Pop Culture History
Blobs and Robots
What can horror movie trends throughout the decades tell us about the general public?
What the general public fears
Bishop of the Moon
Why is the Bishop of Orlando, FL technically the Bishop of the Moon?
Catholic law says that any new territory falls under the authority of the bishop of where the expedition set out.
Tom Clancy: Menace to the US Government
Tom Clancy, popular military fiction author, has been interrogated by the feds multiple times because of certain details in his books. Why?
Tom Clancy was never in the military! He did lots of research and sometimes relied on pure guesswork to write details of government facilities and such. He was an insurance salesman.
Chai vs. Tea
Why do both words describe the same thing in the Western world?
Trade routes!
Countries that got tea via the Silk Road called it "cha" after the inland Chinese word for "tea"
Countries that got tea via sea trade called it "te" after the coastal Chinese word for "tea"
Tactical Assault Sheep
A US president kept sheep at the US Capitol. One ram, fondly called "that abominable animal" by this president, would attack people who walked on the grass and even killed a little boy. Which president was this?
Thomas Jefferson
We all love Star Wars. Star Wars is great. But the story was originally very different. How did the OG story differ?
- A Prophecy *guitar riff* about the Empire being overthrown by the "son of Skywalker"
- Darth Vader pulls a King Herod
- Princess Leia is the hero
Math = Witchcraft
Once Upon A Time in the Middle Ages, there was a man accused of witchcraft because he was just too good at math. Why was that?
He used the Arabic number system rather than Roman numerals.
And I Think to Myself...
An Old English word I think we should bring back. Means "lovely, wonderful, good"
...What a Wlonkderful World
Wlonk
Best Holiday Ever
Every six days, a country will celebrate what?
Independence from Britian
Spooky Scary Vinyls
When Stalin took over the Soviet Union, he banned all Western music. A 19 year old Russian engineer, Bogoslowski, figured out how to bootleg Western music by putting it onto what?
Discarded X-rays
Stop Calling it That!
In 2002, Pope John Paul II asked people not to use a funny nickname for something because it was "undignified." What was it?
The PopeMobile
3 Popes = No Pope
In the early 1400s, three popes were elected within a year of each other because of disagreements in the Catholic Church. What happened when the third pope was elected?
The three popes excommunicated each other.
You Good, Russia?
In Russian, nouns are either animate or inanimate depending on whether or not the object moves. What about the word for "corpse"?
Animate....
That's a tad concerning.
Screw You, Freud.
Sigmund Freud coined the term "Oedipus Complex" to explain his idea that all men are sexually attracted to their mothers, using the name of a character in a Greek Play. Why is "Oedipus Complex" the dumbest name Freud could have picked?
The entire point of Oedipus Rex is that Oedipus didn't want to marry his mom. He literally gouges his eyes out when he finds out.
A WOMAN!
Mary Somerville was a geologist, physicist, and chemist, and invented the term "scientist" in the 1830s because the previous term "man of science" didn't apply to her.
But Can we Make it Look Real?
In the 1938 movie, The Adventures of Robin Hood, the special effects department wanted to make the actors who get shot look as real as possible. How was that accomplished?
The extras wore padded clothing and were actually shot by professional archers.
Stake Conference
Who invented our ward/stake system, the MTC, and home teaching?
John Calvin
Quoth the [bird], Nevermore
In Edgar Allan Poe's first draft of his famous poem "The Raven," another bird was originally the titular character. What bird was it?
A Parrot
Accidental Invasions
How many times has Switzerland accidentally invaded Lichtenstein?
3
1985
1992
2007
Founding the Han Dynasty
Liu Bang was the Ancient Chinese equivalent of a county sheriff. When transporting prisoners, Liu Bang lost control of them. What did he do?
Liu Bang joined the criminals, became their leader, and overthrew the government.
Aaron Burr, Sir, What Are You Doing?
Aaron Burr was accused of trying to start his own empire where?
Texas
Reign of the Testing Center
The reign of John Calvin over his little Calvinist society in Switzerland can be compared to the BYUI testing center and honor code office. What wasn't allowed?
- No beards
- No dancing
- No music outside of church
Among others...
The Butler Did It!
The detective fiction trope of the butler being guilty is today seen as silly and cliche. There's one problem though: we have no idea where the trope came from. Why?
First instance of the butler being guilty: 1930
First mention of the "Butler Did It" trope being old and cliche: 1928
During WW2, the Germans were terrorized by a group of Russian fighter pilots who seemed to appear out of nowhere in the middle of the night, drop bombs, and disappear without a sound. What name were these pilots given?
The Night Witches!
Bad Words in the Bible
Scholars debate whether or not some of the words of this Apostle were slang/swear words at the time.
Paul