Mostrando resultados por autor "Dan Lewis" en Todas las categorías

The USS O'Bannon was a warship used by the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The destroyer's armament was impressive by any measure – depth charges for submarines, 17 anti-aircraft guns, torpedo tubes for ships and subs alike, and five 5"/38 caliber guns for surface targets.

François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was a French writer during the Enlightenment. Known for what would today be considered snark, he often made comments to which many would take offense. For example, in his 1764 treatise Dictionnaire Philosophique (which translates as Philosophical Dictionary), Voltaire quipped that "common sense is not so common." This smarter-than-thou attitude was a theme throughout his works, and, one would expect, his life as well.

It was June 23, 2011. A 59-year-old man named Richard James Verone was being held in North Carolina, unable to pay his $2,000 bond. He was awaiting his day in court – June 28th – for a crime he'd committed two weeks earlier. It was a smooth, calculated crime. On the morning of June 9th, Verone showered, ironed his shirt, and hopped into a cab to go to a nearby bank. He handed the teller a note with a simple demand: take some money out of the drawer and hand it over.

From the end of World War II until the fall of the Soviet Union nearly fifty years later, the happenings of those nations behind the Iron Curtain were hidden in the shroud of communism. Many of the goings-on came to light in subsequent years, with most being stories of abuses under communist dictators. But some of the revelations unveiled in the 1990s were secrets about the Nazis. For example, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, someone discovered a swastika made of trees.

Taste test: Does a $17 burger always taste better than a $4 one? Find out on this episode of Now I Know. A hamburger that costs $17 probably tastes good. No, it has to – who would pay $17 for a burger and fries that didn’t? No one – at least not twice. That makes sense: in order to stay in business with an expensive menu, whatever you’re selling better make for a good dining experience. But at some point, our palates can’t really discern between foods.

There's a grim, dark side to the honey bun biz. Get the un-sugarcoated story on this episode of Now I Know. A honey bun is a cake-y dessert that sells for about $1 at your deli. It’s nothing special, as pre-packaged desserts go, except perhaps for the fact that it’s pretty bad for you. The small version of the treat weighs three ounces and runs 340 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 210 milligrams of sodium – roughly the same nutritional value as one and a half Snickers bars.

What scandal nearly cost President Grover Cleveland the election? Get the inside story on this episode of Now I Know. The Presidency of Grover Cleveland is already unique for the well-known reason that his two terms were not consecutive. Cleveland won the 1884 Presidential election by a narrow margin – less than a half a percent of the popular vote – and took the Presidency.

Did you know that San Diego’s Frozen Zoo is home to preserved DNA samples from over 8,000 endangered or threatened species, or that the tell-tale smell of freshly mowed grass is actually the plant’s version of a distress call? And what about Henrietta Lacks, the “immortal woman” whose cancer cells have been divided and multiplied for research purposes for over 60 years? Even if you think you have a handle on all things trivia, you're guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know: Science.

In 2011, a total of 81,000 people were adopted by Japanese families. If you think that's a lot of babies changing families, though, you're wrong – but not because 81,000 is a small number.

The name Edward Martin is hardly a household one. At the pinnacle of his career – at least, the part that's relevant to this story – he competed in his hobby's world tournament three times.

Penicillin was discovered by a scientist named Alexander Fleming in September 1928. Two years later, it was used for the first time to cure an infection – on November 25, 1930, British Doctor Cecil George Paine used penicillin to help an infant suffering from neonatal conjunctivitis.

Money does not grow on trees. Neither do pineapples, for that matter. Spaghetti? Nope, that doesn't grow on trees either. …Or does it?

On March 9, 2014, Neil Moore was in Wandsworth Prison, a maximum security prison in London, England, awaiting trial. Moore, whose modus operandi was fraud, had been charged with orchestrating a series of bank heists – pretending to be a bank official and, via a bit of social engineering, he had managed to convince (real) staffers at other financial institutions to wire him some cash.

The 1970 FIFA World Cup has a few unique claims it can make: it was the first and only time that Israel qualified for the final stage; it was also the only time that Argentina failed to qualify; and it was, to date, the only time that the qualification rounds helped spark a war.

If you've been to a major theme park, such as Disneyland, then you are likely aware of what the industry calls "costume characters." Those life-size, huggable, familiar faces, such as Mickey, Minnie and Winnie the Pooh, are some of the park's main attractions.

Did you know that Silly Putty is a by-product of World War II-era rubber rationing, or that the Anglo-Swedish War resulted in exactly zero direct deaths? And about the Richmond Golf Club, who posted an addendum to the official rules in case a round of golf was interrupted by a round of bombs dropped by the Nazi Luftwaffe? Now I Know: Military is the ultimate challenge for any know-it-all who thinks they have nothing left to learn about the military.

In September 2013, a New York City man named Antonio Ciccarello died as a result of a stab wound. About five days prior to his death, Ciccarello was commuting to work like he normally did, traveling from Manhattan's Lower East Side to Times Square. But this trip was different.

Paninis with ham and Colby cheese; Moroccan roast chicken breast; lentil, quinoa and eggplant salads; a make-your-own-gourmet-burger bar; chipotle pulled pork over brown rice; poached pears; porridge; and balsamic strawberry craft sodas – according to various news reports, those are some of the items on the menu at The Corner, a cafe in Sydney, Australia.

The French Alpine town of Albertville sits in the southeast of the country, near the border of Italy, and is home to only about 10,000 people. Like most French communities, the people of Albertville rely on cheese. But unlike most other French areas, cheese is more than just a snack or part of a meal for the residents of Albertville. It, quite literally, powers part of the area.

There's a teensy problem with the Lincoln Memorial – one that spelling sticklers might have the biggest problem with. Explore this little-known fact on this episode of Now I Know. The Lincoln Memorial is one of Washington, D.C.’s top tourist attractions. The monument, erected to honor the 16th President of the United States, is a painstaking work of architecture and sculpture. It features a 19-foot high sculpture of Abraham Lincoln himself, and the attention to detail is breathtaking.