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Chuck Hull invented three-dimensional printing all the way back in 1983 by using a process called stereolithography to cure photopolymers with ultraviolet light.
Chuck Hull invented three-dimensional printing all the way back in 1983 by using a process called stereolithography to cure photopolymers with ultraviolet…
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Historians widely agree that the iconic American dollar sign did not originate from a stylized overlapping of the letters U and S, but rather from a lazy handwritten abbreviation for the Spanish peso.
Historians widely agree that the iconic American dollar sign did not originate from a stylized overlapping of the letters U and S, but rather from a lazy…
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John George Hohman published a book in the early nineteenth century that became the ultimate guidebook for a weird folk magic tradition practiced by Pennsylvania Dutch farmers known as powwowing.
John George Hohman published a book in the early nineteenth century that became the ultimate guidebook for a weird folk magic tradition practiced by…
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Helen Richey reached an airline cockpit before the profession let her stay.
Helen Richey reached an airline cockpit before the profession let her stay. Central Airlines hired her in 1934, making her a pioneer among women flying…
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British botanist Robert Fortune disguised himself as a wealthy Chinese merchant in 1848 and sneaked into the highly restricted tea-producing regions of China to execute massive corporate espionage.
British botanist Robert Fortune disguised himself as a wealthy Chinese merchant in 1848 and sneaked into the highly restricted tea-producing regions of China…
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Hormel Foods' canned mystery meat did not actually inspire the use of the word spam to describe unwanted junk email, rather it was a specific Monty Python sketch from 1970.
Hormel Foods' canned mystery meat did not actually inspire the use of the word spam to describe unwanted junk email, rather it was a specific Monty Python…
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Ouroboros, the iconic mystical symbol of a snake aggressively eating its own tail, originated in ancient Egyptian funerary texts as a profound representation of the infinite cycle of life, death, and cosmic rebirth.
Ouroboros, the iconic mystical symbol of a snake aggressively eating its own tail, originated in ancient Egyptian funerary texts as a profound representation…
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New Zealand put The Lord of the Rings on collector coins.
New Zealand put The Lord of the Rings on collector coins. The 2003 issues included denominated coins depicting the films' world, sold as commemorative…
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A World War II submarine needed hours at the surface to recharge.
A World War II submarine needed hours at the surface to recharge. U-505 normally took about seven hours to charge its batteries, usually while running on the…
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The Vasa sank about twenty minutes into its first voyage.
The Vasa sank about twenty minutes into its first voyage. The Swedish warship was dangerously unstable, with too much weight high above the water. When it…
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Fleas accelerate faster than a space shuttle during liftoff when they jump, experiencing a massive hundred g-forces in a fraction of a second.
Fleas accelerate faster than a space shuttle during liftoff when they jump, experiencing a massive hundred g-forces in a fraction of a second. A flea first…
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Angry Birds was Rovio's 52nd game.
Angry Birds was Rovio's 52nd game. The Finnish studio had already made dozens of games and was near bankruptcy before its 2009 hit. According to its own…
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Evangeline Adams was arrested in New York City in 1914 for fortune-telling, but she ended up winning her court case by allegedly predicting the judge's exact character using only his birth date.
Evangeline Adams was arrested in New York City in 1914 for fortune-telling, but she ended up winning her court case by allegedly predicting the judge's exact…
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Wikipedia's volunteers have a monument in Poland.
Wikipedia's volunteers have a monument in Poland. Unveiled in Słubice in 2014, it shows four figures supporting a globe assembled from puzzle pieces. The…
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Matrix Software became the very first company to successfully program a microcomputer to calculate astrological birth charts back in 1977, completely revolutionizing the industry.
Matrix Software became the very first company to successfully program a microcomputer to calculate astrological birth charts back in 1977, completely…
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Baccarat brings Macau far more money than its slot machines.
Baccarat brings Macau far more money than its slot machines. Official figures for 2024 put ordinary baccarat revenue at about 138 billion patacas, with…
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One grounded ship closed a route carrying roughly 12% of world trade.
One grounded ship closed a route carrying roughly 12% of world trade. In March 2021, the Ever Given became wedged across the Suez Canal and blocked passage…
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Ancient astrologers considered comets to be the ultimate celestial omens of pure disaster, believing these unpredictable streaks of light heralded the immediate death of kings or the collapse of entire empires.
Ancient astrologers considered comets to be the ultimate celestial omens of pure disaster, believing these unpredictable streaks of light heralded the…
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Incredibly isolated Pitcairn Islands were officially settled in 1790 by a rugged and desperate group of British mutineers from the heavily armed HMS Bounty and a handful of…
Incredibly isolated Pitcairn Islands were officially settled in 1790 by a rugged and desperate group of British mutineers from the heavily armed HMS Bounty…
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The Luddites attacked machines as part of a fight over work and wages.
The Luddites attacked machines as part of a fight over work and wages. Early-19th-century textile workers targeted equipment associated with practices that…
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People can explain a choice they never actually made.
People can explain a choice they never actually made. In a 2005 experiment, participants chose between photographs of faces. Researchers sometimes secretly…
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Will Smith managed to completely overshadow his own first-ever Academy Award win in 2022 by walking onto the stage and physically slapping comedian Chris Rock across the face over a joke about his wife's lack of hair.
Will Smith managed to completely overshadow his own first-ever Academy Award win in 2022 by walking onto the stage and physically slapping comedian Chris Rock…
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David Chase infuriated millions of loyal television viewers with the 2007 series finale of 'The Sopranos' by abruptly cutting to black in the middle of a tense restaurant scene,…
David Chase infuriated millions of loyal television viewers with the 2007 series finale of 'The Sopranos' by abruptly cutting to black in the middle of a…
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Amazon's first book order came from an invited tester.
Amazon's first book order came from an invited tester. John Wainwright bought Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies in 1995 after an…
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