Everything Everywhere Daily
1,469 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.1K ratingsLearn something new every day!
Everything Everywhere Daily is a daily podcast for Intellectually Curious People. Host Gary Arndt tells the stories of interesting people, places, and things from around the world and throughout history. Gary is an accomplished world traveler, travel photographer, and polymath.
Topics covered include history, science, mathematics, anthropology, archeology, geography, and culture.
Past history episodes have dealt with ancient Rome, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, China, Egypt, and India. as well as historical leaders such as Julius Caesar, Emperor Augustus, Sparticus, and the Carthaginian general Hannibal.
Geography episodes have covered Malta, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Monaco, Luxembourg, Vatican City, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Isle of Man, san marino, Namibia, the Golden Gate Bridge, Montenegro, and Greenland.
Technology episodes have covered nanotechnology, aluminum, fingerprints, longitude, qwerty keyboards, morse code, the telegraph, radio, television, computer gaming,
Episodes explaining the origin of holidays include Memorial Day, April Fool’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, May Day, Christmas, Ramadan, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Canada Day, the Fourth of July,
Famous people in history covered in the podcast include Salvador Dali, Jim Thorpe, Ada Lovelace, Jessie Owens, Robert Oppenheimer, Picasso, Isaac Newton, Attila the Hun, Lady Jane Grey, Cleopatra, Sun Yat Sen, Houdini, Tokyo Rose, William Shakespeare, Queen Boudica, Empress Livia, Marie Antoinette, the Queen of Sheba, Ramanujan, and Zheng He.
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Episodes
An Incredibly Bright Idea
September 07, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesThomas Edison is often credited with the invention of the light bulb. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. If there is any modern invention that really can’t be attributed to a single person, it would be the incandescent lightbulb. Learn about the history behind the incandescent light bulb, perhaps the most significant invention of the 19th century, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Two-Hour Marathon
September 06, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesEliud Kipchoge is unquestionably the greatest marathon runner in history. He’s won an Olympic Gold Medal, holds the world’s record, and has won 12 of the 13 marathons he has ever entered. However, there was one accomplishment that had been out of reach for Kipchoge and every other marathoner: The 2-hour marathon. On October 12, 2019, Kipchoge managed to break that barrier under some very special circumstances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The First Transatlantic Cable
September 05, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesToday the world can communicate with text, images, audio, and video at the speed of light. Most of this is done via undersea fiber optic cables which connect the various continents to each other. All of this modern long-distance communication has its start with the first transatlantic telegraph cable. The first long-distance submarine communications cable which connected Europe and North America in 1858. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Election of 1824
September 04, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesMany people think that politics and elections in the United States are the most controversial they have ever been. History, however, begs to differ. Perhaps the oddest and most controversial presidential election in American history was the election of 1824. It is an election that doesn’t get a lot of attention given who won and the lack of major issues at stake, but it is one which more people should be familiar with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
September 03, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesPeople didn’t travel much in the ancient world. But, for those who did they developed the ancient equivalent of guidebooks. These were often lists of manmade sites and attractions which any traveler should take the time to see. Over time, one such Greek list was written down and it became known to us as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Learn more about the Seven wonders, how they were built and how they were destroyed, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about yo...
That New Pope Smell
September 02, 2020 17:00 - 14 minutesThe Roman Catholic Papacy is one of the oldest institutions in the world, second only to the Chrysanthemum Throne in Japan. Since its inception, there have been 266 popes, and a couple of anti-popes as well. The pope is not only the head of a religion but also the leader of a sovereign, albeit small, state as well. The process of choosing a pope is unlike any other in the world. Learn more about the selection process for picking a new pope on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn...
The World's Oldest Satellite
September 01, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutesHere is a question you’ve probably never bothered to think about before….What is the oldest man made object orbiting the earth? Which, if any, of the really early satellites are still whizzing around up in space? It turns out, the fourth satellite ever put in orbit is still there, 62 years after it was launched. Learn more about Vanguard 1, the world’s oldest satellite, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Brief History of Timekeeping
August 31, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutesOur ability to measure time is one of the fundamental things which makes us human. We’ve gone from very crude and inexact measures of time to time measurements which are so accurate that it would take billions of years to lose a single second. This increased accuracy has allowed us to navigate the seas, space, and even get directions to a nearby store. Learn about the history of how we keep time on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....
