NOW-I-KNOW

Inventor Elijah McCoy is may or may not be "The Real McCoy."

Who Is 'The Real McCoy'?

The popularity of the surname McCoy makes it difficult to pinpoint one origin on the phrase, but here are the leading theories.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Why Is Ice Slippery?

If you’ve ever shakily stepped onto the ice at your local skating rink, you are intimately familiar with the fear of falling on slippery ice. But what makes ice so slippery in the first place? Interestingly enough, scientists are still trying to figure th

Determining Migratory Patterns of Early Humans — With Earwax!

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click

The Last Five Members of the Akuntsu Tribe

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. Rondônia is a state in the northwest of Brazil that shares a border with Bolivia. Covered mostly by rain fore

Surrounded by Death on Snake Island

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click

Getting High Off Someone Else's Blood

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. "Flashblood." The word itself conjures the idea of something not-so-good, and the description confirms

The President's Secret New York City Train Station

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. Grand Central Terminal, located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, has more than 40 platforms. But one of tho

The Truth About McHotDogs

"There's no telling what's inside a hot dog's skin," said Ray Kroc, "and our standard of quality just wouldn't permit that kind of item."

The Missing Person Living in Savannah

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click

Miranda Piker and the Chocolate Factory

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. If you have not read the book noted below, nor seen either of the two movies, take a few hours to fix that —

Type Cast: The Japanese Fascination with Blood Types

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. Actor Ken Watanabe was born in Koide, Niigata, Japan, on October 21, 1959. He was nominated for an Academy Aw

The Palladium Credit Card

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here. Plastic. It's the one-word term used by many to mean "credit card" because, in almost all cases, credit cards