Weird, Wonderful World
Conspiracy theories question everything: Did Lee Harvey Oswald really assassinate JFK? Did man really land on the moon? Did the guy who wrote Alice in Wonderland secretly murder a bunch of people? J.K. Rowling didn’t write Harry Potter Having never published a novel before, British author J.K. Rowling emerged in the late ’90s as the […]
History that’s good enough to eat (or drink). Latte If you ordered a caffe latte in Italy, you’d get a cup of coffee with some milk in it. (In Italian, it literally means “coffee with milk.”) You wouldn’t get espresso combined with steamed milk. That’s an American latte, a variation on cappuccino that was created […]
Lots of states have placed their capital city in their largest metropolitan area (Denver, Colorado) or in a place of strategic importance (Juneau, Alaska, is closest to the U.S. mainland). Others are a little more mystifying. Here’s why a lot of the less logically-placed state capitals are where they are. Sacramento Sacramento is one of […]
Since 1986 there have been 11 helicopter-assisted jailbreaks from French prisons. Three of them involved the same man. Background Pascal Payet, a.k.a. “Kalashnikov Pat,” is one of France’s most notorious criminals. In 1997 he was arrested for armed robbery and murder after an attack on an armored truck, during which he shot a guard 14 […]
It’s arguably the world’s top prize for writers. But for every Nobel Prize for Literature that understandably went to a luminary like Toni Morrison or Samuel Beckett, the award has a few head-scratchers in its history. The 2016 recipient, iconic folk-rocker Bob Dylan came as a surprise to many—in part because he’s the first musician […]
Language changes over time, as old words morph into new ones. But where do they all come from? Here are some more interesting origins. Leprechaun Meaning: A small, mischievous sprite who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch him Origin: “The leprechauns are a race of Irish elves, usually portrayed as cobblers. One theory […]
And here’s one more: Those four presidential heads carved into a mountain in South Dakota are not naturally occurring. It could have been carved into a different formation It was the idea of South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson to carve faces of iconic historical figures into the side of a mountain in the Black […]
Why did a major city change its name? Because the government said so. Why did it change it back? Because the city asked nicely. For 20 years. See if you can figure out this riddle: The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the oldest teams in Major League Baseball, joining the National League in 1887. The […]
For some reason even the most mundane objects can become valuable if a celebrity owned—or even just touched—them. This article was first published in our 29th annual edition, Uncle John’s Uncanny Bathroom Reader. Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Johansson appeared on The Tonight Show in 2008 while sick with a cold. After the show, she was persuaded […]
You could use your wealth to buy cars, houses, yachts…or action figures. This article was first published in our 29th annual edition, Uncle John’s Uncanny Bathroom Reader. Rick Springfield Rick Springfield, who performed the 1980s hit “Jessie’s Girl”, has one of the largest and most complete collections of Star Wars toys in the world. Demi […]
It’s a simple dessert…with a complicated story. Chess pie is a classic, old-fashioned Southern dessert. It’s sort of like a cheesecake, in that it’s refrigerator-hardened and sweetened custard set inside of a pie crust. The first printed recipe dates back to the mid-1700s in a cookbook called Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery. The recipe has […]
Twice a year, the English monarch bestows “honours” upon notable Britons who have made major contributions to the world, including scientists, entertainers, and politicians. But not everybody who is named “Sir” or “Dame” or an “Officer of the British Empire” wants to be one. Here are a few who told the Crown, “Thanks, but no […]
Bad news: Your horoscope has been wrong this entire time. By which we mean it’s been wrong forever. (If you believe in that kind of stuff, we mean.) Those “Star Signs” are based on real collections of stars in the night sky, and NASA just made a big discovery about them. According to recent research […]
You don’t expect to find human remains when remodeling a house or cleaning out a basement. But these folks did. Here are their macabre—but fascinating—stories. This article was first published in Uncle John’s Uncanny Bathroom Reader. Body #1 A carpenter named Bob Kinghorn was doing renovations on a house in a Toronto, Ontario, neighborhood in […]
Who will win the election on November 8? Just pay attention to the cookies, football, and the costume store…unless they’re wrong. (Prognostication isn’t an exact science, people.) NFL If the NFL’s team in Washington, D.C. wins its last home game that takes place before the presidential election, the incumbent—or the incumbent party—wins. Since Washington beat […]
Ever since the trampoline-jumping, basketball-dunking Phoenix Suns Gorilla burst onto the scene in 1980, teams have wanted their mascots to be bigger, faster, stronger…but sometimes it comes with a price. This article was first published in Uncle John’s Uncanny Bathroom Reader. Rocky the Mountain Lion In 2013, the Denver Nuggets’ mascot, Rocky the Mountain Lion, […]
Just in time for Halloween, something very spooky has occurred at one of the spookiest places in the United States. Rifle magnate William Wirt Winchester died in 1881, leaving behind his vast fortune to his wife, Sarah Winchester. Part of her windfall was allocated to building a Queen Anne-style mansion in San Jose, California. Around […]
Many NASCAR, Formula One, and IndyCar drivers put themselves through some very peculiar rituals, in the belief that if they don’t, bad luck will curse them to lose their race…or worse. This article was first published in our 29th annual edition, Uncle John’s Uncanny Bathroom Reader. Don’t Drive a Green Car Just a few months […]
