Category Archives: Did You Know?

Pining for the holidays Making the holidays ‘greener’ still takes trees. With the holiday season upon us, many people are shopping for a pine tree or wreath to decorate their homes. Certainly the downside of using living trees or branches over artificial plastic decorations is dealing with the needles, but many think the wonderful aroma…

When Failure Doesn't Stick The difference between success and disaster often is a matter of perspective. Have you ever thought about how many of today’s successes began as failures? I am not talking about successes like the light bulb, where Thomas Edison tried thousands of filament materials before finding Tungsten. I am talking about “successful…

Toss leads to oil boom History begins with an empty whiskey bottle—and a simple act. Whiskey containers play more than one role in the history of North American oil production. Readers who recall my May 2010 column, “The Barrel’s Boozy Beginnings,” about how the whiskey barrel inadvertently led to the bbl standard of measure for…

Three-Star Selection What fueled hockey’s iconic postgame ritual? FOR 75 YEARS HOCKEY FANS have enjoyed a postgame ritual where the three best players in the contest are recognized. This tradition is called the Three-Star Selection, but not many know its origin. Its history traces back to a handshake agreement between Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn…

Deadly Progression Why foresight can be more important than hindsight I would like to suggest we think about foresight, and there is probably no better example to exemplify this than the story of Thomas Midgely, Jr. Considering the impact Midgely has on all our lives, it is rather amazing his name is not more well-known.…