Who knew Scotch Tape was so powerful????

Great story on the AP today about Scotch Tape being able to emit xrays. XRAYS! The folks at UCLA are now looking into whether this could help make inexpensive xray devices for paramedics. Can you imagine? You’re in the ambulance after a fall and while you’re on the gurney someone says hold still I’m going to TAPE some XRAYS!

Who knew combination locks were so cool?

 I was at the gym this morning fiddling with the dial on my combination lock when it struck me that I had no idea how those darn little things work! Well the good folks at HowStuffWorks.Com have a really instructive tutorial on the inner workings of combination locks and it pretty interesting stuff. There apparently are a series of alternating cams that control the latch, each cam has an indentation. When you dial up the combination numbers or letters, you align the cams and that allows the latch to fit inside the indentations and release! 

So here’s one for idle cocktail party chatter:  According to wikipedia (which I love but I do always try to second source) the first combination lock was created in 1206 by an arab scholar and mechanical engineer (they had mechanical engineers back in the day? Who knew?!) 

WHO NEW Kansas was so deep!

So I’m in Greensburg, KS today for work. This small town was leveled last year by a huge tornado and its quite a disparate landscape of fema trailers, brand new homes, open land with a few broken trees scattered about. But, who knew this town is home to some cool tourist attractions?  Just found out that apparently its the home of the largest hand dug well AND a 150+ poundmeteorite.  Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see the well before we go. 

WHO KNEW that when the end comes I need to haul A** to the Greenbriar?

Ok, watching History Channel (I LOVE THESE GUYS!) and they are doing show on all the secret underground spots around DC… Now besides the fact that I’ve just learned that if the big one hits I’m pretty much a goner (I live 10 blocks from Capitol Hill), I also learned that if I have ANY forewarning I should probably run, not walk, to the Greenbrier Resort A.S.- double A.P and BEG to be let in!  The resort sits atop a SERIOUS bunker equipped with a 2 months supply of food and a decontamination center. 

Need to mapquest that location NOW!!! 

WHO KNEW these bits of Roman history?

So I’ve been reading this great biography on the  Roman emperor Augustus by Anthony Everitt and I learned several really interesting tidbits, the LEAST of which is that the calendar month of July is named after Julius Caesar and the month of August is named after Augustus.

Augustus’ real (birth) name is actually Gaius Octavius but as he rose in rank and power he got title and name inflation.

Julius Caesar is Augustus’s great-uncle.

Julius Caesar and Mark Antony (who both had a thing for Cleopatra if you recall) are distant cousins thru Mark Antony’s mom who is a member of the Julian clan.

There’s ton’s more. Seriously, if you’re a roman history junkie, get the book!

Who Knew Erasers were so labor intensive?

Whoa! Watching Discovery, my favorite channel, and that show How Its Made. They just showed how erasers are made. Did you know they use vegetable oil to help it break apart when you rub it on paper? And talc powder to keep them separated in the big mixer machine after their cut apart? And then they mix them up for 5 hours so that the ends rub together and round off the edges saving someone the time of having to do that themselves???? Seriously, WHO KNEW?! I Love this show!!!! 

Who Knew Sneakers are a sign of a born leader?

Ok, the fine folks at Mindset Media are either REALLY bored or REALLY on to something. According to their most recent study,  people who buy 3 or more pairs of sneaks a year are born leaders, more assertive and more spontaneous than their lower consumption counterparts.With Converse just turning 100 and Nike continuing its trend as the the world’s largest athletic shoe maker, can’t you see the new ad campaigns -  Steve Jobs in some Nike Air’s or Donald Trump in some Chuck T’s?

Who knew Hemingway and Kennedy were friends?

Well maybe they weren’t that close but close enough that Hemingway’s papers are housed at the Kennedy Presidential Library in Massachusetts.

According to the website, Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Heminway made arrangements in 1968 to have the great author’s works housed at the library. And although the two never met they admired each others work.

Who knew the government has a thrift shop?

In the administration’s announcement today proposing to expand the powers to oversee the financial sector, one line mentions closing the Office of Thrift Supervision.

 Thrift Supervision? Did anyone else know that there’s a division devoted to keeping an eye on my thriftiness? You know, I always passed that building on 17th and wondered what Thrift Supervision was so today I looked it up.

Apparently the Thrifties have been around since 1989 (after the S&L scandals of the 80s) and are charged with keeping an eye on the operations of savings and loans and savings banks.

Who knew?!

Hello world!

So yesterday I was on an airplane listening to a podcast when it hit me. Its amazing how many new things I learn every day? I wonder if other people know all this cool stuff too? Maybe I’m living under a rock? Or more likely, other people might find this stuff curiously interesting as well? So I said to myself “self, we’re starting ‘Who Knew’.

I’ll share the little tidbits I get, including little things like what I’ve learned new about this site and blogging and trying to become a full fledged participant in the blogosphere. And if you’ve found out something new, share it in the comments and we’ll pass it around!