History is filled with dates that will live in infamy. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the December 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor; and the November 23, 1963, assassination of John […]
What Was the Most Boring Day in History?
The Loneliest Man in the World — Meet the Sole Survivor of a Mysterious Tribe
2020 is the year we all became familiar with the concept of “social distancing.” Deep within the rainforest of the Amazon is a man who may not have heard those words, but […]
How the BBC Show “Today” Ensures There Will Be a Tomorrow
If you are a fan of the BBC, the thought of your favorite program going off the air might seem like a sign of the end of the world. If that favorite […]
Those Times When Planetary Alingments Messed With Earth’s Gravity
When the respected astronomer announced that gravity’s effects would be briefly suspended, it got everyone’s attention. People who are accustomed to taking action in response to severe thunderstorm warnings, approaching blizzards, or […]
This Just In: Nothing Happening Today
On April 18, 1930, listeners to the BBC News heard the stunning report, “There is no news today.” The remainder of the program featured piano music. Read some funny and questionable newspaper […]
To Boldly Go Where No Time Lord Has Gone Before
BBC’s popular television program Doctor Who has been on the air since 1963. Its title character, the Doctor, is over 2,000 years old and has been traveling through time and space for […]
Time Lords and Talking Cabbage
Fans of BBC’s Doctor Who know that the Doctor has had quite the variety of companions since the show’s debut in 1963. He has had humans, Time Lords, aliens, a robot dog, and […]
A Hunch that Paid Off
In 1989 an anonymous man from Wales placed a £30 bet at Ladbrokes, a London gambling establishment. The terms of the bet? The Welshman wagered that as of January 1, 2000: The band U2 […]
Laughter: the Best Medicine?
They say laughter is the best medicine, but that did not prove to be true for Alex Mitchell.
An Odd Bit of Odds
In 2011 European bookies were putting the odds of Queen Elizabeth II abdicating and replacing Bruce Forsyth as the host of the popular BBC dance competition Strictly Come Dancing at 50,000 to […]
Doctor W.H.O.?
Peter Capaldi, who plays the twelfth Doctor Who, also played the role of a doctor with the World Health Organization in the zombie movie World War Z. He was credited as “W.H.O. […]
The Great Spaghetti Tree Harvest of 1957
In 1957 the BBC pulled an April Fools prank, duping hundreds of thousands of individuals into thinking spaghetti was annually harvested from “spaghetti trees” in Switzerland. Watch the video here. Read about […]
Bow Ties Are Cool
When Doctor Who’s Matt Smith uttered the line, “Bow ties are cool,” bow tie sales shot up 94% within one month. source
Commonplace Fun Facts 