12 Hunks of Trivia We Knocked Off a Vein of Knowledge
I told you we’d strike it rich in the mind mines, pa!
Charles Dickens Tried to Have His Wife Put in an Insane Asylum
The discovery of some of his writing he’d probably have preferred stayed buried revealed that Dickens tried to have his wife locked in an insane asylum so that he could continue his affair with an 18-year-old actress.
‘3 Days of the Condor’ Is Based on a Book Titled…
Paramount Pictures
Six Days of the Condor. When the book was compressed to fit into a feature film, it seems the title timeline had to be altered to match.
A Deadly, Delicious Scent
In need of all manner of resources during World War II, the military even asked for citizen’s excess bacon drippings, which could be refined into nitroglycerin to use in bombs.
The Instrument That Leads the Orchestra
Here’s a confusing but accurate sentence for you: In an orchestra, the first violin plays second fiddle to only the conductor. The first violinist in an orchestra is most times the “concertmaster,” with a wide range of responsibilities.
The Not-So-Lost Ruins of Babylon
Especially given the legendary nature of its hanging gardens, you might think all of Babylon is a lost civilization, but not so. The ruins are easily visible in modern day Iraq.
A Caterpillar With A Confusing Name
The name of this fuzzy little fellow, which is absolutely a caterpillar? The woolly bear. Given time, it’ll mature into an Isabella tiger moth, making it one insect that shares a name with two unrelated mammals over the course of its life.
A Short Course on Camel Classification
You might think that a camel having one hump or two is natural variation, but they’re two different species, with the two-humped variant being the Bactrian camel, brother to the one-humped Arabian camel.
Etymological Origins of the Muffin
German is not a language known as particularly cute, so it might be surprising that we may have them to thank for the word “muffin.” The word might have evolved from the German muffen, meaning “small cakes.”
The Patron Saint of Sunday Scaries
Next time you’re spending a Sunday paying for the excesses of Saturday night, throw up a prayer to Saint Bibiana, the patron saint of hangovers. She received this honor in Spain, given that her name is similar to the Spanish verb for drink, beber.
An Aggressive Greek Declaration of Love
In Ancient Greece, you might confess your crush with a thunk by tossing an apple at your desired mate. Apples were sacred to the god of love and lust, Aphrodite, so a flying fruit and a waggling eyebrow got the message across pretty clearly.
The Artist’ s Tool Created By A Famous Physicist
Most people aren’t going to art school to delve into the works of physicist Isaac Newton, but one of the first things they’ll learn is one of his creations: the color wheel.
Marble, Like the Parthenon, Wasn’t Always Monotone
Speaking of bright colors, your image of the Parthenon as overwhelmingly earth-toned is only because of the ravages of time. Not just the Parthenon, but many ancient marble structures and statues weren’t originally an image of pale, understated luxury. They were often painted with bright colors, something artists would scoff at today.
