George Martin passed away this week at age 90. He was best known for producing, arranging, and developing the sound of the Beatles. But his career lasted decades and he worked with dozens of acts. Here are some of the most unlikely.
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. VICHYSSOISE Don’t let the French name fool you—this leek-and-potato soup (pronounced vi-she-swaz) is as […]
So your team made it to the final round of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament…but lost in the final game. But then the NCAA ruled that those losses don’t count or are “vacated.” Good news? Not really. Those games are technically stricken from the NCAA record books because the teams were involved in major scandals.
The hottest thing on TV right now, or at least Netflix: Fuller House, the sequel series to the 1987-1995 family sitcom Full House. It’s not the first time that characters from a beloved show have returned to screens years later.
Most people never give a second thought to life’s most important questions, such as: How many people can you cram into a Cornhuskers game? Or how tall should a bowling pin be? Fortunately for them, Uncle John does. Tennis During a single Wimbledon tournament, 42,000 tennis balls are used. Soccer A soccer ball must measure […]
What happens if the primary presidential elections don’t end with a candidate who has enough delegates to secure their party’s nomination? A fight at the party convention this summer.
There have always been women inventors…even if they’ve been overlooked by the history books. Here are a few you may not have heard of. Mary Anderson Invention: Windshield wipers Background: In 1903 Anderson, an Alabaman, took a trip to New York City. One snowy afternoon she decided to tour the city by streetcar, but instead […]
Caution: Reading the definitions of these obscure words may lead to sophomania. Castrophenia: The belief that one’s thoughts are being stolen by enemies. Eugonic: Rapid and luxuriant growth, such as bacteria bred in labs (and teenagers). Rhytiscopia: A neurotic preoccupation with wrinkles. Nyctalopia: An inability to see at night. Gyrovagues: Medieval Christian monks who wandered […]
It’s almost time for the Stanley Cup playoffs, so here are some facts about some notable standouts from NHL history. (Check out our previous pieces on the NFL, NBA, and baseball.)
More examples of the unusual places pop-culture architects get their ideas. The One Ring. An ancient Roman gold ring was discovered on a farm in rural England in 1785. A stone tablet found at another site 140 years later curses a thief named Senicianus for stealing the ring from its owner, Silvianus. “Among those who […]
Some dramatic changes to the French language were announced in 1990 and they’re scheduled to take effect this fall. Not happy about it: a lot of people who speak French.
Despite what you may have heard, Uncle John was not the original Ty-D-Bowl Man. (How do these rumors get started, anyway?) Was 1970s shock-rocker Alice Cooper actually Ken Osmond, the teen actor who had played Eddie Haskell on wholesome 1950s sitcom Leave It to Beaver? No. Alice Cooper’s real name is Vincent Furnier. The rumor spread […]
In schools and libraries across the country, today is Read Across America Day, part of an effort to encourage kids to read. Why today? It’s the birthday of perhaps the greatest children’s book author of all time, Dr. Seuss. “Dr. Seuss” isn’t his real name, of course. The good doctor’s real name is Theodor Geisel—Seuss […]
35 years ago, MTV launched and played its very first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. Here is a list of the next 19 videos they played.
Just in case you don’t have enough fun on St. Patrick’s Day, there are these. March 1: National Pig Day Myth: Pigs are dirty animals. They roll around in the mud only to cool off, but they generally keep clean. Pigs only a few weeks old have already learned to go to the bathroom as […]
Every few years, a new exercise craze sweeps the country. Here’s how a few of them got up and moving. Jazzercise Jazz choreographer Judi Sheppard Missett came up with the dance-meets-aerobics fitness program—fun routines set to pop music—in 1969 and opened a studio in Los Angeles. By 1977 she no longer taught classes. Instead, she […]
Doctor Who has on Oscar. Playwright George Bernard Shaw got one well after he died. Here are a few more unlikely Oscar recipients. Kira Roessler In the 1980s, Kira Roessler played bass in the influential punk rock band Black Flag, best known for the song “TV Party” as well as its lead singer, actor Henry […]
Professional wrestling is already pretty silly, but the “sport” outdid itself when it introduced these really silly wrestling characters. SERGEANT SLAUGHTER At the peak of the first Gulf War in 1991, the WWF brought in this villain, an Iraqi-flag-waving Saddam Hussein sympathizer. GIANT GONZALES A failed NBA basketball player, Gonzales was a lanky 7’7″ and […]
