Origin of Nachos
Readers sometimes ask if we’ll ever run out of things to write about. No way. Origins are a good example: as we recently discovered, even lowly snack foods can have fascinating (and delicious) origins.
Author: Uncle John
Weird Stuff You Didn’t Know About Babies
Babies: Cute little bundles of joy…or bizarre creatures from another planet? Bones An adult human has exactly 206 bones. Babies, however, have as many as 300. When they’re born, a lot of what will eventually harden and fuse into solid bones are individual pieces of soft bones, or cartilage. Knees But some bones adults have […]
"Courtesy Flush" and Other Phrases Coined by a Famous Person
Celebrities: They’re beautiful, talented, and they even invent words and phrases! Courtesy flush As purveyors of the world’s finest and largest books of trivia read in the bathroom, we like to keep up with all the slang terms and phrases related to everything that goes on in what we call “the reading room.” One phrase […]
Let's Play Some Video Game$$$
At the recently held consumer electronics show E3, Microsoft enraged cash-strapped gamers with an announcement that its latest system, the Xbox One X will cost nearly $500. That’s actually par for the course, because video games are two things: fun…and expensive. MAGNAVOX ODY$$EY The first widely available video game system in the U.S. came out […]
What in the Heck is a “Nittany Lion”?
If you’re from the area near a college or went there, you probably know why your quirky team name is what it is, but for the rest of us, let the truth be told. Stanford Cardinal Look closely — the prestigious California university’s team name is the Cardinal, not cardinals. That refers to the shade […]
Why It’s Called a Fanny (And Other Slang Terms For What Lies “Beneath” Us)
We’ve fallen “behind” with our word origins posts lately, so let’s get to the “bottom” of things. Make sure to read to the “end”! Tush Linguists say this one only dates back about 50 years. It’s also a specifically American slang term. It’s an all-American Englishification and shortening of tukhus, or tokhes, which is a […]
My Shoes Just Ordered a Pizza
Today’s consumers are more sophisticated than ever, and they’re hip to the often wily ways of advertising. That means in order to get noticed and sell their wares, companies have to get a lot more creative…and strange. Here are some companies that promoted their products by making other, bizarre products. Pizza Shoes Are $300 basketball […]
5 Holidays in December You Ought to Celebrate
Yes, there are (somehow) even more holidays coming up this month. December 2: Earmuff Day Some places get so cold in the winter that the regular get-up of coat, hat, scarf, and gloves just isn’t enough — earmuffs must be worn over the old hearin’ flaps to keep them warm. Early December is when a […]
Other Stuff in the Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, isn’t just for players, managers, and other people who made baseball great. “Centerfield” The playing of John Fogerty’s 1985 baseball-themed hit “Centerfield” is as much a part of a baseball game as peanuts and the seventh-inning stretch. In 2010, the Baseball Hall of […]
The Origins of Doughnuts
Doughnuts (or donuts) have been around for ages. But where did they come from? Oily Cake When Dutch settlers arrived in what’s now New York in the 17th century, they brought with them something called olykoek, or “oily cake.” They were much like today’s doughnuts in that they were fried balls or discs of sweetened […]
Weird News from Above
When you think about it, it’s kind of weird and amazing that humans have created machines that allow us to travel through the sky and into space. It makes sense then that there are going to be some weird stories about what happens when humans take to the skies. THE SKY KING The U.K.’s Prince […]
Random Facts About This Year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
Here’s a little bit about a bunch of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of acts that may be officially enshrined early next year. The Moody Blues Before they picked “The Moody Blues,” the group was called the M&B Five, named after Mitchell and Butler, the Birmingham, England, pub that sponsored them. Radiohead […]
That Movie is Banned Because…Wha?
Yes, movies still get banned by cities, countries, and movie theater chains. And it’s usually for a very particular reason. Gone with the Wind Gone With the Wind is one of the most acclaimed movies of all time, and, adjusted for inflation, it’s still the highest-grossing movie of all time. It is, however, a little […]
Inside the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Here’s a look at a Thanksgiving tradition as much a part of the holiday as football, eating way too much, and naps. Christmas Parade? The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been affiliated with the Macy’s department store chain, but it wasn’t always affiliated with Christmas. The first parade was held on Thanksgiving Day 1924, […]
Random Facts About Thanksgiving Trimmings
The turkey (or ham) is usually the star of the show, but we think that the other foods that make up the traditional Thanksgiving dinner are all something to give thanks for. Stuffing Sure, you could make your own stuffing, or you could buy a box, add it some butter and hot water and be […]
We're Going to Have to Shoot That Again!
Filming a movie is a very costly and time-consuming endeavor. And sometimes someone in the cast or crew messes up so badly that it eats up even more time and money. Napoleon Dynamite Shot on a relatively tiny budget of $400,000 and grossing $45 million, the quirky high school comedy Napoleon Dynamite was the surprise […]
From Champions to Cellar-Dwellers
Here are some teams who defended their titles…by not defending them at all and turning almost explicably bad in the blink of an eye. The 1998-99 Chicago Bulls In the 1997-98 season, the Chicago Bulls amassed a record of 62-20, the best in the Eastern Conference. They cruised through the playoffs and in the […]
It's a Monopoly!
There are a lot of laws around the world preventing one company from controlling the market for a single product…but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen. ZIPPERS Are you wearing a zip-up sweatshirt or a pair of jeans? Look closely at the zipper (we’ll wait). It very likely has a small “YKK” embossed on […]
