Happy Friday, fellas. Time for another stack of useless-but-essential knowledge to toss at your buddies later.
🗓️ Today in History
September 26, 1580 – Drake Sails the World
Sir Francis Drake sailed back into England after completing his circumnavigation of the globe. It had taken him almost three years, thousands of miles, and more than a few questionable encounters at sea, but he became the first Englishman to pull it off.
Drake had set out in 1577 with five ships and more than 150 men. By the time he returned, only one battered ship remained, the Golden Hind, carrying a fortune in Spanish treasure and spices. Queen Elizabeth I greeted him like a hero and promptly knighted him, even though most of his “exploring” had doubled as state-sanctioned piracy.
The voyage cemented England as a rising naval power and turned Drake into a legend. He proved that global sea travel was possible, profitable, and dangerous enough to make you either very rich or very dead.
❓ Trivia
Which explorer gave the Pacific Ocean its name?
P.S. We’re now breaking down the answers at the end of each edition, so you get a little more insight.
The History of Darts
Walk into any dive bar in America and you’ll find three constants: sticky floors, a jukebox overloaded with Bon Jovi, and a dartboard with at least one number missing. Darts today is the go-to game for dudes killing time between beers. But the origin story? We bet you’ve never even thought about it.
From Spears to Splinters
Darts began less as “bros throwing sharp objects for fun” and more as “soldiers entertaining themselves with leftover weapons.” In medieval England, archers would practice indoors by tossing shortened arrows or spear tips at the bottoms of empty wine barrels. When they ran out of barrels, they switched to tree trunks, which split into natural rings and gave us the first dartboards.
It is not hard to imagine a knight peeling off his chainmail, slamming an ale, and saying, “Bet you a pig you can’t hit the middle.” Congratulations, you just invented bar darts.
Math Meets Mayhem
A few centuries later, darts moved from military barracks into pubs. The numbering system on a dartboard is designed to punish you for missing. One millimeter off that sweet 20 at the top and you are suddenly staring at a 1 or a 5.
The man behind this sadistic layout was Brian Gamlin, a carpenter from Lancashire in 1896. Gamlin basically created a mathematical torture device disguised as a pub game. He died before he could patent it, which is probably why we are not paying royalties every time we drunkenly land on double-3 instead of triple-20.
When Darts Went to Court
In the early 1900s, English authorities tried to ban darts, calling it a game of chance instead of skill. A pub owner named “Foot” Anakin (yes, like Star Wars) was hauled into court for letting customers play.
Anakin responded by dragging a dartboard into the courtroom, sinking three darts into the 20, and challenging the magistrate to match him. The judge whiffed, the crowd laughed, and darts was legally declared a game of skill. Case closed.
The Rise of the Pub Pro
By the 20th century, breweries realized sponsoring dart leagues sold more beer. What began as a random pub pastime turned into a structured sport with rankings, tournaments, and men in polos looking far too serious.
In the 1970s and 80s, darts was the WWF of pub sports in the UK. Televised matches featured stars like Eric “The Crafty Cockney” Bristow and Jocky Wilson. These guys were chain-smoking and chugging pints during competition, averaging ten to twelve beers a night while still drilling bullseyes. Imagine Tom Brady downing a six-pack between passes. That was darts in its golden age.
Eric “The Crafty Cockney” Bristow
Darts Goes Global
Today, darts is still massive in Britain and across Europe, but it has also gone global. The modern World Darts Championship feels more like a rock concert than a bar league. Players walk out to music, fans wear costumes, and arenas roar with chants that sound closer to soccer than pub sport.
The pros now treat fitness and focus like real athletes, though the beer belly is optional. Michael van Gerwen, one of the best in the world, has made millions tossing sharp objects at a circle.
Why Darts Rules
Darts lives in the perfect middle ground of skill and accessibility. You do not need to be 6’8”, you do not need to deadlift 400 pounds, and you definitely do not need $2,000 worth of equipment. All you need is a board, three darts, and questionable aim.
It is the great equalizer. The same game knights once played with spear tips is the one you and your buddies play between rounds of Miller Lite. And unlike most sports, you can actually improve while drinking. Try saying that about basketball.
🥣 Stuff to Check Out
If you ever wanted proof that music can make you feel like a gunslinger while you’re just sitting on your couch, Johnny Cash’s cover of Big Iron is it. Originally written and recorded by Marty Robbins, the track is a full-on Western ballad about an Arizona Ranger squaring up with an outlaw named Texas Red. Cash strips it down and leans into that gravelly voice, turning it into something that feels like a showdown soundtrack in slow motion.
The story is pure dime novel pulp, but Cash sells every word like he lived it. You don’t just hear the duel, you see the dust in the street, you feel the tension in the crowd, and you swear you can hear that revolver click.
It’s one of those songs that makes you want to pour a whiskey, stare off into the middle distance, and imagine you’re tougher than you actually are. The Ranger wins, Texas Red loses, and you get to feel like the deadliest man in town for three minutes.
Give it a listen this weekend. Just don’t blame us if you suddenly feel the urge to buy a cowboy hat.
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🚨 Badass Video of The Week
The most badass darts player of all time (He missed every shot)
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📸 Photo of The Week
Behind the scenes of Mission: Impossible
🍽️ Last Bite
🎰 Trivia Breakdown
The Pacific Ocean owes its name to Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who set out to prove that sailing west could connect Europe to Asia. In 1520, after fighting through weeks of violent storms at the southern tip of South America, Magellan and his battered crew finally pushed into open water. To their surprise, the sea ahead was calm and the skies were clear. Relieved, he christened it Mar Pacífico, which translates to “peaceful sea.”
The irony is almost too good. That “peaceful” stretch was just a lucky moment. Magellan’s men soon faced a brutal reality: months of starvation, scurvy, and growing unrest among the crew. By the time they staggered across the ocean, many were dead, and Magellan himself was killed in the Philippines before he could complete the journey. Only a fraction of the ships and sailors made it back to Spain, but the name survived. To this day, the world’s largest and most unpredictable ocean carries the branding of a man who barely glimpsed its calm side.
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