What did Jackie Kennedy grab from the car?
It is dark and logical, really. Jackie Kennedy reached her arm across the limousine trunk in frame 313 of the Zapruder film. She grabbed hold of a piece…
Was Yuri Gargarin actually the first man in space or just the first man to go into space and return alive?
During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was not very forthcoming about their mistakes and failures. Before Colonel Gagarin’s flight, there were rumors of a…
How come distilled water hasn’t replaced transformer oil as a high voltage insulator?
Pure distilled water is an excellent insulator with high dielectric strength that is greater than mineral oil, it is less expensive than oil and conducts heat better. However,…
What was the brightest stellar event ever recorded?
On April 17, in the year 1006, a new light suddenly appeared within what is now the constellation of Lupus. Observers from all over the world recorded the…
Why did Japan lose the Battle of the Coral Sea?
The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first of the five great naval aircraft carrier battles of the Pacific War. It was the first naval battle where…
Which branch of the US military has a better reputation, Marines or Navy SEALs?
Everyone in the military respects the U.S. Marine Corps, but at the same time, hardly anyone can stand the SEALs. This doesn’t mean the SEALs aren’t an elite…
If elephants were extinct, would we ever be able to figure out that they had trunks? Why or why not? What does this suggest about our current understanding of extinct organisms?
Elephants’ trunks are muscular hydrostats, which means they are made up of mostly muscle and have no bones or joints. An elephant’s trunk has over 40,000 muscles, which…
What is the life expectancy of the Empire State Building?
Well, you’ve asked the right person. My company just finished some work at the foundation. I have been up and down that place, I know it well. The…
What about European diet causes them to be slimmer than Americans?
You better ask the other way round: what about the American diet and eating habits cause the high prevalence of severe obesity in the US? Here they are:…
Did France build an aircraft carrier even though it does not have a navy to use it with?
They didn’t just build an aircraft carrier, they built a nuclear powered CATOBAR carrier. In terms how rare that is; the US and France are thus far the only nations…