I learned this today. Rationing in the UK during World War 2 started in September 1939 and ended on July 4th, 1954. Rationing is not an idea that started in the Second World War. People have always rationed when food is scarce. Often, during battles, towns were besieged. The idea would be to starve the […]
#235 When did rationing in the UK end after World War 2? Read More »
I learned this today. Skunks smell so bad because they spray an organic compound that has sulfur in it. Skunks are mostly native to north and south America, although there is also a species of skunk that lives in Indonesia. This is called the Sunda stink badger. There are generally ten different species of skunk.
#234 Why do skunks smell so bad? Read More »
I learned this today. Porcupines don’t actually shoot their quills. The quills just detach very easily and stick in the predator. Porcupines are members of the rodent family. Males can grow to be almost a meter long and weigh up to 16 kg. They are not very fast, but they don’t need to be because
#233 How does a porcupine shoot its quills? Read More »
I learned this today. Abraham Zapruder was a Russian born American clothing manufacturer who happened to be in the right place at the right time to film the John F Kennedy assassination. He was born in Kovel in 1905. It was a city that is now in Ukraine but was in the Russian Empire back
#232 Who was Zapruder? Read More »
I learned this today. Sloths move so slowly because they have an extremely low metabolic rate. There are six species of sloth that are divided into two different types of sloth: three-toed sloths and two-toed sloths. Both of these groups of sloths are from different families that are very distantly related. They have both evolved
#231 Why do sloths move so slowly? Read More »
I learned this today. 7 impressive buildings or monuments were chosen to be the seven wonders of the world because the Greeks believed the number seven represented perfection and plenty. The idea of Wonders of the World came into being in the 4th century BC. Before the Roman empire took over most of Europe, there
#230 Why were only seven wonders of the ancient world chosen? Read More »
I learned this today. The Sahara Desert has grown so big because the precession of the Earth’s axis as it rotates around the sun changes the location of the African monsoon. The Sahara Desert is 9.2 million square kilometers, which makes it bigger than every country except for Russia, Canada, China and the USA. The
#229 How did the Sahara Desert get so big? Read More »
I learned this today. The South Sea Bubble was a financial bubble that sprang up around the share trading of the South Sea Company (SSC) in the early 18th century. The South Sea Bubble wasn’t the first speculative bubble to happen. That honor goes to the Dutch Tulip Bubble of 1637. However, it was the
#228 What was the South Sea Bubble? Read More »
I learned this today. Astronomers believe that there is a black hole at the center of every galaxy. In May of 2022, astronomers released photographs of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, which is called Sagittarius A*. It is a supermassive black hole, and it is estimated to be
#227 Is there a black hole at the center of every galaxy? Read More »
I learned this today. Different countries have different laws, but the first bankruptcy laws were created in 1542 in England. The word “bankruptcy” comes from the Italian banca rotta, which means “broken bench”. The story is that bankers used to do their business over a bench. If a banker defaulted on a loan
#226 When did bankruptcy laws start? Read More »
