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50 Interesting Things People Didn’t Learn At School And Decided To Share Them In This Online Group (New Pics)
Nobody has all the answers. Except for the internet.
Today I Learned, or "TIL," is a subreddit for people to share tidbits of information that may not be widely known, but that others may find fascinating. Often with accompanying pictures, too.
While these factoids may not be newsworthy or highly beneficial to our everyday lives, they at least produce a genuine "Oh, I didn't know that, how cool!"
About every two weeks, we at Bored Panda go through the subreddit and handpick a selection of posts we find to be the most interesting and worthy of your time. Below, you will find what we have in store for you this time. To view our earlier pieces on the subreddit, go here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
TIL In the 1936 Olympics two Japanese pole vaulters (Shuhei Nashida & Sueo Oe) tied for second. Declined to compete against each other, Nashida was awarded silver and Oe bronze. On return to Japan they had the medals cut in two & joined together to make two 'friendship medals' out of silver & bronze
Tiny Dog 4 years ago
Nashida was awarded the silver medal because while the two cleared the same height, he did so in fewer attempts than Oe (for those wondering how the medals were decided).
Elisabeth Wright 4 years ago
I don't get to see pictures for some reason... :(
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RELATED:
#2
TIL a homeless man found a 10 000$ check on the street meant for a real estate broker and found a way to return it. So, touched, the broker awarded him a place to live and arranged for a job interview. A year later, he was on the board of directors of one of their foundations.
Tiny Dog 4 years ago
He has an Instagram account and looks like he was doing well. The broker he returned the check to was once a homeless single mom, so she understood the circumstances that could lead someone to losing stable housing.
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KatHat 4 years ago
It's lovely, but don't lose sight of the fact that this shows that an otherwise capable person was unable to thrive simply due to circumstances - circumstances our policies and laws keep choosing. It should not take an extreme situation like returning $10,000 to get someone some help. And people should not have to "prove" that they deserve the basics like a roof over their head.
D. Pitbull 4 years ago
Good on him - and good on her. The broker gave direct and practical help - not just "here's some money. Figure it out." she took care of two of the biggest hurdles for someone in such a situation - she gave him an "in". Definitely too - good on him for actually using the help provided properly.
#3
TIL During World War II, an American lieutenant, realizing his position was inundated with enemy troops, called in an artillery barrage on himself. Following a US counterattack later that day, the lieutenant's body was found alongside approximately 100 German soldiers. His name was John R. Fox.
Geralt of Rivia 4 years ago
And he didn't get honors until 1996 when his family was awarded his medals and compensation they should have received long time ago.
lizbosss 4 years ago
I get that this is a heroic act of war however; I find this really sad that 101 people died that day.
Tara Ray 4 years ago (edited)
There were actually tons of African American soldiers/heroes in world war 2 but aren’t recognized.
Meredith Glenn 4 years ago
Per the Nat’l Museum of the Army - On Dec. 26, 1944, enemy troops closed in on 1st Lt. John Fox situated on the second floor of house in the Italian village of Sommocolonia. Surrounded and with little hope of rescue, Fox radioed for an artillery bombardment of his position. Fox bravely sacrificed his life as he called in the order, “Fire it! There’s more of them than there are of us. Give them hell!”
Marta Dyrgała 4 years ago
That is impressive but I will never apreciate people killing each other. Wars are ridiculous, bilions people dead because of disputes between politicians. Human race is agressive and stupid and will kill itself soon and our planet too during the process. It's just sad and depressing.
#4
TIL When his owner died in August 1936, Shep the Dog followed the casket to the railroad station and watched it being loaded onto a train heading to the eastern US. For six years until his own death, he would greet every train that arrived each day, expecting his master to return.
Cynner 4 years ago
I can't handle these kind of stories, it hurts, the animals don't understand and I always get sad when I read something like this.
Zedrapazia 4 years ago
There's actually a lot of cases like that. Pure souls, we don't deserve doggos
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Raven DeathShade 4 years ago
I found one! *wriggling and screaming noises* *knife noises, wriggling stops*
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Christy Smith 4 years ago
I've heard this story a few times, and yet it makes my chest hurt each and every time.
