In 1755, famed critic and writer Samuel Johnson released A Dictionary of the English Language. Compiled over a period of nine years, it became the standard English dictionary until Noah Webster released his in 1828. But it’s anything but “standard”—Johnson’s definitions are often witty, personal, subjective, and quirky. Politician: 1. One versed in the arts […]
24-hour cartoon networks and streaming video pretty much killed the Saturday morning cartoon. But for all of the classics like The Smurfs and Scooby-Doo to watch while you ate your sugar cereal, there are dozens more that came and went pretty quick…with good reason. Chip and Pepper’s Cartoon Madness (1991) In the early ’90s, twin […]
What’s a Kia? Or a Fiat? Here are the stories of how your car got its name. Alfa Romero The company began in Italy in 1910 as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobil, or ALFA. Nicola Romeo bought the company in 1915 and added his name. Kia In Korean, the name means “rising from Asia.” Toyota Originally […]
Philately is one of the most popular hobbies around the world. Here are some truly bizarre finds that would be a great addition to any stamp collection. In 2004, Austria issued stamps bearing the image of a crystal swan—and the image is coated in actual crystals. They were made of paper and then a few […]
Today is Bastille Day, a holiday that commemorates an important event in the French Revolution. On that note, here are some inventions you may not have known originally came from France. The Pencil Sharpener A French mathematician named Bernard Lassimonne went through so many pencils that they got dull too fast, and he hated having […]
Because age is just a number: the youth and their accomplishments. At age 1 Future jazz great Buddy Rich started drumming professionally as part of his parents’ vaudeville act. At age 3 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned to play his first instrument, the harpsichord. At age 5 Future rock star Tori Amos was accepted to the […]
Earlier this week, the FBI announced that it was finally closing its file on the mysterious 1971 plane hijacking case in which a man identified only as “D.B. Cooper” demanded $200,000 in cash (and some parachutes), jumped out of the plane over the Pacific Northwest, and disappeared without a trace. This means Cooper’s identity may […]
It’s not just for breakfast anymore! We’ve discovered that beer has many inventive and unlikely uses around the home and beyond. (Uncle John’s never had so much fun researching an article.) (1) Beer is slightly acidic, making it useful for cleaning copper pots. Throw a small amount of beer in the pot, let it sit […]
It seems like everyday there’s another story about how the environment is doomed and there’s little we can do to stop it. In 2010, we brought you one of those stories: There was a worldwide shortage of helium and the possibility of it running out before long. Well, in an unlikely turn of events, the […]
Hillary Clinton has secured enough delegates to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. She’s the first woman to be a major party’s nominee, but she’s certainly not the first woman to make a run for the Oval Office. Belva Ann Lockwood A suffragist and one of the first licensed female lawyers in the U.S. […]
The new Pokémon video game reboot Pokémon Go has become a pop culture sensation. Utilizing the camera and GPS on an electronic device, players must go out into the real world and seek out cute little monsters that the game says are hidden in stores, streets, behind trees, etc. (They show up superimposed in the […]
Have you ever played the game of Uno? It’s consistently been one of America’s best-selling toys. Here’s where it came from. Invented by: Merle Roberts, a barber from Cincinnati, Ohio Origin: In the 1960s, Roberts created a simplified version of the card game Crazy Eights, and sold it out of the trunk of his car […]
We’ve written before about not-so-cool bands rock stars were in before they became rich, successful (and cool). Here’s another look at early musical attempts of some notable actors, singers, and rappers. Russell Crowe He’s got an Oscar for Gladiator, and he fronts a rock band called 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. But in the early […]
Everyone says they don’t believe in ghosts. If that’s so, then we’d like know why so many people go to see haunted houses like these ones…but we’re afraid to ask. (This story was published in our newest release, Strange History.) Alcatraz If you were to stay overnight on this island prison off San Francisco—which hasn’t […]
The Fourth of July is over, but you don’t have to put away the party hats and fireworks just yet. Here are some of the strangest “holidays” still to come this month.
Uncle John knows pretty much everything—and if he doesn’t, he heads his massive research library, or puts one of his many associates on the case. 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!) How (and why) is “won’t” a […]
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Bicentennial, the yearlong 1976 celebration marking 200 years of the United States (officially the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.) The festivities culminated in the splashiest Fourth of July in history. Here’s a look back on how America looked back. Congress began planning the Bicentennial 10 years earlier, […]
July 1 is Canada Day, so here’s a look back on the humorous Canadian political “movement” known as the Rhinoceros Party. In 1963, a Quebecois writer named Jacques Ferron founded a new political party intended to satirize Canadian politics from the inside. A real, registered party, Ferron’s Rhinoceros Party satirized other politicians by promising from […]
