Weird, Wonderful World
Every few years, a new exercise craze sweeps the country. Here’s how a few of them got up and moving. Jazzercise Jazz choreographer Judi Sheppard Missett came up with the dance-meets-aerobics fitness program—fun routines set to pop music—in 1969 and opened a studio in Los Angeles. By 1977 she no longer taught classes. Instead, she […]
Some forgotten fads are forgotten for a reason. DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME? In the late 1980s and early ’90s, board game publishers feared that the popularity of video games spelled doom for their industry. Solution: VCR Board Games, which included a board game, and, to compete with electronic games, a videotape. The […]
Vodka is practically tasteless, which means that distilleries can add whatever bizarre flavors they want to it. For example… Grass Polish company Bak makes Bison Grass vodka. It’s not bison-flavored—it’s grass-flavored (and bison eat grass). The grass infusion leaves a small amount of coumarin, which is a main ingredient in rat poison and leads to […]
You probably grew up eating some of these “classic” comfort food dishes, the recipes of which were printed on food packaging or promoted in magazine ads. If you’re like us, your feelings range from “Did we really eat like that?” to “I wish I had some right now!” VELVEETA QUESO DIP Ingredients: One 16-ounce package […]
The Miss America Pageant added the talent portion to the contest in 1935. Most contestants sing or dance, but some display more unusual skills. 1957: Amanda Whitman (Miss Tennessee) did a gymnastic tumbling and trampoline routine to the theme from The Third Man. 1959: Elizabeth Holmes (Miss New York) did an impression of French singer […]
At the top of the superhero list, you’ve got your Superman, your Batman…and then way, way down the list, you’ve got these. Shamrock In 1982 artists at Marvel Comics—tasked with creating an Irish superhero—came up the most stereotypically Irish lass possible. Shamrock (Molly Fitzgerald) is the daughter of a militant IRA member and has long […]
Gossip and trivia from pop music. RADIOHEAD Bucking the tradition of rock groups trashing hotel rooms, Radiohead actually does the opposite. Not only do they clean up their own rooms, but they once snuck back into a hotel after checking out to clean up a room that their opening band had trashed. THE WHITE STRIPES […]
In honor of Harper Lee, who passed away at the age of 89, we look in our vault for some interesting facts about her famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Throughout history, many leaders were given lofty nicknames— Catherine the Great or Richard the Lionhearted, for example. But not everyone could be Great or Magnificent. Some rulers got strange, and strangely specific, nicknames. ALFONSO THE SLOBBERER: King Alfonso IX ruled León (now part of France) from 1188 to 1230. He was prone to fits of […]
A few more violent, racist, and otherwise inappropriate items with one strange thing in common: Kids are supposed to play with them. Black Bandit The LEGO company has distanced itself from what Muslim groups have dubbed the “terrorist LEGO.” Sold by an unlicensed LEGO enthusiast from Seattle named Will Chapman, Black Bandit is a head-scarf-wearing, […]
Cheese’s exact origin is unclear, but archaeological evidence reveals that people have been eating it for nearly 8,000 years. These facts are so gouda we had to share them. According to Greek mythology, cheese was invented by Aristaeus, a demigod who was the son of Apollo. According to an Arab legend, thousands of years ago a […]
This is a major election year. It is your civic duty to vote. When you do, is it at a school or public building, or one of these more eccentric polling stations? In one Los Angeles precinct, voters went to a swimming pool, with curtained booths set up just inches away from the shallow end. That’s not even […]
Beer, Gatorade, and auto parts are the kinds of sponsors you usually see plastered on NASCAR race cars. But many companies are willing to pay for that advertising exposure…even when it seems a little weird. From 2001 to 2005, Mark Martin, one of the oldest drivers on the NASCAR circuit, drove a car bearing stickers […]
“Kleenex” is probably the most famous example of a “genericized trademark”—a product so popular that people use the brand-name to identify it. You’ve probably heard someone ask for a “Kleenex” more often than they ask for a “tissue.” Here are some other name brands that have gone generic…and what, technically speaking, you should be calling […]
We found these actual medieval folk cures in an old book about English medical practices in the Middle Ages. So try them at your own risk. To treat baldness Rub some horse urine onto your scalp. If horse urine isn’t available, dog urine can be substituted. Fractures, abscesses, paralysis, epilepsy, nausea, sore throats, and ulcers […]
The slang or vernacular of any subculture develops slowly and naturally over time. Not so with the words and phrases associated with the 1990s “grunge” music scene. BACKGROUND In the early 1990s, the biggest thing in rock music was grunge, a mixture of punk rock and dreary guitar riffs that shot bands like Nirvana and […]
Take packaged junk food…and turn it into something “gourmet” with one of these weird recipes. (Warning to healthy eaters: DON’T LOOK!) Funyun Onion Rings Grind a bag of Funyuns in a blender. (Funyuns are made from cornmeal that’s formed into rings and heavily seasoned with onion powder.) Dip slices of real onions in the Funyun […]
Random facts about the happiest places on Earth: Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Walt Disney hated seeing chewing gum on the ground, so he prohibited Disneyland and Disney World from selling it. In fact, Disney didn’t want any garbage on the ground at all. So before Disneyland opened, he had planners study families at other […]
