Panama hats do not, in fact, come from Panama. Shocking, I know. They are, and always have been, woven in Ecuador. However, they only gained worldwide popularity when they were exported to Panama. Gold Rush travelers on their way to the mines in California picked up the delicately woven hats as they passed through Panama, and the misleading name was born.

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When I was little, my cousins were all going to be in a wedding for someone on the other side of the family. My mom and I were not technically invited, but she wanted to see everybody all dressed up, so she put me in a velvet dress with a matching scrunchie and we snuck in. I didn't really know what was going on, but I was just happy to be along for the ride. I didn't realize we weren't invited to that wedding until about 15 years later.

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Joe Biden is currently on his third presidential run. His first attempt to make it to the White House started in 1987, but he dropped out after a few months. He decided to try again 20 years later, but of course, he ended up Barack Obama's running mate in 2008 and subsequently served two terms as Vice President. That takes us to this year, 2020, where he's the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Although Biden considered running in 1980, 1984, and 2004, he did not actually launch a campaign in any of those years.

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First, it's interesting to note that soft drinks don't necessarily have to be carbonated—technically, they're any flavored non-alcoholic beverage. An alcoholic beverage is hard, whereas a non-alcoholic beverage is soft.

Although the makers of Schweppes tonic water, which was invented in 1783, claim their product is the world's first soft drink, soft drink history actually goes back even further. In the 1600s, a type of lemonade (water flavored with lemon and honey) became popular in Paris, and carbonated beverages followed soon after. Europeans of that time period thought drinking spring water was beneficial to one's health, and they were trying to make fizzy drinks to mimic it.

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Charles Dickens, prolific Victorian author, wrote 14 complete novels in his lifetime and left behind one unfinished one. He was more than a novelist, though—he also wrote novellas (A Christmas Carol is one of them), short stories, poetry, and nonfiction.

Dickens published all of these novels serially, meaning a few chapters at a time would come out regularly, typically once a week or once a month. He was paid per installment, but not per word, as some erroneously believe.

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Red represents hardiness and valor. White represents purity and innocence. Blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice

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Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz, but that name wasn't going to cut it for his magical ambitions. The origin of "Harry" was simple—he'd gone by "Ehrie" as a kid, so he just Americanized the old nickname. "Houdini" was an homage to one of the pioneers of modern magic, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Robert-Houdin was a clockmaker who opened his own magic theatre in 1845. He's widely credited with being the first to perform in evening attire instead of fantastical robes, thus making magic a little more mainstream.

Oddly enough, Houdini turned on his magical namesake later in life, writing a book called The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin in which he criticized Robert-Houdin for stealing other magicians' tricks.

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Soft, breathable, and stretchy, modal is a popular fabric choice for activewear, underwear, and pajamas. Modal is a type of rayon made from beech trees. It's a somewhat high-end fabric, as it’s smoother and more durable than regular rayon with limited wrinkling.

Plus, it's fairly eco-friendly. Since beech trees need far less water than cotton to grow, modal is pretty sustainable to make, and on top of that, it's even biodegradable.

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Washington wore many partial and full dentures over the course of his life, but contrary to popular belief, none were made out of wood. Instead, they were made from ivory, lead-tin alloy, copper alloy, silver alloy, real human teeth, and probably cow and horse teeth, too.

Dentures made of wood weren't common in his time, and although his false teeth were very uncomfortable, they were also fairly advanced for the late 18th century. The wooden teeth myth probably stems from the fact that as the ivory dentures were used and stained, they developed a grainy look, possibly being mistaken for wood.

Unfortunately, the real human teeth he used were likely purchased from slaves, and they didn’t really have the option to refuse the purchase.

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Yale University was originally called the Collegiate School when it was founded in 1701. It was renamed in honor of Elihu Yale in 1718. Yale had made a fortune with the East India Company and later the diamond trade, and he made some sizable donations to the school—books, a portrait of King George I, and some expensive textiles—and the school returned the favor by adopting his name, becoming Yale College. Yale was born in Massachusetts, but he left for England when he was three years old and never came back, so he never even visited the school that ended up bearing his name.

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Scientists aren't entirely sure, although they're pretty positive it's genetic. For a long time, a prevailing theory was that handedness is determined by gene expression in the left or right hemisphere of the brain. However, newer research suggests that even before the motor cortex is developed, an early asymmetry in the spinal cord is actually what determines right or left handedness.

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Juneteenth is a special day in history. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but it did not reach the slaves in states that were part of the Confederacy until much later. The Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Texas on June 19, 1865. Because of this, we celebrate Juneteenth. Juneteenth is mostly celebrated in Texas and surrounding states.

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