#5
TIL that on October 18, 1963 French scientists launched a rocket into space, containing a cat named Felicette. She orbited close to 100 miles above earth, then descended safely to the ground via a special parachute. Felicette has the high honor of being the only cat launched into space thus far.
Daniel Atkins 4 years ago (edited)
How did the scientist get the cat in the capsule? I have trouble getting mine in the pet carrier.
Eucritta 4 years ago
According to the Wikipedia entry for Felicette, she was killed two months later in order for researchers to perform a necropsy. A number of other cats were also trained, and most of them were killed.
JB Darré 4 years ago
The card says " Thank you for your participation in my succes on October 13th"
#6
TIL Nordic countries have a "Freedom to Roam", allowing people to enjoy all nature regardless of ownership (within reason)
les 4 years ago
its just a pity the tourists think it means they can set up camp anywhere, and leave massive piles of god knows what after them
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Daniel Marsh 4 years ago (edited)
This is actually in English common law INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES. It's just Americans neither know that they have it, nor that others on their land have it. The Surfrider Foundation, for instance has been fighting for access rights to beaches. (Clarification: In America, on private land, this consists merely of the right to travel across land. But all beaches are public land, at least in California and all public land -- 28% of all land -- however by default may be accessed for any purpose so long as it does not do harm to a government operation. So you cannot obstruct access to a beach.)
François Carré 4 years ago (edited)
And this is a concept that deserves to be adressed very seriously. One of the main problems concerning our relation to natural environment is that our system of thought puts private property above anything else, making it an absolute, which in this case is completely irrelevant. I mean, if a billionaire owns 1000 ha of forest and decides to burn this land to the ground for some reason, quite nothing can legally be done against it. Ownership rights should be limited and compensated by enforceable rights such as freedom to roam, freedom to use, not to mention the philosophical debate about the rights of nature itself and other living species than humankind.
Hans 4 years ago
No nasty "no trespassing" signs out where no one lives. Just respect for the nature.
Hans 4 years ago
For context: this is called allemannsrett ("the right of everybody"). It does not allow you to stay close to inhabited houses or to camp anywhere for a longer time without asking for permission. The right includes some special rights, like that you are allowed to pick berries, but it does not restrict other typical rights. For example, you may not hunt on someone else's ground. Actually, this law is very reasonable if all parties exercise respect.
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Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
We need this in the UK . It’s ridiculous that so called farmers are allowed to stop people walking on the land , just because they don’t like it
François Carré 4 years ago
The irony is that it all began in England with the Inclosure Acts at the end of the Middle Age. Common land becoming private and impoverished farmers finding themselves forced into migration to find a job in factories is how the Industrial Revolution started.
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#7
TIL Michael Jackson was a virtuoso composer, despite being unable to read music or play instruments well. He wrote the parts to his songs by singing and beatboxing into a tape recorder. “He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything."
François Carré 4 years ago
Take Mozart, take all the music theory knowledge away from him, and you still have a genius musician. Charlie Chaplin wasn't able to write or read music either, but he made and also sang the music of his films. Michael Jackson was a big fan of Chaplin and he made a cover for the famous ending song of Modern Times, "Smile".
First Name Last Name 4 years ago
That is not what the term "composer" means. Nor the term "virtuoso", for that matter. Not to mention the fact that this claim is both apocryphal and factually incorrect.
Adam Jeff 4 years ago
So to be a composer you have to write it down? If Hemingway had dictated his books, who would we credit as the author, Hemingway or the typist?
Load More Replies... Leslie Burleson 4 years ago
Because of the cen sors. If you space out words they don't get tagged . I'm sure they'll figure out a way around this , but it works for now
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Commander Rex 4 years ago
To this day, nobody knows if Annie is okay. Truly a mastermind at suspense
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IlovemydogShilo 4 years ago
Nine of the Beatles could read or write music although Paul learned decades after the Beatles split in 1970. Neither could any of the Bee Gees Benny and Bjorn from ABBA Mark Knophler from Dire Straits and Bob Dylan Stevie Wonder Eric Clapton Ray Davies and Irving Berlin.
