Thomas Edison is widely regarded as the finest and most prolific inventor in American history. Between 1869 and his death in 1931, he earned more than a thousand patents, many related to earth-changing technologies like electric light and recorded sound. But there are so many other things for which the Wizard of Menlo Park was responsible that have been lost to history, and that’s probably for the best. Venn Light Bulb (No. 8,621,444) Reportedly out of ideas one day in 1925, Edison soldered one lightbulb to another lightbulb, and in his patent application he claimed it provided twice the light…
Author: Brian Boone
Brian Boone
Brian Boone writes comedy and trivia on many corners of the internet, and also in books, which still exist. He shamed his family by losing on 'Jeopardy!' You can pester him on Twitter: @brianbooone.
A scene from 2163’s ‘That’s Just Nuclear Fallout, Charlie Brown’ Your Dog Is at It Again, Charlie Brown! You’re Pitcher of the Year, Charlie Brown! It’s Grandparents Day, Charlie Brown Let’s Explore Purim, Charlie Brown Calm Down, Charlie Brown! There’s No Such Thing as Aliens, Charlie Brown Stop Sending Money to SETI, Charlie Brown Did You Hear About That Strange Radio Signal From Space, Charlie Brown? The Aliens Have Landed Charlie Brown You Blockhead, You Were Right All Along, Charlie Brown They’ve Vaporized the Front Lines, Charlie Brown Don’t Be a Hero, Charlie Brown! We Have to Learn to Accept…
Look, guys. You’re an adult now, and that means dressing the part – get yourself a nice suit. They’re not too expensive, and you’re going to need one for all kinds of things: weddings for when your friends start getting married, important job interviews, and, at some point, your dad’s funeral. There are a lot of suits out there, and it’s hard to know where to start, especially if your dad, who would have given you a hand at this kind of thing, has died. We got you on this one, bro. Color. Grey? Tan? Black? That’s the one. If…
“Mannheim Steamroller” is a phrase we all hear a lot around the holidays. But, like many other Christmasy terms, such as “wassail,” “sugarplum,” and “Heat Miser,” few people can tell you what it actually means. The crack team of Pulitzer Prize-familiar journalists here at Robot Butt decided to do a little digging for the benefit of you dear reader, and in the hopes you will share this on social media. We read dozens of articles, interviewed hundreds of experts, and researched four books to uncover the mystery of Mannheim Steamroller. While we never did get a definitive answer, here are…
When you wake up in the morning and rub the sleep out of your eyes and the tarantulas’ hairy, prickly little legs get in your eyes and you freak out and remember that, oh yeah, you have tarantulas instead of hands. One would think that, being part of the same body and all, a left tarantula hand and right tarantula hand would be the best of friends, but as anyone with tarantula hands will tell you, they are decidedly not. Individual tarantula hands from the same body loathe each other with a furious, violent, territorial vengeance. You must keep your…
It’s August, so you know what that means: It’s almost Void Day! Granted, we’re never sure when exactly Void Day will arrive, only that it will occur sometime, as the Ancients said, “among the Eighth Month.” But when it’s here, you know it’s here, what with the vast expanse of impenetrable darkness that hangs in the sky for an entire day, thereby driving mortals to madness and doom. Is Void Day treacherous, evil, and a hopeless display of human frailty against a cruel and uncaring universe which means to crush us, exemplified by a huge black cloud of death-scented oblivion?…