The BrainFood Show 6q1h23

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at how chopsticks came to be and why they became so popular in certain parts of the world vs things like spoons and forks. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor… Ourselves! Go check out our new-ish channel Highlight History, an re-launch / re-think of Fact Quickie, a new one in Ancient Marvels,  and Simon’s latest attempt to host all YouTube channels- Side Projects. Next up, in the main course, we look at who exactly invented the spoon, knife, and fork, how they became popularized and the surprising amount of time it took for two of the three to become a staple of dinner tables the world over. As for the desert for today, we discuss who actually invented the Fortune Cookie, which pretty much everyone always gets wrong. And, spoiler: no, it wasn’t the Chinese nor Americans. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 4) appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at whether chastity belts were ever actually a thing in medieval times or if it is just a Hollywood invention. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor… Ourselves! Go check out our new-ish channel Highlight History, an re-launch / re-think of Fact Quickie, a new one in Ancient Marvels,  and Simon’s latest attempt to host all YouTube channels- Side Projects. Next up, in the main course, we look at whether you could actually be transported back in time to Medieval Times and actually communicate to anyone in English or not as is often depicted in popular entertainment. As for the desert for today, we discuss what you actually get for being knighted in modern times and what the process is these days for that. And note, to see that wall of text Simon hard to read there, this is what he was looking at: INTHEBEGINNINGTHEREWASNOPUNCTUATIONLOWERCASELETTERSOREVENSPACESBETWEENWORDSTHEREALSOWASNOGRAMMATICALWAYOFDISTINGUISHINGWHENANIDEAHADFINISHEDANDANEWONEBEGUNITDIDNTHELPTHATTHEIDEAOFSTANDARDIZEDSPELLINGWASALSONOTATHINGATLEASTNOTASWEWOULDTHINKOFITREADERSWERELEFTTOMUDDLETHEIRWAYTHROUGHANYTEXTASBESTTHEYCOULDUNSURPRISINGLYUNDERSTANDINGWHATAPARTICULARWORKWASACTUALLYSAYINGONTHEFIRSTREADTHROUGHWASPRETTYWELLUNHEARDOFATTHISTIME On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Medieval Times [Part 5] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at the film The Knight’s Tale and the very real historic knight Ulrich von Liechtenstein and what the real guy actually got up to. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor… Ourselves! Go check out our new-ish channel Highlight History and Simon’s latest attempt to host all YouTube channels- Side Projects. Next up, in the main course, we look at what it was actually like to be a medieval knight and how one actually became one. As for the desert for today, we have the absolute best part of today’s episode discussing whether there was ever actually a documented case of a knight rescuing a damsel in distress. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Medieval Times [Part 4] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at how the slipping on a banana peel comedy gag got started. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor NordVPN. Get 68% off NordVPN! Only $3.71/mo, plus you get an additional month FREE at https://nordvpn.com/brainfoodshow Or use coupon code: brainfoodshow Next up, we have the main course discussing what it was actually like to be a court jester and some examples of some rather famous ones, as well as what killed the profession. As for the desert for today, we look at what it was like to be a medieval executioner and how people got the gig. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Medieval Times [Part 3] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out with an appetizer looking at how soap actually works to get rid of microbes. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor NordVPN. Get 68% off NordVPN! Only $3.71/mo, plus you get an additional month FREE at https://nordvpn.com/brainfoodshow Or use coupon code: brainfoodshow Next up, we have the main course discussing whether or not Medieval Europeans actually didn’t bathe that much or not. As for the desert for today, we look at whether castles in Medieval times actually ever had things like crocodiles in them or not. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Medieval Times [Part 2] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out looking at why the toilet is called the “Crapper” and the “John”. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor Skillshare. For a limited time, use the following link to get a free trial of Skillshare hip: http://skillshare.com/brainfood Next up, we discuss all about what Medieval Europeans did with all their bodily expulsions and whether they really did just toss it out the window. This all culminates in the Great Stink of 1858 and how that was finally resolved. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Medieval Times [Part 1] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out looking at the rather interesting way the couple hundred million dollar Hope Diamond has been transported a couple times. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor Skillshare for 2 months for free here: http://skillshare.com/brainfood Next up, we discuss how diamonds went from a mostly worthless item throughout the majority of human history to in very recent times the extremely expensive item we have today. We then dive into the extremely fascinating story of the guy who first managed to figure out how to make diamonds, bying the normal couple billion year process to have them form naturally. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Making Diamonds appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out looking at the rather curious phenomenon of the average of your friends being happier, wealthier, and more successful than you. Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor Backblaze and unlimited automatic backup service for just $6 a month. Try it for free for 15-days! http://backblaze.com/brainfoodshow Next up, we discuss how much caffeine it would take to kill you as well as the general healthy upper limit to intake daily. After that we look at the longest burning light bulb, the largest single bet in history, the male version of the word nymphomania, the Olympian who won a match despite being dead at the time of his victory, that time Simon Cowell hijacked a bus, whether blind people really have superior hearing, the horned lizard’s bizarre defense mechanism, Abraham Lincoln’s amazing “wrastling” skills, and a rather adorable fact about ants. