Weird, Wonderful World
On Election Day, millions of Americans cast their votes for senators, members of congress, local officer holders…and some quirky and fascinating ballot measures and initiatives. SOUTH POLL In Florida, voters passed Amendment 4. Previously in the Sunshine State, people convicted of felonies lose their right to vote…forever. But with the passage of this measure, felons […]
Ever wonder who put the “strone” in “minestrone”? The “owder” in “chowder”? The “ho” in “pho”? (Careful, there, soup boy! This is a family soup book!) Then sit thee down at the Table of Label—and read all about the name origins of several well-known soups. . (This article was first published in our 31st annual edition, […]
Put that competitive instinct and that deep-seated pathological need to win to the test: Here are some ways to increase the likelihood you’ll win at that classic battle of weapons and wits: Rock, Paper, Scissors.
We all want to be in the safest place possible, especially when we’re in these harrowing situations. (This article was first published in our 31st annual edition, Uncle John’s Actual and Factual Bathroom Reader.) SAFEST PLACE TO SIT ON A PLANE In 2015 Time magazine analyzed data from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Accident Database […]
Uncle John can barely fathom the agony doing all the work to make a book, get it out to thousands of bookstores…and then having to gather them all back up again. It occasionally happens to publishers, however—forced to recall a book because of a really bad mistake that nobody noticed. Kindle’s 1984 and Animal Farm In […]
When the microwave was first released in the late ‘70s, people thought that was a silly kitchen gadget, so who knows? Maybe over time people will swear by these things, too. Bear Paws Meat Shredder Claws You could shred meat or make a pork roast into pulled pork with the gentle use of a fork […]
Apples, oranges, melons, and berries—they’re sweet, delicious, nutritious…and extremely dangerous, apparently. Here are some weird news stories about people who sustained some nasty injuries courtesy of nature’s candy. Bad Breadfruit In December 2017, a Salt Lake City woman named Valerie Zaugg took a vacation to Hawaii, home to an exotic piece of produce called the […]
For fun facts and interesting stories, just dial 1-800-UNCLE-JOHN. Actually, don’t, because that’s not a functional number, and everybody does everything over the internet these days instead of the phone. For example, here’s a toll-free look at the history of 1-800 numbers. Automated collect calling Back in 1967, American telephone companies introduced a new system […]
Since 1982, book folk (libraries, publishers, readers) have celebrated “Banned Books Week,” setting aside the last week of September to examine literature that’s been “challenged” or banned” around the country. Here are some books removed from shelves…for some very odd reasons. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret The Judy Blume novel about a girl’s […]
While it takes its name from a German city, there are few foods more quintessentially American than the hamburger. But from sea to shining sea, there are tons of variations on the old meat patty between two buns. After all, America is a big country, and the land of ingenuity. Smash Burger While the rest […]
A lot of cheeses are named after their points of origin—Cheddar, Roquefort, and Colby are named after places in England, France, and Wisconsin, respectively. Other cheese names are a bit more complicated. Cottage Cheese It’s the most familiar and commonly consumed form of cheese curds (at least in the United States). What are curds? Coagulated […]
Here’s the tale of how humans came to eat bears—tiny, adorable, rainbow-colored Gummy Bears, that is. Origin story Not too long after the end of World War I in the early 1920s, a 27-year-old candy factory worker from Bonn, Germany, named Hans Riegel decided to quit his job and go into business for himself. He […]
What do you do with all your empty toilet paper rolls? Instead of putting them into the recycling bin, turn them into fun craft creations with The Toilet Roll Activity Book. With step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations for more than two dozen projects suitable for all ages, this book will help you turn those plain cardboard […]
They’re terms we all use every day—so we thought we’d look into why people talk about the “time” and why they look it up on “clocks” and watches.” Time Proto-Indo-European is the common ancestral language of most European languages, and it had a word dimon, which meant “to divide.” Dimon to a form of time […]
There are a lot of reasons to drink non-alcoholic beer—mostly because regular beer has alcohol in it, and lots of people don’t want to drink alcohol for personal, health, or religious reasons. Here’s how they make the beer without the booze. It starts out the same. Breweries start making non-alcoholic beer in exactly the same […]
Best known by the brand name “Pop Rocks,” popping candy fizzle and sizzle on the tongue thanks to a little science. Here’s how the candy wizards make them. Step #1: First of all, apart from its minor explosive capabilities, popping candy rocks are merely just little pebble versions of a fruit-flavored hard candy—they’re pebble-sized versions […]
Uncle John knows pretty much everything—and if he doesn’t, he puts one of his many associates on the case. So go ahead, in the comments below the article, ask away. Why does the combination of orange juice and toothpaste taste so notoriously terrible? It doesn’t seem like those two substances would ever cross paths—toothpaste hangs […]
For every friendly and chatty Ronald McDonald, there’s a creepy, stoned-faced Burger King, or for every innocuous Maytag repairman, there’s a Kool-Aid Man who comes smashing through the wall. Here are some more ill-advised company mascots. Cadbury Creme Eggs Cadbury Creme Eggs have occasionally served as the spokes objects for, well, Cadbury Creme Eggs. The […]
