
Roman Graffiti (3/30/10)
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that invaded Rome in 455, bringing great destruction and desecration to many of the aesthetic elements of the city. The Vandals’ sacking of Rome is the inspiration behind the word “vandalism.” I think it would be funny if we still took this literally. Principal Jefferson, another East Germanic tribe spray painted the F-word on the wall of the cafeteria....
5 tags
Rudolph can't help you this time (3/29/10)
Located near the lunar north pole, Peary crater exhibits an extremely unusual condition. Four mountainous regions around the rim of the crater appear to be illuminated for the entire lunar day. These “peaks of eternal light” are the only known regions of constant light in our solar system (astronomers speculate that some places in Mercury may share these features, but no direct...
6 tags
Doin' the robot (3/28/10)
In 1921, Czech sci-fi writer Karl Capek introduced the word “robot” in his futuristic play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). In Czech, “robota” basically translates to “hard work” or “forced labor.” In Capek’s story, all the machines at a factory rebel against and rewire the humans, turning them into mindless workers called...
7 tags
Las Vegas (3/27/10)
In the 1800s, a group of Spaniards, heading west on the Old Spanish Trail from Texas, came across an area with numerous artesian wells. These wells had the fresh water to support vast green areas; the Spaniards called the place “Las Vegas” (the meadows). Now these meadows are home to thousands of zombies entranced by flashing lights, herds of steroid users in Ed Hardy, and countless...
5 tags
The Fast and The Furious: 1860s Style (3/26/10)
The first speed limits were set in the United Kingdom in a series of Locomotive Acts in 1861, 1865, and 1878. The 1861 Act set the speed limit at 10 mph (16 km/h). In 1865, the “Red Flag” Act reduced the speed limit to 4 mph (6 km/h) in the country and 2 mph (3 km/h) in towns and required a man with a red flag or lantern to walk 60 yards ahead of the vehicle to warn...
9 tags
16th Century Homeboys (3/25/10)
The first personal timepieces were introduced in 16th century Europe. These “clock-watches” were about the size of a clock and usually worn on a chain around a person’s neck. This is four hundred years more old school than Flavor Flav.
5 tags
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! (3/24/10)
The Jerry Springer Show debuted in 1991 as a politically-oriented talk show. Early guests included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, and dealt with topics such as homelessness and gun politics. The show didn’t do too well, and was almost canceled. As the show got trashier, the ratings skyrocketed. Now instead of discussing homelessness and gun politics, the show offers a case study.
7 tags
The Stargate Project: Genius! (3/23/10)
The Stargate Project was the code name of a $20 million dollar research project funded by the United States Federal Government to study the possibility of using psychic powers for military gains. One of the central goals of the project was to master “remote viewing.” Remote viewing is the ability to psychically “see” things, places, and information from extreme distances...
7 tags
FreeCreditReport Shocker! (3/22/10)
This is truly the most worthless fact to date. But I am doing it anyway. Get ready to have your face melted. You know those FreeCreditReport.com commercials with that guy singing about various lame jobs he works? Well, the guy’s name is Eric Violette, a Canadian singer. In the United States, however, we are not hearing his real voice. His Canadian-French accent is so strong that we dub...
6 tags
I like your brood pouch (3/21/10)
Seahorses and their relatives in the syngnathid group are the only animals in which the males can get pregnant. However, these seahorses are crappy dads at times, as the male seahorses often abort and eat their offspring. The decision to keep or abort the offspring appears to depend on how suitable the seahorse finds its female mate. Conservative seahorses must have a heyday with all these...
6 tags
Name You Like a Hurricane (3/20/10)
As we know, names are given to tropical storms (wind speed over 39 mph) and hurricanes (winds over 74 mph). The storms were originally given saints’ names, but by World War II, the storms were being named after women. Then in 1978 and the following year, men’s names were used half of the time. Before every year, meteorologists create a list of 21 names in alphabetical order,...
6 tags
Can I please have a salt raise (3/19/10)
Your salary may come in the mail, but originally it comes from the Latin adjective salarius, meaning pertaining to salt. Roman soldiers used to receive a handful of salt everyday. Eventually the salt was replaced with money, and the soldiers could go buy as much salt as they wanted. Money is a good thing, especially with my high blood pressure. If I just got handfuls of salt all the time, I...
5 tags
St. Patrick failed (3/18/10)
Although it hardly seems this way anymore, St. Patrick’s Day was originally a Catholic holiday honoring, you guessed it, Saint Patrick. St. Patty’s Day is the one time of year where everyone gets hammered, claims Irish heritage, and dons green duds and clovers (unless you live in Boston, where this is the norm). Originally, St. Patrick used the three-leafed clovers to help explain the...
6 tags
Bruce Wayne would dig this (3/17/10)
The X Prize Foundation is a non-profit organization that oversees public contests intended to create competition which furthers technological advancements. There are several prizes the X Prize Foundation sponsors. Tying in to yesterday’s fact about the ocean’s deepest point (Challenger Deep), the Ocean X Prize of $10 million will be awarded to the first person to make 2 manned...
5 tags
That's deep, man (3/16/10)
Challenger Deep is the deepest recorded point in the Earth’s oceans at around 36,000 feet (or 11,000 meters) below sea level. If you want to go visit it, you can find it at the southern end of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. If you do happen to go down there and visit it, let me know how it went. And how it felt when you imploded.
4 tags
Too Easy (3/15/10)
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the generic magical phrase “Hocus Pocus” is a perversion of the Roman Catholic sacrament spoken before transubstantiation, Hoc est corpus meum (This is my body). This is a rare instance where the Catholic Church is on the receiving end of perversion.
