Arvyn Braich – Intriguing Facts

8 everyday foods that came out of the military

Arvyn Braich — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:01:04 +0000

Believe it or not, some of your favorite packaged foods sitting in your pantry wouldn’t be around today if not for the needs of soldiers fighting overseas.

M&M

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Forrest Mars Sr. realized soldiers in the Spanish Civil War were eating bite-sized chocolates with a hard sugar coating that kept the cocoa from melting in the heat.

Mars developed his own formula and began selling M&Ms in 1941. During World War II, he sold the candies exclusively to the U.S. military so troops stationed in warm countries could enjoy chocolate without it melting inside their bags.

Instant coffee

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Although primitive forms of soluble coffee had been available since the 19th century, instant was further developed and distributed widely when the U.S. War Department bought the entire U.S. supply of instant coffee during World War I.

Many doughboys in the trenches became dependent on the speedy caffeine hit, establishing an immense, habit-driven civilian demand when they returned from war.

Cheese powder

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The dehydrated cheese powder that coats Cheetos, Doritos and boxed macaroni came into being in 1943. George Sanders, who worked for the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the U. S. Army Quartermaster Corps, came up with the idea.

It was a means to remove moisture from real cheese to compress it for overseas shipping as lightweight shelf-stable bricks. The cheese bricks were later pulverized by food manufacturers to become snack seasoning.

Canned food

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In 1795, starvation and diseases like scurvy caused more casualties in the French military than armed conflict. In hopes of finding a solution, Napoleon Bonaparte offered a 12,000 franc prize to anyone who could devise a way to keep food from spoiling for his marching armies.

Nicolas Appert, a confectioner, claimed the prize when he found that sealing cooked food in airtight glass jars prevented it from spoiling, which eventually led to canning in metal tins.

Condensed milk

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Sweetened condensed milk was patented by inventor Gail Borden in 1856. However, it wasn’t until the American Civil War began in 1861 that condensed milk caught on commercially.

The Union Army bought millions of cans to feed hospital patients and soldiers in the field with a high-calorie, long-lasting dairy source. Instantly successful, Borden’s condensed milk became a staple ingredient in home baking.

Spam

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Spam was created by Hormel in 1937, but the canned pork shoulder did not become popular worldwide until World War II, when over 150 million pounds were bought by the U.S. military for its troops in Europe and the Pacific Theater.

As it didn’t need refrigeration and held up well under harsh conditions, Spam was shipped out to not only the Allied troops but also the local civilians of countries where troops were stationed. It became part of local diets in places like Hawaii, Okinawa, and the Philippines.

Energy bars

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The ancestors of today’s energy and protein bars were military survival rations. The predecessor to modern-day bars began with the development of the U. S. Army’s “Ration D” bar in 1937.

Developed by the Army and Hershey Chocolate Company, the compact 600-calorie bar was intended to provide emergency food for soldiers behind enemy lines in case of an invasion.

Powdered eggs

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Military strategists required an easily portable substitute for fresh eggs with a long shelf life. Powdered eggs were consumed by soldiers throughout World War II all over the world. Now you can find them primarily in emergency preparedness foods, camp cuisine, and commercial bakeries.

Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.

How “J” was the last letter added to the alphabet

Arvyn Braich — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:45:24 +0000

You might think the alphabet’s always been the way it is now. But that’s not true. Letters joined the alphabet at different times, and some of them came along much later than you’d expect, including the letter “J.” So why was this the last letter added to the alphabet? Let’s find out the truth.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

In medieval writing, i and j weren’t separate

In the Middle Ages, scribes didn’t see “i” & “j” as different letters because there was just one symbol doing both jobs. Any time that they needed to make the last “i” in a Roman numeral stand out, they’d stretch the tail down & leave it like that. They’d write the number 23 as “xxiij” for 23, which is where the j-shape came from.

Trissino’s 1524 proposal split i and j

The story then moves to Renaissance Italy. This is where Giangiorgio Trissino began adjusting the alphabet, and in 1524, he wrote a pamphlet about it. He suggested that the vowel “i” & consonant “j” should finally get their own letters. However, it took a while for his ideas to catch on through reprints & scholars across Europe.