The First Pandemic
August 30, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesPandemics can be world-changing events. The aftermath of a pandemic can shape societies and topple empires. Whether it's the flu, smallpox, cholera, or the bubonic plague, these pandemics have killed more people than all the wars in human history. However, pandemics weren’t always a part of humanity. There was a first pandemic that caught civilization by surprise, and the legacy of that pandemic can still be felt in our world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eponymous Laws
August 29, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesEveryone is probably familiar with Murphy’s Law which says that “Anything which can go wrong will go wrong.” However, there are many such laws, known as eponymous laws, which are sayings, adages, or truisms, which have been attributed to people over the years. These are not hard and fast mathematical or physical laws, but rather are general truths which can help you see and understand the world better...and they are usually named after someone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
Football, Soccer, and Rugby
August 28, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesWhile different countries may debate as to what sport should really be called ‘football’, the reality is that the word football describes a broad family of sports all of whom have a very similar background and origin. Just like species with a common ancestor can evolve in ways where they look totally unlike each other, so too did the football sports evolve from a common ancestor into very different forms today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Latin Alphabet
August 27, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesThe Latin Alphabet has become the most widespread system of writing in the world. Its origins can be traced back thousands of years to Ancient Romans and to civilizations before that. It is probably the single biggest thing that we use today which originated in Rome. Today’s English alphabet, you know that one from the song, is a modification of the system which was used by the Romans, which has had some unique quirks in the past that most English speakers are unaware of. Learn more about you...
Why are French Fries called French Fries?
August 26, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesEveryone loves french fries. It is one of the few things which most people can agree on in the world today. The average American consumes over 16 pounds of them every year, and they have become a staple part of the cuisine in countries all over the world. Yet, why do American’s call them “french” fries? What do the French have to do with it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Last US Civil War Pension
August 25, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutesOn May 31, 2020, Irene Triplett passed away at the age of 90. Her life was rather unremarkable save for one important fact: she was the last person who received a pension from the United States government from the US Civil War. Find out how a woman who died two decades into the 21st Century was still receiving a pension from a war which ended 155 years ago on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Most Famous Song in the World
August 24, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesIf there is one song almost everyone knows it is Happy Birthday to You (yes, that is the actual title of the song, even though everyone just calls it Happy Birthday). Not only has the song been sung at countless children’s birthday parties, but it has also been mentioned in Supreme Court decisions and was the subject of one of the most important copyright cases in history. Learn more about the most famous song in the world on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ...
The US/Canadian Border
August 23, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutesThe border between the United States and Canada is the longest border between any two countries in the world. The total length of the land border is 8,891 kilometers or 5,525 miles long. In addition to being the longest border in the world, it is also the longest non-militarized and non-fenced border in the world. With a border that long, you are bound to have some oddities, and the US/Canadian border has plenty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The English Longbow
August 22, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesThe longbow was one of the most devastating weapons in medieval Europe. It was a weapon that could launch projectiles hundreds of yards and pierce the heaviest of armor. It was the battlefield trump card to heavy armored cavalry. No country adopted and mastered the longbow quite like the English. One reason why they found the military success they did was due to a complete societal commitment to the longbow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Man Who Fed the World
August 21, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesWhich person can be credited with having saved the most human lives in history? There might not be a direct answer to that question, but one person whose name always comes up is that of Normal Borlaug. Borlaug has been called “Humanity’s Forgotten Benefactor” and was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. His efforts have been attributed to having saved the lives of over a billion people. Yet, few people know who he is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why Doesn't the US Use the Metric System?
August 20, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutesOf the 193 countries in the United Nations, exactly three haven’t adopted the widespread use of the metric system: Myanmar, Liberia, and the United States of America. Of those three, the US is the country that really stands out. It has the biggest economy in the world, does an incredible amount of international trade, and has immigrants from every country in the world If there was one country on paper that should be using the metric system, it is the United States. Learn more about your ad ch...
Cursus Honorum
August 19, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutesIn the Roman Republic, men of senatorial rank could compete for political offices which were placed in a set order and had to be earned sequentially. This hierarchy was known as the Cursus Honorum. The Cursus Honorum was the basis of political and social life in ancient Rome, and the fortunes of entire families could rise and fall based on how high someone could climb. Learn more about the Roman political ladder on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices....
European vs North American Sports
August 18, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutesNorth America and Europe have much which separates them culturally as well as geographically. One of the biggest differences is in the area of sports. Not just which sports we play, but in how sports are organized. Many people on either side of the Atlantic have no clue how sports are organized on the other side, or at least have major misconceptions. Learn more about how sports are managed and operated in Europe and North American on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more ab...
Lis Hartel: A Remarkable Olympian
August 17, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesLis Hartel was a Danish equestrian competitor in the 1940s and 1950s. She competed in the 1952 Olympics and the 1956 Olympics and she won medals at both. However, her Olympic medals are just the starting point of her fascinating and inspirational story. Learn more about Lis Hartel and her remarkable accomplishments on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The United Countries of America
August 16, 2020 17:00 - 14 minutesEach of the 50 states in the United States has a unique history. 13 of them were originally British Colonies. Some of them were former Spanish or French territory. Most of them were officially US territories before they became states. A few, however, were actually independent countries before they joined the Union…..or at least they sort of were independent countries. Learn more about the states that were once countries on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad ...
