Showing results by author "Dan Lewis" in All Categories

Did you know that stop signs weren't always red? Explore the stop sign's colorful past on this episode of Now I Know. Ask enough people to describe a stop sign and you will get some pretty common answers: it has the word STOP in white lettering (at least in the United States), it has eight sides, and – of course – it’s red. Everyone knows that.

Did you know that tug of war was once an Olympic Sport, or that President Teddy Roosevelt demanded that actions be taken to turn football into a more gentlemanly pastime? And what about Eddie Gaedel, the 3’7" pinch hitter for the St. Louis Browns who was nearly impossible to strike out? Even if you think you have a handle on all things trivia, you're guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know: Sports. This special collection from the Now I Know archives will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world's greatest facts.

At 67°51' North latitude, the Swedish town of Jukkasjärvi is located within the Arctic Circle, which should give you an idea for how remote it is. Its Wikipedia entry uses more words to explain the origin of the town's name than it does the town's attractions, which is to say that there aren't very many of the latter. From April to November, probably the most interesting building in the town of about 500 people is an old wooden church dating back to the early 1600s.

On January 5, 2010, Irish authorities descended upon the home of an electrician who, just a couple of days earlier, had traveled from his native Slovakia back to his adopted home of Ireland. Acting on a tip from the Slovak authorities, the Irish police believed that the man – whose name was never released to the press – had recently smuggled explosives into Ireland. Specifically, the man was believed to have transported an explosive called RDX in his luggage during his January 2nd flight.

With a list price of $18.95, the Casio F91-W digital watch is cheap – and selling for $10.72 on Amazon as of this writing. It's well-regarded, with well over 1,000 reviews on Amazon, nearly 90 percent of which are for four or five stars.

Beginning in the 1630s and lasting for more than two centuries, Japan's foreign policy was one of strict isolationism – to a violent degree. According to Wikipedia, the policy, called "sakoku," held that "no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death."

It began in 1997. Grocery stores in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – about 45 miles from Philadelphia – were all reporting the same things to their distributors: loaf after loaf of Friehofer's brand bread, destroyed.

The internet has made newspapers' "Help Wanted" ads a thing of the past. But in 2001, before this form of advertising was sent into obsolescence, an entrepreneurial (and seemingly desperate) job seeker named Brian O'Dea used the medium to reverse things.

In 1999, a 22-year-old Missouri man named Cornealious Michael Anderson held up a Burger King at gunpoint, making away with more than $2,000 in cash. He was captured two months later, and in July 2000, Mike Anderson was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

On October 24, 2013, the California Department of Social Services shut down a small elder care facility in Castro Valley, a suburb of San Francisco. According to a report by ABC 7 News, the nursing home, called Valley Springs Manor, had been investigated for a laundry list of problems, from failing to perform appropriate employee background checks to not providing patients with proper medication, and the 20 or so residents of the home were to be relocated to new, compliant homes.

When tragedy strikes, and after the grieving process has begun and some time has passed, the survivors of victims often search for answers – an explanation as to what happened, why it happened and who, if anyone, is at fault.

Alligators' tails allow them to swim. By moving its tail from side to side, the animal can propel itself through water at fish-like speeds, which is important because when it comes to eating, alligators have a pretty easily defined diet: if it is in or near the water, it is food.

Learn more about the French newspaper that publishes 'all the news that's fit to wait for a while,' on this episode of Now I Know. Some of the articles featured in the February 29, 2012 edition of the French-language newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur centered on the alleged dangers of chewing gum, changes in drink sizes, and a bunch of other items that don’t seem all that critical to everyday life. The newspaper is further distinguished by ads – there aren’t any – and by its website – it doesn’t have one.

Is zero odd or even? Find out how India drove around the problem on this episode of Now I Know. Zero is an even number. Let’s get that out of the way. But if that gave you pause, you’re not alone – it can be a little hard to internalize. That’s why Wikipedia has a surprisingly long entry discussing the subject and why, according to a study from the 1990s (as explained by the BBC), “people are 10% slower at deciding whether zero is odd or even than other numbers.”

Dental floss? That's good for your teeth and gums. Fairy floss? That's anything but good for your oral health (and if you're in Australia, you already know that).

Silly String is liquefied plastic compressed in an aerosol can. Point it at your friend, hit the button and the liquid plastic comes shooting out.

On July 21, 1969, Buzz Aldrin became the second human to ever set foot on the moon. Shortly before exiting the lunar lander, Aldrin radioed back to Earth with a simple request: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way."

Southwest Airlnes was founded in 1967 by Rollin King, an investment consultant, and Herb Kelleher, an attorney. Kelleher served as the company's CEO from 1981 until 2001 and oversaw many different initiatives over his tenure.

Lake Hillier, situated on an island in the Recherche Archipelago – a collection of islands to the south of Western Australia also known as the Bay of Isles – is about 2,000 feet long and 800 feet wide. But one characteristic of Lake Hillier sets it apart from other lakes – it's pink.

In the United States, public places often have two restrooms – one for men, one for women – and each restroom typically has a stall set aside for people with disabilities. That's not the case everywhere, though.