Printers normalized the distinction

English printers also had their role in changing things. By the 1600s, more of them started setting “i” & “j” as separate letters, especially at the start of words, although some of the presses did hang on to the old habits. It took a few decades for the newer style to become the norm in printed books.

The 1611 King James Bible still printed “Iesus”

One of the most obvious examples of that old style lives in the first edition of the King James Bible. After all, it contains names like “Iesus,” “Iuda,” & “Iohn,” which look like typos to a modern reader. But that’s just how things were. “J” hadn’t officially become a letter yet, so “I” was used in its place.

Grammar books flagged the shift

Soon after, grammar writers like Charles Butler began talking about how English spelling was changing. They wrote about how “i” & “j” were becoming separate letters in everyday language, and some of these books included spelling rules to keep things consistent. It says a lot about how common the confusion had become.

English gave j the sound through French loans

Interestingly, the sound we connect to “j” today didn’t actually start in English. It came with French words like “joy” & “jewel” that have that soft /dʒ/ sound. Later, English adopted the sound & kept the spelling before eventually pairing it with the letter “j.” But the split wasn’t totally settled. Samuel Johnson’s 1755 dictionary still included “I” & “J” in one section.

France’s 1694 academy dictionary drew a line

The Académie française printed its first dictionary in 1694. In it, they clearly spelled out that i and j were two different letters in their system, although this wasn’t meant to change pronunciation. They were simply trying to define how the alphabet should look on paper going forward.

Spanish rules in 1815 gave j the /x/ sound

Things went a different way in Spain. The Real Academia Española published new spelling rules in 1815 that officially stated that j made the /x/ sound, as before that, x sometimes carried it. That was rather confusing. However, the update didn’t erase older spellings entirely, but instead created the modern rule.

The 1769 Oxford KJV created modern spellings

In 1769, Oxford University handled a major Bible revision, which is when spellings across the entire King James text were cleaned up. Words like “Jesus” replaced older forms such as “Iesus.” Those changes stuck. Soon enough, this version became the one that most people actually saw, whether in church or at home.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary called j the tenth letter

Noah Webster’s dictionary also affected how Americans thought about language. Near the start, he listed J as the tenth letter of the alphabet, while also mentioning the history of I and J. Including this detail was important. Now, it was clear that J was officially part of the alphabet on its own, no question.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

13 lakes and rivers that hide ghost towns underwater

Arvyn Braich — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 16:25:04 +0000

Across the country, whole towns sit at the bottom of lakes. Literally. Big dams were built & rivers were rerouted, causing homes to be left behind or even swallowed up. It’s honestly quite strange to think that boats now float where main streets once stood. Here are thirteen of these underwater ghost towns. Which do you want to visit?

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

St. Thomas under Lake Mead, Nevada

St. Thomas was once a small farming town started by Mormon settlers in the 1860s. It didn’t stand a chance when the Hoover Dam went up & the government bought every home.

By 1938, the last resident rowed away before the water reached his doorstep. You can still walk the cracked remains of its old foundations when Lake Mead drops.

Kennett beneath Shasta Lake, California

Kennett was a copper boomtown in the early 1900s, featuring saloons & a railroad stop. Then the 1940s rolled in with the Shasta Dam. Everyone had to pack up.

The dam’s floodwaters buried the entire valley, but during dry summers, bits of brick & concrete peek through the shallow water.

Mormon Island in Folsom Lake, California

Mormon Island was a Gold Rush town. But after a massive fire in 1856, the place never recovered, and when Folsom Dam was built almost a century later, the ruins received a permanent burial under the new reservoir.

Droughts pull the curtain back every now & then. They show the cellar walls & old bottles like time forgot.

Hite at the head of Lake Powell, Utah

Hite was a quiet desert crossing with a ferry that shuttled cars across the Colorado River. When Glen Canyon Dam started filling up in the ’60s, it erased the whole town, and the town’s now under the north end of Lake Powell.

Sometimes, when water levels drop, you can almost trace where the main road once ran down to the ferry landing. It’s truly quite haunting to think about all of the history and all the memories lying beneath the water.

