Today in 1706 was, at least by the old calendar, Benjamin Franklin's birthday. Here's the story of how he once invented his own musical instrument, one for which great composers wrote music.
Today in 1966, the Beatles were trying to make one great take of their new song “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and with help from producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick, they ended up making that one great take out of two half takes.
Today in 1868, at least on paper, Scott Joplin was born, though his actual birth date is probably a different day. He's best known for his groundbreaking ragtime works like "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer," but Joplin also wrote two operas.
Around this time in 2018 humans started removing mountain goats from Olympic National Park in Washington state. But for a range of reasons, they had to do it by putting the goats in harnesses and flying them out with a helicopter.
Research from 2018 at Princeton University found that male fruit flies use their wings to improvise musical sounds to win the attention of females. I just wish they didn't try to do all of it in my house.
Whenever the Olympic Games take place we see athletes giving their all to win gold and glory - but we also see great examples of competitors who show character and kindness toward each other. Here’s the story of two of those athletes, who ended up winning the only half-silver, half-bronze medals in Olympic history.
It was this week in 1965 that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards got up in his sleep, started up a portable tape recorder, and recorded a guitar riff and an opening line that would soon be iconic: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Here's more of how the song came together.
Today in 1804, the US Senate held a party featuring something called the “Mammoth Loaf.” To explain, we have to first tell you about Thomas Jefferson, an enormous block of cheese and an archeology project. Plus: a very cold town in Siberia has some very cool music, thanks to spring ice drums.
Judging by metronome marks on his sheet music, Ludwig von Beethoven wanted his compositions played really, really fast. Or did he?
On this day in 1993, two new countries were born out of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia spent months negotiating all of the old country's assets, even which side got which verses of the national anthem.
