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Why does the Guinness Beer Company Track World Records?
Odds are you've heard about the Guinness Book of World Records, the famous, often inaccurate compilation of various impressive, important, and ridicu…
8 years, 2 months ago
Digging Up James K Polk (For the Third Time)
The average American may not hear much about James K Polk in school today, but during his time in office the 11th U.S. President was responsible for …
8 years, 2 months ago
Presidents Love Their Ridiculous Pets
It's no secret that, until very recently, US Presidents were known as huge fans of pets -- and they didn't limit themselves to cats and dogs! Join Be…
8 years, 3 months ago
The Atomic Whoops: When the US Air Force Bombed South Carolina
During the height of the Cold War, both the US and the USSR constantly ran drills in anticipation of a possible nuclear conflict. While the Gregg fam…
8 years, 3 months ago
Waging War With Hallucinogenic Honey
Honey is popular around the world, and for good reason. This addictively sweet substance is a common ingredient in hundreds of recipes, and people hi…
8 years, 3 months ago
Ben Franklin Tried To Reinvent the Alphabet
For such a popular, well-known language, English is full of strange, seemingly arbitrary rules. Most people just accept these various idiosyncracies.…
8 years, 3 months ago
The Strange History of Antarctic Fruitcake
Nowadays fruitcake is considered a stereotypical, often comical holiday punchline, but even in the modern day people across the planet can agree on a…
8 years, 3 months ago
When the Puritans Canceled Christmas
Nowadays Christmas is a globally-recognized holiday celebrated by millions of people, but in the past this wasn't the case. In fact, some groups of C…
8 years, 3 months ago
Baguettes and Vacation: France versus Bakers
You've probably heard that France takes its bread seriously -- but did you know France had specific laws governing the lives of bakers? For centuries…
8 years, 3 months ago
What's the deal with smashing cake at weddings?
Weddings are an ancient tradition, and over the millenia the various rituals associated with (theoretically) life-long partnership have evolved and c…
8 years, 3 months ago