Flagstaff & Dead River in Flagstaff Lake, Maine

Two small Maine towns, Flagstaff & Dead River, were cleared out for a new dam in the late 1940s. Crews torched empty houses and moved cemeteries. They also watched the water rise.

To this day, locals say you can still see bits of fence & stone foundation when you kayak in the shallows. The valley’s gone, sure, but its outline still haunts the lake in a way that has to be seen to be believed.

Dana, Enfield, Greenwich & Prescott in Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts

Four entire towns vanished here in the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s so Boston could have clean water. People packed up their lives and left everything behind. Everything went under when the reservoir filled, and the old stone cellars & roadbeds are now hidden.

They’re beneath one of New England’s largest drinking-water supplies, although most of the people here have no idea about that.

Jerusalem under Candlewood Lake, Connecticut

Candlewood Lake looks peaceful now. But back in the 1920s, it covered a farming village called Jerusalem, until the land was bought up for a hydro project that flooded the valley.

Barns & mills were taken apart piece by piece. However, stories say a few foundations are still down there, and local divers have even spotted remnants of old stone walls.

Bluffton below Lake Buchanan, Texas

The Colorado River once ran through the middle of old Bluffton, Texas. That is, until engineers built Buchanan Dam in the 1930s & everyone had to move uphill before the water came.

Sometimes when the lake’s really low, you can see what’s left. These include a few stone buildings and sidewalks, even the church steps. The “new” Bluffton still sits safely nearby.

Petersburg in J. Strom Thurmond (Clarks Hill) Lake, Georgia–South Carolina

In the late 1700s, Petersburg was a thriving riverside town, busy with traders & riverboats, but then progress came calling. The Clarks Hill Dam was built in the 1950s.

With it, the townsite disappeared under the new reservoir that straddles Georgia & South Carolina. Locals claim the spot is now a favorite fishing hole, just as long as you know where to look on the map.

Willow Grove in Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee–Kentucky

Before the water came, Willow Grove was the kind of place where you waved to every car that passed. People had farms & the school sat by the road. Then came the 1940s and a government project that changed everything.

When Dale Hollow Lake filled up, so did the old valley, so families moved uphill & their barns are what stayed behind.

Loyston under Norris Lake, Tennessee

Loyston didn’t vanish all at once. The Tennessee Valley Authority started flooding the Clinch River in the 1930s, promising jobs & power, so locals packed wagons. They grabbed what they could.

Sadly, they watched as water slowly swallowed their town. You can still make out the ghost of a chimney or two poking through the green water when the lake’s low.

Old Kernville (Whiskey Flat) in Lake Isabella, California

Kernville had grit. It started as Whiskey Flat back in gold-mining days, featuring saloons & stories you’d only half believe, but a century later, progress caught up. The Isabella Dam was built in the 1950s & the river rose. The town sank.

As a result, people simply built a “New Kernville” up the road, and you’re able to still walk the dried bed and find bits of the past today.

Sacandaga Valley communities in Great Sacandaga Lake, New York

In the late 1920s, people living in the Sacandaga Valley had no idea they’d soon need boats to visit their old homes. A massive flood-control plan put the entire valley underwater.

These days, the Great Sacandaga Lake is simply calm water & fishing docks. But there are whole towns sitting in the dark under the surface that most people have absolutely no idea about.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

13 bizarre riots that started over everyday objects

Arvyn Braich — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:05:00 +0000

You’d think people only riot over politics or sports. But no. Crowds have gone wild over hats & dolls, even jars of Nutella, creating the kind of trouble that forces officials to get involved.

Here are thirteen riots that started over everyday objects. Which one is the worst to you?

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

Straw hat (1922)

In 1922, in New York City, people began tearing straw hats off those walking the streets because they continued wearing them after hat season had unofficially ended.

Fights erupted in Harlem & on bridges. They also emerged along the streets. Over eight days, the city saw arrests and injuries, with the mess becoming a genuine hat-war scandal.

Vinyl records (1979)

Promoters invited fans at Chicago’s Comiskey Park to bring disco records to blow up between games. It soon got out of hand.

Pretty quickly, dust & debris were everywhere, causing the field to get trashed, and even the police became involved. The second game was eventually called off.

