Everything Everywhere Daily - Base Units of Measurement

Every day we are constantly using measurements. We have ways of measuring distance, temperature, time, light, pressure, energy….everything. Yet, why do we measure everything the way we do? Why is a second, a second, and why is a meter, a meter? Learn more about why our units of measurement are the way they are on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Everything Everywhere Daily - Mitochondrial Eve

On January 1, 1987, a paper was published in the journal Nature which rocked the world of anthropology. Researchers Allan Wilson, Mark Stoneking, and Rebecca Cann used the then-new science of genetic analysis to analyze the DNA in human mitochondria. What they found was evidence that humans on Earth can trace their ancestry back to a single woman who lived approximately 180,000 years ago. Learn more about Mitochondrial Eve, the mother of everyone, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Everything Everywhere Daily - The Elevator

Some of the things we use every day were invented in the distant past. Other things were invented quite recently. However, there is a category of inventions that have been known forever, but no one ever had any practical use for it until recently. Learn more about the elevator, and how it helped create the modern world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Everything Everywhere Daily - Space Junk

In 1957, Sputnik was launched into orbit as the world’s first artificial satellite. Today, 64 years later, there are more than 1,000,000 objects larger than 1 centimeter floating around the Earth. Almost all of those objects in orbit were not put there intentionally. Learn more about space junk, the problem, and possible solutions, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Bay Curious - The True History of Irish Coffee and Its San Francisco Origins

Our question-asker, Sara Russell, grew up hearing stories from her mother about how Irish Coffee was invented in San Francisco. Now, she wants to know if that story is totally accurate.

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Reported by Oliva Allen-Price and Kelly O'Mara. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Suzie Racho and Katie McMurran. Additional support from Erika Aguilar, Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Carly Severn, Ethan Lindsey, and Vinnee Tong. Special thanks this week to voice actors Brian Watt, Paul Lancour and John Dunleavy.

Everything Everywhere Daily - Who Was the Richest Person in History? (Encore)

Jeff Bezos, the founder, and CEO of Amazon was recently named the richest person in the world. This is primarily a function of the stock he owns in the company and the company’s valuation in the stock market. How would Jeff Bezos stack up against other wealthy figures from history? Are business titans of today in the same league as the famously wealthy from antiquity? Learn more about who the richest person in history was on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Curious City - To Chicago, With Love: What Do Transplants Love About The City?

One Curious Citizen wanted to know what people who moved to Chicago love about the city. From fireflies to the way people walk, we hear what transplants say makes Chicago so special. Plus Curious City’s Monica Eng helps answer a question from another Chicagoan who's frustrated that the city’s playgrounds are still closed while so many other restrictions are easing up.

Everything Everywhere Daily - Why are French Fries called French Fries? (Encore)

Everyone loves french fries. It is one of the few things which most people can agree on in the world today. The average American consumes over 16 pounds of them every year, and they have become a staple part of the cuisine in countries all over the world. Yet, why do American’s call them “french” fries? What do the French have to do with it?

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Everything Everywhere Daily - Why Doesn’t the US Use the Metric System? (Encore)

Of the 193 countries in the United Nations, exactly three haven’t adopted the widespread use of the metric system: Myanmar, Liberia, and the United States of America. Of those three, the US is the country that really stands out. It has the biggest economy in the world, does an incredible amount of international trade, and has immigrants from every country in the world If there was one country on paper that should be using the metric system, it is the United States.

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Everything Everywhere Daily - Decimation

You are probably familiar with the term decimation. The word is usually used in English to mean “to cause great destruction or harm”. However, to ancient Rome, the word had a very different and very specific meaning. It was one of the most devastating and brutal forms of punishment that the military could inflict. Learn more about Decimation, the ultimate collective punishment, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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