Weird, Wonderful World
We hope these heifer-vescent cow facts really m-o-o-o-o-ve you. (1) The first American cows arrived with the British in 1611 at the Jamestown colony. (2) It takes about 350 “squirts” to make a gallon of milk. (3) How can you tell how old a cow is? Count the rings on her horns. (4) Cows were […]
History has a tendency to marginalize women inventors, but there have been many. Here are a few that may impress you. The Circular Saw INVENTOR: Tabitha Babbitt STORY: Babbitt got the inspiration for her invention in 1810, at the age of 26, while sitting at her spinning wheel. Watching a work crew saw wood with […]
A self-proclaimed time traveler is among the lesser-known names running for president. Does he win or lose? He probably already knows, but then if he knew he was going to lose, he wouldn’t be running. That means he’s going to win! Washington lawyer Andrew Basiago says he’s got the government experience that would qualify him […]
It’s very difficult to amend the U.S. Constitution. A potential amendment has to pass both houses of Congress with two-thirds approval, and then it has to be approved by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. Since 1787, only 27 amendments have been adopted. Numerous others have been proposed…and rejected. Here are some notable rejects. […]
Here are the origins of some common phrases. ON THE LAM Meaning: To be on the run, especially from the police Origin: “American slang since the latter part of the 19th century. The root of lam is the Old Norse word lamja, meaning to ‘make lame,’ and the original meaning, when it first appeared in […]
You’ve bought them. You’ve played with them. You’ve wondered where they came from and who created them. Now the BRI offers these bits of useless information to satisfy your curiosity. BINGO In 1929 a tired, depressed toy salesman named Edwin Lowe set out on a nighttime drive from Atlanta, Georgia, to Jacksonville, Florida. On the […]
For decades, “chocolate diamonds” have been referred to in the mining industry as, simply enough, “brown diamonds.” Because they’re naturally brown and not clear and shimmery like the more palatable jewelry grade diamonds, they were used for industrial purposes (primarily in huge drill bits for ore mining operations).
Some interesting facts about America’s favorite pastime—lawn care. (And when you’re done with reading this, get out there and start mowing.) An average lawn has six grass plants per square inch. That’s 850 per square foot— which can contain as many as 3,000 individual blades of grass. There are 50 million lawn mowers in use […]
For some reason, Great Britain has more than its share of mansions, estates, and old homes that are reported to be haunted. Leeds Castle… is said to be haunted by a dog. He pays no attention to the people who visit the castle, but he’s said to bring bad luck to anyone who spots him. […]
The answer: basic math. Since its introduction in 1972, McDonald’s Quarter Pounder sandwich had been one of its most popular menu items. The name comes from how the meat patty weighs a quarter of a pound (or four ounces) before cooking, much larger than the two-to-three ounce patty used on the chain’s regular hamburgers. In […]
On a trip to Ireland, Uncle John spent many an evening going from pub to pub collecting traditional toasts (and many a morning after, begging for aspirin). Here are some favorites. May you have food and clothing, a soft pillow for your head; May you be forty years in heaven, before the devil knows you’re […]
Who invented the Hokey Pokey? It depends on who you ask, or where and when you lived. DO “THE HOKEY COKEY” In 1942 Irish songwriter and publisher Jimmy Kennedy, best known for “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” created a dance, and an instructional song to go along with it, called “The Hokey Cokey.” Written to entertain […]
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. Here is the answer to a recent question we received. Why is the Golden Gate Bridge red? Shouldn’t it be gold? Or have a different name? First of all, the […]
This week, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction went to Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer. But some years, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama or Fiction isn’t awarded at all. Here’s a look at those years when the judges just couldn’t agree. In 2006, […]
Here are 11 random facts about America’s longest-running game show. (1) The Price is Right debuted on American television in 1956 on NBC, in both prime-time and daytime versions. Both were hosted by former radio announcer Bill Cullen, and they were huge hits—in the top 10 from 1959 to 1961, making it the most popular […]
The Bathroom Readers’ Institute was born in 1987. Here’s what was going on in the rest of the world in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show, a variety program on the new Fox Network, airs a short cartoon called “The Simpsons.” Sen. Gary Hart, the likely 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, drops out of the race after reports […]
Because if we didn’t we’d go to jail. Okay, but there are other reasons why taxes are due by that particular date. The United States was founded after declared independence from the United Kingdom, an action in part due to “taxation without representation.” Not being taxed was an American concept that lasted for a good […]
Great ice cream! You can really taste the beaver butt! Ingredient: Beaver secretions Found in: Ice cream Explanation: The male North American beaver marks its territory by urinating on things. Along with the urine, it secretes a liquid called castoreum, which gives off a sweet scent. Castoreum also enhances the intensity of vanilla flavor, which […]