Cabbage Patch Kids (1983)

Stores got overrun when the Cabbage Patch Kids craze hit. In Charleston, WV, 5,000 people caused chaos inside a department store, wrecking displays & shoving each other.

It actually got so bad that the police had to step in to restore order. All that drama for, quite literally, a kid’s doll.

“Tickle Me Elmo” (1996)

In 1996, a Canadian Walmart had 48 dolls for a midnight sale. There were 300 people outside chanting for Elmo.

When they finally got in, it turned into a mosh pit, with one poor employee getting knocked over & stomped on. It was so bad he ended up in the hospital with cracked ribs and a concussion.

Air Jordan XI “Concord” (2011)

Sneakerheads camped out in front of malls everywhere in December 2011 for the latest kicks. By sunrise, the Air Jordan XI “Concord” drop was more of a riot than a shoe sale.

Windows smashed & shoppers shoved each other, while police in several cities used pepper spray just to calm things down. A few were even stabbed trying to skip lines. It was that serious.

iPhone 4S (2012)

Outside Apple’s Beijing store, hundreds of people waited all night for the new iPhone 4S. But then the staff delayed opening. As such, the customers’ patience ran out, and they started throwing things everywhere.

Security was forced to lock the place down. It got so bad that Apple actually suspended in-person sales in parts of China. Who knew that people would get so desperate for a phone?

Nutella (2018)

French store chain Intermarché knocked 70% off Nutella in 2018. Shoppers went wild. Soon enough, people began grabbing jars straight out of each other’s hands, with some even climbing over displays just to reach the last few tubs.

This forced the police to be called. Apparently, France takes its chocolate spread very seriously.

Sugar and cooking oil (2011)

In Algeria, basic groceries became a source of drama after the price of sugar & cooking oil shot up overnight.

People hit the streets & rioters burned tires. They also smashed storefronts and clashed with police for several days, forcing the government to slash food taxes just to calm things down.

Onion (2010)

Onions are practically a necessity in India. So when prices tripled, tempers did too, leading to rioters raiding markets and blaming traders for their issues.

They dragged politicians into the outrage, and this meant the government scrapped import taxes & rushed in extra supplies. Nothing stings quite like an onion shortage in India, apparently.

Toilet paper (2013)

Most people remember the 2020 toilet paper shortages. But it was even worse in Venezuela in 2013.

Shortages were so bad that new shipments caused stampedes, with shoppers packing aisles shoulder-to-shoulder & clearing entire pallets in minutes. Bizarrely, officials actually imported millions of extra rolls to make up for the shortfall.

Cheese (1766)

Yes, cheese. In 1766, prices at Nottingham’s annual Goose Fair suddenly spiked, and the crowd wasn’t having it, so they chased off sellers.

They also rolled cheese wheels down the streets like bowling balls & some ended up dumped in the river. To scatter the mob, the authorities literally read the Riot Act.

Black Friday (2014)

Britain’s first real “Black Friday” was supposed to be fun. Instead, grocery stores across the country became wrestling rings packed with people shoving & shelves collapsing.

Police fielded dozens of emergency calls, targeting 15 stores in Manchester alone. By dawn, several shoppers were cuffed, and TV anchors referred to it as “America’s worst habit.”

Bread (2010)

The cost of bread quickly went up in Mozambique & people’s frustration spilled out fast. In Maputo and nearby towns, people poured into the streets, blocking roads & throwing stones.

Police had to fire rubber bullets and tear gas to push crowds back. Sadly, several people were killed & hundreds were hurt in the mayhem.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

Did you know that bulls don’t charge capes because of the color red?

Arvyn Braich — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 15:49:33 +0000

It doesn’t matter what the movies show. Bulls don’t care about the color red, and the truth’s far more interesting than you might realize, especially since bulls’ eyes don’t even work like ours. Let’s find out what’s really going on with them. What’s the most unusual animal fact that you know about?

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Cattle see two cone colors, not a true red

Bulls’ eyes are wired differently from humans, and instead of three color sensors like us, they only have two. Neither one of these is tuned to red. As such, when they look at that famous cape, it’s essentially just another shade of dull grayish-green, and there’s no red alert going on in their brains.

