Podcast Transcript In 1957, two chemists at the Clinton Corn Processing Company of Clinton, Iowa, developed a system for converting the glucose found in corn starch into fructose. Over 60 years later, the product they created can be found in a dizzying array of food products worldwide. Learn more about High Fructose Corn Syrup, how …
Podcast Transcript In February 1904, the Russian Empire found itself at war with the Empire of Japan over what was territory in the current nation of China. The problem for Russia was that a big chunk of its navy was located in the Baltic Sea, and the war was in Asia. The Baltic fleet was …
Podcast Transcript All around you, right this second, you are surrounded by electromagnetic radiation. You might better know this by names such as light, radio waves, microwaves, x-rays, or ultraviolet rays. Fundamentally, they are all variations of the same phenomenon and are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Learn more about the electromagnetic spectrum and …
Podcast Transcript The first world war was the most horrific war the world had ever seen at that time. When the conflict ended, there was an effort to make sure that such a thing never happened again. To that end, a deliberative body was created where nations could come together to debate and discuss matters …
Podcast Transcript Most children growing up are admonished not to take candy from strangers. It is good advice, but it isn’t advice that comes from nowhere. It comes from a particular incident 150 years ago that shocked the world and changed how we view children’s safety. It was an event, the echos of which can …
Podcast Transcript In the TV series Game of Thrones, there were four different seasons where disputes were determined with trial by combat. As fictional as the Game of Thrones universe is, the idea of resolving legal disputes by fighting, sometimes to the death, was historically accurate. For centuries, trial by combat was a legitimate option …
Podcast Transcript For most of human history, if you wanted something, you had to make it yourself or know the person who made it. Eventually, merchants began to sell goods in a single store to make it convenient for consumers. These stores reached their zenith with enormous structures which sold almost everything. They were not …
Transcript If you’ve done your share of flying, you are probably familiar with the three-letter airport codes which identify every commercial airport in the world. Airports like DFW, LGA, and HOU are easy to figure out. However, why is there an X in LAX? How did Washington Dulles wind up with IAD? And what is …
Podcast Transcript When Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862, there was a rush of people who moved west to claim the free land that was offered. However, there was a problem. Creating physical divisions for plots of land on the prairie was difficult when there was no stone or wood. Eventually, there was …