Six Pack of Facts

As Six Pack of Facts comes to an end (for now!), it's time to get a little cozy. It's time for some cookies and cocoa.

Thanks for listening!

Research Links

Cookies
Mashed — The Strange History Of The Oreo And Hydrox Cookie Rivalry
History — The Surprising Origins of the Fortune Cookie
PBS — The History of Gingerbread
The Spruce Eats — The History of Gingerbread

Cocoa
The Spruce Eats — An Abridged History of Hot Chocolate
Chocolate: Food of the Gods — Cornell University
Mentalfloss — 13 Things You Might Not Know About Hot Chocolate

The "dirty snowballs" of the sky have dazzled humans with their tails for centuries, and some of them have traveled quite a distance to put on the show.

Comets
The Planets — Comet Facts
Space.com — Halley’s Comet: Facts About the Most Famous Comet
Guiness World Records — Longest measured comet tail   

Oort Cloud
NASA — Oort Cloud
Phys.org — What is the Oort Cloud?

In the final episode of our Spooky Suite, we're digging into 6 (...66) Halloween facts that are sure to scare the heck out of you. Or just mildly entertain you until the big night.

Happy Halloween!

Research Links

Smithsonian Magazine — The History of Trick-or-Treating Is Weirder Than You Thought
History — Samhain
National Retail Federation — Halloween
IMDB — Hocus Pocus Trivia
Good Housekeeping — 25 Fun and Scary Halloween Facts to Trick (or Treat) Your Friends
History — Halloween 2021

In the third episode of our Spooky Suite, we're getting sweet, savory, and (of course) a little spoooooky. 🎃

Research Links

Candy Corn
Better Homes & Gardens — The History of Candy Corn: A Halloween Favorite
Always a Treat — All About Candy Corn

Pumpkins
History — How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth
PBS — History of Pumpkins and Recipe Round-Up
Discover — Ancient Pumpkins Were Nothing Like the Fall Fruit We Know Today

In the second episode of our Spooky Suite, we're gazing upward at the sky to indulge in a bit of lunar delight. Let me hear you howl... 🌕

Research Links

Lunacy
NASA — Moon in Motion
The Washington Post — Dear Science: Does a full moon really change human behavior?
Scientific American — Lunacy and the Full Moon

Werewolves
History — Werewolf Legends
The Conversation — The Ancient Origins of Werewolves
Forbes — Here Is What Happens To Werewolves On The Moon, According To Geophysics
University of Pittsburgh — The Saga of the Volsungs 
BBC — Who was Peter the Wild Boy?

Our Spooky Suite of Six Packs kicks off with a look into the arid sands of Egypt, the humid regions of ancient Peru and Chile, and the peaty bogs of Cheshire, England, followed by the bone-chilling afterlife revenge of the mummy's curse.

Research Links

Mummies
Smithsonian Magazine — What Have the World’s Oldest Mummies Kept Under Wraps?
Smithsonian — Egyptian Mummies
The Atlantic — Were the Mysterious Bog People Human Sacrifices?

The Mummy’s Curse
National Geographic — Curse of the Mummy
Live Science — What is the ancient Egyptian 'mummy's curse'?
Independent — Curse of Tutankhamun exposed: The archaeologists lived into their seventies

💀

Can you survive the blitzkrieg?

Research Links

Chess
Chess.com — Chaturanga
Medium — What is an ELO Rating?
Wired — Did a Computer Bug Help Deep Blue Beat Kasparov?

Checkers
Checkershistory.com — The Checkered History of Checkers
That’s — Explainer: The Origin of 'Chinese Checkers' 
CNN — Karate, Wonton, Chow Fun: The end of 'chop suey' fonts
New York Times — Marion Tinsley, 68, Unmatched As Checkers Champion, Is Dead

Get ready for a quick and acidic six pack of pickle facts.

Research Links

PBS — History in a Jar: The Story of Pickles
Pickle Science: How to Master the Preserving Power of Acids — SeriousEats
Historic UK — James ‘Paraffin’ Young
The Atlantic — The Mason Jar, Reborn
William Shakespeare: The Complete Works — The Tempest

Schedule a cleaning from your dentist now (or should you?)  and get ready to go 'round and 'round and 'round.

Research Links 

Cotton Candy
National Geographic — The Sticky-Sweet Story of Cotton Candy
Wordnik — A Brief History of Cotton Candy Names

Ferris Wheels
Smithsonian Magazine — The Brief History of the Ferris Wheel
The Press of Atlantic City — Look back: Atlantic City's almost famous 'Somers Wheel'
Mental Floss — 8 Amazing Ferris Wheels from Around the World