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President Andrew Jackson owned a pet African grey parrot named Poll who had to be removed from Jackson's funeral in 1845 because she wouldn't stop swearing.
President Andrew Jackson owned a pet African grey parrot named Poll who had to be removed from Jackson's funeral in 1845 because she wouldn't stop swearing.…
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Motorola introduced the first commercially successful car radio in 1930, initially selling it for around one hundred and thirty dollars, which was roughly one-fifth the price of an entire automobile back then.
Motorola introduced the first commercially successful car radio in 1930, initially selling it for around one hundred and thirty dollars, which was roughly…
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Netherlands boasts more bicycles than actual human residents, with an estimated twenty-three million bikes compared to a population of just seventeen million.
Netherlands boasts more bicycles than actual human residents, with an estimated twenty-three million bikes compared to a population of just seventeen million.…
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Hasbro says a Monopoly game once lasted 70 days.
Hasbro says a Monopoly game once lasted 70 days. The company included that extraordinary duration in its anniversary trivia. Treat it as a publisher-reported…
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Space Invaders launched in Japanese arcades in 1978 and became such an immediate cultural obsession that it sparked a widespread urban legend claiming the game caused a nationwide shortage of 100-yen coins.
Space Invaders launched in Japanese arcades in 1978 and became such an immediate cultural obsession that it sparked a widespread urban legend claiming the…
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The Anglo-Zanzibar War was over in less than an hour.
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was over in less than an hour. On August 27, 1896, British warships bombarded the palace after Sultan Khalid refused an ultimatum to…
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A 1972 patent described a suitcase that could be pulled on rollers instead of carried.
A 1972 patent described a suitcase that could be pulled on rollers instead of carried. Bernard Sadow's design put wheels beneath conventional luggage and…
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate fictional champion of logic and deductive reasoning, but in real life he was a massive gullible mark for spiritualist mediums and mystical hoaxes.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate fictional champion of logic and deductive reasoning, but in real life he was a massive gullible…
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Pythagoras is famous for his mathematical theorem, but he also ran a secretive mystical cult that believed in the transmigration of souls and had an absolutely unhinged phobia of fava beans.
Pythagoras is famous for his mathematical theorem, but he also ran a secretive mystical cult that believed in the transmigration of souls and had an…
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A wombat's round intestine produces surprisingly square droppings.
A wombat's round intestine produces surprisingly square droppings. Researchers found that regions of differing stiffness in the intestinal wall help form flat…
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The front of your eye gets oxygen through your tears.
The front of your eye gets oxygen through your tears. A healthy cornea has no blood vessels running through its clear central tissue. When the eye is open,…
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Buffett beat five hedge-fund portfolios by buying the index.
Buffett beat five hedge-fund portfolios by buying the index. His ten-year wager ended in 2017 with an S&P 500 index fund up 125.8%, ahead of all five…
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Advertising executive Gary Dahl became a multimillionaire in 1975 by successfully convincing consumers to purchase literal rocks carefully packaged in cardboard boxes.
Advertising executive Gary Dahl became a multimillionaire in 1975 by successfully convincing consumers to purchase literal rocks carefully packaged in…
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Bohemian Protestants kicked off the Thirty Years' War in 1618 by literally tossing three Catholic officials out of a third-story window in Prague.
Bohemian Protestants kicked off the Thirty Years' War in 1618 by literally tossing three Catholic officials out of a third-story window in Prague. All three…
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A fake sleep score changed performance in an experiment.
A fake sleep score changed performance in an experiment. In a 2014 study, researchers gave people invented feedback about how much REM sleep they had…
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A gut treatment can transplant an entire microbial community.
A gut treatment can transplant an entire microbial community. For recurrent C. difficile infection, medically prepared donor-derived microbiota can help…
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New York City dumped thousands of obsolete subway cars into the Atlantic Ocean between 2001 and 2010 to create artificial reefs for marine life.
New York City dumped thousands of obsolete subway cars into the Atlantic Ocean between 2001 and 2010 to create artificial reefs for marine life. Before the…
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Global lightbulb manufacturers formed a secret alliance in 1924 called the Phoebus Cartel explicitly to engineer products that would intentionally burn out faster.
Global lightbulb manufacturers formed a secret alliance in 1924 called the Phoebus Cartel explicitly to engineer products that would intentionally burn out…
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Boston's leaking molasses tank was painted brown before it burst.
Boston's leaking molasses tank was painted brown before it burst. Residents had noticed syrup escaping from the tank; according to the city's account, the…
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Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented the modern three-point seatbelt in 1959, fundamentally changing vehicle safety by securing both the upper and lower body during a crash.
Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented the modern three-point seatbelt in 1959, fundamentally changing vehicle safety by securing both the upper and lower body…
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Nintendo was making playing cards in Kyoto before video games existed.
Nintendo was making playing cards in Kyoto before video games existed. Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the business in 1889 to produce hanafuda cards, decorated…
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A Roman poet turned white teeth into a filthy insult.
A Roman poet turned white teeth into a filthy insult. In poem 39, Catullus mocks Egnatius for grinning at inappropriate moments, then attributes his bright…
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Ouija boards were not invented by ancient shamans communicating with the spirit realm, but by a 19th-century businessman named Elijah Bond who just wanted to make a quick buck off the spiritualism craze.
Ouija boards were not invented by ancient shamans communicating with the spirit realm, but by a 19th-century businessman named Elijah Bond who just wanted to…
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An interrupted task can make you want to come back.
An interrupted task can make you want to come back. Experiments on the Ovsiankina effect examine people's tendency to resume work left unfinished. A 2025…
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