I like to share interesting things I've learned about with people who want to learn about interesting things.

Now I Know is  a free daily email newsletter where I share fascinating facts and the stories behind them. Readers have learned that Abraham Lincoln created the secret service – on the day he was shot, that carrots used to be purple, how turkey (the bird/food) got its name, and a whole lot more.

I've been writing Now I Know for five years.  I publish every weekday, and when people ask me how I do it, I tell them the same thing: it's a lot of work, but it's worth it. I love to share all the interesting things I learn about, and I now have a great way to do it.

I spend dozens of hours each month -- okay, maybe each week -- researching, writing, and setting up the emails that I've been sending out for free for years. It's important to me that the newsletter be a free experience because the whole point is to share.  I've been fortunate enough to write a couple of books and find some great organizations who have published some of my articles over the years, which is great -- I get to reach more and more people, and get paid for it. 

But as you probably know, ads aren't really a great way to sustain projects like this. Plus, I'd like to do more with Now I Know, but ads are increasingly more of a crutch than a springboard.

So I'm trying this. Please give what you can but there's no need to -- I'm going to keep writing (there will just be ads!) even if this doesn't work. There's no obligation and there never will be -- the Now I Know newsletter will always be free, and hopefully, always be interesting, too.