Butternut DerpFarts 4 years ago
Wasn’t he the guy who couldn’t sleep and had an anesthesiologist drug him to sleep for like I forget how long till he died?
Emperor Kitten 4 years ago
That's the one. He had night terrors (probably) and couldn't sleep without heavy chemical intervention for like 20 years.
Load More Replies... #8
TIL that in 1986 an astronomer trying to trace a 75 cent computer time discrepancy for 10 months eventually found a German hacker selling defense secrets to the KGB
David Teitelbaum 4 years ago
Story detailed in the book, "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. A good read
Sawdust 4 years ago
Yes, very enjoyable book. Also there's a good old episode of the TV show "NOVA" which covers the story, too.
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Ffaelan Condragh 4 years ago
He is also a fascinating person. Check out his TED talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8IA6xOpSk
#9
TIL spiders tune their webs like guitar strings, tightening and loosening strands so they can read the different frequencies caused by intruders and determine where/how big the intruders are, if they are predator or prey, or if they’re just a potential mate flirtatiously strumming their strings.
Ivo H 4 years ago
Spiders are creepmazing! I'm sure it's proper word. Or at least should be...
Never Stop Twinkling™ 4 years ago
Very creative lmao, I like this word! 😆
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Viki Banaszak 4 years ago
I tell the little free loaders they can live with me but for f***s sakes quit hiding in my clothes. Nothing like seeing the towel moving while your butt nekid and defenceless.
#10
TIL Neuroscientists have found evidence to suggest feeling powerful dampens a part of our brain that helps with empathy. Even a small amount of power can have this effect on someone
Dhukath 4 years ago
I used to say this to my parents, when they were (in my opinion) being unreasonable, think I first heard it in a Star Trek The Next Generation episode!
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Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
NOt surprising. Studies show rich people grow entitled by the benefits of wealth and are less apt to feel the need to donate or support those in poverty.
qwerty 4 years ago
I actually saw an interesting experiment about this. It was two people, playing a rigged game of Monopoly. They didn't know it was rigged. There was also a bowl of pretzels. The player who was winning (because it was rigged) showed less and less empathy as the game went on, and also ate more pretzels. It suggests that power lets you remain humanoid, but you cease to have sentience and empathy.
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Allan Breum 4 years ago
For a lot of people its like that, but I've come to find that you can counter the effect consciously. I have a fair but of "power" in my job, but as long as you keep in mind that power comes with responsibility, you can keep the assholery in check..
François Carré 4 years ago
I'm glad neuroscientists have found evidence of what can be dismally verified anytime with any asshole detaining the tiniest amount of power and enjoying the slightest occasion to screw over others.
#11
TIL about the Japanese national pillow fighting tournament. The pillow fighters start by pretending to sleep on futons. But when the whistle sounds, they spring to their feet and race to get a pillow. A mix between dodgeball and chess, teams throw pillows at each other while protecting the 'King'.
lara 4 years ago
Now THAT'S a game that should be in the Olympics. But, ohmygawd, the regulations.
Mrs. Jan Glass 4 years ago
Yeah, but think of the possibilities for the uniforms! EVERYONE IN ONESIES!
Load More Replies... Joley Hidaka 4 years ago
Forget regular dodgeball - THIS is what we should be playing in schools people!
Leslie Burleson 4 years ago
I swear ... Japanese people are magical ! They do the coolest stuff ! They have beautiful art and they're beautiful people. I can't wait to visit one day
Sergio Bicerra 4 years ago
A couple of years ago, we did something similar in my city, but in a park, and wirhout the sleeping part. Couldn't go but read it was fun.
#12
TIL when former NFL safety Dave Duerson took his life he left a note that read, “Please see that my brain is given to the NFL’s brain bank.” He shot himself in the chest rather than his head so as to preserve his brain. Doctors confirmed that he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
sofacushionfort 4 years ago
Can we rename the game "Spinal Battering Ram" instead of football, considering the percentage involved in the former far exceeds the latter?
