Everything Everywhere Daily

'Mad' Jack Churchill

The Apollo 11 mission to land humans on the moon was one of the most complex things ever undertaken by humanity. They had to prepare for any and every eventuality, including the failure of the mission. To cover that eventually, President Nixon’s speechwriter wrote a speech to cover that eventuality. Learn more about the speech which Richard Nixon never had to give, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

He was a painter, a writer, sculptor, photographer, and one of the most significant avant-garde artists of the 20th century. He was also a showman, celebrity, and one of the well-known personalities in the world. ...and he had one of the most famous mustaches in history. Learn more about Salvador Dali on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Historically, an army would have days, weeks, or even months to prepare for war. However, with the development of intercontinental missiles and nuclear weapons, the time for preparation was reduced to hours or even minutes. In light of these changes, it was necessary to develop a system that allowed for rapid mobilization and readiness. Learn more about the DEFCON system, and the history of its level changes, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

If I were to say “prisoner of war interrogator” something rather menacing probably comes to mind. If I were to say “Nazi prisoner of war interrogator” something really menacing probably comes to mind. And If I were to say the “the greatest Nazi prisoner of war interrogator”, you are probably imagining a truly horrifying, evil person. Learn more about Hanns Schraff, and his surprising story, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Navigation on the open ocean is extremely difficult. It is a skill that takes years to master. Even with years of skill, an experienced mariner was still able to ground their ship on an unseen reef, underwater rocks, or a sandbar, because they didn’t know their precise location. The main problem, which was unsolved for centuries, was determining your longitude. Learn more about the longitude problem, and how it was eventually solved, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Standing next to an extremely tall structure can be an exhilarating experience. Something which was no less exhilarating to early humans. Ever since humans created the first pile of rocks, we have been trying to build ever-larger piles of rocks. These piles of rocks eventually evolved into structures hundreds of meters tall. Learn more about the structures which have held the title of the tallest in the world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Hollywood is known the world over for being the center of the motion picture industry. But did you ever wonder why the movie business is centered there or why it hasn’t moved somewhere else? Well, it all has to do with a clause in various union contracts. Learn more about the Thirty Mile Zone, or the TMZ, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

On December 6, 1917, one of the greatest tragedies of World War I took place. In a single instant, 1,782 people, mostly civilians were killed. However, this tragedy didn’t take place on the fields of Belgium or in a trench in France. It took place in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Learn more about the Halifax Explosion, one of the worst disasters of World War I, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Running a restaurant is a very difficult business. Most restaurants barely make a profit, and it isn’t unheard of for a series of restaurants to shuffle through the same building as one goes out of business after the other. Longevity in the restaurant game is very difficult. Even if you manage to make your restaurant a success, you aren’t guaranteed that your children will want to take over the business. There is one restaurant, however, which has managed to stay in business for almost 300 years.

“E Pluribus Unum”, “Habeus Corpus”, “Carpe Diem”, “Caveat Emptor”. All of these phrases are known by most people, yet they come from a language that has been dead for 1500 years: Latin. Latin is on our money, serves as mottos for universities, and is the foundation for our entire naming system in biology. Many concepts from law and logic are all described by Latin phrases. Learn more about Lingua Latina, the Latin Language on this episode of Totum Ubique Cotidie.

In 1964, New York City disc jockey “Murry the K” humorously dubbed himself the fifth Beatle due to his early promotion of the Beatles on his radio program. Since then, almost two dozen other people have been dubbed the 5th Beatle due to their contributions to the band.  Some people dubbed the 5th Beatle was even given the moniker by members of the band themselves. Learn more about the people who have been dubbed the 5th Beatle, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

In 1598 the Dutch Empire acquired the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. There they found a short, fat, flightless bird that was only found on that island. The bird had absolutely no fear of humans, but perhaps it should have. In 1662, just 64 years later, the last known bird was sighted, and after that, the entire species went extinct. Learn more about the dodo bird and how it disappeared on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

In the very days of the United States, the country was mostly made up of farmers.  They primarily ate the food which they grew, and maybe hunted to supplement their diet.  They also drank. Alcohol. A lot of alcohol. In fact, the amount of alcohol consumed by early Americans on average might have been more than any other people in human history.  Learn more about the alcohol consumption habits of early Americans on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Elizabeth Swaney was born in 1984 in Oakland, California. She attended the University of California Berkley where her only athletic accomplishment consisted of serving as the coxswain of the men’s rowing team. Elizabeth, however, desperately wanted to be an olympian. The only thing standing in her way was a complete lack of athletic ability. Her lack of athletic ability didn’t stop her, and in 2018, she managed to achieve her goal of competing in the Olympics.