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7 Things You Didn’t Know About Coca-Cola

It’s one of the oldest and most distinctively American products…but how much do you really know about Coke?

Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton, a trained doctor, served in the Civil War…for the Confederate Army. He made it to the rank of colonel, and in combat he suffered a wound that left him addicted to morphine. He created Coca-Cola as a way to break himself (and he presumed, many others) of that addiction. It worked, although in the 19^th century, Coca-Cola contained both alcohol and cocaine, with the former phased out the latter ultimately replaced with caffeine.

Impossible Questions: Vanity Edition

Think you know what these three oddly named entities have in common? Look back to the title for a (very vague!) clue, and come back tomorrow to see if you guessed correctly.

What are “Thunderbox,” “Dogstar,” and “P,” and what distinction links them?

Two Weird TV Coincidences

Real life converges with TV, and vice versa.

Burger War!

In 1982, Burger King created a TV first—it became the first fast food chain to directly attack the competition, by name, in a commercial. The ad featured a cute, four-year-old actress, addressing the camera and stating that McDonald’s burgers were “20 percent smaller” than Burger King’s. McDonald’s sued Burger King for defamation and the case was settled out of court. The four-year-old actress—actually made to testify in the suit—went on to a successful career, first on the soap All My Children, and then as the star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her name: Sarah Michelle Gellar.

7 Amazing, Obscure, and Wonderful Bits of Oscars Trivia

Impress (or annoy) your friends at your Oscars party this weekend with these fun facts.

Six actors have won Academy Awards for performances not in the English language: Sophia Loren in Two Women (1961, Italian); Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful (1998, Italian); Benicio del Toro in Traffic (2000, Spanish); Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose (2007, French); and Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008, Spanish). Those five actors are native speakers of those languages. The sixth winner is Robert De Niro, who had to learn Sicilian for his Oscar-winning role in The Godfather, Part II (1974).

Can You Solve the Mystery of the Krafla Toilet in Iceland?

Anaheim has Disneyland. South Dakota has Wall Drug. Þingeyjarsveit has a toilet. You may not have heard of this remote municipality in northeastern Iceland, but its home to one of the world’s most unusual tourist attractions. Those willing to make the trek will find the Krafla Toilet along a desolate stretch of highway that leads to the local Krafla power station.

AUJA – Who is John Doe?

Until their identity can be ascertained, crime victims or unknown suspects are usually referred to by police (and the media) as “John Doe” (for men) or “Jane Doe” (for women). Why are unidentified people referred to as “John Doe” or “Jane Doe”?

Power Laces: Auto-Lacing Sneakers On the Way

Coming soon to stores: self-lacing sneakers like the ones in “Back to the Future Part II.” Really, power laces are on their way.

How the FAA Stole Valentine’s Day

Amazon announced last year that it would soon be delivering packages via unmanned flying drones. A Michigan company just beat them to the punch, or it least it would have if not for those spoilsports at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Impossible Questions: Presidential Honors Edition (Answers)

Have you got an answer? Read on to see if you’re right.

What honorific has been bestowed on five different Democratic U.S. presidents…but no Republican U.S. presidents? (It’s not as politically charged a question as you think…or maybe it is?)

Dirty Pasta

Careful what kind of pasta you order, because you might just be inadvertently saying something dirty.

Impossible Questions: Presidential Honors Edition

Think you know what bizarre achievement links these presidents? Come back tomorrow to see if you’re right.

5 Classic Movie Songs That Should Have Won Oscars

Some of the most beloved and popular songs were written for and first appeared in movies, even if the movie itself has been completely forgotten (e.g. you probably know “Lullaby of Broadway,” but probably don’t remember Gold Diggers of 1935). The Academy Awards recognizes movie music with the Best Song prize. In retrospect, sometimes the right song wasn’t always given the Oscar. Here are some songs that should have won Oscars.

Amazing LEGO Facts and Trivia

You’ve seen The LEGO Movie—Now Enjoy These Amazing LEGO Facts.“Everything is awesome” about this article.

Be correct: LEGO is properly written in all caps. And the plural form of LEGO? It’s also LEGO.

No real LEGO were used in the computer-animated The LEGO Movie. To render The LEGO Movie’s world of LEGO, the film’s production designer Grant Freckleton and his crew used free software, LEGO Digital Designer to create all the bricks they’d need. In all, 3,863,484 individual LEGO bricks are used in The LEGO Movie. Many were reused to create the film’s different scenes, so the total number of actual LEGO used: 15,080,330.

AUJA: Why is “Fido” a generic name for dogs?

Uncle John knows pretty much everything—and for what he doesn’t know, he has a massive research library. So go ahead: in the comments below, ask Uncle John anything. (And if we answer your question sometime, we’ll send you a free book!)

Why is “Fido” a generic name for dogs?

Discontinued Oscar Categories

The list of individual awards handed out at the Academy Awards can change. Here are several categories at the Oscars that no longer exist.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Facts

Trivia about the hall of fame of pop and rock, ahead of the induction ceremony in a few weeks.

Atlantic Records chairman and founder Ahmet Ertegun established the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in 1983 (along with Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner), to open a museum to showcase the best acts in pop and rock music history.

Once Again, It’s Fact-or-Fake Friday

Three news items. Two are weird, and also true. One is weird…and not true at all. Can you spot the fake? Check your answer at the end.

‘The Tonight Show’ Starring…Not a Movie Star

Besides hosting The Tonight Show, what do Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon have in common? A failed movie career.

Jay Leno

Leno was one of the most popular stand-up comedians in America in the 1970s and ’80s, eventually earning a spot as one of Johnny Carson’s permanent substitutes for when the longtime Tonight Show host took one of his many vacations or contractually obligated days off. Leno took over The Tonight Show for good when Carson retired in 1992. That was a lucky break for Leno—outside of The Tonight Show and standup, his side career as a film actor was dead in the water.

What are “Thunderbox,” “Dogstar,” and “P,” and what distinction links them?

Burger War!

Why is “Fido” a generic name for dogs?

Jay Leno

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