Milan 4 years ago
Football is played with feet and not with hands or heads. Hence the name “football”. I never really understood, why in US is it football when it is really not football :D Sorry for off topic. I just had to :D
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Tami 4 years ago
There's a great movie, "Concussion", inspired by the Nigerian-born pathologist who worked to raise awareness about brain injuries in NFL.
IlovemydogShilo 4 years ago
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive brain condition that's thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated episodes of concussion. It's particularly associated with contact sports, such as boxing or American football. Most of the available studies are based on ex-athletes.
Kay blue 4 years ago
CTE can only be diagnosed after death, lots of players donate their brains so more research can be done.
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K. Anderson 4 years ago
It’s sad because poor or lower income (many who are black) children continue to learn & play this game in hopes of one getting rich in the NFL. Many of the players come from hard childhoods while rich owners make money off of them & people with money in the stands cheer them in like they are animals. It’s a weird type of slave/slave master scenario IMO. Many middle & upper middle class (mostly white) people won’t let their kids play it due to risks involved.
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago
Well gladiators considered themselves as entertainers and 'celebrities' trying to avoid getting actually hurt. Like today's MMA fighters. And people cheered of seeing the oponent dead, so...
Load More Replies... Agnes Jekyll 4 years ago
the violence in football and damage it causes and the lives it destroys (and all other sports that do this) have to be recognized and ended. Enough. Brute violence isn't about skill, prowess--just, why?
Lee-Ann 4 years ago
Interestingly, there were fewer injuries when they wore leather helmets because they would protect their heads instead of using it like a battering ram.
Monday 4 years ago
Seems to be fewer injuries in Rugby too...which is essentially American football without the protective gear. Turns out people do less stupid crap when they don't have safety gear.
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Calypso poet 4 years ago
Was about to post this. I became a Chargers fan because of him. So sad.
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TIL Nic Cage once crashed a Nic Cage film festival, watched 4 of his own films, did a 47-minute Q&A and read a 10-minute short story
Vicky Z 4 years ago (edited)
Well, due to financial problems he wasn't really choosing... he had to play anything to survive
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Monty Is Fiennes 4 years ago
If your publicity manager is not geting you involved in this....contemplate new management....
iBlank 4 years ago
if they filmed him doing that and made it into a movie, it would be like Nic Cage inception
Suzanne McHenry 4 years ago
I like Nicolas Cage, according to many he is a really nice guy and treats his fans well.
Kirsten Kirk 4 years ago
We met him when he was working on a movie, "On Frozen Ground" up here (Anchorage, Alaska) based on a serial killer we had here. I have always been a fan but one of the places set up to warm up and get a snack was in a local gay bar. When he found out, he threw (the typical star "fit") and said some unkind words about the genre of patrons... my heart was crushed when we saw/heard him. Just can't ever see him the same now...
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Gretchen Smith 4 years ago
His short story? A short story 1 in the audience had????so many questions...
#14
Today I learned Dana Carvey underwent heart bypass surgery for a blocked coronary artery, but the surgeon operated on the wrong artery. Eventually he won a lawsuit against the hospital and won 7.5 million dollars, all of which was donated to charity.
Dave P 4 years ago
Well good for him, I mean he sued because the doctor screwed up (as you should when that happens), but being a rich celeb he gave the money to charity.
Bama Belle 4 years ago
I remember reading about a man who needed surgery on his left leg. His doctor told they got him uncovered, and found he'd written on his left leg "correct leg". On his right, he'd written "lawsuit".
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Spittnimage 4 years ago
They do time-outs before surgery now where the surgical team does a recheck of accurate patient identity, surgical site, and planned procedure.
TK 421 4 years ago
“This is what you’re doing. This is what I want you to do.” “Did you just tell me to…”. “Yes!” My wife and I crack up every time we see this scene.
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TIL when sonar was first invented, operators were puzzled by the appearance of a ‘false seafloor’ that changed depth with the time of day and amount of moonlight. It was eventually identified as a previously unknown layer of billions of lanternfish that reflect sonar waves and migrate up and down.
