Transcript In the middle of World War II, a small island in Scotland’s Hebrides Islands was suffering through war shortages like most of the country. However, on February 5, 1941, a very fortunate disaster struck the island, and the island’s residents couldn’t have been happier. The reverberations from this lucky calamity are still being felt …
Transcript Every day we are constantly using measurements. We have ways of measuring distance, temperature, time, light, pressure, energy….everything. Yet, why do we measure everything the way we do? Why is a second, a second, and why is a meter, a meter? Learn more about why our units of measurement are the way they are …
Transcript Early 19th century London was a dangerous, dirty, dingy place with tons of poverty and a lot of drinking. Alcoholism was common and excessive drinking, especially amongst lower-income people in London, was the norm, not the exception. All of that alcohol had to be produced, which meant lots of breweries and lots of beer. …
Transcript Imagine taking all of the trees, grass, animals, insects, fish, coral, and bacteria on the surface of the Earth and in the sea. Basically, every living thing on the planet. If you were to add it all up, all of the biomass, it would be quite a bit. Yet according to some scientists, that …
Transcript From December 1831, to October 1836, the HMS Beagle set out on a scientific expedition in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On the ship was a young man named Charles Darwin. That expedition exposed him to ideas that would develop his theory of natural selection which would revolutionize the world of biology. This episode …
Transcript The country of San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is completely surrounded by Italy, is about 24 square miles in area, and has a population of about 33,000 people. The most interesting thing about San Marino is the fact that it exists. Why didn’t San Marino get sucked …
Transcript Australia is what I would call a sporting country. Cricket, rugby, and Australian Football are all incredibly popular sports. Australia has also really punched above its weight in the Summer Olympics, earning an oversized number of medals given its population. Their performance at the Winter Olympics, however, has not been so great. Learn more …
Transcript According to most history books, the United States Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This is a truth, but it really isn’t the truth. At best it could be described as the beginning of the end of …
Transcript Every so often, you see lottery jackpots that grow to enormous levels. Lotteries such as Powerball and Mega Millions have on occasion grown to have prizes over $1 billion dollars. However, they all pale in comparison to the annual lottery which takes place in Spain every year. The total amount of money given away …