How to Write the Commonplace Fun Facts Way: 12 Steps for 12 Years
Celebrate 12 years of Commonplace Fun Facts with a behind-the-scenes look at how to write with curiosity, skepticism, research, and rabbit trails.
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How to Write the Commonplace Fun Facts Way: 12 Steps for 12 Years
Read more: How to Write the Commonplace Fun Facts Way: 12 Steps for 12 YearsCelebrate 12 years of Commonplace Fun Facts with a behind-the-scenes look at how to write with curiosity, skepticism, research, and rabbit trails.
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William Painter Invented the Bottle Cap. Did He Also Invent a Train Ejection Seat?
Read more: William Painter Invented the Bottle Cap. Did He Also Invent a Train Ejection Seat?William Painter invented the modern bottle cap in 1892. Explore the crown cork, his unusual patents, and the strange myth of a train ejection seat.
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A Very Special Episode: How 1980s Sitcoms Tried to Save America One Traumatized Child at a Time
Read more: A Very Special Episode: How 1980s Sitcoms Tried to Save America One Traumatized Child at a TimeThe 1980s very special episode turned sitcoms into public-service announcements about drugs, abuse, AIDS, grief, and refrigerator danger.
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The 1896 Automatic Hat-Tipping Device That Made Good Manners Effortless
Read more: The 1896 Automatic Hat-Tipping Device That Made Good Manners EffortlessIn 1896, James C. Boyle patented an automatic hat-tipping device that tipped, spun, and reset itself—and he even planned to put advertising on it.
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Benjamin Franklin’s Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion
Read more: Benjamin Franklin’s Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable CompanionBenjamin Franklin’s 1750 satire explains how to become a truly disagreeable companion—and why his advice remains painfully relevant today.
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Florenz Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, and the Fine Art of Saying Too Much
Read more: Florenz Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, and the Fine Art of Saying Too MuchFlorenz Ziegfeld loved elaborate notes. Eddie Cantor preferred brevity. Their clash produced one of Broadway’s funniest lessons in overcommunication.
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10 Unusual Patron Saints and the Surprising Stories Behind Them
Read more: 10 Unusual Patron Saints and the Surprising Stories Behind ThemDiscover the surprising stories behind unusual patron saints associated with television, pilots, dentists, taxi drivers, the Internet, and more.
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London Necropolis Railway: The Victorian Train Where the Dead Rode First Class
Read more: London Necropolis Railway: The Victorian Train Where the Dead Rode First ClassDiscover the London Necropolis Railway, the Victorian funeral train that carried coffins, mourners, and even first-class dead passengers to Brookwood.
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Martin Van Buren Was Arguing Cases in Court Before He Was 16
Read more: Martin Van Buren Was Arguing Cases in Court Before He Was 16Before he was 16, Martin Van Buren was already arguing cases in court—and once had to stand on a table so the jury could see him.
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Dagen H: Sweden Changed Which Side of the Road an Entire Country Drove On—in 10 Minutes
Read more: Dagen H: Sweden Changed Which Side of the Road an Entire Country Drove On—in 10 MinutesDiscover how Dagen H switched Sweden from left- to right-hand traffic in ten minutes—after voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea.
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The Surprising Truth About How Much of Helen Keller’s Writing Was Really Her Own
Read more: The Surprising Truth About How Much of Helen Keller’s Writing Was Really Her OwnHow much of Helen Keller’s writing and success was really her own? Explore Anne Sullivan’s role, Keller’s talent, and the truth behind the legend.
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The Roman Dodecahedron Mystery: We’ve Found 134 of Them and Still Don’t Know What They Were For
Read more: The Roman Dodecahedron Mystery: We’ve Found 134 of Them and Still Don’t Know What They Were ForWhat was the purpose of the Roman dodecahedron? Explore the leading theories behind these mysterious 12-sided artifacts and why 134 examples still have no certain explanation.
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The Pitch Drop Experiment: Nearly 100 Years of Waiting for Something to Happen
Read more: The Pitch Drop Experiment: Nearly 100 Years of Waiting for Something to HappenThe Pitch Drop Experiment has been running since 1927, producing only nine drops while generations of scientists wait—and occasionally miss the action.
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What Is the Longest Sentence in English Literature? The 13,955-Word Sentence That Shattered a Record
Read more: What Is the Longest Sentence in English Literature? The 13,955-Word Sentence That Shattered a RecordWhat is the longest sentence in English literature? Meet the 13,955-word monster that shattered James Joyce’s record—and the authors who went even further.
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Coffin Torpedoes: When 19th-Century Americans Booby-Trapped the Dead to Stop Grave Robbers
Read more: Coffin Torpedoes: When 19th-Century Americans Booby-Trapped the Dead to Stop Grave RobbersP.K. Clover’s 1878 coffin torpedo was designed to stop grave robbers with an explosive surprise buried alongside the deceased.
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