Is it true or false that KISS band members mixed their blood with the red ink used to print the first KISS comic books?

True: It’s well known that the band KISS created their characters based as much on comic book superheroes, as from their music, so it was only natural for them to one day star in their very own comic book. Not one to miss a lucrative money making opportunity, Marvel Comics issued the first ‘Super Special’ KISS comic book in 1977.

Seeing it as an excellent marketing opportunity, KISS was more than Continue reading »

True or False?

True: Even the best of us make mistakes once in a while, but few of us do it in front of thirty million viewers! And, to compound the hilarity, it featured a world respected person in a position of power. Fortunately, this one turned out to be harmless enough, but far too often, a lot of harm can be done in a very short amount of time.

However, that is not the case for this story. The Washington Post, in April of 2003, reported than an alert viewer had complained about something in the closed captions during Peter Jennings’ ‘World News Tonight’. The caption told the viewers that US Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, had been hospitalized so his doctor could Continue reading »

Is it true or false that popcorn is a cheap way to test for radioactive contamination?

False: There’s been fear of radiation fallout in western North America, following the massive 2011 earthquake that struck Japan, triggering a huge tsunami. The giant wave totally destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. That resulted in billions of tons of radioactive debris being released into the atmosphere and ocean, from explosions caused after cooling systems failed. In Japan, this caused widespread panic among the citizens, and started a nation-wide rash of hoarding of uncontaminated food and water. Desperate, people sought out cheap and simple methods to detect contamination.

After a disaster of that magnitude, people are vulnerable and Continue reading »

Is it true or false that a student won a free car by paying attention to what he was reading?

True: A student did win a free car for paying attention to what he was reading. In 2001, a third-year medical student at Yale University, Jeffrey Seiden, was studying his electrocardiography textbook one day, when he happened to notice the following message in the book’s copyright notice: “Congratulations for your perseverance! You may win the car on page forty six by writing down your name and address, and submitting it to the Continue reading »

True or False?

True: Have you ever wondered how to tell which bread is freshest? Many of us squeeze loaves to determine their softness, some even try to smell it. But there’s actually a much easier way. Every packaged loaf of bread comes with some kind of a closure. Because breads were once baked in bakeries, then delivered to the stores five days a week (not Wed. or Sun.), each day had its own colour of tag. This made it easy for the stores to make sure the oldest stock was always in front, to be sold first, and to Continue reading »

True or False?

True: Some granite countertops emit Radon. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer (smoking is first), and it is considered especially dangerous to smokers, whose lungs are already vulnerable.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns homeowners to take action if radon gas levels in their homes exceeds four picocuries per liter of air, and some granite surfaces have been found to let off far in excess of that. For example, when radon was measured in the kitchen of Dr. Lynn Sugarman, the radon level was discovered to be at 100 picocuries per liter from the room’s granite countertops. Continue reading »

True or False?

False: In the years since the adoption of the current Canadian flag, many claim the number of points (11) on the maple leaf it features, have special significance, such as representing each of the Canadian provinces and territories (one for each of the provinces and with one for the territories), or representing ten provinces and one country, or Canada’s eleven governments (ten provincial and one federal). None are true.

The design that was finally selected as the Flag Committee’s recommendation, isn’t quite the design that was ultimately adopted, for it bore a maple leaf with thirteen points. The fact that the final version ended up as an eleven-point leaf was far more by accident than intention.

Hastily silk-screened, the original prototype was hoisted up the flagpole at 24 Sussex Drive to greet Prime Minister and Mrs. Pearson with their breakfast. But there was something wrong with the design. To figure Continue reading »