On December 2, 1942, a nuclear chain reaction was achieved for the first time under the stands of the University of Chicago’s football stadium. The first reactor measured 30 feet wide, 32 feet long, and 21.5 feet high. It weighed 1,400 tons and contained 52 tons of uranium in the form of uranium metal and uranium oxide. Although the same ...Read more

The kiwi, national bird of New Zealand, can't fly. It lives in a hole in the ground, is almost blind, and lays only one egg each year. Despite this, it has survived for more than 70 million years.

During the bubonic plague of London, the city was sealed off to avoid contamination. This meant no food was permitted in. The only people willing to trade with London were the Dutch, who left food on jetties and then would take the money left there. They used to steel their nerves with liquor before landing on the plague-infested shores, hence "...Read more

In the TV sitcom Cheers, the legal capacity of the popular Boston bar was 75. It was shown in a notice posted over the door.

In Somalia, Africa, it's been decreed illegal to carry old chewing gum stuck on the tip of your nose.

Humans, if they are very sensitive, can detect sweetness in a solution of 1 part sugar to 200 parts water. Some moths and butterflies can detect sweetness when the ratio is 1 to 300,000.

In 1943, Percy Clark of UCLA made the mistake during the Rose Bowl game of being tackled behind the goal line while attempting to return a punt against Georgia. UCLA lost the game, 2-0. One newspaper carried the headline "CLARK 2, UCLA 0." Clark was openly shunned by classmates and, in despair, he quit college a week later. He moved to the woods...Read more

Chocolate was once considered a temptation of the devil. In Central American mountain villages during the 18th century, no one under the age of 60 was permitted to drink it, and churchgoers who defied the rule were threatened with excommunication.

While in New York, struggling actor William H. Macy (E.R., Fargo) worked as "voice-over talent" for commercials. His personal "biggest" ad line was that of "Secret: strong enough for a man but made for a woman."

Arguably it's Conan the Barbarian, a fictional barbarian created by Robert E. Howard in a series of fantasy pulp stories published in Weird Tales in the 1930s. The Conan stories take place on Earth, but in the mythical (created by Howard) Hyborian Age, "...between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of...Read more

A person breathes almost 7 quarts of air every minute.

Contrary to popular myth, flies DO exist in Alaska. In fact, there are almost no WORMS in Alaska, and the flies fill that ecological niche - birds of many species are seen feeding on flies and maggots. Fish even eat the maggots from rotting salmon in the streams.

The most destructive tornado on record occurred in Annapolis, Missouri. In 3 hours, it tore through the town on March 18, 1925, leaving a 980-foot-wide trail of demolished buildings, uprooted trees, and overturned cars. It left 823 people dead and almost 3,000 injured.

Saint Boniface is said to have substituted a fir tree for the pagan oak in the eighth century as a symbol of faith. Martin Luther fostered the Christmas tree cult by using a candlelit tree as a symbol of Christ's heavenly home, while trees decorated with candles, fruit and paper flowers were introduced into Britain soon after Queen Victoria's ...Read more

Auto racer Dan Gurney was one of the first U.S. drivers to use rear-engine race cars. He won the Le Mans race (1967), and finished second in the Indianapolis 500 twice (1968 and 1969).

In 2000, Metallica discovered that their entire catalogue was being distributed via the Napster P2P file-sharing network. The band initiated legal action against Napster. Lars Ulrich provided a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding copyright infringement on July 11, 2000. The lawsuit created a public relations nightmare. ...Read more

Because alcohol causes cells to become dehydrated, one way to minimize a hangover is to drink a couple of glasses of water after each alcoholic drink, thus preventing dehydration. The most common symptom of a hangover is the same as that of mild dehydration -- a headache.

According to many studies, chocolate is the number one food craved by women, but scientists are undecided as to why.

In recent years, the term monokini has come into use for topless bathing by women: where the bikini has two parts, the monokini is the lower part. Where monokinis are in use, the word bikini may jokingly refer to a two-piece outfit consisting of a monokini and a sun hat. The tankini is a swimsuit

Visitors to Japan should know that August 13 through 16 is a Buddhist event called o-bon in Japan, one of the most important traditions for the Japanese people. It is the period of praying for the peace of the souls of ancestors. The Japanese believe that their ancestors' spirits come back to their homes to be reunited with their family during o...Read more