Red versus green

When light levels are balanced, cattle also have a hard time telling one hue from another because their eyes rely more on brightness differences than subtle color shifts. They’re unable to pick red over green unless the lighting’s uneven. When both of them look equally bright, it’s more of a guessing game when they’re trying to spot the difference.

The importance of movement

So what’s going on? When the cape’s completely still, the bull normally does nothing & just stands completely still. But the second that thing swishes, the animal snaps to attention. This is because bulls rely on motion to decide whether something’s a threat. The color itself is background noise for a bull, compared to a sudden flick or wave.

Fighting cattle show no pull to red

Spanish fighting bulls don’t care more about red than any other color. In fact, most bulls simply react to whatever is in front of them when it moves, and a bright blue tarp would do the trick just as well as a red one. However, most shows use red because it’s easier for humans to see, not the bulls.

Two capes, two colors

Usually, bullfighters use two capes. The first one is often magenta & gold, which the bulls charge at just fine, while the red one is used later mostly for tradition. It also masks the animals’ blood stains. However, in practice, both colors get equal attention from the bull because it’s the waving motion that sets them off instead of the shade.

Red became the usual choice in the 1800s

Matadors didn’t use to have a strict color rule. In the early days, the fighters waved white or yellow cloth, sometimes blue, as red wasn’t the most popular option. It took until the 1800s for it to become the standard. Bullrings across Spain began using the red muleta, and by the late 19th century, it was practically the only option.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

8 tactics grocery stores use to shape your choices

Arvyn Braich — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:49:58 +0000

You’re not the one calling the shots in the grocery store. Behind the shelves & signs is a system steering every single one of your choices, whether it’s the snacks you get or the route you take. Here are eight tactics grocery stores use to shape your choices. Which one have you actually seen in real life?

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Bigger carts quietly nudge bigger hauls

You may have noticed that carts seem absolutely huge now, and that’s not by accident. When the basket’s deeper, your brain changes what it sees as “normal.” This means that throwing in a few extra boxes or items doesn’t feel like much. And once you add cushy handles & smooth wheels, suddenly, a half-full cart looks rather empty.

Right-hand paths and the racetrack route

Most stores are designed like a loop where you end up walking it clockwise. The perimeter has milk, eggs, bread & produce, all the stuff you actually came for, but between those staples are some strategic detours. A well-placed display or sign right on that loop will pull you into aisles you didn’t plan to visit. But the grocery store wanted you to.

Slow background music changes your pace

The playlist isn’t there for ambiance. When the music goes a little slower, you do as well, and you’ll spend more time wandering with slower steps. Somehow, you end up browsing things you normally breeze past. Fast music has the opposite effect. As such, grocery stores rarely use this kind of music.

Shelf facings and top shelves boost attention

The way products are lined up matters way more than people think. For example, a cereal box with four facings is more likely to catch people’s eyes than one crammed in the corner. The top shelves are also prime territory because your eyes naturally land there first, so brands fight hard for that real estate.

Endcaps at the back pull you into aisles

Sure, the flashy endcaps up front are obvious, but the really powerful ones are the ones at the back. Those displays sit at the end of quieter aisles to pull people in. Whenever you walk by, you’ll see a glimpse of chips or new coffee flavors, which will encourage you to go down an aisle you weren’t planning to enter.

Ambient scents & front-of-store aromas

The first few steps into a grocery store usually smell much better than they have any right to. And it’s not just luck. Grocery stores deliberately place bakeries & coffee stations, even flowers, right near the entrance because the smell hits you quickly. It wakes up your appetite and puts your brain in “buying” mode before you’ve got a cart.

Lighting changes depending on the section

You should pay attention to the lights in the grocery store because they’re not the same everywhere. In the produce section, there’s bright, crisp lighting so everything looks extra fresh, while in wine or specialty sections, the lighting softens a bit so people slow down. Packaged aisles usually sit somewhere between the two.

Eye-catching floor patterns slow you down

The flooring may not seem like it’d matter, yet it does. Some sections have tiles that suddenly get smaller or have busier patterns, which makes you naturally ease up your pace. In that extra moment when you stop, those nearby displays get a better shot at grabbing your attention. It’s quite smart.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

Was the typewriter keyboard deliberately designed to slow people down?

