An 'Alms Box' was placed in every church on Christmas Day, into which worshippers placed a gift for the poor of the parish. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, which is why that day became know as ...Read More

Sort of -- Director John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) was made on a shoestring budget, so there was no money for elaborate masks and costumes. That's why they went to a costume store and bought a William Shatner mask, from...Read More

During World War II, the original copies of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were taken from the Library of Congress and kept at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

On August 12, 1895, Minnie Dean became the first woman to be hanged in New Zealand. Her crime was "baby farming." She would adopt unwanted babies for a certain fee and then dispose of them, a "service" she began in 1889. ...Read More

According to international definition, fog occurs when visibility is 600 feet or less. Visibility in mist may extend up to 3,000 feet.

Praying mantids are one of the few insects that can turn their heads. They have excellent vision, and hunt insects (and sometimes small vertebrates) by stealth and a rapid striking attack. No mantis is poisonous.