I did not know that yesterday!

We don't have the data in front of us, but we would guess that the average person's annual budget for shoestrings is around 50 cents. Could this have something to do with the phrase's frugal meaning? Read on...

A shoestring budget isn't a positive thing. As anyone who works for a start-up company knows, the expression refers to running an operation or business with little money and few perks.

While nobody seems to know the phrase's exact origin, Mavens' Word of the Day offers an interesting theory. In the late 1800s when a shoestring broke, the remaining one was often used to bundle items. This thrifty gesture may have contributed to the phrase's meaning and popularity.

The New York Public Library's "Ask a Librarian" column offers a slightly different explanation. A shoestring budget may have originally meant "that one's resources are limited to the laces of one's shoes." Depressing, but logical.

Whatever the shoestring budget's history, the phrase is now understood by all. We always assumed it was a simple reference to how shoestrings are just barely above the ground.

Source: ask.yahoo.com

A runny nose seems to go hand-in-hand with spicy food. But why? We love a challenge, so we grabbed a fresh hankie and went in search of an answer.

Thankfully, we found one almost immediately. This post from the Deccan Herald explains that most spicy foods contain something called "capsaicin," a chemical found in peppers. When ingested, it's believed to affect "the quantity and thickness of mucus and other fluids secreted in the nasal passages." In other words, it's a kind a nasal decongestant.

You might think ingesting a lot of spicy foods would help clear out allergies or a cold. But, according to Organic Authority, you'd be wrong. While spicy food like peppers and wasabi "offers brief relief," in reality, "your nasal congestion will worsen, making you even more miserable." That's because spicy foods cause greater congestion in the long term.

Finally, a quick footnote. While trawling the Web, we learned capsaicin is the active ingredient in pepper spray. So be nice to cops.

Source: ask.yahoo.com

Before David Blaine was the biggest illusionist on the block, David Copperfield amazed audiences with his larger-than-life tricks. Perhaps his most famous stunt was in 1983 when he made the Statue of Liberty disappear (and then reappear) on live TV. The trick may be old, but people still wonder -- how did he do it?

Naturally, Mr. Copperfield isn't telling, so we consulted the research experts at The Straight Dope. They explain a common theory from William Poundstone's "Bigger Secrets." First, "Copperfield had a setup of two towers on a stage, supporting an arch to hold the huge curtain that would be used to conceal the statue." Those viewing the trick, both live and on TV, saw the statue through this arch.

After the curtain closed and while Mr. Copperfield addressed the audience, the stage was apparently rotating very slowly on a lazy Susan type turntable. When the curtain opened, it seemed the statue had disappeared, but in reality, the audience's view was blocked by one of the columns. The article also mentions that Copperfield used very bright lights to "nightblind" the audience. Those magicians are a tricky lot, eh?

Thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can watch the trick again. More than 20 years later, it's still pretty amazing.


Source: ask.yahoo.com

Those old pie eating contests they used to hold at county fairs are nothing compared to modern eating competitions. Besides being able to stomach loads of food, professional eaters usually boast colorful nicknames, such as Jaws, Bonestripper, and Dumplings. But they take the sport seriously -- there's even an International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE).

HowStuffWorks explains that in order to get the grub down faster, eaters often dunk the food in water or break it into smaller pieces. They're used to ignoring the natural gag reflex, as well as the stomach's feeling of fullness. Some folks train by filling up with large meals or water to stretch the stomach. However the IFOCE frowns upon this method. Some "old school" competitive eaters prefer "picnic style rules," which ban dipping, mushing, dunking, and picking apart their chow.

Takeru Kobayashi, currently the top-ranked competitive eater, has a theory about success in the sport: "You have to gradually build up your gut by eating larger and larger amounts of food, and then be sure to work it all off so body fat doesn't put a squeeze on the expansion of your stomach in competition." It's time to start training. Hey, you gonna eat that?

Source: ask.yahoo.com

Showers (especially hot ones) are one of humankind's greatest inventions. Imagine having to face the day without one. Actually, don't. The idea is too horrible to contemplate.

Tracking down the inventor of the shower proved to be a challenge. Thankfully, inventions.org gave us the scoop. The site explains that the first "rudimentary showers" were found in India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. In these showers, people washed by either pouring buckets of water over themselves or having servants do it for them. Effective, but lacking a certain je ne sais quoi.

The first real shower (complete with plumbing) was invented by the Greeks. Inventions.org writes that "after exerting themselves in the stadium, ancient Greek athletes would freshen up in the kind of shower depicted on an Athenian vase of the fourth century B.C." The vase in question features four women showering under piped-in water. As the site notes, "the whole scene is amazingly contemporary."

So, there you have it. The Greeks not only invented democracy, philosophy, and the Olympics, they gave us showers, too.

Source: ask.yahoo.com