Author Archives: dcaligari

Before trees existed, Earth was covered with giant white mushrooms. These huge fungi were 24 feet tall and three feet wide, and covered most of the Earth’s surface before trees existed.

October 7, 1959 – … There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it’s all dark. The dark far side of the Moon was photographed for the first time and pictures relayed back to Earth by Russia’s Luna 3 spacecraft. After passing the Moon, the Luna 3 looked back from aContinue reading “This probably kept US politicians up at night”

October 7, 1492 –Because of a flock of seagulls (I kid you not,) Columbus changed course to the southwest, on this date. As a result he missed discovering Florida, leaving it for Fountain of Wayne (I mean Youth) groupie, Ponce de León, to discover. Imagine if he hadn’t, the mess we’d be in

An ant can’t die from falling. Because of their incredibly small weight and rock-hard exoskeleton, an ant’s terminal velocity isn’t enough to harm it upon impact. Simply put, they could survive being dropped from heights like the Empire State Building and walk away unscathed.

October 7, 1960 – Route 66 premiered on this date. The Corvette was replaced every three thousand miles. Chevrolet was the show’s sponsor. It was never explained how Tod was able to get a new Corvette so often. The Corvette was never red, as often believed. It was light blue in the first season, beigeContinue reading “Route 66”

Today is Armed Forces Day in Egypt (we’ll get back to Armed Forces Day in a moment but it’s not in celebration of the Elvis Costello album) and Ivy Day in Ireland. (Ivy Day is not a horticultural celebration. The date marks the anniversary of the 1891 death of Irish nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell; IrishContinue reading “Stick with me, I’ll get to the point”

October 6, 1973 –Cher’s single, Half-Breed, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. (Sorry for the earworm.) Snuff Garrett produced the song despite his intention to quit working with Sonny and Cher. He had been battling Sonny, the singer’s then-husband, over what type of material she should be singing. Lyricist MaryContinue reading “Half-Breed”

0ctober 6, 1966 –The Star Trek episode The Enemy Within, first aired on this date. In it, a transporter mishap divides Captain Kirk into two versions of himself, one good and one evil, but neither is able to function separately for long. The episode marks the first use of the line, “He’s dead, Jim.”

Scientists created a machine to harness power from snowfall. The machine worked by using negatively charged silicone to catch positively charged snowflakes, which created a static electric effect that was then harvested.

October 5, 1877 –… I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed; Looking-glass is dead. Too-hul-hul-suit is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men, now, who say ’yes’ or ’no’[that is, vote in council]. He who led on the young men [Joseph’s brother, Ollicut] is dead. It is cold,Continue reading “Just in time for Indigenous Peoples’ Day”