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
August 15, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesAsk most Muslims what the holiest site is in Islam, and they would all obviously tell you it is the Kaaba at the Great Mosque of Mecca. Ask most Christians what the holiest site is in Christianity, and you might get a blank stare or at least several different answers. Through most of Christianity, there has been one place that has been agreed upon as the holiest site, and it has been the cause of wars and disagreements which have continued to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
The Real Life Dexter
August 14, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesFor eight seasons, the TV show Dexter showed the fictional life of a crime solving forensics expert who just so happened to have been a serial killer who killed serial killers. This got me wondering, has there ever been a real life Dexter? A killer, or even a criminal, who targeted other criminals? Well, there sort of has been. Learn the story of the real life Dexter on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Damnatio Memoriae
August 13, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesThe ancient Romans had a practice called Damnatio Memoriae, which was to banish someone’s memory from public life. It was also sometimes known as oblivion. It called for the complete deletion of the person’s name or image from all statues, inscriptions, coins, and texts. While the practice neither began nor ended with the Romans, they are ones who gave it the name we used today. Learn more about the history of expunging people from history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn...
The Washington Generals
August 12, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesSports history is littered with really bad teams. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t win a single game and wound up losing 26 in a row. The 2012 Charlotte Bobcats went 7-59 for a .106 winning percentage. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders set a record for futility in baseball winning only 20 games out of 154. However, all of those teams are giants compared to the worst professional sports team in history: The Washington Generals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kayfabe
August 11, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesOne of my dirty secrets is that I’m a fan of pro wrestling. Whenever I tell people this the first thing I inevitably hear is, “you know it's fake right?” This idea that people think professional wrestling is real comes from the concept that wrestling insiders call kayfabe. Learn about the history of kayfabe and how this concept from professional wrestling can be used to navigate the modern world on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....
Drug Lord Hippos
August 10, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesPablo Escobar was the biggest drug lord the world has ever known. At the height of his power, he had a near-monopoly on cocaine trade in the United States. He had a peak inflation-adjusted net worth of $60 billion dollars. He was personally responsible for thousands of murders and dozens of acts of terrorism in Colombia. Today in Colombia, there are approximately 100 hippopotamuses roaming wild. What do these two things have to do with each other? Well, everything. Learn more about your ad ch...
Grandmother of Europe
August 09, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesTraditionally, the royal families of Europe would arrange marriages amongst their children to establish alliances and bonds between their houses. While this really isn’t done that much anymore, it also wasn’t that long ago that it was done. One monarch, in particular, Queen Victoria, was really good and marrying off her children. So good in fact that almost every royal house in Europe can trace their ancestry back to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Boxing's Alphabet Soup
August 08, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesBoxing used to be one of the most popular sports in the world. A world championship bout would draw millions of people to their radios or televisions and could pack the largest stadiums. Since then, it has waned in popularity in no small part due to the confusing array of titles and organizations which now exist. The WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, WBF, and IBA and many other organizations all with their own set of initials, all hand out titles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
Lunar Orbit Rendezvous
August 07, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesHave you ever been told to follow the chain of command or else? In most organizations with a hierarchy or with a bureaucracy, there is a set way in which things have to be done. If you have a suggestion or a complaint, you have to go to your immediate superior, and not jump over anyone’s head. If it wasn’t for one man jumping over the heads of his superiors and jeopardizing his job, we might never have landed on the moon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Original Dow Jones Companies
August 06, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesFor many people, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the measure of the health of the overall stock market. In reality, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is really just the performance of a collection of 30 blue-chip stocks. The index was created in 1896 and back then there were only 12 stocks in the index, and most of them are no longer household names. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lloyd Burke: American Badass
August 05, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesThe highest and most prestigious award in the United States military is the Medal of Honor. It is awarded for only acts of extreme valor and bravery. Established during the Civil War in 1863, it has been awarded 3,506 times. If you read through the list of Medal of Honor recipients, you will read stories of heroism, honor, and sacrifice. Of all of the Medal of Honor winners, there was one recipient’s story that really stood out to me. It went beyond bravery and valor to just genuine badassery...
