Why Do People Call Coffee “Joe”?
January 7, 2014
Pour yourself a steaming cup of facts.
The phrase comes from the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century. A well-known origin story traces it to 1913. That year, President Wilson appointed Josephus Daniels to the position of Secretary of the Navy. He imm...
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Who Cut the Cheese?
December 11, 2013
Would you eat cheese made out of bacteria from the human body?
Scent researcher Christina Agapakis, and Sissel Tolaas, a synthetic biologist, learned that microscopic ecosystems inside the human body are often very similar to the bacteria that makes...
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A Real Life Saver
December 6, 2013
The origin of a favorite stocking stuffer that was mostly accidental.
In the early 20th century, Clarence Crane ran a candy company in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. His top sellers were chocolate candies, but sales always plummeted during the summer mon...
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Weird Thanksgiving Stories
November 26, 2013
It’s almost Thanksgiving—have you bought your robot turkey yet?
• In 2003, wildlife conservation officers in Michigan faced a spate of illegal turkey poachers. They didn’t call the Detroit police, one-time employer of Robocop—they brought i...
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5 Doughnuts From Around the World
November 21, 2013
If there's one thing everybody can agree on, it's doughnuts. It seems like every culture on earth has perfected some kind of sweetened and fried dough. Here are just a few doughnuts from around the world.
Pastry: Beignet Country: France Details: Fr...
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