Wouldiwas Shookspeared 4 years ago
I know this comment adds absolutely nothing but that is really really cool
Kendra Miller 4 years ago
Earlier this week I was wondering, are fish like lizards and rely on heat from their surroundings to move? And yes, most fish are cold blooded, with the exception of one fully warm blooded fish called an Opah. Being warm blooded gives them an advantage in the deep sea, because they can swim faster and further without having to return to warmer waters to warm up like tuna and some shark species. Most deep sea cold blooded fish rely on ambush for hunting, just like a deep sea anglerfish. I also read that fish in the Arctic and Antarctic have evolved a protein in their blood that acts like an antifreeze. When it senses ice crystals beginning to form, the protein surrounds and binds to it. Preventing it from growing into ice and causing cell death. :) Anglerfish...4f-png.jpg 
ThatOneWriter 4 years ago
I'm sorry a LAYER of lanternfish?! They're not the scariest fish out there but this still low-key terrifies me for some reason.
Nancy Dickerson 4 years ago
Wow! That had to be an enormous number of fish to create that seafloor!
#16
TIL Charles Barkley was the first black baby born at a segregated, all-white town hospital in Leeds, Alabama and was in the first group of black students at his elementary school.
TK 421 4 years ago
I had his signature on a commemorative cup. Then my mom washed it. She thought it was just a cup on my shelf
Crochet lady 4 years ago
My mom was the first black person to attend her college in Washington DC.
deanna woods 4 years ago
My mom was the first black teacher at the school she taught at and my sister was the first black person to work at this one restaurant in my hometown.
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ChickyChicky 4 years ago
This was 1963 folks. Not that long ago. But don't worry, all racism in America has been cured since then! /s
Sergio Bicerra 4 years ago
I loved him in SNL, specially in the movies game show sketch.
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worldgoing2shit 4 years ago
Hmm my grandma called them blacks coons , spooks and porch monkeys
#17
TIL Owls’ ears are placed asymmetrically – at different heights on the sides of their faces – so the sounds reach each ear at different times. This is essential to identifying the exact direction of their prey.
Brendan 4 years ago
Similar to humans. Our ears are (obviously) at the same height, but sound reaches our ears at different times, which enables us to determine from which direction the sound comes.
Brendan 4 years ago
Come to think of it, this could be the case for most creatures.
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Donna Crowe 4 years ago
Wait until you come face to face with a 2 foot great horned owl. Like 3 feet away. Scared the crap out of me. Poor thing had a busted wing and had landed on a hedge. Had to call a bird of prey sanctuary to come and rescue it.
Jenna Howe 4 years ago (edited)
OK, every (fiction) writer needs to know this. Writing prompt: Hinge a story on this detail.
#18
TIL Poland sent the US a birthday card with 5.5 million signatures to mark the 150th anniversary of the US in 1926.
Sharrow 4 years ago
Well have you lived 150 years? No? Than wait and see.
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François Carré 4 years ago
I guess the Poles were glad to greet the Americans as they were themselves independent again, at last, after 150 years of Russian / Austrian / German occupation.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
When you look at Poland's history, there's hardly any time where they haven't been 'claimed' by one nation or the other. And there'd been many, many atrocities commited to its people. Poland is such a beautiful country, it truly deserved better.
Load More Replies... Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
Poland had been an enormous empire, picked clean to nothingness at least twice and reestablished with the intercession of the United States. What most Americans don't realize, in turn, is that Poland had had democracy and women's equality centuries waaaaay back in the middle ages.
J. F. 4 years ago (edited)
And homosexuality was never forbidden in it's history as long as Poland was independent.
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
How did they manage that. Getting 5.5 million signatures would have taken a looong time to gather.
Mad Dragon 4 years ago
Pages were passed around businesses, diplomatic buildings, schools, military bases, and religious institutions. They were then assembled into 111 volumes of signatures. You can view them here: https://www.loc.gov/collections/polish-declarations/about-this-collection/
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Full English 4 years ago
We the British owe a lot to the Polish people, we let them down before and after the war something we should never have done
#19
TIL that in 1948 the Nobel Committee did not award the Nobel Peace Prize on the grounds that “there was no suitable living candidate”, implying that Mahatma Gandhi would have received it if it were not for his assassination earlier that year.
