Showing results by author "Dan Lewis" in All Categories

The Supreme Court of the United States reconvenes after its summer recess on the first Monday in October. Over the following months, the Court hears many cases, some of which are seen as more important than others.

Money does not grow on trees. Neither do pineapples, for that matter. Spaghetti? Nope, that doesn't grow on trees either. …Or does it?

On July 21, 1969, Buzz Aldrin became the second human to ever set foot on the moon. Shortly before exiting the lunar lander, Aldrin radioed back to Earth with a simple request: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way."

Dry cleaning is a weekly ritual for many. The customer comes into the store with a bag of his or her clothes, drops it off and picks up last week's drop-off – and somehow, via a system of tags, the dry cleaner not only launders or alters your clothing, but also manages to not lose your parcels in the process.

Question: What was the first song ever played on the planet? Fair warning: the answer may surprise you.

On the evening of December 2, 1984, a chemical manufacturing plant in Bhopal, India owned by Union Carbide began leaking toxic gas into the residential areas surrounding the plant, and the resulting tragedy is considered one of the worst such disasters in history.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch." That quote, the origins of which are unknown, has been a staple rule of economics for nearly a century.

A large oak tree sits near the corner of South Finley Street and Dearing Street in Athens, Georgia. The tree juts out into Finley, causing a bottleneck.

Beginning in the 1630s and lasting for more than two centuries, Japan's foreign policy was one of strict isolationism – to a violent degree. According to Wikipedia, the policy, called "sakoku," held that "no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death."

Let's say you are a musician. You work hard for a year writing and producing (and singing, of course) a new album, and, when you finally release it, buyers rush to the store with their money in hand.

As haircuts go, few in the mid-1980s were more famous than Brian Bosworth's. A mix of mullets and mohawks and lines, it really didn't matter.

History, it's said, is written by the winners – they're the ones who are still around to do the research, write the magazine articles, author the books and curate the encyclopedias.

Pineapples are indigenous to South America and were domesticated and spread throughout the tropical areas of the Americas well before Europeans landed in the New World.

The German town of Bochum is the 16th largest in the country by population; as of 2015, Bochum was home to roughly 365,000 people. In the fall of 2014, though, at least one of those people was in a little bit of trouble.

Scotland and England (and Wales, too, but that's another story) share the island typically known as Great Britain.

A reusable shopping bag is typically made of canvas or other durable material and is designed to carry one's purchases home from the grocery store, pharmacy or other retailer. While some stores offer incentives to shoppers who bring their own bags, the majority of people who use such tote bags probably do so on their own volition, aiming to be more eco-friendly when they're buying organic frozen pizza (or the like).

Charles Dodgson was an English mathematician. He taught at Christ Church, a college that is part of the University of Oxford, from 1855 until retiring in 1881, and he remained at the college in residence until his death in 1898.

Typhus is a bacterial-borne disease that is transmitted by flea, tick and mite bites. It can be fatal if untreated, but, thankfully, in almost all cases antibiotics, are effective.

In early 1998, an emaciated Texas inmate named Steven Jay Russell was granted a special parole – one that put him in the custody of a hospice. Russell's medical records spelled out the reason: he had HIV/AIDS, and he wasn't likely to survive much longer.

When Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin, died in January 1924, Winston Churchill summed up his life aptly: "[The] worst misfortune [of the Russian people] was his birth: their next worst his death." Lenin's death was a dangerous moment in history, Churchill aptly observed.