Can you “train” your brain to figure out what landmark event happened exactly 150 years ago? A huge moment in American history Recently, around 20,000 people descended on Promontory Summit, a remote bluff about 70 miles northwest of Salt Lake City. The reason: To commemorate a huge moment in American history. It’s the setting of […]
GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! We are thrilled to celebrate passing the 10,000 followers mark on Facebook. Our online community has always been incredibly supportive and we wanted to celebrate them with a giveaway. (You do not have to have a Facebook account to enter the giveaway.) Something Strange for Everyone! Our Strange Series offers stories of […]
After an extremely popular 12-year run that made it the longest-running laugh track sitcom in TV history, The Big Bang Theory comes to an end this week. Here’s a look into the world of those nerdy Caltech scientists and their sci-fi-memorabilia filled apartments. Bazinga! Any sitcom worth its meddle generates a catchphrase, and for The […]
As basketball’s postseason heats up, here’s a look into the teams that have historically fared quite poorly. Longest current playoff drought The Sacramento Kings finished in ninth place in the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, just barely missing out on one of eight playoff spots. That marked the 13th straight year that the team […]
Saturday, May 11 is “Eat What You Want Day,” a time that organizers say we should all ease up on the healthy eating and just consume what we really want to consume. It might be going a little too far, however, to eat one of these record-setting giant foods, or try to match a competitive […]
They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and these women invented something so important, they’re now regarded as the “mother” of their respective field. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, both literal and metaphorical. The Mother of Wi-Fi Hedy Lamar was one of the most glamorous and successful actresses of […]
Fast food is extremely popular, but not the hungry, convenience-and-beef-craving populace happily devours every burger. Here are some sandwiches that the world either declined en masse…or which barely ever existed. THE HULA BURGER Cincinnati has a large Roman Catholic population, and in 1962, area McDonald’s franchisee Lou Groen noticed that during Lent, the 40-day period […]
It’s almost summer, so that means summer movies, which means lots more superhero and comic book movies. You probably won’t see the good guys fighting these bad guys, however. Blue Snowman This occasional Wonder Woman villain is the alter ego of evil scientist Bryna Brilyant. She uses a creation called “blue snow,” which can freeze […]
May 4th is Star Wars Day. Why? Because “may the fourth be with you” sounds a lot like “may the force be with you,” a famous line from the franchise. While the many Star Wars movie have delighted millions and earned billions, there are a few that never got made at all. The Star Wars […]
The first Saturday in May means it’s time for “the greatest two minutes in sports” — the running of the Kentucky Derby. Horses and jockey have competed annually since 1875 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and promoters, fans, and partiers have helped make the brief race into an all-day event with a number of […]
Sports aren’t just played on a simple “field” — they’re contested on all sorts of surfaces and terrains. Here are the origins behind a few of them. GRIDIRON It’s often used as a synonym for football — as in the “American” style, as played in the NFL, not soccer. It was actually first used decades […]
Every town in America offers more or less the same radio stations: pop, country, classic rock, and talk. Some stations like to offer something a little bit (or a whole lot) different, and so do broadcasters who pipe out music from the wild west of the internet. THE FIX IS IN Broadcasting in London, Fix […]
Musicians record and release albums because they need to share with the world the music they wrote from their heart and soul. Or, they make records because they’ve been forced to do so by powerful entities. Contract Breaking Sessions Legendary singer-songwriter Van Morrison signed a deal with Bang Records in 1967, and it’s through that […]
In major cities across the nation, public transportation like buses and subways are full of huge ads for every product imaginable. Well, almost every product imaginable. Here are some companies who were forbidden from hocking their wares. TUSHY In 2018, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which regulates subways in New York City, rejected posters for a […]
Didn’t we just celebrate Earth Day? Well, now it’s time for that other April holiday about green things that grow: Arbor Day. The appreciation of trees in America, and all their benefits both biological and eye-pleasing, long pre-dates the 20th century’s environmentalism movement. It all goes back to Julius Sterling Morton, who, after earning his […]
April 23 is celebrated as the birthday of the Bard, William Shakespeare, quite likely the greatest writer in the English language. (Well, it’s probably Billy’s birthday — records from 1564 England are spotty, but historians are fairly certain of the date.) As one of the most famous and revered people to ever live, there’s a […]
How tremendous and validating it must be to do art for a long time and to be recognized for it, in the form of a major award nomination, like a Pulitzer Prize or Academy Award. A lot of people would feel that way, but apparently not these people who said “thanks, but no thanks” to […]
What’s one of the best parts of the summer? Minor league baseball. What’s the second-best part of the summer? Reading this article about the kooky names of minor league baseball. Savannah Bananas The potassium-rich yellow fruit does not grow naturally in Georgia, but hey, when you’ve got a team name that can rhyme with the […]
