Weird, Wonderful World
It was back in 1959 — 60 years ago — that Alaska became a state (#49 overall). Here’s some trivia about what makes “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” a.k.a. “The Last Frontier” one of a kind. That will pay you to live there. The Alaskan state government makes so much money off of the […]
“Big in Japan” is a slightly derisive term in the music business. It refers to American singers and bands that haven’t quite found much success stateside, but who are supposedly “big in Japan.” Sometimes, it’s actually true. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick didn’t really pop in the U.S. until after Live in […]
Sears filed for bankruptcy late in 2018, bringing an eventual end to a retail and catalog juggernaut that lasted for well over a century. Sears had such a huge customer base that it could sell just about anything. Optometry Kits Decades before every mall (often anchored by a Sears) featured a chain optician service, Americans […]
“Dill” you like facts about brined cucumbers? Sweet! HOW OLD IS THAT JAR IN THE FRIDGE? Pickling is one of the earliest methods of food preservation, and one that hasn’t fundamentally changed all that much in the past few thousand years. Historians have found evidence that cucumbers originated in India, and that they were first […]
Have you ever wondered why there are two cities named Kansas City…specifically how the larger one isn’t even in Kansas at all? Kansas City vs. Kansas City There are two places in the Midwest named Kansas City, and they both sit and prosper along the Missouri River…although on opposite sites. There’s the major metropolis of […]
A lot of people think of their father as their hero…especially the kids of the dads in these amazing news stories. Hero Dad vs. Speeding Car Early in the evening of November 16, 2018, Michael Devore and his 11-year-old daughter were walking through a crosswalk in Los Angeles. They’d nearly crossed the street when a […]
Any halfway decent hotel offers turn-down service or some mints on your pillow. Other hotels go the extra mile or two. Here are some hotels with singular benefits to possibly check our during your summer travels. GONE FISHIN’ Travelers staying at the Happy Guests Lodge, a hotel in Warrington in west-central England, guests can bring […]
It’s almost Father’s Day. A time to celebrate and remember all the fathers that have made our lives special. There is no better way than to dive into the punniest joke book ever—DAD JOKES! Three lucky, random winners will be chosen. Giveaway ends June 9, 2019, midnight PST. Open to 18+, US and Canada.
We recently had one of those weird, made-up holidays: “Be a Millionaire Day.” That got us thinking — if we were to suddenly inherit $1 million, exactly how much of some stuff we could we buy with that? Movie tickets The average movie ticket price in the U.S. in 2019: $9. That means you could […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Taos, New Mexico is home to an artistic community, a lot of turquoise jewelry, unbelievably beautiful landscapes…and a strange noise that’s baffled scientists. Out of the blue Sometime out of the blue in the early ‘90s, residents of the northern New Mexico city of Taos — and not from any one part of town either […]
Just because something is associated with a certain country doesn’t mean it came from that country…or at least not originally or entirely. Recently we got to talking about stuff we associate with certain countries — like how pizza is an Italian food, for example. Somebody asked, “But is it really from Italy?” We got ourselves […]
Now that your completed taxes (and a check) are on their way to the government (unless you got an extension…or forgot), here’s a look at some of the strange ways Washington will invest your money. Christmas tree marketing Because they’re a seasonally harvested item, Christmas trees qualify as “specialty products” under Dept. of Agriculture guidelines, […]
News from the bathroom…specifically, the kinds of horrific things that can happen when a person doesn’t go to the bathroom for a while. TOO MUCH In February 2018, a man (his name was unsurprisingly not released in news reports) sought treatment at The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Japan for an injury he […]
