Here are the origins of some common phrases. ON THE LAM Meaning: To be on the run, especially from the police Origin: “American slang since the latter part of the 19th century. The root of lam is the Old Norse word lamja, meaning to ‘make lame,’ and the original meaning, when it first appeared in […]
You’ve bought them. You’ve played with them. You’ve wondered where they came from and who created them. Now the BRI offers these bits of useless information to satisfy your curiosity. BINGO In 1929 a tired, depressed toy salesman named Edwin Lowe set out on a nighttime drive from Atlanta, Georgia, to Jacksonville, Florida. On the […]
Some interesting facts about America’s favorite pastime—lawn care. (And when you’re done with reading this, get out there and start mowing.) An average lawn has six grass plants per square inch. That’s 850 per square foot— which can contain as many as 3,000 individual blades of grass. There are 50 million lawn mowers in use […]
For some reason, Great Britain has more than its share of mansions, estates, and old homes that are reported to be haunted. Leeds Castle… is said to be haunted by a dog. He pays no attention to the people who visit the castle, but he’s said to bring bad luck to anyone who spots him. […]
On a trip to Ireland, Uncle John spent many an evening going from pub to pub collecting traditional toasts (and many a morning after, begging for aspirin). Here are some favorites. May you have food and clothing, a soft pillow for your head; May you be forty years in heaven, before the devil knows you’re […]
Who invented the Hokey Pokey? It depends on who you ask, or where and when you lived. DO “THE HOKEY COKEY” In 1942 Irish songwriter and publisher Jimmy Kennedy, best known for “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” created a dance, and an instructional song to go along with it, called “The Hokey Cokey.” Written to entertain […]
This week, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction went to Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer. But some years, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama or Fiction isn’t awarded at all. Here’s a look at those years when the judges just couldn’t agree. In 2006, […]
Here are 11 random facts about America’s longest-running game show. (1) The Price is Right debuted on American television in 1956 on NBC, in both prime-time and daytime versions. Both were hosted by former radio announcer Bill Cullen, and they were huge hits—in the top 10 from 1959 to 1961, making it the most popular […]
The Bathroom Readers’ Institute was born in 1987. Here’s what was going on in the rest of the world in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show, a variety program on the new Fox Network, airs a short cartoon called “The Simpsons.” Sen. Gary Hart, the likely 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, drops out of the race after reports […]
Because if we didn’t we’d go to jail. Okay, but there are other reasons why taxes are due by that particular date. The United States was founded after declared independence from the United Kingdom, an action in part due to “taxation without representation.” Not being taxed was an American concept that lasted for a good […]
Great ice cream! You can really taste the beaver butt! Ingredient: Beaver secretions Found in: Ice cream Explanation: The male North American beaver marks its territory by urinating on things. Along with the urine, it secretes a liquid called castoreum, which gives off a sweet scent. Castoreum also enhances the intensity of vanilla flavor, which […]
We don’t really mind if this page puts you to sleep, here are 16 sleep facts you should know. (Nighty night.) (1) If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep, it probably means you’re sleep deprived. Healthy sleepers need between 10 and 15 minutes to doze off. (2) Researchers at Oxford University […]
Celebrities, politicians, and captains of industry had to start somewhere. Turns out they pretty much started out with the same lame jobs as the rest of us. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, was a summer intern at Hewlett-Packard. J. K. Rowling worked for Amnesty International. Chris Rock was a busboy at a Red Lobster. […]
This stuff used to be a part of everyday life. Now it’s gone. So where did it all go?
It’s not unusual to find odd-but-true stories in the news these days. But if the date of the article is April 1, you might want to think twice before assuming it’s true. In 1959… The Indiana Kokomo Tribune announced that due to budget cuts, the city police department would now be closing each night from […]
April Fool’s is a holiday to play harmless jokes on your friends. Here are some that weren’t so innocent. In 1998, Babil, an Iraqi newspaper ran a front page story announcing that the U.S. had lifted sanctions against Iraq, which could lead to all kinds of humanitarian aid pouring into the country. The headline on […]
Hey, more dogs are always a good thing, right? Well, it’s a little bit odd, and straight out of science fiction, that cloning pets is now a reality.
You might not want to read this page with the lights out. WANDERING SOLES Employees at a store in Cornwall, England, claim a ghost has taken up residence in the shop. And the ghost, they say, is obsessed with shoes. “I was standing at the counter,” says a salesclerk named Helen Honey, “when the top […]
