Pour yourself a steaming cup of facts.
The phrase comes from the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century. A well-known origin story traces it to 1913. That year, President Wilson appointed Josephus Daniels to the position of Secretary of the Navy. He immediately made a number of reforms, notably banning alcohol from naval vessels. Sailors now had nothing on board stronger than coffee, which they derisively nicknamed “joe” after Daniels.
Okay, we know he’s not real. But according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, Sherlock Holmes was born on January 6, 1854. Celebrate the day (and look forward to season 3 of Sherlock) with these not-so-elementary Sherlock Holmes facts.
• Have you ever come across anyone, real or fictional, named Sherlock? It’s an obscure, Old English name that means “bright hair.”
• A common theme in all Sherlock Holmes books, movies, and other media is the great detective’s use of “deduction” to solve mysteries. Except that he doesn’t really use deduction. Sherlock uses a technique called abductive reasoning. Deduction eliminates possibilities until only one, hopefully correct theory, remains. Abductive reasoning, however, involves careful observation and consideration of evidence and any outside data to create an educated guess.
It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for your weekly fake-out. Here’s how it works: Two of the three following stories are true. One of them we made up. Can you guess which one is the fake? Pick your answer at the end of the article and see if you’re right.
Since the 1960s, the Golden Globes have honored the finest in television…usually.
Once seen as a second-rate version of the Oscars, combined with a second-rate version of the Emmys, the stature of the Golden Globes has risen in recent years, with highly rated TV telecasts hosted by Ricky Gervais, and Tina Fey with Amy Poehler. It’s still a strange awards ceremony – attendees can drink alcohol throughout the ceremony, and the awards themselves are voted by entertainment journalists from outside of the United States. Result: some headscratching nominations (and even wins).
• In 1978, the long-running TV news magazine 60 Minutes actually won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, beating out scripted dramas like Lou Grant and the miniseries Holocaust. 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt had actually refused the nomination, but the show remained on the ballot anyway.
But it’s a very small chance. Behold the morbid mathematical weirdness of micromorts.
In the middle of the 20th century, “risk assessment” became a field of interest for statisticians and actuaries alike. The idea was to create a mathematical model to determine exactly how risky an activity might be—riding a motorcycle or living in a house with a radon gas leak, for example.
But here’s the thing—everything carries with it some kind of risk. You could die by choking on a banana, or from spontaneous combustion. Both are extremely rare possibilities, but they’re possibilities nevertheless.
It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for your weekly fake-out. Here’s how it works: Two of the three following stories are true. One of them we made up. Can you guess which one is the fake? Pick your answer at the end of the article and see if you’re right.
Once again, Uncle John came in at #2.
• Entertainment Weekly publishes a list of the year’s top movie’s each December. Rolling Stone prints a list of the year’s best albums. The year-end superlatives started in 1927, with Time’s “Man of the Year.” It came about as an idea to fill space during a slow news week (as December often is), and also as a way for Time editors to make good on a mistake from earlier in the year. When Charles Lindbergh made his solo transatlantic flight…Time failed to put him on the cover. To make up for it, editors made Lindbergh Time’s “Man of the Year,” recognizing him as the year’s most dynamic newsmaker.
In the United States, the day after Christmas is simply the day after Christmas. In the UK, however, it is Boxing Day: a holiday in its own right.
Tip Till You Flip Boxing Day is December 26. Traditionally this is when all the haves distributed gifts and money to the have-nots—the poor or people who provided services throughout the year.
Street sweepers, waiters, lamplighters, milkmen, newsboys— you name it. Think of it as a Victorian orgy of tipping— though it actually goes back much further than Victoria’s reign. A 16th-century abbess, for instance, wrote about giving money to her kitchen clerk, servants, the gardener, and the “Baily of the Husbandry,” whatever that was.
Got your answers all figured out? Let’s see how you did.
Think you know everything there is to know? See if you can answer these brain-benders…and come back tomorrow to see if you’re right.
