June 20- Random

Could you imagine a world without pens? More specifically, could you imagine a world without ballpoint pens? You may laugh, but there are many things that make pens more useful than pencils. You can sign papers with them, they don't have to be sharpened, and they aren't scarily sharp. But alas, there was a time where ballpoint pens didn't exist. In fact, it wasn't until 1938 that the ballpoint pen was invented by two brothers living in Europe. One was a newspaper editor, and the other a chemist. Their idea for a pen with a free moving ball and ink cartridge was patented in 1938. By 1940, they had started a successful pen company in Argentina. The idea was noticed by an American, who started selling the pens at Gimbels in 1949. But, for my daily question, I ask: what are the names of the brothers who came up with the original ballpoint pen idea?





The brothers were Lazlo and Georg Biro.
If you liked that fact, I noticed it while reading "The Mental Floss History of the World". It's a fantastic book. Pick it up at pretty much any bookstore, even if you don't like history.

June 17- Geography

Isn't the National Geographic Society great? From their Bees to their magazine, National Geographic is full of fun and useful information. How useful, you might just be asking. Well first of all, the magazine was great today when I was hanging out in a radio station after school. Second, the magazine came enclosed with a nifty little map of Asia. But more importantly, this most recent July '09 issue provided me with a cool question for today. Some of you might have heard of a place called Angkor. Old city. Destroyed. All that jazz. Anyway, when I first started reading the article, I could not place where Angkor was, until the article was significantly underway. So, for my daily question, I ask: Where is the destroyed city of Angkor located?


By the way, I'd just like to throw out a thanks to a certain radio station that did a shout out about The Question today... appreciate it!!!


Angkor is a region in Cambodia. Not to be confused with Angkor Wat, (as I was) which is a temple complex within the region of Angkor.
To read more about Angkor, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor
For Angkor Wat, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
For National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ (also features a link to the Angkor Wat article.)

May 16- Random

Remember Theodore Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss? Born in Massachusetts, Geisel went on to write many popular children's books. One such book has a particularly interesting story behind it. After the publication of The Cat in the Hat, Geisel's publisher made a bet with him, the bet being $50 that Geisel could not write a book only using 50 words. (The Cat in the Hat used 225 words) In the end, Geisel was able to accomplish his task, and the result was the fourth Best Selling Children's Book of all time. So, for my daily question, I ask: Which Dr. Seuss book was a result of a bet and only has 50 words?






The book was Green Eggs and Ham.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_eggs_and_ham