The Great List of Everything

Feb 28, 2020

Iris has finally acquired a cell phone—her first. Cathon would love to help her learn how to use it, but Iris insists on figuring it out all by herself. How did people communicate before the telephone was invented, anyway?

Feb 28, 2020

Iris and Cathon are shocked to discover how big and heavy the first microwave oven was. Turns out that inventing it involved melting a bar of chocolate.

Feb 28, 2020

Cathon bakes Iris a very special kind of bread for her birthday, and pretty soon the two friends have gone down the rabbit hole, in search of the origins of bread. They even tell the tale of a whole army sculpted from bread.

Feb 28, 2020

Cathon has a new best friend—Ruben the goldfish. Iris’s latest hobby is fishing. A fine kettle of fish to be sure. The fishing rod is an amazing piece of gear, but where did it come from?

Feb 28, 2020

Cathon has borrowed her aunt’s camera and wants to take some nice pictures of Iris. But she discovers that her best friend isn’t particularly photogenic. The two pals explore how people preserved memories in the past.

Feb 28, 2020

Iris wants to send her grandfather a birthday card. Touching, right? But Cathon doesn't want her friend to raid her collection looking for a stamp. Did someone really once pay $9.5 million for a single stamp?

Feb 28, 2020

Cathon has found something wonderful in the recycling bin—a birdsong clock. But Iris isn’t totally on board with her friend’s taste, so she seeks a compromise. She wonders how people told time before clocks.

Feb 28, 2020

Cathon proudly shows off her new glasses. Iris is at a loss for words—she’s speechless with admiration. Where do eyeglasses even come from, and how did people first get them to stay on their noses?

Feb 28, 2020

Iris is about to greedily devour her lunch—a mountain of fries—and her friend gives her a lecture. In Cathon’s opinion, fries are not a balanced meal. And yet they’re in Canada’s Food Guide. Or are they? Maybe not.

Feb 28, 2020

Iris and Cathon are at the beach, and they both have new swimsuits. Cathon makes fun of her friend’s choice of beachwear. You’ll learn a lot about the origins of the bathing suit.

Feb 28, 2020

Iris loves noodles so much she could eat them morning, noon, and night. Cathon prefers using them to make little gifts for her friend. Any idea where noodles actually come from?

Feb 28, 2020

Iris believes that every time you turn the lights on or off in a room, it costs 25 cents. Cathon sets her straight, and then explains where the light in lightbulbs comes from.

Feb 28, 2020

Iris wants to help out by doing Cathon’s laundry, but accidentally shrinks her friend’s favourite pair of pants. When were trousers first worn? And is it true that women were not always allowed to wear them?

Feb 25, 2022

Rummaging around in Cathon’s massive collection, Iris finds the perfect pencil to write to her grandpa with. Which leads to the question: Was the lead pencil really invented in a bathtub?

Feb 25, 2022

Iris surprises Cathon by coming back from a grocery run with a bag full of an insane amount of a treat they bath adore! As they enjoy a scrumptious sandwich, our friends wonder: Is it true that the Maya invented peanut butter?

Feb 25, 2022

It won’t come as a shock to you to learn that Iris’s and Cathon’s teddy bears are polar opposites! But who created this perennially popular stuffed toy? And did you know that a woman in the US has a collection of over 8,000 of them?

Feb 25, 2022

As they climb an impressively long staircase, Cathon notices that her friend Iris isn’t in the best of shape. On the subject of stairs, is it true that the ones in Chand Baori, in India, were originally built for rolling-somersault competitions?

Feb 25, 2022

Hot dogs and the beach: a classic pairing! Between a sea voyage and hot-dog eating competitions, Iris once again amazes us with the quantity of condiments she’s able to ingest in one go! Come to think of it, why exactly is it called a hot dog?

Feb 25, 2022

At the local ice rink, Iris tries out her grandpa’s old skates while a quizzical Cathon looks on. Have you ever wondered what skates looked like before metal blades were developed?

Feb 25, 2022

In the spirit of sustainability, Iris offers to leave her bathwater for Cathon—but a minor detail gives her pause. Fun (or maybe not-so-fun) fact: during the Renaissance, people avoided bathing for fear that microbes would get into their bodies!

Feb 25, 2022

Iris whips up a batch of her famous banana smoothies, but Cathon isn’t the biggest fan of her friend’s recipe. Speaking of bananas, word has it that the banana split was invented by one David Stickler, who was an apprentice pharmacist!

Feb 25, 2022

A devastated Cathon must face a cruel fact: she must bid farewell to her old fridge, which has brought her so many good times. But before the refrigerator was invented, how did people keep their food from spoiling?

Feb 25, 2022

Cathon is excited to show Iris her latest flea-market find: a new mirror. But is it true that if you break one, you can expect seven years of bad luck?

Feb 25, 2022

When she finds out what kind of sleepwear her friend likes, Iris bursts out laughing! One thing’s for sure, Iris and Cathon don’t subscribe to the same definition of “pyjama party.” Apparently, way back when, wearing these clothes to the beach was the height of fashion

Feb 25, 2022

While brushing her teeth with Iris, Cathon discovers another of her friend’s crazy ideas: instead of toothpaste, Iris uses hot sauce! They go on to explain that before the invention of the toothbrush, people kept their choppers clean using twigs!

Feb 25, 2022