“Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeer, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a […]
Reagan Reflects on Reason for Christmas
Back When Children Played With Uranium
With the approach of Christmas, you might be wondering what to buy for the young budding scientist on your shopping list. An Albert Einstein bobble head? Monster scientist Lego kit? Periodic Table […]
What is the Difference Between a Judge and a Law Student?
The first Monday of October is the traditional beginning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term. In honor of the occasion and with all due respect to the nine justices who are about […]
How to Become a Professional Santa Claus
All schools have a code of conduct, but some put a particular emphasis on keeping a list of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. If you want to make the spreading […]
Get Your Official Unicorn Hunting License
Depending on how you feel about unicorns, you may be blessed or burdened by the knowledge that you can get a license to hunt unicorns.
What Good Can Possibly Come From an Uneducable Boy?
Thomas would never amount to anything and was uneducable. That was the conclusion of his teachers, and increasingly, it was the opinion of his parents. The young man, despite being born to […]
The Not-So-Funny Tale of the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
If everyone is laughing, that’s usually a sign that things are going well. Not so in the case of a peculiar and unexplained phenomenon that hit Eastern Africa in the 1960s. Plenty […]
How to Combine Fecal Examinations, Parasites, and Dinner
If you happen to acquire a time machine, there are many past events you may wish to experience. Odds are that one of those will not be the dinner lecture sponsored by […]
A Schoolboy Crush, a Teacher’s Kiss, and a Quest for Greatness
They certainly weren’t the first boys in history to develop a crush on their teacher. Who could blame them for their innocent preoccupation over Miss Brown? Matilda “Tillie” Brown was young, pretty, […]
Big Bird Narrowly Avoided Dying in Space
For over 50 years, Sesame Street’s Big Bird has been one of the most iconic and beloved children’s characters. The 8-foot 2-inch (249 cm) bright yellow bird has been teaching children how […]
How Many Licks Does it Take To Get to the Tootsie Roll Center of a Tootsie Pop?
In 1970, the world was asked the question, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” The question was posed in an animated […]
Improve Your Memory With These Helpful Mnemonics
Who hasn’t wished to have a better memory? Whether you struggle with recalling the names of people whom you just met, have difficulty with how many “c”s and “m”s to include in […]
Sir Nevill Mott: The Absent-Minded Nobel Laureate
Sir Nevill Francis Mott (1905-1996) won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977. He was a professor at the University of Manchester, Cambridge, and the University of Bristol. His students remember him […]
Why Does Sesame Street’s Count Like to Count?
Children have been learning how to count with the help of Sesame Street’s Count von Count for nearly fifty years. The purple-skinned vampire is well named, since he derives much more pleasure […]
Getting Fried by Hugo N. Frye
The Hugo N. Frye Sesquicentennial Committee of Cornell University planned an event to honor New York’s often-overlooked political activist and founder of the New York Republican Party. The event was scheduled for […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 