ProfessionalTimeWaster 4 years ago (edited)
The more I read about Gandhi's life, the less I feel he deserved it. The more I read about who have been awarded Nobel Peace Prize, I feel it would have not been outrageous to award him. He was good at speeches that mobilized people but he had a "my way or highway" kinda attitude. Despite his powers, he did little to stop partition of India or the manner it was done, which eventually resulted in the death of millions.
Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 4 years ago
Gandhi was racist and looked down on black people. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34265882 And his views of sex and women are also really disturbing https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45469129
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Yuki Li 4 years ago
Uh he is so not deserving. Likening kind and pure people to Ghandi and Mother Theresa makes my skin crawl. Ghandi was quite selfish and tested his celibacy by sleeping naked with young attractive (and allegedly underaged girls) women. He was also quite the racist toward Africans while he was living here in South Africa. He aklso refused to allow doctors to give his dying wife modern medicine which they said would save her - he let her die (deprived of sex for 30 years at that). But when he got malaria he gladly gobbled up modern medicine.
Jennifer Casey 4 years ago
I don't know enough about Ghandi, but I do know Mother Theresa is no-one that I would allow around my children.
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sivanphoenix 4 years ago
India would've been in much better place if it's not for Gandhi. He made sure none of the revolutionaries names were ever remembered. And yeah he's a bloody racist.
third molar 4 years ago
Wow. The vileness of propaganda believers in this thread is breathtaking. Akin to flat earthers!
Lene Maar 4 years ago
This whole Peace Nobel Prize is kind of a unfunny joke to me. Ghandi slept with underage girls (also his cousins and other family members, everyone was naked and he did that to "overcome his sexual urges and desires. Imagine this old dude with a group of teens, 12-15yl. Also Barrack Obama got a Nobel when USA was in war with two countries. This is bollocks
Son of Philosoraptor 4 years ago
Gandhi got India free without a catastrophic civil war. You blame the Pakistan partition on Gandhi? Let's see anyone making nasty comments do anything for freedom like he did. But no... You just troll and feel strong...
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Thank you. the Muslim-Hindu divide was already in India LONG beore Gandhi, and remained long after. THAT was a big cause of the partition. Also, it was culturally common for children to sleep with parents in many places ---- doesn't make anyone a pedo. And, if he compromised more, he would have achieved much less. He INSPIRED. That's important. MLKJr wasn't perfect, either, and we give him a national federral holiday!
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Theodore Theodora 4 years ago
This conclusion (based just on this statement) seems like a bit of a stretch.
Michigan Guy 4 years ago
so, see...the man and the myth. the man is not just problematic...he's totally typical of problematic. the myth? the parts that are true enough, are...real. the parts that arent true enough? live on...the ugly bits? look in the f*****g mirror, eh?
Michigan Guy 4 years ago
when you work up the nerve to compare Ghandi...and Mother Theresa, say...
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#20
TIL there is such a thing as Earl Grey tea intoxication, where drinking 4L per day causes extensive muscle cramps and blurred vision. Cutting down to 1-2L makes the symptoms go away.
Isabel Frost 4 years ago
Not sure who's drinking a LITER of tea per day, much less FOUR. Seriously, how did they find this out?
Jo Choto 4 years ago
I easily drink a liter of tea a day. And well over a liter of water as well.
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Helen Haley 4 years ago
Seems like something he should've warned us about.
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Yevvie ART 4 years ago
It's the bergamot orange oil intoxication, which is added to the tea.
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Brendan 4 years ago
Mine too. I can't get enough (which probably explains the cramps).
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D. Pitbull 4 years ago
Captain ... (errr Admiral?) Picard must be careful... well at least his close with the doctor; that must help.
#21
TIL that in 1648 an angry mob of Parisians once broke into the royal palace, demanding to see the king. They were led into the bedchamber of Louis XIV, who was pretending to be asleep. Satisfied, the mob quietly departed.
