As with many common phrases that have been around for seemingly forever, there are a lot of possible stories about its origin. The Plague of Justinian The Plague of Justinian was a particularly nasty plague that hit Europe hard during the late 6th century. Europe was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church at the time, […]
It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights…and check out these stories about how a bunch of those beloved Muppets were created. Cookie Monster In 1966, Muppets creator Jim Henson designed three monster puppets for use in a commercial for a snack product called Wheels, Crowns, and Flutes. Each puppet corresponded […]
The science of how processed foods and consumer products are made is absolutely fascinating…and a little stomach-turning, too. Raisin the Steaks A number of tangy, Worcestershire sauce-like steak sauces, such as A1, contain raisin paste. That’s just dried grapes—raisins—mushed into a paste and mixed up with the other herbs, spices, and flavorings. It’s traditionally been […]
October is a month full of celebrations worth celebrating, both well-known and not so-well known. American Cheese Month October has been set aside by the American dairy industry to recognize, well, the American dairy industry. The U.S. has as strong and rich of a history of fromage as France or Italy. Celebrate with some locally-made […]
A few stories about the late, legendary Tom Petty. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ breakthrough hit was the classic “American Girl.” While mixing the final cut in a studio late one night in 1976, Petty thought it was missing something and asked guitarist Dwight Twilley what he thought. Twilley said the song was good, but […]
The man who founded Playboy in 1953 has passed away at age 91. Even aside from creating a media empire, Hef lived a pretty interesting life. He Was Fascinated With Marilyn Monroe Part of the reason why Playboy the magazine took off right away is because of its marketing hook: issue no. 1 featured racy […]
“Now here’s a little story we’ve got to tell, about a famous person you know so well. It started way back in history — someone just uncovered Paul Revere’s privy.” The Paul Revere House has stood in the North End neighborhood of Boston since 1711. Many people have lived there, but most famously Paul Revere. […]
When Uncle John was a kid, the basic food groups were meat, bread, vegetables, and dairy products. Uncle John always wondered why they left out the other basic food groups: coffee, candy, cold soup, fish sticks, corn dogs, and salad dressing.
Myth: It doesn’t come from chocolate milk-giving cows. Truth: Everything else in this article. Columbus brought cocoa back to Europe from the Americas in the early 1500s, but it didn’t catch on. After Spanish explorer Cortez overran the Aztecs a few decades later, he brought cocoa to Europe again, although he added sugar and cinnamon […]
They came, they saw…they only had one big hit. Here’s a quiz about the musicians who got one shot and made it count.
Frank Sinatra was a great singer of course, but he’s also been called a great “interpreter” of famous songs. So much so that when he covered well known songs, he often made or demanded some notable changes to the lyrics. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” The holiday standard debuted in the 1944 movie musical […]
Hobbits might be small, but The Hobbit is not. The widely read children’s fantasy book about a hobbit Bilbo Baggins on his journey to help dwarves reclaim their homeland was J.R.R. Tolkien’s first deep dive into Middle Earth. It was first published 80 years this week. The Book that Started it All The Hobbit is […]
Or rather the words breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast That’s easy—it’s an English word that developed to connote the first bit of food taken after a person wakes up. They’ve been sleeping, and so not eating, which means any food is “breaking the fast” they’ve been engaged in. Dinner As late as the mid-20th century, […]
Before Hollywood makes a movie, they’ve got to line up just the right actors for all the roles. Sometimes they think they’ve found somebody…but then change their minds. Here are some stars who landed a big gig, but then lost it for very odd reasons. Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks has starred in a few major […]
Everyone loves bleepers…er, bloppers…er, we mean bloopers. Here are a few great ones from the silver screen.
Because sometimes you have to go to extremes…to dig up the truth. Jesse James The crime spree of notorious Wild West criminal Jesse James was put to an end in 1882, when he was shot in the head by cohort Robert Ford, reportedly to collect the substantial bounty that was out on him. The shocking […]
The Oscars of TV are coming soon. Take our quiz on notable moments from past Emmys ceremonies.
Love it or leave it, the most famous canned meat in the world turns 80 years old this year. Here are some facts about Spam:, that pink loaf of salty, porky goodness. The Beginning While Spam has routinely and endlessly joked about as a mystery meat, it’s really just pork and ham. In the ‘20s, […]
