Five Minute Trivia

<p>In 1907, Albert Einstein had a thought experiment involving an unlucky window cleaner. It led to a scientific breakthrough that finally gave us an understanding of gravity, space, time, and the fabric that holds it...

<p>A hundred years ago, Congress authorized the creation of an uninterrupted highway that stretched for 2400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. And for 100 years, Americans have hit Route 66 in search of adventure...

<p>82 years ago this week, the Allied forces of World War II launched the largest seaborne invasion in history. Code-named Operation Neptune, it would mark the turning point of the war in Europe. How did it happen? Why...

<p>In 1905, a Swiss patent clerknamed Albert Einstein published a paper that upended our entire understanding of the universe. It explained supernovas, black holes, and even time travel. It also gave us E=mc2, probably...

<p>The early twentieth century was a time of massive upheaval. Between World War 1, the Soviet Revolution, and Albert Einstein, everything we thought we knew about the world was suddenly gone. Into that swirling chaos...

<p>Mother's Day is one of the most important holidays in America, and not just because we love our moms. Billions of dollars in flowers, greeting cards, and restaurant brunches make Mother's Day an economic powerhouse...

<p>Imagine building an entire society around the idea of fighting people. That, in a nutshell, was Sparta. For over three millenia, the Spartans have been source of fascination for their military prowess, their massive...

<p>Why call something an ocean when you can call it a sea? Why call it a sea when you can call it a gulf? Why is Long Island Sound a body of water and not a rock band? If you've ever looked at a map of the world's...

<p>History is full of restless, ambitious overachievers who wanted to make some difference in the world. But what if our idea of the world is wrong? What if life is nothing more than a dumb accident of the universe with...

<p>When stars die, they don't go quietly. They can shrink, expand, explode, and everything in between. How does a star know what to do when it's done? We're covering all that in the conclusion of our two-part...

<p>Black holes have been a reliable source of inspiration in science fiction and made astrophysicists like Stephen Hawking into household names. On this week's show, we follow how the idea of black holes went from a...

<p>Impressionism was a 19th century art movement borne out of an insult, but quickly became one of the most popular and enduring art forms in history. Legendary painters like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard...

<p>The Molotov cocktail is not a drink and the person it's named for didn't invent it. Yet there is perhaps no more iconic symbol of resistance in the world than a flaming bottle being thrown at a technologically...

<p>If you want to turn today into tomorrow, you don't need to wait for science to invent something. You can just go west until you cross 180 degrees longitude. That's where the International Date Line is located. On...

<p>The 98th Academy Awards are right around the corner, so we thought we'd tackle some burning questions about the Oscars. Like who...or what...is Oscar? And has anyone named Oscar ever won an...