Who was Saint Patrick and Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick‘s Day is the celebration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and Irish culture in general. But who is St. Patrick? St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He…
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Why does February (usually) only have 28 days?
You can thank the ancient Romans and their superstitions for February sometimes only having 28 days. Though records of early Roman calendars are hard to come by, legend has it…
How many people live in Antarctica?
The population of Antarctica fluctuates between 1,000 and 4,000 people, depending on the time of the year as of 2023. For the most part, there are two types of people that…
Does Black Forest ham come from a black forest?
Black Forest ham, or Schwarzwälder Schinken in German, is a variety of dry-cured smoked ham that comes from the hind leg of a pig. It was originally produced in the…
Is plastic used in plastic surgery?
No, plastic is not generally used in plastic surgery. Like many other English medical terms, the origin of the word ‘plastic’ is Greek. It comes from the word, ‘plastikos,’ which…
What does SOS stand for?
SOS doesn’t stand for or represent any letters, rather it’s a representation of a Morse code distress signal. SOS is a continuous Morse code string of three dots, three dashes,…
Why aren’t there basements in the south?
Basements are not a common feature in the South because in southern states the water table is very close to the surface of the ground, making any basement extremely susceptible…
Why are prescription drugs also referred to as Rx drugs?
The most widely accepted explanation for why prescription drugs are also referred to as Rx drugs is because the term Rx was derived from the Latin word, “recipe,” which essentially…
Why do quarters have ridges on their edges?
According to the U.S. Mint, ridges were added to the edges of quarters (aka reeded edges) to help prevent fraud and counterfeiting. Up until about 50 years ago, quarters were…