Weird, Wonderful World
The gift-giving (and receiving) holidays are on their way — you can just about hear the jingling bells in the distance and make out those flickering candle flames. The perfect gift for any occasion: a book. And we’ve got you covered — we’ve got lots of books for every taste! For the paternal cornball YOU: […]
Diamonds are a sparkly, fancy — and very expensive — miracle of science. Superman’s hands In many comic books, Superman showed off one of his coolest powers: He can squeeze a lump of coal into a diamond. Spoiler alert: Superman may be strong, but he isn’t real, and so doing making a diamond “by hand” […]
Put down that pumpkin spice latte (which doesn’t have any actual pumpkin in it, by the way) and check out these facts about everyone’s favorite gourd. Word Origins Origin of the word pumpkin: In 1584, French explorer Jacques Cartier visited what’s now Canada and reported seeing grow melons. The French then called them pompions, which […]
Everybody has heard of Albert Einstein, and everybody knows a handful of things about him. The only problem: They don’t know the whole truth about those facts. Einstein didn’t fail math as a kid. It’s one of those common factoids that’s most often repeated as words of comfort in times of failure, or to kids […]
Here are some common phrases and images that everybody knows…but if you use them, you just might owe somebody some money. A soft and crunchy tale On the second workday of every week, millions of Americans celebrate the wonderful but informal holiday of “Taco Tuesday.” That means they eat tacos, either prepared at home, or […]
Fast food burger places, barbecue joints, and Chinese restaurants remain stalwarts on the American food scene, outlasting a lot of other types of eateries that have come…and mostly gone. Fondue While the notion of dipping pieces of bread, meat, and vegetables in hot oil or cheese and calling it a (very filling) meal dates back […]
There’s a long association between beverages and songs — there are a lot of old country tunes about drinkin’, and Jimmy Buffett’s entire career is based on liking margaritas. Here are some times when musicians told the people what to drink…and they obliged. “The Piña Colada Song” popularized the piña colada The piña colada, a […]
English is a living, breathing, constantly evolving language. It’s a Germanic language, which means that German also has its fair share of made-up words (specifically, “compound nouns”) to describe very specific experiences in life. Der Treppenwitz This translates to “the staircase joke,” and it refers to when you think up the perfect comeback or witty […]
What was the most popular activity of the summer of 1985? Hating on New Coke, Coca-Cola’s ill-fated attempt to reformulate its popular product. First Diet Drinks The first major diet drink on the market was Diet Pepsi, launched in 1964. Coca-Cola offered Tab, but as its cans bore a warning about how the sugar substitute […]
Occasionally, the foot soldiers in the war on drugs get a little too excited. Here are some stories about people who were busted for possessing narcotics…which turned out to be far more innocent substances. The white stuff On July 31, 2019, police in Clinton County, South Carolina, pulled over Shai Werts, quarterback for the Georgia […]
No matter who you are, you’ve got something that everybody else has got, too: a skeleton! Underneath your skin sits a complex system of bones to keep you upright and moving. Here are some fascinating facts you and your kids can enjoy about the human skeletal system. How many bones do humans have? It’s common […]
Tragically, countless individuals have died in airplane crashes or accidents. A rarer way to move over to the afterlife: dying in a model airplane accident. But it happens. Killed by His Own Plane Model plane enthusiast Roger Wallace was flying his five-foot-wingspan toy at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona, in May 2002, when […]
We did! Here are some deep dives into some of the questions we all face when we’re standing in the supermarket, trying to decide what foods are delicious, best beneficial to our bodies…and which are also not too expensive. Is “eating local” healthier than not? Yes, but it might not be your health. Eating locally-produced […]
Just some kooky stories about people who died…while flirting with death in other ways. Death by the shock of death In 2010, a man in India named Than Singh received a letter from a local crematorium. That was something of a surprise, as no one in his family or circle of friends had recently died. […]
For the 32nd year, Uncle John and his loyal researchers have teamed up to bring you the latest tidbits from the world of pop culture, history, sports, and strange news stories. If you want to read about celebrity misdeeds, odd coincidences, and disastrous blunders, Uncle John’s Truth, Trivia, and the Pursuit of Factiness has what you need. […]
What’s strange? Playing “make believe” and “dress up” for a living…and getting multi-million-dollar paychecks to do it. What’s even stranger? Using some of that acting money to open up a restaurant. Here are some stars who got into and then out of the kitchen. Pat Boone’s Dine-O-Mat Pat Boone made a name for himself singing […]
Silly fast food companies: Promotions are supposed to earn money, not lose tons of it! No quiero Taco Bell In the late ‘90s, Taco Bell was responsible for one of the most famous fast food advertising campaigns of all time. In a series of TV commercials, an adorable Chihuahua (a dog breed from Mexico) walked […]
In pursuing and sharing fun facts and interesting trivia, we sometimes like to get a little fancy around here. Pour yourself a glass of myth-busting! Myth: You’re supposed to drink red wine with beef and white wine with fish. Truth: First of all, you shouldn’t drink red wine if you don’t like red wine, even […]
