Showing results by author "Dan Lewis" in All Categories

Did you know that the Sentinelese people of the Indian Ocean’s North Sentinel Island are the most isolated people in the world, or that Kentucky Bend is a section of Kentucky that is totally cut off from the rest of the state? And what about pirate radio broadcaster Major Paddy Roy Bates, who occupied a British sea fort and eventually declared its sovereignty? Even if you think you have a handle on all things trivia, you're guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know: Geography. This special collection from the Now I Know archives will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world's greatest facts.

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.

Tune in to hear from Dan & Ben, two best mates from Scotland, as they embark on the journey of Building MHEC into the best health & fitness Education Company in the UK... and maybe the world!If you're a personal trainer, gym instructor, sports coach, physiotherapist, sports therapist, or even mental health professional, then you might be interested in Dan & Ben's mission: to improve the mental health of everyone around the world through easily accessible exercise.To find out more about MHEC visit www.mymhec.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.”

People typically come with 10 fingers and 10 toes, but when it comes down to it, we tend to neglect the latter set. That may be because we can't do much with our toes, at least not intentionally. (Or, put another way, they're not nearly as useful as our fingers.) In fact, we don't really think much about our toes – they're just kind of there, hiding in our shoes, doing whatever toes do. And as it turns out, we're not really good at thinking about our toes, even when we try to. Just ask a team of researchers from Oxford University.

ATMs – short for automated teller machines – have become a ubiquitous feature in the lives of most people in developed nations.

On the evening of December 2, 1984, a chemical manufacturing plant in Bhopal, India owned by Union Carbide began leaking toxic gas into the residential areas surrounding the plant, and the resulting tragedy is considered one of the worst such disasters in history.

Sometime in the summer of 1933, a couple in Trinidad – it's unclear if they were ever married – went through a particularly nasty breakup. The woman, Caroline, believed her partner to be less-than-faithful; his reputation for philandering and carousing was more than she could handle, especially given that she had just given birth to twin boys six months prior. Caroline decided to return to Germany, where she – a practicing Roman Catholic – had grown up.

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."