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InterestingFacts: Hippo Sweat is Red

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  Original photo by David Havel/ Shutterstock Hippo sweat is red. As evidenced by  Moo Deng , the pygmy hippopotamus whose pint-sized appearance and big personality took the internet by storm, hippos can be adorable. They’re also highly unusual creatures for several reasons, including the fact that  their sweat is red . Some biologists  disagree  with calling it “sweat” because it serves a different purpose, moisturizing the animals’ skin and repelling water rather than cooling them down, but no one denies the  color  — it’s even sometimes known as “blood sweat.” In fact, the ancient practice of  bloodletting  stemmed from ancient Egyptians’ mistaken belief that hippopotamuses intentionally injured themselves when they were sick in order to drain their veins of apparently bad blood. It took several years to safely and accurately figure out why this substance is red, as hippopotamuses, despite their endearing appearance, are in fact quite dangerous. Chemists eventually discovered that,
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Village P&R: Fun Facts for the Kids Table at Thanksgiving

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  Fun Facts for the Kids Table at Thanksgiving As we all prepare for Thanksgiving, we wanted to take a moment to share some fun facts about Thanksgiving. These are fun little anecdotes to share around the kids' table, and a few are pretty surprising! Take a look: The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three-day harvest festival. It included 50 Pilgrims, 90 Wampanoag Indians, and lasted three days. It is believed by historians that only five women were present. Turkey wasn’t on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. Venison, duck, goose, oysters, lobster, eel, and fish were likely served, alongside pumpkins and cranberries (but not pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce!). Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3, 1863. Sarah Joseph Hale, the woman who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” convinced Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday after writing letters for 17 years. The history of U.S. presidents pardoning turkeys is patchy. Harry Truman i
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HistoryFacts: Basketball was Originally Played with a Soccer Ball

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  L ong before bright orange basketballs made their way onto NBA courts, the earliest basketball games were played using  soccer balls . Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a physical education teacher at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, who sought to create a new indoor activity that could be played by students during the winter months. Naismith asked the school’s janitor to fetch him two 18-square-inch boxes for “goals,” but the janitor returned with two peach baskets instead. Naismith nailed those baskets to the railing of the gymnasium balcony, which happened to be 10 feet off the ground (this is why official NBA hoops measure 10 feet high today). After Naismith procured a soccer ball, as basketballs of course didn’t exist yet, the new game was ready to be played. The original version of basketball followed a  list of 13 rules  regarding fouls and ball movement. Players were required to remain stationary when in possession of the
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HistoryFacts: What Your Last Name Says About Your History

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  What Your Last Name Says About Your History Last names, also known as surnames, can be more than just family identifiers — they can be gateways to understanding more about our ancestral history, cultural heritage, and even ancient migration patterns. The practice of  using last names  began as populations expanded and it became necessary to distinguish individuals with the same first names. The origins of these surnames are often tied to geographical regions, occupations, or even personal traits — think “Hill,” “Baker,” or “Armstrong.” In the United States, where the population is a diverse mix of cultures, surnames also carry with them the marks of migration, colonization, and assimilation. Whether a last name suggests our ethnic heritage, an occupational trade, a geographical region, or the influences of colonization and religion, the identifiers we carry with us can reveal intriguing stories about our past and connect us to a broader story of human movement and settlement. With ar
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HistoryFacts: New York City's First Motorized Taxis Were Electric Vehicles

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  A t the turn of the 20th century, gas engines hadn’t become the standard yet; electric, gas, and steam-powered vehicles each held around one-third of the U.S. automobile market. Electric vehicles stood out from the pack because they didn’t produce unpleasant pollution (sound familiar?) and because they were much quieter than their gas or steam counterparts. The big disadvantage was that they didn’t have great range, something that drivers still worry about today.  One of the very first electric cars in America was the  Electrobat , a heavy, utilitarian carriage powered by an adapted ship’s motor and built specifically for rough city roads. It had to safely lug around a 1,600-pound lead-acid battery, but it was the ideal vehicle to make short trips throughout the city. It became the basis for the first cab company in New York City, the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, founded in 1896. The founders also came up with a clever way of working around the battery problem: a battery-swap
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IFL Science: Your Stapler has a Secret Second Setting

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HistoryFacts: George Washington Skipped a Silver Dollar Across the Potomac?

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  Photo credit:  Fine Art / Corbis Historical via Getty Images Myth: He Skipped a Silver Dollar Across the Potomac Legend   says that Washington once tossed a silver dollar a mile across the Potomac River to the other side. This enduring claim plays into the mythos surrounding his physical strength and larger-than-average   height   (he was 6 feet, 2 inches tall). But the tall tale probably stemmed from stories of lesser feats, including Washington’s grandson’s claim that the former President tossed a piece of slate across the Rappahannock River, which is much narrower than the Potomac. Indeed, silver dollars didn’t even exist during Washington’s lifetime. The use of   silver   for coins didn’t begin until 1794 (five years before his death), and true silver dollars weren’t   minted   until 1878.  Note:  The above comes directly from their website.
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