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post What We’ve Learned This Month appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out looking at whether there is actually any difference between various men’s and women’s bathroom products like shaving cream, razors, etc and why women pay more for basically everything. We also have a brief message from a sponsor, Skillshare. Help this show and learn a lot of interesting new skills, as well as TWO MONTHS FREE using the following link https://www.skillshare.com/brainfood Next up, we basically rant for a really long time… Embedded in there is a discussion of a topic that is going to sound really boring, but in fact is actually quite fascinating, looking at such things as what a dictionary actually is, which is very different than what most people think. We also look at what it takes for a word to get put in there, if they ever come out, whether dictionary makers ever make mistakes like spelling errors or the like…. We promise this topic is far more interesting than it sounds. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post For the Love of the Word Nerds… (And Their Rather Unfortunate Nazi Brethren) appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are looking at the difference between a number of things, kicking it off with the difference between BCE/CE and BC/AD systems of dating and the rather fascinating story of how those systems came to be. We also have a brief message from a sponsor, Skillshare. Help this show and learn a lot of interesting new skills, as well as TWO MONTHS FREE using the following link https://www.skillshare.com/brainfood Up next we dive into a bunch of “difference betweens” American and British English and how the two main versions of English diverged in the first place, which it turns out mostly had to do with just one man and started basically immediately after the American Revolution. Various other things covered include why Americans say Math and the British say Maths, where the word soccer came from and why it’s the correct name for the sport ;-), and more! On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Difference Between… [Part 2] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are looking at the difference between a number of things, kicking it off with the difference between hardwood and softwood…. which you’d think you already know, but we’re guessing for most, you don’t actually know the difference. We also have a brief message from a sponsor, Skillshare. Help this show and learn a lot of interesting new skills, as well as TWO MONTHS FREE using the following link https://www.skillshare.com/brainfood Up next we dive into a bunch of “difference betweens” such as the difference between fruits and vegetables, green and black tea, various types of olive oils, brown and white eggs, etc. as well as a slew of interesting tips on optimizing ripeness schedules on bananas, including a way to keep your bananas at the perfectly ripe stage for approximately a week, instead of the two seconds or so that happens naturally. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show Image Source The post The Difference Between… [Part 1] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start by looking at the first woman in the United States to cast a political vote who for reasons we’ll get into did it with her feet… We also have a brief message from a sponsor, Skillshare. Help this show and learn a lot of interesting new skills, as well as TWO MONTHS FREE using the following link https://www.skillshare.com/brainfood Up next we get into the meat of the episode about one of the most badass and colorful women in American history who rose from a childhood of poverty to becoming, among other awesome accomplishments, the first female stock broker on Wall Street and most notable to the story at hand today, also the first woman to run for President in the United States. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Absolutely Badass First Female U.S. Presidential Candidate appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are looking at the man Frank Capra based the character of George Bailey on in It’s a Wonderful Life, and how this rather remarkable individual went on to shape quite a bit of history in a certain region of America, in a very positive way despite that almost nobody has ever heard his name. This is all rather fitting as you might expect for someone George Bailey was patterned after. We also have a brief message from a sponsor, Skillshare. Help this show and learn a lot of interesting new skills, as well as TWO MONTHS FREE using the following link https://www.skillshare.com/brainfood Over the course of the episode we also discuss in depth that little known natural disaster that was one of the most devastating in U.S. history and how it helped shaped the fate of California and certain industries there. We then wrap the whole thing up bringing it back around to It’s a Wonderful Life, as well as some interesting related Bonus Facts. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post It’s a Wonderful Life [Part 2] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at why Fox tried so hard to trick people into thinking Miracle on 34th Street was not a Christmas movie when it came out. We then look at why movie trailers are called that and a bit on the evolution of them, and then look at why Miracle on 34th Street was deemed Morally Objectionable in rating when it debuted. Next up, we have a brief message from our sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction books in just 15 minutes instead of having to listen to the full audiobook or read it all. Try it out for free and help this show by using the following link: http://blinkist.com/brainfood Moving on to the next section we look at how a short story that an author failed to get published, and thus then sent it out as a Christmas gift to friends and family ended up becoming a major Hollywood film that flopped, only to see it then many years later finally start gaining traction and today considered one of the top movies of all time. As we’re discussing that, we also do a deep dive into actor Jimmy Stewart and his rather interesting separate life from acting, as well as an interesting transcontinental airway that was developed in the 1920s in the U.S. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post It’s a Wonderful Life [Part 1] appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at the interesting reason why milk is white, yet cheddar cheese is yellow/orange. Next up, we have a brief message from our sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction books in just 15 minutes instead of having to listen to the full audiobook or read it all. Try it out for free and help this show by using the following link: http://blinkist.com/brainfood Moving on to the next section we look at the origin of pizza and the surprisingly recent time in which it actually became popular with the masses. We center the story of pizza around the well known documented history of the invention of Hawaiian Pizza. Finally, we look at some rather interesting facts about pineapples and how they became popular. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Foods (Part 1) appeared first on Today I Found Out.

