Monday, April 27, 2009

Got an Idea for JPedia?


Are you trying to settle a bet? Perhaps trying to put the finishing touches on a research paper? JPedia wants your questions! Let us know what you're dying to know and we'll research and post one of our highly cited historical briefs. Comment on this post, or email the JPedia staff at JPGedia@gmail.com.

Thanks!

JPedia Editorial Staff.

7 comments:

  1. Oooh! I want to know more about Dutch uncles.

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  2. i'd like to know all about the brazilian blow out (new hair process). thx yo.

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  3. Well, we had March madness last month and this last weekend was the damn draft. With my sociology background, human behavior always fascinates me, but I'm curious about the first organized sport. How did that happen? And which sport was it?

    I would guess that it would be something that would help hone a survival skill or strategy (ie, need to hunt means learning how to aim), but I know there was a variation of soccer/football in the Mayan culture. And I don't really know how kicking a ball around will help put dinner on the table.

    Also, you'd probably have to define what "official" meant. You might just have to go with the first recorded organized sport. Anyway, have fun with that topic.

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  4. Highly cited? What is your impact factor?

    I would like to see an article on the origins of the sandwich. You can use this quote from the authoritative resource known as Wikipedia:

    "During the Middle Ages, thick slabs of coarse and usually stale bread, called "trenchers", were used as plates. After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog or to beggars, or eaten by the diner. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open-face sandwiches[4] as they were of disposable dishware. The immediate cultural precursor with a direct connection to the English sandwich was to be found in 17th century Holland, where the naturalist John Ray observed[5] that in the taverns beef hung from the rafters "which they cut into thin slices and eat with bread and butter laying the slices upon the butter"— explanatory specifications that reveal the Dutch belegde broodje was as yet unfamiliar in England."

    Also, since you wrote an article about Bermuda shorts, can you write one about the Bermuda Triangle?

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  5. Okay, you people have really messed with my mind. I spent all weekend thinking about all the stupid questions that have been floating around in my head for all these years.

    I want to know when "cool" became "cool." Obviously, as an antomym to "warm," "cool" always existed. But in temrs of slang, did "cool" become "cool" during the jazz era? We've seen slang terms, like "radical" and "phat" come and go. "Cool" has to be the one that has had the most staying power. I've been claiming that I started the trend, but if it started in the jazz era, I think it hurts my credibility.

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  6. JP, I gave you one already, but I totally don't remember what it was (do you?). I think it had something to do with the origin of a word...but I have no idea what that word was.

    Anyway, I have another suggestion that came up at lunch today.

    I want to know about the history of leftovers. Like, before microwaves. Did people use ovens/pots/fires? Or did people cook less and not have leftovers? With the invention of the microwave in the 1960s, did leftovers become more prevalent?

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  7. Thanks to everyone who had a suggestion - the ideas are in our queue!

    JPedia Staff

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