Euphonia: The Creepy Talking Head That Helped Inspire the Telephone
Joseph Faber’s eerie Euphonia talking machine synthesized speech, fascinated scientists, and helped shape ideas that pointed toward the telephone.
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Lucille Ball: Mistress of Comedy and Counter-Espionage
Read more: Lucille Ball: Mistress of Comedy and Counter-EspionageHow Did Lucille Ball Break Up a World War II Spy Ring? Lucille Ball (1911-1989) was not only one of the undisputed geniuses of comedy, starring in I Love Lucy, Life With Lucy, and more than 80 motion pictures, but she also played an unplanned and unscripted role in counter-espionage.
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Tales from the Great and Glorious Pig War of 1859
Read more: Tales from the Great and Glorious Pig War of 1859History is replete with stories of wars that were fought over the love of a woman, the quest for power, and ideological differences. In 1859 two of the world’s greatest military powers prepared for battle over a pig.
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Complex Characters
Read more: Complex CharactersWhen it comes to complexity of the written language, few can compete with the Chinese. Take, for example, the above character for the word nàng. It consists of 36 individual strokes, and it represents the sound one’s voice makes as a result of having a congested nose. Few characters exceed the complexity of biáng, above.…
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What Are the Longest Words in the English Language? Check Out This Hodgepodge of Hippopotomonstrosesquipidelian Homeruns
Read more: What Are the Longest Words in the English Language? Check Out This Hodgepodge of Hippopotomonstrosesquipidelian HomerunsWhat are the longest words in the English language? Find out here!
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Not Enough Juice for the Dimwits
Read more: Not Enough Juice for the Dimwits“The trouble ain’t that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain’t distributed right.” — Mark Twain
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Dishonesty Doesn’t Pay
Read more: Dishonesty Doesn’t PayBritish Member of Parliament Horatio Bottomley made a lot of money through fraud. He also lost a lot of money the same way. In a classic case of karma, in 1914 Bottomley bought all the horses that would run a race. He paid the jockeys to finish in a certain order and bet large sums…
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The Ugliest Man Ever
Read more: The Ugliest Man EverJohn Heidegger rose to fame in Switzerland and later in England as a promoter of masquerade balls. It should be no surprise that Heidegger was drawn to a profession that depended on masks and disguises. Heidegger, by his own admission, was the ugliest person in the country. Called “Count Ugly” by some and described by…
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A Promotion 178 Years in the Making
Read more: A Promotion 178 Years in the MakingGeorge Washington is the highest-ranking officer to have served in the United States military. Still, it took 178 years since his last promotion and 177 years after his death before that accomplishment was realized.
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The Last of Those Who Gave The Last Full Measure of Their Devotion
Read more: The Last of Those Who Gave The Last Full Measure of Their DevotionWhile records are sometimes sketchy and inconclusive, the following is a list of the last surviving veterans of the United States’ wars and major military operations.
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It Always Pays to Plan Ahead
Read more: It Always Pays to Plan AheadSir Max Beerbohm is best remembered as an English essayist and caricaturist. Perhaps more attention should be paid to his practice of planning ahead. As he was getting ready to draw his last breath, Beerbohm said, “You will find my last words in the blue folder.” As it turned out, those were his last words.
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Is Glass a Liquid? The Solid Facts Behind the Liquid Myth
Read more: Is Glass a Liquid? The Solid Facts Behind the Liquid MythIs glass a liquid? Find out the truth behind the myth.
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Cash on the Canvas
Read more: Cash on the CanvasThe work of art that has sold for the highest price is Paul Gauguin’s oil painting “Nafea faa ipoipo”. The title is Tahitian for “When will you marry?” When sold in a private sale in February 2015, this 1892 piece brought $300 million.
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Thomas Midgley Jr.: The Man Behind Leaded Gasoline, Freon, and a Lot of Regret
Read more: Thomas Midgley Jr.: The Man Behind Leaded Gasoline, Freon, and a Lot of RegretThomas Midgley Jr. helped develop leaded gasoline and Freon—two brilliant solutions whose unintended consequences changed the world.
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The Vehicular Influence of the Governator
Read more: The Vehicular Influence of the GovernatorGeneral Motors developed a civilian model of its military vehicle, the Humvee, largely due to the persuasive efforts of actor and future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The result — the Hummer — rolled off the assembly lines in July 1992. The first one was delivered to Schwarzenegger, himself. source
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