Forgive me.
6 tags
Sick brah (3/14/10)
Chicama, a small port town in northwestern Peru, is home to the world’s longest wave. A surfer can ride the same wave for several minutes and travel over a mile. The only downside is that once the wave breaks,you have to walk fifteen minutes down the beach to get back. According to some surf websites, Chicama was discovered by surfers in 1965. Apparently, it didn’t exist before...
6 tags
A Day Without Police (3/13/10)
On October 7th, 1969, the Montreal Police Department went on strike, demanding higher salaries. Thousands of police officers congregated for what they referred to as an “all-day study session.” Meanwhile, in Montreal, all hell was breaking loose. 6 banks were robbed and around 100 shops were looted. Things got even worse when a radical group of taxi drivers decided to settle some...
4 tags
Black Holes don't suck (3/12/10)
Black holes are the result of the gravitational collapse of a massive star (at least 10 to 15 times more massive than our sun). When the star is no longer able to create outward energy to balance the strong inward gravitational forces, the star collapses into an infinitely dense black hole. The escape velocity needed to overcome the gravity of the black hole is faster than the speed of light,...
30 tags
The Honorable King of Herbs (3/11/10)
The Greek word basileus means king, and is at the heart of a bunch of words. For example, basilisk (Greek for little king) is the monstrous reptile that long ago was said to wear a crown-shaped crest on its head, basilica (originally, a tribunal chamber for a king), and the herb basil. Basil is said to be the king of all herbs, and may have been an ingredient in some royal perfume. Being the...
6 tags
The Honorable King of Herbs (3/11/10)
The Greek word basileus means king, and is at the heart of a bunch of words. For example, basilisk (Greek for little king) is the monstrous reptile that long ago was said to wear a crown-shaped crest on its head, basilica (originally, a tribunal chamber for a king), and the herb basil. Basil is said to be the king of all herbs, and may have been an ingredient in some royal perfume. Being the...
4 tags
A-mish Come True (3/10/10)
Amish people do tons of hilarious things. I knew that. But I had never heard them speak Pennsylvania Germanbefore. Some Old Order Amish speak this language, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a German dialect that has been heavily influenced by American English. I could understand bits and pieces of it. But it just sounded so funky that I had to smile. I also had to smile because I...
5 tags
Stupid Fact Websites 2 (3/9/10)
I had to check out the competition, just to see how I’m doing. I felt a lot better after I stumbled upon this gem of a ’fact’: “Ostriches are often not taken seriously. They can run faster than horses, and the males can roar like lions.” …Ostriches are often not taken seriously…. that’s a fact? Did someone conduct a poll that asked,...
6 tags
The Epicanthic Fold (3/8/10)
The epicanthic fold is a skin fold of the upper eyelid that gives a large percentage of the world, including many East Asians, almond shaped eyes, in comparison to Caucasians’ (although given the relatively minute percentage of Caucasians in the world, it may be better to note how many Caucasians lack epicanthic folds). It is hypothesized that the epicanthic fold is evolutionary as it...
5 tags
Trademark Infringement (3/7/10)
A genericized trademark is a brand name that has become synonymous with the class of product iteslf. A few well-known genericized trademarks that have lost their legal protection are yo-yo (originally trademarked by Duncan), zipper (originally trademarked by B.F. Goodrich), and trampoline (for the generic “rebound tumbler”). A trademark becomes genericized typically after it achieves...
5 tags
Stupid Hipsters (3/6/10)
The Charlie Chaplin mustache, also known as the toothbrush mustache, or perhaps, (who are we kiddin’?) the Hitler mustache, was actually a popular style of facial hair in the 1920s. The mustache pretty much lost its appeal as it became increasingly connected with Adolf Hitler. It is rumored that Hitler wore the ‘stache because it properly fit under a gas-mask. Perhaps he should have...
4 tags
Historical Low Blow (3/5/10)
On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr shot and killed Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel (present day equivalent of Joe Biden killing Timothy Geithner). The duel took place in New Jersey, because New York had outlawed dueling. The bitter politicians arrived at the set location on separate boats. Measures were taken so all witnesses could deny any wrong doing. For example,...
5 tags
History repeats itself (3/4/10)
The German title “Kaiser,” meaning emperor, along with the Russian Czar, derives from the Latin Emperors’ title of Caesar, from Gaius Julius Caesar. As for Caesar, I found this little tidbit kind of funny: In elementary school-style attempts to humiliate and degrade Caesar, his political opponents publicly questioned his sexuality, often claiming he had a homosexual affair with...
6 tags
So that's how you play (3/3/10)
Maybe a lot of people know this, but I didn’t. In baseball, if a fielder intentionally catches or even touches an in-play baseball with his hat, all runners and the batter advance 3 free bases. I didn’t know this because I grew up in Kansas City with the MLB bottom-feeders, the Royals. I thought every runner would advance 3 bases every time anyway.
3 tags
& (3/2/10)
The symbol for and (&) is called an ampersand. The symbol is a combination of the letters in the word et, Latin for “and.” Ampersand is a bastardization of the words “and per se and.” Bastardization is such a great word. Ampersand, you bastard.
6 tags
Frank Wills rules (3/1/10)
When it comes to badass security guards, Paul Blart doesn’t come close to Frank Wills. Wills was the security guard who uncovered the break-in at the Watergate office building that started the Watergate Scandal. After this historic event, Wills’s story is a very sad one. He quit his position as a security guard after he didn’t receive a pay raise for his actions. He was later...