As World War I raged through Europe in 1917, Ed Cox of San Francisco invented a pre-soaped pad with which to clean pots. His wife named it S.O.S., which, as the story goes, stood for "Save Our Saucepans."

Pandas spend about 12 hours a day eating bamboo.

There are odor technicians in the perfume trade with the olfactory skill to distinguish 19,000 different odors at twenty levels of intensity each.

The heart beats faster during a brisk walk or heated argument than during sexual intercourse.

While diamonds are usually considered the most precious of stones, a large, near flawless emerald is worth considerably more than a diamond of the same size.

Mozart once composed a piano piece that required a player to use two hands and a nose in order to hit all the correct notes.

Absolutely. Today, diamonds are used to symbolize eternity and love, being often seen adorning engagement rings and sometimes wedding rings as well. The popularity of this modern tradition can be traced directly to the marketing campaigns of De Beers, starting in 1938. Prior to the De Beers marketing campaign, engagement rings had no one ...Read more

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ages the equivalent of 5 human years for every day they live, usually expiring after 14 days. However, when stressed, the worm goes into a state of suspended animation that can last for 2 months or more. The human equivalent would be to sleep for about 200

In 1882, Richard Higham of Troy, New York, former manager and National League baseball player, was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on baseball games he umpired, thus earning the infamous distinction of being the only umpire ever judged guilty of dishonesty on the field.

Visitors to Japan should know that August 13 through 16 is a Buddhist event called o-bon in Japan, one of the most important traditions for the Japanese people. It is the period of praying for the peace of the souls of ancestors. The Japanese believe that their ancestors' spirits come back to their homes to be reunited with their family during o...Read more

France is the largest Western European country. Its area is slightly less than twice the size of Colorado.

Scouting's highest award was originally conceived of as the Wolf Scout, as shown in the June 1911 Official Handbook for Boys. The medal illustrated in the handbook was a profile of an eagle in flight, but was changed to the current design before any were issued. In their original conceptions, Life Scout, Star Scout and Eagle Scout were not ranks...Read more

The modern tin can is an elaboration of the invention in the decade of the 1800s by Nicolas Francois Appert. It was patented by the Englishman Peter Durand in 1810. Due to the invention of mass production, the tin can became a consumer standard late in the 19th century, primarily in

Nyctitropism is the tendency of the leaves or petals of certain plants to assume a different position at night.

The Whisky, located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, was the West Coast's first discotheque.

The word "snorkel" comes from the German word Schnorchel, which was a tube used by German submarine crews in WWII. The subs used an electric battery when travelling underwater, which had to be recharged using diesel engines. The engines needed air to run. To avoid the hazard of surfacing to run the engines, the Germans used the schnoerkel to ...Read more

It is worth noting that a school's eliteness or cost does not necessarily mean that is a preppy college. Preppy culture idealizes athleticism and sociability. The culture also emphasizes deference to tradition and ritual and, generally speaking, disapproval of ostentation. The term "preppie" is associated, not with dramatic designer fashions, ...Read more

The first Eagle Scout medal was awarded in 1912 to Arthur Rose Eldred, a 17-year-old member of Troop 1 in Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. Eldred was notified that he was to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in a letter from Chief Scout Executive James West, dated August 21, 1912.

The French philosopher Voltaire owned eighty canes. His contemporary, Jean Jacques Rousseau, owned forty.

LOX, in space lingo is liquid oxygen, a component of rocket fuel.