Arvyn Braich — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 19:56:27 +0000

Typewriters weren’t easy machines to use in the 1870s. They had metal arms that crashed into each other whenever someone got a little too fast. However, out of that mess came QWERTY & with it, the idea that this was deliberately arranged to slow people down. But is this actually true, or just a catchy myth that stuck around? Let’s find out.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

The mechanical problem on early machines

Essentially, the first typewriters were a bunch of thin metal bars all swinging toward the same point. Two that got there almost at the same time would jam together, which stopped everything. Unfortunately, the only way to fix it was to reach in & pull them apart. This meant inventors had to find a way to keep the most common letters from bumping into each other.

The change from alphabet rows

Christopher L. Sholes first tried using a simple alphabetical layout for the keyboard. But that didn’t last long. The constant jamming problem meant he had to shuffle things around, and he kept rearranging letters to space out those problem pairs. What started as a neat A-to-Z setup slowly turned into something far less tidy.

The Remington step

Remington began creating typewriters & things started to look more familiar. The company put the machine into production, and by mid-1874, buyers got their hands on a version that had the bones of the QWERTY keyboard. Now, it was no longer a tinkerer’s experiment, but a commercial product you could actually order.

What the 1878 patent actually shows

A few years later, Sholes locked things in officially with an 1878 patent that included a diagram showing the early QWERTY layout. But why? Putting certain letters farther apart in the type basket reduced the chance of two bars swinging next to each other too quickly. In doing so, the machine worked a lot better than before.

Was the aim to slow the operator?

There’s a myth that the layout was meant to slow everyone down. However, the records don’t really support that, since Sholes’s main goal was to avoid jams & make the machine reliable enough to sell. Changes to speed were a side effect more than an active aim.

The arrival of the shift key

Shortly after QWERTY started hitting the market, Remington released a version with a shift key so you could use uppercase & lowercase easily. The update stuck rather quickly. It made typing quicker & trimmed the number of keys. But it also kept the layout mostly the same, and for a design that’s often accused of slowing things down, this went in the opposite direction.

What early models left off the keyboard

Interestingly, some of the earliest office machines didn’t even bother including a full set of number keys. The numerals 1 & 0 were missing entirely on certain models. Operators had their own workarounds, where “i” doubled as a 1 & “O” covered 0. It’s all because those keyboards were built with different priorities than modern ones.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

Why Alaska has highways that end in the middle of nowhere

Arvyn Braich — Sat, 23 May 2026 14:11:47 +0000

Some highways just stop in Alaska. There’s no town or border, and sometimes, there’s nothing but trees, which makes it seem like Alaska’s roads follow their own rules. Why on earth are there so many dead ends in this state? Here’s the truth behind what’s going on & why it happens in Alaska.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

Permafrost and thaw settlement

A large portion of Alaska sits on frozen ground, and that ground doesn’t always stay put. When the ice under the surface melts, the roadbed can slump, and in some areas, engineers don’t even bother trying to build past those unstable sections. It would cost an absolute fortune to keep the pavement from sinking. So they don’t bother.

Ending where the work is

Other stretches of road were never meant for family road trips, such as the Dalton Highway. It wasn’t built to connect towns, but rather, to get people & equipment to the oil fields. This meant that the pavement ended as soon as the pipeline did, as there was no reason for it to continue going.

A canceled bridge

Originally, there was supposed to be a bridge between Ketchikan & Gravina Island, and the state even paved part of the highway for it. But then plans for the bridge were axed. As a result, that perfectly good road goes absolutely nowhere and just stops at the water. It has now become nicknamed the “Road to Nowhere.”

Glacial rivers washed out a highway

Mother Nature has her own way of taking charge, and that’s rather obvious along the Copper River Highway. Floods & shifting channels knocked out several bridges, causing the rest of the highway to become a stranded stretch of pavement. No amount of planning is going to help when a river decides to move locations.

Ferry terminals

The ocean itself does the connecting in Southeast Alaska, as highways there often stop right at a ferry dock. The state tries to avoid building expensive roads through mountains & icefields, and instead, it relies on the Marine Highway ferries to carry vehicles between communities. Only Haines, Skagway & Hyder connect by road to the continent.