*Sorry the audio is a little funky on this one. But don’t skip it, it’s one of our best content-wise, in my opinion. As to the audio, we had multiple technical issues that ended up resulting in us having to use the combined live, streamed audio (rather than our local recordings), which in turn had issues beyond the normal streaming audio across the world and then back across the world again to YouTube. Will be all back to normal for the next episode. In any event, in this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at why rubber is typically colored black, even though the nature color of rubber is white, as well as what that has to do with barns stereotypically being red, the origin of crayons, and what all that has to do with Amelia Earhart. Next up, we have a brief message from a sponsor, Skillshare. Help this show and learn a lot of interesting new skills, as well as TWO MONTHS FREE using the following link https://www.skillshare.com/brainfood Moving on to the next section we look at who invented the rubber band and the surprisingly fascinating saga that led to its invention and popularity. We then follow that up with some Bonus Facts on the invention of Silly Putty, and what all of this has to do with the aforementioned Red barns. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 3) appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at that time the United States government banned pre-sliced bread… Really. Next up, we have a brief message from a sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction books in just 15 minutes instead of having to listen to the full audiobook or read it all. Try it out for free and help this show by using the following link: http://blinkist.com/brainfood Moving on to the next section we look at who exactly invented what is so often compared to the “best things”- pre-sliced bread and the little saga to him getting bakers to accept his invention. After that, we look at the surprisingly interesting saga of the invention and popularization of the shopping cart. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 2) appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at the surprisingly interesting origin of the paperclip and why a person who had nothing to do with its design commonly gets all the credit for it, including having a giant statue of it made in his honor only a couple decades ago. Next up, we have a brief message from our sponsor Skillshare! Level up your skills and this show all at the same time by g up for Skillshare today: https://skillshare.com/brainfood Using that link also gets you a 2-month free trial. Big thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this podcast! Moving on to the next section of the show we’re looking at one of the most prolific inventors in American history who invented at least one thing (if not a couple) that are currently in your home right now and you probably use frequently, yet for various reasons we’ll get into, nobody re this guy at all and he never made much money off any of his hundreds of inventions. (And for those curious about the Lockstitch gif, click here.) After that we’re looking at the fascinating origin of the ballpoint pen and the shockingly complex way these things are made considering you’ve probably lost 3 of them in your couch cushions today already and don’t care because they are dirt cheap somehow. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 1) appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at 19th century practical joke that occurred in London that is arguably the greatest of the century. Next up, we have a brief message from a new sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction books in just 15 minutes instead of having to listen to the full audiobook or read it all. Try it out for free and help this show by using the following link: https://www.blinkist.com/thebrainfoodshow Moving on to the next section of the show we’re looking at a Canadian man who set the bar even higher on practical jokes, by doing his greatest ones from beyond the grave. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post The Greatest Practical Joke and the Last Laugh appeared first on Today I Found Out.

In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at how “Dick” came to be short for “Richard”. Next up, we have a brief message from one of our favorite and most useful sponsors- Backblaze! Backblaze really is super cheap and takes almost no time or effort to get setup and working. Unlimited automatic backups for your computer for just $6 a month. You never have to worry about losing your photos or files on your computer again. It just works. Get your free trial and help keep this podcast going by using the following link: www.backblaze.com/brainfood Moving on to the main topic, we are looking at the fascinating story of a 17th century dwarf who would go from humble beginnings to being knighted and becoming a Captain of the Horse and member of the Queen of England’s court. On another note, if you could do us a huge favor and rate and review this show in whatever podcasting platform you’re using (including hopefully giving us some related to the new format), we would be extremely grateful. Thanks! (You can also discuss this episode and view references on The BrainFood Show forum here.) Don’t miss future episodes of this podcast, subscribe here: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play Music | Stitcher | RSS/XML You can also find more episodes by going here: The BrainFood Show The post Lord Minimus- The Renaissance Dwarf appeared first on Today I Found Out.