1. For what works are the 19th century authors A.M. Barnard, Currer Bell, and Ellis Bell best known?
2. Why are writers Nathan E. Douglas, Ian McLellan Hunter, and Robert Rich most famous?
3. What do Roderick Jaynes, Donald Kaufman, and P.H. Vazak have in common?
Want more impossible questions? Check out Uncle John’s Impossible Questions.
The long, strange journey of a Netflix DVD.
When you place a disc into the Netflix-provided return envelope, it’s addressed to a simple post office box number. So does Netflix have a gigantic P.O. box at every post office in North America? Nope—that box number written on the envelope doesn’t really exist.
It’s a great honor to be given the “key to the city.” What powers does the honor grant? None really. But it’s a nice honor. Here are some famous people who have been given a giant novelty key.
• In 2010, reality TV’s Kardashian family (and Bruce Jenner) was granted the key to Beverly Hills.
• The Jackson 5 were born and raised in Gary, Indiana. When they became hugely popular, all five were given the key to the city.
It’s Friday, so that means it’s time for your weekly fake-out. Here’s how it works: Two of the three following stories are true. And one of them we made up. Can you guess which one is the fake? Pick your answer at the end of the article and see if you’re right.
To mark the release of Anchorman 2, here is a look back at famous anchormen and their signature “sign-off.” You stay classy, BRI Fans.
“Good night, and good luck.” Possibly the most famous sign-off in TV history, this phrase was coined by 1950s CBS News personality Edward R. Murrow (Person to Person, See It Now). He had gotten his start on CBS Radio during World War II, broadcasting from the rooftops of London buildings during the German blitz. With the line, Murrow was earnestly reaching out to the audience in an attempt to provide comfort. He kept the line after the war.
Some specials, like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or How the Grinch Stole Christmas become beloved TV treasures that air every December for decades. Others…don’t.
A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
Kermit, Miss Piggy, and all the other Muppets have been featured in a lot of Christmas-themed movies and TV specials over the years, notably the 1992 big-screen The Muppet Christmas Carol, and a 1979 special co-hosted by John Denver (which spawned their hit rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” This TV special doesn’t get much airplay anymore. The plot: Fozzie Bear surprises his mother by staying at her country home over the holidays, along with most of the other Muppets, and many of monsters and critters from Sesame Street. Over the course of Christmas Eve, the Swedish Chef tries to cook Big Bird, Miss Piggy gets stuck in a blizzard ,and Kermit discovers an underground cavern that leads him to the magical creatures from Fraggle Rock. Watch for the cameo from Muppets/Sesame Street/Fraggle Rock creator Jim Henson, who shows up at the end to wash all of his creations’ dirty dishes.
Got your answers all figured out for our Impossible Questions of the week? Let’s see how you did.
Stuff you didn’t know about the most popular Christmas song of the 20th century.
• Legendary songwriter Irving Berlin wrote the song from the point of view of a New Yorker (like himself) stuck in warm California for Christmas (as he had been). That sentiment was made explicitly clear by the song’s original first verse, which mentions “the sun is shining,” “the grass is green,” and things like palm trees and Beverly Hills.
• “White Christmas” was picked to be included in the 1942 Bing Crosby movie Holiday Inn—both Crosby and his producer thought that the song wouldn’t have much worth outside of the movie with that verse. So it was dropped.
You’ll Never Guess the Answers To These Impossible Questions About Music!
Think you know everything there is to know? See if you can answer these brain-benders…and come back tomorrow to see if you’re right.
1. What do these hit albums have in common: Boston’s Don’t Look Back, Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night, the Beatles’ Help!, Nat “King” Cole’s Unforgettable…and the Baha Men’s Who Let the Dogs Out?
2. What do these albums have in common: With the Beatles (The Beatles), Silver Side Up (Nickelback), and Seventh Star (Black Sabbath)
3. What do Warren Zevon, Roxy Music, Willie Nelson, the Moody Blues, Joe Cocker, and the Cars have in common?
