The necessity for toilet paper has existed since long before the invention of paper (or, indeed, toilets). Initially, the most common solution for bum-wiping was whatever happened to be within arm’s reach, and there was nothing, er, charmin’, shall we say, about the shells, snow, sheep’s wool,...
While people in medieval times weren’t quite as filthy as we tend to think, they certainly weren’t clean by today’s standards. Here’s what keeping clean looked like back in the olden days. Bathing: The Devil’s Work Prior to the Middles Ages, bathing was a pretty popular pastime....
In the past few years there’s been growing evidence — or at least, an increasing number of headline-baiting surveys — suggesting that men in the 2010s are increasingly fixated on their own appearance. The average modern male checks himself out in the mirror 23 times a day,...
For thousands of years, the heart — and these days more often, the heart emoji — has been THE stand-in for love, and the symbol through which millions of lovers express their feelings to their significant others on Valentine’s Day (and most other days, for that matter)....
A couple weeks ago, I visited my dentist for a routine cleaning, and he recommended I replace my original silver-colored amalgam fillings with more contemporary tooth-colored ones. I admit, I was almost persuaded (but eventually decided that spending a few hundred bucks so people would stop noticing...
In 1594, Italian physician and anatomist Gabriele Falloppio suggested that a linen cloth be soaked in chemicals, dried and then used as protection against syphilis. According to Spafe.com, 1,100 brave participants lined up to test out this first-of-its-kind condom, which was fastened onto the penis with ribbon. Hot! Fast...
There’s nothing quite like finding a toilet you can spend the rest of your life with — one you’ll forever compare all other toilets to, and wonder how (and for whom) it’s flushing long into the future. In college, I found such a toilet, one I still...
Welcome to DSC Original Content’s weekly podcast, where we explain a weird, tricky or surprising subject in mere minutes. In this edition, learn who had a fondness for fish bladder jelly; find out just how many different animals went into a single Medieval meat pie; and discover...
Welcome to DSC Original Content’s weekly podcast, where we explain a weird, tricky or surprising subject in mere minutes. In this edition, learn what the Kama Sutra has to say about manscaping; find out why some Ancient Egyptians removed their body hair every single day; and discover...
Welcome to DSC Original Content’s weekly podcast, where we explain a weird, tricky or surprising subject in mere minutes. In this edition, learn how cowboys chose to consume their post-booze rabbit droppings; find out who ate fried canaries for breakfast; and discover the secret ingredient of Mongolia’s...
We’ve all waved a sparkler around on a warm July 4th evening, perhaps either trying to write our name in the air in magical glowing letters, or perhaps just trying to draw a rude doodle in the same manner, depending on your age/inebriation level. But where did...
Welcome to DSC Original Content’s biweekly podcast, where we explain a weird, tricky or surprising subject in mere minutes. In this edition, discover why history’s shortest war lasted slightly less than your lunch hour; find out how a war was started by angry sports fans; and learn...
