The Great Fire of London (1666): Strange Facts Behind the Famous Disaster
The Great Fire of London wasn’t just a disaster—it was full of odd decisions and strange moments. Here are the quirkiest facts from 1666.
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Looking for Gas Leak with Open Flame… Anyone Else See a Problem with This?
Read more: Looking for Gas Leak with Open Flame… Anyone Else See a Problem with This?The largest cylindrical gas container in the world in 1927 was in the heart of the industrial center of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On the morning of November 14, 1927, it developed a leak, so repairmen set out to look for it…. ….with an open-flame lamp.
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Nerd Humor for Punny Chemists
Read more: Nerd Humor for Punny ChemistsA mosquito was heard to complain,“A chemist has poisoned my brain!”The cause of his sorrowWas paradichloro-triphenyldichloroethane. paradichlorotriphenyldichloroethane is an insecticide, closely related to dichlorotriphenyldichloroethane, more commonly known as DDD
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Accepting Responsibility
Read more: Accepting ResponsibilityAt a White House press conference ABC reporter Sam Donaldson directed a question to President Ronald Reagan: “Mr. President, in talking about the continuing recession tonight, you have blamed Congress and mistakes in the past. Does any of the blame belong to you?” The President’s response: “Yes, because for many years I was a Democrat.”…
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Is There a Third Option?
Read more: Is There a Third Option?Illinois Representative William McKendree Springer quoted Henry Clay during a debate in the US House of Representatives, saying, “As for me, I would rather be right than be president.” Speaker Thomas Reed immediately responded, “The gentleman need not trouble himself. He’ll never be either.” The Life of Thomas Brackett Reed, chapter 21, page 246 (1914)
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Too Much Man — Too Little Clothes
Read more: Too Much Man — Too Little Clothes“The Right Hon. was a tubby little chap who looked as if he had been poured into his clothes and had forgotten to say `When!’” from Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
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Fellow Authors Are the Hardest to Please
Read more: Fellow Authors Are the Hardest to PleaseIt would be an understatement to say that Mark Twain was not a fan of Jane Austen. “She makes me detest all her people, without reserve. Is that her intention? It is not believable. Then is it her purpose to make the reader detest her people up to the middle of the book and like…
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No Points for the Bard from This Nobel Laureate
Read more: No Points for the Bard from This Nobel LaureateGeorge Bernard Shaw holds the distinction of being the only writer to receive both an Academy Award and the Nobel Prize for Literature. With credentials like this, one is obligated to at least consider his opinion of fellow authors: “With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott,…
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Dance With the Dead
Read more: Dance With the DeadIn some parts of Madagascar, burying a loved one does not necessarily mean that’s the last you see of that person. The Malagasy tradition of Famadihana, known as the turning of the bones, calls for regular digging up of the dead in order to change their clothes, walk them around the village, and dance with…
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Put Down That Dynamite — This Squirrel is Protected
Read more: Put Down That Dynamite — This Squirrel is ProtectedNo matter how much those squirrels may be bothering you, you’re going to have to resort to means other than heavy explosives if you want to get rid of them. That’s the case, at least, if you live in Connecticut. Sec. 26-88 of the Connecticut Code states, “No person shall take or attempt to take…
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As Stubborn as a … Hinny?
Read more: As Stubborn as a … Hinny?When a female horse and male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny. source
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Can You Get Over the Hump and Drink Camel Milk?
Read more: Can You Get Over the Hump and Drink Camel Milk?If you have difficulty drinking all the milk in your refrigerator before it spoils, you might consider switching to camel milk. It has a feature you will appreciate: it does not curdle.
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Comedian-in-Chief
Read more: Comedian-in-ChiefNot a lot of people were laughing on September 22, 1862. The Civil War was about a year and a half old, and it was proving to be much more trying than either side had imagined. When President Abraham Lincoln called his War Cabinet into session that day, his advisors arrived in a grim and…
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Pepto Bismol — For More Than Just an Upset Tummy
Read more: Pepto Bismol — For More Than Just an Upset TummyExposing Pepto Bismol to high heat will reduce it to a chunk of metal known as a bismuth slag. See a video demonstration here.
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Hey, I May Be A Sleazy Drug Dealer, But At Least I Pay My Taxes!
Read more: Hey, I May Be A Sleazy Drug Dealer, But At Least I Pay My Taxes!In 2005 Tennessee began requiring drug dealers to anonymously pay taxes on any illegal substances they sold. Commonly known as “The Crack Tax,” it allowed the state to collect revenue from any drug dealer who was arrested without proof of having paid the tax. In 2009 the state’s supreme court found the law unconstitutional. source
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And You Think Paying Your Taxes Stinks?
Read more: And You Think Paying Your Taxes Stinks?During the 1st century AD, Roman emperor Vespasian (ruled 69-79) placed a tax on urine. The urine from public urinals was sold as an essential ingredient for several chemical processes, such as tanning leather, and by launderers as a source of ammonia to clean and whiten woolen clothing. A thriving market of urine collectors developed,…
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A Buttload is an Actual Unit of MeasurementFebruary 5, 2020
