#180 Where did the Stetson hat come from?
I learned this today. The Stetson hat was designed by John B. Stetson in 1865. We have an image of cowboys wearing […]
#179 How do we vomit?
I learned this today. There is a carefully choreographed sequence of steps that enable us to vomit. Vomiting is a form of […]
#178 How many species of human have their been?
I learned this today. Depending on who you ask and what fossils you look at and what you define as “human”, there […]
#177 What happened to the Hindenburg?
I learned this today. The Hindenburg airship probably caught fire because of a static electric charge that ignited the highly flammable hydrogen […]
#176 How did Rasputin gain so much influence over Tsar Nicholas II of Russia?
I learned this today. Rasputin managed to gain so much influence over the tsar of Russia because he appeared able to cure […]
#175 When was the parachute invented?
I learned this today. Technically the first parachute jump was in 852. A man called Armen Firman, in Spain, jumped off a […]
#174 How did New Delhi become the capital of India?
I learned this today. New Delhi became the capital of India in 1911 because the previous capital Kolkata had become too politically […]
#173 Why does gravity exist?
I learned this today. Nobody knows why gravity exists. They can explain what happens, but not really why. Gravity can be observed, […]
#172 Why does concrete go hard?
I learned this today. Concrete goes hard because the filler (usually something like gravel) is glued together by the binder (usually cement) […]
#171 Why do octopuses have blue blood?
I learned this today. Octopuses have blue blood because they have adapted to live in cold, deep water. Octopuses live in every […]