When we mean that someone has not quite succeeded, what do cigars have to do with it? Learn the carnival roots of this idiom in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/close-but-no-cigar.htm
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can Parasitic Worms Control Snails' Minds?
BrainStuff Classics: What Was the First Computer?
BrainStuff Classics: Why Is Elephants' Skin So Wrinkly?
What's the World's Skinniest Skyscraper?
How Did Hazardous Nuclear Testing Help Science?
Why Does Your Stomach Growl?
Why Do Some People Believe Conspiracy Theories?
What's the History of License Plates?
How Can Glass on the Moon Contain Water?
BrainStuff Classics: How Can Sunlight Make You Sneeze?
How Did Hedy Lamarr Change Communications Technology?
How Do Maraschino Cherries Work?
Why Are Fingerprints (Almost) Unique?
What's the Legacy of African American Spirituals?
BrainStuff Classics: Why Can't You Reach the End of a Rainbow?
How Does the Martini Glass Work?
What's Happening When You Get the Wind Knocked Out of You?
Are There Alien Asteroids in Our Midst?
How Did the Radium Girls Change Workers' Rights?
BrainStuff Classics: Is Coconut Oil a 'Superfood' or 'Pure Poison'?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Stuff You Should Know
Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know
Stuff You Missed in History Class
Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Stuff To Blow Your Mind