Short construction seasons

In Alaska, the building season is very short, and crews must work like crazy during the warm months. Everything then shuts down when winter hits. Any big projects will need to be split into chunks over several years, meaning that a temporary end may actually stick around for a while. Some of the unfinished portions are just waiting for their next piece.

Winter ice roads replace pavement

There are some areas where the seasonal ice roads extend the highway route during the coldest months. Trucks use these frozen paths to reach oil fields & remote camps. Then, when spring arrives, the ice melts, meaning that the highway is suddenly gone until the next deep freeze.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

A simple guide to the titles of British nobility

Arvyn Braich — Thu, 14 May 2026 17:01:11 +0000

British noble titles sure do get confusing. There are just so many of them & it’s never quite clear which one you’re supposed to use to talk about each person, or even how to address them. But it doesn’t have to be so confusing. Here’s a simple guide to the titles of British nobility. Which title would you like to have?

Nobility and the peerage

People use “nobility” to talk about the group of British people that’s made up of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts & barons. The names came from medieval politics. Major landholders sat with the king in councils that, later, became the House of Lords. The crown tied such positions to specific titles. It’s how the peerage, or nobility, came to be.

Yes, the House of Lords works differently now. But the titles follow the same old rules, in that they’re granted by the monarch & written down in letters patent. They also come with official forms of address.

The five ranks of the peerage

The nobility works in five ranks & has the duke at the top, followed by the marquess, then the earl, and then the viscount. A baron is at the bottom. Each rank has a specific place in formal documents.

It’s completely normal for people to mix some of these titles when they’re speaking about them generally. But the order itself is quite strict within the system. There’s no room for confusion.

The top rank

Right at the top is the duke, a name that goes back to the Latin word dux. It essentially meant a leader. The very first duke was the Duke of Cornwall, Edward III’s son, who was given the title in 1337. The title still exists.

It’s only the dukes & duchesses who get the title “His Grace” or “Her Grace.” At least, that’s the case formally. A few dukedoms are connected to royal family members. But the majority of those with the title were powerful political figures.

The middle ranks

A marquess is just underneath a duke. The name comes from the term used to describe a person responsible for the border regions of England. These areas used to be called “marches.” A woman in the same position is a marchioness, and you call the pair a “Lord” or “Lady.”

The earl is after the duke, and they have the oldest titles in the ranking. The name appeared in England in the 1000s during King Cnut’s rule. Interestingly, there’s no female name for an “earl,” so people usually use “countess” to talk about a woman in the same position.

Viscount and baron

Shortly after the earl is the viscount, the first English one of whom appeared in 1440. Henry VI gave John Beaumont the title Viscount Beaumont. Where did the name come from? It was a word that meant a “deputy count,” and the female version is a viscountess.

Last, but certainly not least, is the baron, an idea that began after 1066 with feudal barons. But it took until 1387 for the first one to be officially created. It was John Beauchamp de Holt, who became Baron Kidderminster. People often use the title of “baron” today when they’re talking about someone becoming a life peer.

Life peers and hereditary peers

A few titles may pass down through families. But not all of them. The oldest kind to pass down is a hereditary peer, a title that usually goes to the eldest son. The titles move according to whatever the original letters patent say.

In 1958, the Life Peerages Act was passed & it introduced a new kind of peer, known as a life peer. These people hold baronies that end with them. The reigning monarch can appoint them, and their title doesn’t pass on to their children. The 1999 House of Lords Act also changed who was allowed to sit in the House, leaving only 92 hereditary peers in there with other people.

Barons, baronets, and knights

Don’t worry if you’ve assumed that “baronet” is a fancy word for a baron. It’s an easy mistake to make. The truth is, baronetcy is a kind of honor that gives people the “Sir” or “Bt” (Bart) name, but without the peerage status. It’s usually passed down through the male line.

A knighthood is even more distant because it’s simply a non-hereditary title today. Yes, knights & dames get their titles for life, and it’s usually through the Order of the Garter or the Order of the British Empire. But it only exists for as long as they’re alive.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

12 quirky inventions people once swore would change the world

Arvyn Braich — Fri, 08 May 2026 11:24:58 +0000

Some ideas seem like they’re going to be so impressive. They show up with fireworks & headlines, but a few years later, they disappear entirely. History is packed with “next big things” that went nowhere.

