Showing results by author "Dan Lewis" in All Categories

Did you know that a measles outbreak led to the assigning of phone numbers? How about the fact that pirates are the reason we don’t use the metric system in the United States? Or that there’s actually a reason why stepping on a Lego hurts so damn much? Now I Know: The Soviets Invaded Wisconsin?! is the ultimate challenge for even the biggest trivia buff. Based on the very popular newsletter, you are guaranteed to learn something new despite how much you already think you know.

Did you know that there are actually 27 letters in the alphabet, or that the U.S. had a plan to invade Canada? And what actually happened to the flags left on the moon? Even if you think you have a handle on all things trivia, you're guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know. From uncovering what happens to lost luggage to New York City's plan to crack down on crime by banning pinball, this book will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world's greatest facts.

Get ready to find out the real deal behind a new collection of fascinating facts. From pink camouflaged fighter planes to secret Harry Potter characters, Now I Know More covers everything from history and science to sports and pop culture. You'll learn about made-up towns that made their way onto real maps, the time three MLB teams squared off in a single game, and 99 more curious cases of remarkable trivia. And it's all true. With this audiobook, you really will know more!

We’re five friends who talk about ABC’s hit TV show Once Upon a Time and invite you to share your theories, observations, and more. We discuss the stories, fairytales, easter eggs, and Lost references. Join Daniel J. Lewis, his wife Jenny, and Jeremy Laughlin, and discover happy endings. Send your feedback to Feedback@ONCEpodcast.com or leave a message on our listener voicemail line at (903) 231-2221. ONCE podcast is an unofficial podcast and is not affiliate with ABC Studios.

Welcome to San Francisco Sketchfest 2018! Here's your front row seat, your backstage pass, and your all-access badge to one of the biggest comedy festivals in the country!

What do you do when fog disrupts a soccer match? If you're the UK in 1940, you broadcast an imaginary game instead. Get the full, fogged up story on this episode of Now I Know. In 1875, two of Edinburgh’s soccer teams – Heart of Midlothian F.C, and Hibernian F.C. – faced off for the first time. The two teams, nicknamed the “Hearts” and the “Hibs,” now meet on the pitch regularly, and the games have become a cultural touchstone.

Winnie the Pooh is a fictional cartoon bear, created by writer A.A. Milne in 1924. He likes honey, his red T-shirt and his friends (Piglet, Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Roo and – on most days – Tigger).

In today's volatile economic environment, filled with uncertainty and sudden change, the forces pushing you to stay focused on the core business are extremely powerful. Profiting from the core is crucial, but the danger is that overfocusing on the core can blind companies. Scanning the horizon for new markets and new products can also be tempting, but risky. Fixating too much on either strategy can cause you to miss the substantial opportunities for growth that are often hidden in plain sight, at the edge of the core business.

If you don't know who Taylor Swift is – well, you may just be the last person on the planet who can lay claim to that. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter is as big of a superstar as they come.

The village of Kalachi is located in the center of Kazakhstan – the world's largest landlocked country – toward the north. The village is home to about 600 people – many of which have been known to suddenly fall asleep, sometimes for days at a time.

Did you know that the Sentinelese people of the Indian Ocean’s North Sentinel Island are the most isolated people in the world, or that Kentucky Bend is a section of Kentucky that is totally cut off from the rest of the state? And what about pirate radio broadcaster Major Paddy Roy Bates, who occupied a British sea fort and eventually declared its sovereignty? Even if you think you have a handle on all things trivia, you're guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know: Geography. This special collection from the Now I Know archives will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world's greatest facts.

Van Morrison is a legend of the music world. He has won six Grammys to date, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and gets a fraction of a cent whenever you stream 'Brown Eyed Girl' on Spotify (when it plays in your head, however, that one's free).

Here's a simple experiment you can try at home – and, probably will in the near future, whether you'd like to or not. Call a customer support hotline, try to talk to a real human and, well, you don't have to do much else. In many cases, you'll be put on hold, and you'll get to experience hold music. It's almost a given that this will happen, as hold music has become a very common feature of such phone systems. But it has a very uncommon history.

If you're a homeowner, having a river or pond run through your property can be pretty cool – it can turn a rather nondescript piece of land into something more interesting and, with proper upkeep and safety, something more fun. Of course, that's only true if the body of water was something you expected to be there. If, one day, you woke up to find your typically dry backyard more akin to a bayou – well, that's a problem.

Take out a loan and you may have to offer up something as collateral – an item of value that, if you fail to pay back the money owed, your creditor gets to take from you.

Tax refunds are tantamount to loans to the government, repaid a few weeks or months late. But many people treat their tax refunds as a windfall—found money, to be spent on whatever extra-budgetary items they desire, much like an unexpected Christmas bonus or a winning lottery ticket. Easy come, easy go.

Penicillin was discovered by a scientist named Alexander Fleming in September 1928. Two years later, it was used for the first time to cure an infection – on November 25, 1930, British Doctor Cecil George Paine used penicillin to help an infant suffering from neonatal conjunctivitis.

In 2013, Mamoru Samuragochi was nearing his 50th birthday and was at the peak of his fame. A talented composer, Samuragochi was near the top of the list if you needed an original score for a video game and was widely regarded as a leading talent in the realm of digital composition. He was also well known for composing a symphony about the Hiroshima bomb, which quickly became one of the more popular classical music pieces in Japan.

At 67°51' North latitude, the Swedish town of Jukkasjärvi is located within the Arctic Circle, which should give you an idea for how remote it is. Its Wikipedia entry uses more words to explain the origin of the town's name than it does the town's attractions, which is to say that there aren't very many of the latter. From April to November, probably the most interesting building in the town of about 500 people is an old wooden church dating back to the early 1600s.

Did you know that San Diego’s Frozen Zoo is home to preserved DNA samples from over 8,000 endangered or threatened species, or that the tell-tale smell of freshly mowed grass is actually the plant’s version of a distress call? And what about Henrietta Lacks, the “immortal woman” whose cancer cells have been divided and multiplied for research purposes for over 60 years? Even if you think you have a handle on all things trivia, you're guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know: Science.