Harold Shipman

Harold Shipman was an Englishman who killed more people than possibly any other serial killer in recorded history: 218 confirmed victims, although that number is probably more than 250. How'd he do it? He was a doctor who ended his patients' lives with lethal injections. Most of them were elderly women; in fact, his youngest victim was a 41 year-old man.

No one knows for sure why Shipman did what he did, although there might be a confusing reason as to why, involving his wife and the National Health Service.

"MDMA got you feeling like a champion"

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, is the chemical name for ecstasy.

Skip to 3:15.

In the next line, Jay-Z says: "The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien." Ambien is a drug used to treat insomnia. Now it all makes sense to me what the hell he was saying.

Are bars of soap self-cleaning?

No, but it might not matter anyway.

Tuesday Night Football

Since the blizzard in Philly canceled Sunday's game pitting the Eagles and Vikings, the league moved it to today. On a Tuesday. The last time an NFL game was played on a Tuesday was October 1, 1946.

Thundersnow

It's thunder, lightning, and... snow.

Press Complaints Commission

The Press Complaints Commission is a self-regulatory body for British magazines and newspapers (and their websites). The members of this commission include representatives of the major publishers. Because of its self-regulatory nature, taxpayers do not fund the PCC; its revenue comes from the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines. However, it has no legal powers. The commission focuses mostly on the accuracy of reports, as well as invasion of privacy by the press. There is no parallel to the PCC in the United States.

Website
BBC report on the 10-year anniversary of the PCC

History of mistletoe and kissing

In the first century AD, the Druids believed that "mistletoe, taken in drink, will impart fecundity to all animals that are barren." But it wasn't until the 18th or 19th centuries that the British incorporated mistletoe for their Christmas celebrations. Washington Irving and Charles Dickens wrote stories in which men kissed young and pretty women under the mistletoe.

Why is Facebook blue and white?

Because Mark Zuckerberg can't see red or green.

Tokyo Tower

During the postwar boom of the 1950s, Japan searched for a monument that represented its rise to a global economic force. They built the Tokyo Tower, which was inspired by the architecture of the Eiffel Tower. It opened on this day in 1958.

Denisovans

The Denisovans are the new human group that scientists have discovered. They are a Neanderthal sister group, living in the same time period and inhabiting eastern Eurasia. (Neanderthals ruled western Eurasia.) The big thing about Denisovans: they most likely mated with modern humans, and perhaps even mated with Neanderthals.

Which other countries have the right to bear arms?

Mexico, Haiti, and Guatemala.

Caliginous

Caliginous is an archaic term that means "misty; dim; dark."

Origin of Fig Newton

Fig Newtons were named after the town of Newton, MA.

Indian burn

Yeah, I think I may have had one or two of these in school. It's when you grab someone's forearm with both hands and twist both hands in opposite directions.