Here are twelve inventions that people genuinely believed would change the world, yet they failed. Which do you wish had been successful?

Segway personal transporter

During the early 2000s, people thought that the Segway would be the ride that would change cities forever. They pictured streets full of commuters gliding around on them. Reality said something different.

Not only did they cost around five grand, but a string of accidents made people go off these “revolutionary” devices rather quickly. They stuck to being used as tourist rentals & in warehouses.

Google Glass smart glasses

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Google Glass would change the world, since they really did look like something out of a sci-fi movie. They were supposed to change the way we interacted with practically everything.

Unfortunately, nobody likes being filmed without warning, and the devices themselves were rather expensive. It didn’t take long for Google to cancel the glasses.

Sinclair C5 electric trike

British inventor Clive Sinclair revealed the Sinclair C5 electric trike in 1985. It ran around 15 miles an hour & he claimed that it would revolutionize the way that people travel.

But the future had something different to say. It didn’t fare well in rainy weather and couldn’t even take on hills successfully. The factory producing the trike shut down the same year that it launched.

Moller Skycar M400

Essentially, the Moller Skycar M400 was a red flying car that looked like it came from The Jetsons. Its creator, Paul Moller, promised that it would make traffic jams a thing of the past, since it allowed people to take off vertically & have a fast flight. It didn’t.

The Skycar never made a free, manned flight, so the dream of a flying commute failed to clear the runway.

Juicero press

Who needs a Wi-Fi-connected juicer? According to the makers of the $699 Juicero press, everybody. It was supposed to completely change the way people drank juice and enable them to have a healthier diet. But it was a flop.

It was far easier & faster to squeeze the special juice packs by hand, leading to sales of the Juicero press collapsing. It shut down in 2017.

The :CueCat barcode reader

Around 2000, the :CueCat barcode reader was launched, and millions of people received a free copy of it in the mail. It allowed people to scan barcodes from magazines & go straight to the website, a little like QR codes.

However, typing the URL manually was much easier. The reader never managed to change the way that we go online in the way that the company expected.

DigiScents iSmell

Smell-o-vision was almost a reality. The DigiScents iSmell was a plug-in device that would send smells through a computer, allowing you to literally “smell” the games you were playing or websites you were on.

It would’ve changed internet browsing by making it a 4D experience. However, investors soon realized that nobody wanted to download perfume files or buy the hardware. The iSmell failed before it even got out of the gate.

3D TVs for the living room

There was a time when practically every electronic store pushed 3D TVs, particularly after 2010’s Avatar mania. These TVs were supposed to bring movie-theater magic to your living room. The key phrase there being, “supposed to.”

The glasses were too annoying to use & the cost of upgrading to a 3D TV just didn’t seem worth it. No wonder Sony & LG dropped 3D completely in 2017.

OLPC XO

The idea of the OLPC XO was great. It involved giving every child in developing countries a special $100 laptop to help them with their education. In theory, it would minimize the digital gap between developing & developed countries.

Some countries bought small batches. However, the project never scaled the way it was intended to & failed to close the digital gap.

Solar Roadways

People genuinely believed roads could power the world. Solar Roadways built panels with LEDs & sensors that were supposed to produce clean energy far more efficiently than other technology of the time. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

The tiles were fragile and hard to clean, for starters, while maintenance bills were high. Most of the panels couldn’t produce enough energy to be reliable.

Segmented sleep pods

Segmented sleep pods promised users that they could get 20-minute naps at work that would leave them feeling fully recharged. Advocates of the device claimed they’d help the world become more productive, as workers could put in more hours at the office.

But they never went mainstream. The cost & space of the pods were enough to turn people off, and most places stuck with coffee instead.

Telautograph

During the time before faxes & email, the telautograph was supposed to be the next best thing. Inventor Elisha Gray patented it in 1888 with the claim that you could send your handwriting over wires in real time using it. You could sign contracts & send notes from miles away, without using a typewriter, completely changing communication.

At least, in theory. The telautograph was slow & expensive. The telephone was a lot faster to use, not to mention cheaper.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article: