I learned this today. Zippers weren’t called zippers until about 30 years after they had been invented and they got their name from a boot. A number of different people claim to have invented the zipper, but Elias Howe Jr. technically holds the patent for what can be called the closest thing to an early […]
#62 Why are zippers called zippers? Read More »
I learned this today. Antlers are made of bone and can grow up to 1 inch (2.5cm) a day. Antlers are grown by the males (mostly) of the deer family. Deer are hoofed ruminants that have two large and two small hooves on each foot. There are 43 different species of deer. The smallest species
#61 How do antlers grow? Read More »
I learned this today. Birds migrate because of declining food sources and not because of the temperature drop over winter. Birds migrate along a north south channel. They generally use a route that gives them the most opportunities for rest and food on the way. Their paths are usually dictated by natural landmarks like mountains
#60 Why do birds migrate? Read More »
I learned this today. We say “the press” to refer to the media because the first newspapers were made on a movable type printing press. Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press somewhere between 1440 and 1450. By 1450, it was in operation. Before his invention, printing was done using wooden blocks. The page to
#59 Why do we say “the press” to refer to journalists and newspapers? Read More »
I learned this today. The tallest a human could potentially grow is about 9 feet, 274cm. Humans grow because of a growth hormone called somatropin. It stimulates growth by telling cells to reproduce. It is released by the pituitary gland. It reacts with a specific receptor on the surface of cells, and it stimulates cell
#58 How tall could a human grow? Read More »
I learned this today. Spot welding was discovered by accident by Elihu Thomson in 1877 when he was giving a lecture on electricity and accidentally passed a current through two pieces of wire. Spot welding is obviously a form of welding. Welding is the process of joining any two pieces of metal together through heat.
#57 How does spot welding work and what is it used for? Read More »
I learned this today. Gold is so rare because it takes a staggeringly large amount of energy to produce it naturally. Gold has been treasured for as long as humans have been able to find it because of its unique properties. It is resistant to corrosion, conducts electricity and heat very well, doesn’t tarnish, is
#56 Why is gold so rare? Read More »
I learned this today. Black Friday started in the 1950s when police in Philadelphia had to deal with the crowds and mayhem that came after Thanksgiving. Thousands of people came into the city for the Army-Navy football game that was held on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. These days, Black Friday refers to
#55 Where does Black Friday originate? Read More »
I learned this today. Cats can jump up to 6 times their length because of their powerful hind legs and their flexible joints and vertebrae. Cats can jump 6 times their length, approximately 180cm. It is obviously not fair to make a straight comparison, but a human would have to jump a little over 10m
#54 Why can cats jump so high? Read More »
I learned this today. Blue cheeses (like stilton and gorgonzola) are blue because they have veins of penicillin running through them. Legend says that blue cheese was discovered in the 7th century in a cave outside the village of Roquefort in France. The story is that a shepherd was eating a lunch of bread and
#53 What are the blue bits in blue cheese? Read More »
