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Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: What Do Poetry and Planets Have in Common?

June 29, 2016



Earth, Moon, and Sun Necklace | $75

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: Did Ancient Cultures Have the Blues? 

June 27, 2016




Is it easy seeing green? Find out here.

Indigo Textile Dye Kit | $30

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: What Does it Mean to Mutter a Mondegreen?

June 21, 2016

26653_customkidsartWe’ve all done it—you hear a song that might not be enunciated in the King’s English, and before you know it, Jimmy Hendrix is singing “excuse me while I kiss this guy.” This odd phenomenon of auditory processing has a quirky name: a mondegreen. Surely, it’s named for Professor Charles Mondegreen who first discovered the scientific basis for such misunderstandings. No? Then it must be a strange Esperanto mash-up that translates to “green world.” Wrong again. It turns out that the term mondegreen itself is a mondegreen. You heard that right. It originates from a misheard bit of a ballad. As a child, American writer Sylvia Wright enjoyed hearing her mother read from Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. One of her favorites was a Scottish ballad concerning the death of an Earl: “They hae slain the Earl Amurray, and laid him on the green.” To Wright’s imaginative young ears, the line “laid him on the green” became “Lady Mondegreen,” and the Earl’s accidental companion in death became the official mascot of misunderstood lyrics.

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Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: When Did Chocolate Become Hot?

June 20, 2016

A-Maze-ing Chocolate Server | UncommonGoods
Centuries before scientists began dissecting chocolate in the lab (It fights belly fat! It helps your attention span! It aids workouts!), a certain form of it was considered the pinnacle of health food: hot–okay, warm–chocolate.

In southern Mexico between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, people of the Olmec civilization ground nibs from the cacao plant into a paste, mixed it with water, then poured the substance back and forth between two jugs to achieve froth. Olmecs believed the substance contained mystic properties, hence it was saved for VIPs to consume during sacred ceremonies.

From the Olmecs, the drink spread to the Mayans and then to the Aztecs, whose leader—Montezuma II—was, perhaps, its most famous historical fan. The emperor was known to guzzle goblets of the stuff–and share only with soldiers so they could reap the concoction’s strengthening benefits. After Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs (who added sugar–unknown to the Aztecs–to the brew), he brought the chocolate sensation to Spain, where it soon spread throughout Europe.

Back in the Americas during the Revolutionary War, medics administered hot chocolate to wounded soldiers due to its perceived health benefits. (Benjamin Franklin even recommended the satisfying sip as a cure for smallpox in his 1761 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac.

All this to say, science may be pretty sweet — but our chocolate instincts are even sweeter.

A-Maze-ing Chocolate Server | $40

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: Why is That Candy Bar Ticking?

June 16, 2016


18982_HellPaperweightIn the thick of World War II, both the Axis and Allies were willing to try anything to turn the tides of that terrible conflict—including death by chocolate. And we’re not talking over-the-top dessert decadence here; we’re talking about a bona fide killer candy bar. The Nazis actually attempted to assassinate Sir Winston Churchill by means of an exploding chocolate bar. Hitler’s bomb-makers coated explosive devices with a thin disguise of dark chocolate and wrapped them in luxurious black and gold paper. Labeled “Peters Chocolate,” the deadly desserts were to be slipped into the dining room used by Churchill’s War Cabinet, in hopes that the British leader would take a bite that would be his last. Fortunately for Churchill, MI5 agents headed off the plot, and the public was warned to steer clear of the tempting treats. Still, this spy story makes Wonka’s perilous chocolate factory look like a carefree trip on the Good Ship Lollipop.

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Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: Why Do Ladies Love Cool James?

June 15, 2016

Science has finally confirmed the reason ladies love the rather literally named LL Cool J—at least if humans are anything like birds, specifically nightingales. Research suggests that the quality of a male nightingale’s song lets females know how good a father he’ll be.

Bird and Nest Copper Garden Stake | UncommonGoodsThe study, published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, found that the better the male nightingale was at singing, the more often he fed his offspring, which is especially important because the males play a big role in raising their young. Because all nightingales are pretty talented singers, it’s essential that the ladies are real critics of nocturnal ditties. They listen not just for the quality of their potential mate’s chirp but also for the complexity of his crooning—scientists found that it’s flight-of-fancy variations such as “buzz,” “whistle,” and “trill” that really earn him bonus points.

Bird and Nest Copper Garden Stake | $88.00


Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge: Can Fatherhood Rewire a Man’s Brain?

June 13, 2016

Brain Dots Tie | UncommonGoods


Brain Dots Tie | $40

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