Because age is just a number. At age 76: Min Bahadur Sherchan successfully climbed Mount Everest in 2008. He’s the oldest person ever to do it. At age 83: Thomas Edison applied for his 1,093rd—and final—patent (1931). The invention: a holder for items being electroplated. At age 84: Eamon de Valera won a second term […]
All of us regular people might have a hard time understanding why anyone would willingly walk away from a lucrative sports career in their prime. But they had their reasons. 1. First baseman Adam LaRoche played for six Major League Baseball teams for more than a decade. During the 2016 preseason, he suddenly announced his […]
Once again the BRI asks—and answers—the question: Where does all this stuff come from? Telethons After writer Damon Runyon died of cancer in 1946, his friends in the entertainment industry established the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The charity held its first big fund-raiser in April 1949—an unprecedented 16-hour television broadcast to solicit donations. This […]
As a kid growing up in New Jersey, Uncle John often went to Palisades Amusement Park. Then one day they announced they were tearing it down to build an apartment complex. Many areas have an attraction like that—it’s an important part of the cultural landscape for decades…and then it’s gone. ATTRACTION: The Hippodrome LOCATION: New […]
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these words and phrases straight out of the Emerald Isle. Cat: Something terrible or annoying. Not that the Irish hate cats; it’s short for cat malojan, a Gaelic corruption of an old English phrase, “cat on a melodeon,” which is a type of organ. (Indeed, cat walking across an organ’s keyboard […]
Well, as it says in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, you’re supposed to beware them. But why? What are the Ides of March?
With The People vs. O.J. Simpson currently airing, we’re reminded of how the televised criminal case against the popular football player and actor was labeled “the trial of the century.” Guess what else the media dubbed the “trial of the century”? Lots of other high profile trials. Here are a few.
Winning at sports takes skill, practice…and a little good luck. Here are some Olympians who could have used a rabbit’s foot (or some new officials). Who’s Counting? The 1932 Games in Los Angeles featured a 3,000-meter steeplechase for horses. The race was close as the horses entered the final lap…or what was supposed to be […]
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 […]
