Are you sweltering in the August heat? Let’s spare a thought this month for our brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere, just coming out of their chilly winter months. Travel experts say that late August is actually a beautiful time to visit Australia: airfares are still low, the beaches of the north are warm, and even Sydney usually gets up into the mid- to high 60s most days. (If they used Fahrenheit there, which they don’t.) Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings apparently has a trip to Australia on his mind this month: he’ll be here all August debunking mountains of marsupial misinformation for Woot!

Do Opossums Sleep Hanging from Their Tails?

Opossums are the only marsupials native to North America, but they are no less mysterious to us than their distant Australasian cousins. We’re not sure whether to say the first syllable in their name. We don’t know what it means when they “play possum.” And we are very, very wrong about their tails.

read more…

Are you sweltering in the August heat? Let’s spare a thought this month for our brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere, just coming out of their chilly winter months. Travel experts say that late August is actually a beautiful time to visit Australia: airfares are still low, the beaches of the north are warm, and even Sydney usually gets up into the mid- to high 60s most days. (If they used Fahrenheit there, which they don’t.) Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings apparently has a trip to Australia on his mind this month: he’ll be here all August debunking mountains of marsupial misinformation for Woot!

Was Captain Kangaroo a War Hero?

Bob Keeshan was not taxonomically a marsupial; he just played one on TV. For thirty years, Keeshan starred as Captain Kangaroo, the most popular children’s TV host of his era.

read more…

Are you sweltering in the August heat? Let’s spare a thought this month for our brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere, just coming out of their chilly winter months. Travel experts say that late August is actually a beautiful time to visit Australia: airfares are still low, the beaches of the north are warm, and even Sydney usually gets up into the mid- to high 60s most days. (If they used Fahrenheit there, which they don’t.) Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings apparently has a trip to Australia on his mind this month: he’ll be here all August debunking mountains of marsupial misinformation for Woot!

Are Koalas Cuddly?

Sometimes being Woot’s official “Debunker” means being a buzzkill. Sure, koalas look like the softest, fluffiest little guys on God’s green earth. But here are the facts you should know before cuddling a koala, or considering cuddling a koala, or writing fanfic about cuddling a koala.

read more…

Are you sweltering in the August heat? Let’s spare a thought this month for our brothers and sisters of the Southern Hemisphere, just coming out of their chilly winter months. Travel experts say that late August is actually a beautiful time to visit Australia: airfares are still low, the beaches of the north are warm, and even Sydney usually gets up into the mid- to high 60s most days. (If they used Fahrenheit there, which they don’t.) Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings apparently has a trip to Australia on his mind this month: he’ll be here all August debunking mountains of marsupial misinformation for Woot!

Where Does the Word “Kangaroo” Come From?

Everyone likes a story that makes stuffy British colonizers look dumb, right? That probably explains the legend that’s been told since Victorian times about the origins of the word “kangaroo.” In an 1888 book, Australian journalist Donald Macdonald noted that “according to the traditions of the bush,” the kangaroo was named in English in 1770 when Captain James Cook’s ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. Cook’s party came ashore in what is today the far north of Queensland. Seeing an unfamiliar animal hopping by, Cook asked a nearby aborigine what it was. “Kangaroo,” replied the native--meaning in his language something like “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand English, you dingus.” “Aha, the kangaroo!” nodded the clueless commander. And history was made.

read more…

Are you out of school for the summer, or do you have kids that are? Educators worry that lots of their students lose reading skills during the summer, when kids are enjoying their three months of "no more pencils, no more books." But good news! We've brought in Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings for a little summer reading program of our own. It turns out that a lot of the things we think we know about our favorite children's books are pure fiction.

The Debunker: Which Fairy Tales Did the Brothers Grimm Write?

Their names are synonymous with children's folk tales, from "Rapunzel" to "Snow White" to "Hansel and Gretel." It doesn't hurt that their surname suggests the surprisingly dark and macabre mood of many of these stories. They're literally grim. That's some good branding, right there.

read more…

Are you out of school for the summer, or do you have kids that are? Educators worry that lots of their students lose reading skills during the summer, when kids are enjoying their three months of "no more pencils, no more books." But good news! We've brought in Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings for a little summer reading program of our own. It turns out that a lot of the things we think we know about our favorite children's books are pure fiction.

The Debunker: What Color Were Oompa-Loompas, Originally?

In Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, mysterious candy tycoon Willy Wonka makes his magical confections in a factory where workers are never seen going in or out. How is this possible? Outsourcing? Amazon robots? No! Wonka's entire candy enterprise is built on the labor of a group of little foreigners called Oompa-Loompas, transplanted from their homeland to a new village in Wonka's factory, where they live and work full-time.

read more…

read more…

read more…