The Great Peshtigo Fire
August 04, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesThe greatest fire in American history, in terms of loss of life, occurred in the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin in 1871. Most people haven’t heard of it, and even people who live in the region today aren’t aware of the disaster which happened in their own backyard. 150 years later, there is speculation that the cause of the fire might have come from a highly unusual source, and some data from other fires might help solve the mystery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Imperial Leftovers
August 03, 2020 17:00 - 15 minutesAt its peak, the British Empire covered 23% of the world’s population and 24% of the Earth’s landmass. By either measure, it was the largest empire in the history of the world. Since then…..well, let’s just say the Empire has seen better days. While the vast majority of the Empire is gone, there are still assorted crumbs of the empire that exist around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Van Halen and Brown M&Ms
August 02, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesFor years a story had circulated that the rock and roll group Van Halen had a contract that required that a bowl of M&Ms be left backstage wherever they performed, with all the brown M&Ms removed. If there were any brown M&Ms in the bowl, they would use it as an excuse to trash the room. Is this just an urban legend, or was there something behind the story? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Pitch Drop Experiment
August 01, 2020 20:33 - 10 minutesIn 1927, Professor Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia created an experiment to demonstrate to his students the concept of viscosity and how some substances which appear to be solids are actually liquids. That experiment is still running 90 years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Beamonesque
July 31, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesIn a single 6 second period in 1968, Bob Beamon completely rewrote the record books in track and field. His gold medal-winning long jump at the Mexico City Olympics not only set a world’s record, but it added a new word to the English dictionary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The French Scrabble Champion
July 30, 2020 17:00 - 9 minutesNigel Richards is unquestionably the greatest Scrabble player in history. The 52-year-old Kiwi is a five-time world champion, and the only player ever to win more than once. He is a five-time United States Champion and has won more major tournament titles than anyone else. However, all these accolades are probably not his greatest Scrabble accomplishment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Interstate Highway System
July 29, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutesAfter the end of WWII in Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower was appointed the military governor of the American Zone in Germany. During his travels around Germany, he noticed that the German autobahn was really good. His respect for the German highways later became the impetus for passing legislation for the United States Interstate Highway System. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Many Planets Are There?
July 28, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesPoor Pluto. It was totally unknown, then it was a planet, and now it’s not a planet anymore. This change in the status of planets isn’t the first time such a thing has happened. Since the dawn of history, the number of things we call a planet has gone up and down. Find out why Pluto got demoted from a planet, and learn about our human history with planets on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Prime Minister Who Disappeared
July 27, 2020 17:00 - 8 minutesWhat would happen if a world leader were to totally disappear? As in, the leader of a major country was to just vanish into thin air, without a trace? Such a thing actually happened 50 years ago when a nation’s prime minister disappeared and his body was never found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Julian and Gregorian Calendars
July 27, 2020 01:31 - 13 minutesIf you answer that question, most likely you are giving an answer based on a calendar that goes all the way back to one put in place by Julius Caesar. Caesar’s calendar, aka the Julian Calendar, was pretty good, but it developed problems over time, so it was modified in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. This calendar, the Gregorian Calendar, what we’ve been using for the last several hundred years, and it works pretty well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Atlantropa: The Most Ridiculous Idea Ever
July 25, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesIn the aftermath of the horrors of WWI, many people in Europe wanted to find a better future going forward. A future of peace and prosperity, where energy, food, and jobs would be available for everyone. One man from Germany named Herman Sörgel had a VERY ambitious idea. An idea which would literally change the map of the planet Earth, and was the biggest proposed engineering project ever put forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When Did Canada Become Independent?
July 24, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesIn a previous episode of the podcast, I touched on how it was difficult to pin down the date in which the United States actually became independent. In the case of the United States, it was a matter of pinning down when we wanted to define independence. Was it at the start of the rebellion, the act of declaring independence, or was it the end of the war? In the case of Canada, trying to pin a date on independence is a lot more complicated, and extends over a much longer period of time. Learn ...
Neil Armstrong's First Time in Space
July 23, 2020 17:00 - 10 minutesEveryone knows who Neil Armstrong is and why he is famous. Being the first person to set foot on the moon has placed him in a unique position in world history, and he is a name that people will probably remember for thousands of years. But Apollo 11 was not his first spaceflight. His first flight aboard Gemini 8 was, in many respects, far more exciting and impressive than his exploits on Apollo 11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Blowouts
July 22, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutesIn the world of sports, most people enjoy very close fought, exciting games that go down to the wire. If you were to take a poll on what the best games or matches in history were in any given sport, it would probably involve a close score with a last-second victory to put one team over the edge. However, there are times when a team gets whooped so bad, you just have to sit back and admire the shellacking they received. This is the realm of the blowout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
The British Line of Succession
July 21, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesThe British Crown is unquestionably the best-known monarchy in the world. As with all monarchies, there is a strict line of succession featuring many names you’ve probably heard of: Prince Charles, Prince William, and little Prince George. However, the rules regarding succession are more elaborate than most people realize, and the number of people in the line of succession now goes into the thousands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Six Star General
July 20, 2020 17:00 - 12 minutesIf you look at the list of officer ranks in the United States armed forces, there are 10 ranks listed which are held today They go from Second Lieutenant all the way up to the rank of General, which is the four-star variant of the rank. There is a rank above general, a five-star general, which hasn’t been awarded in 70 years. Most people are familiar with these generals as having served in WWII. However, there is still one more rank above that of five-star general in the United States Mil...