François Carré 4 years ago (edited)
Louis XIV was only 10 years old in 1648, still underage as a king, and the political turmoil of this time (La Fronde) was far beyond his capacity of making decisions. I guess the mob's demand was purely symbolic, they just wanted to make sure he was there and still alive : their anger was not against him but against his mother Anne of Austria and the all-mighty "prime Minister" the Cardinal Mazarin, whom they suspected to have usurped the royal power. Pretending to be asleep was the best the young king could do, then.
Sergio Bicerra 4 years ago
I read that in the Three Musketeers, 20 Years Later. D'Artagnan (or Artagnan in this book) had the idea to make him pretend to be asleep. Didn't know was based on true events.
#22
TIL in the 1900s the Austerlitz family in Omaha, Lutheran German emigrants, moved to New York City in hopes of finding fortune through their children's vaudeville talents. The son wore a top hat and studied tango, waltz, and other ballroom dances. He would become Fred Astaire.
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Fred's sister Adele was also a big star in their stage act. She married a younger son of the Duke of Devonshire and became the sister-in-law of Kathleen Kennedy and Deborah Mitford.
Agnes Jekyll 4 years ago
yes, and she was considered the more talented one!
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Scagsy 4 years ago
But Ginger Rogers could do anything that Astaire could, only backwards and in heels!
Tracy Sellars 4 years ago
Another fantastic dancer was Gene Kelly, if you haven't seen it look up him dancing with mouse on Anchors Away. Or Mikhail Baryshnikov in White Nights, he does the splits against the walls. Gregory Hines is amazing too. So many fantastic males dancers
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Demongrrrrl 4 years ago
The notes taken at his original screen test read: " Can't act, can't sing. Can dance a little."
Mrs. Jan Glass 4 years ago
Vaudeville parents were just as problematic and exploitive as today's YouTuber parents.
Dorothy Parker 4 years ago (edited)
His father's family was Jewish and converted to Roman Catholic.
#23
TIL Hummingbirds are one of the fastest animals on Earth relative to their body size. They can cover more body lengths per second than any other vertebrate and for their size can outpace fighter jets and the space shuttle – all while withstanding g-forces that would make a fighter pilot blackout.
I I 4 years ago
never seen one in real life but always loved the delicate way they fly and hover , beautiful
Donna Leske 4 years ago
I'm so sorry! Is there no way you can access an area/country where they are? Now I'm sad. Well, to give you an idea, although you can hear the light buzz as they flit by, you can also feel a soft breeze on your face if they're close enough. They are truly precious and it's neverendingly amazing every one I see.
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Scagsy 4 years ago
I used to manage a football team and I would go through everybody's role pre-match before asking; 'Any questions?'. One guy always, without fail, would go; 'What's the average wing speed of a Hummingbird?'. What a muppet! Inevitably, I always think of him when the subject of Hummingbirds comes up. He died aged 44, three years ago, from an undiagnosed heart defect. Absolute legend, Wibly, you are sorely missed. R.I.P.
Ellkje0805 4 years ago
RIP Wibly, you sound like a lovely and funny guy. Thank you for the sad but heartwarming story Scagsy.
Load More Replies... mcborge1 4 years ago
Yep they have very similar flight characteristics to insects due to their tiny size, compact wings and super high metabolism.
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Lydia Dean-Melchior 4 years ago
Interesting fact... In the animated comic, The Jetsons, the sound that George Jetson's space ship makes is actually taken from the sound that hummingbirds make when the fly.
ChickyChicky 4 years ago
Also they will yell at you when you let their feeder go dry or don't bring it out soon enough on a freezing cold morning!
That Bored Panda 4 years ago
We have hummingbirds in our area, and it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful they are! They can also fly backwards…
SydneyP 4 years ago
We have hummingbirds here where I live. Here's some randomness for ya. Hummingbirds actually build their tiny nests on top of branches rather than in between two branches or in the "v" of two branches per se. They also use spider web to hold their nests together and use it to bind their nests to the branch as well. They're adorable little birds and we have a feeder right out front :)
#24
TIL many people in ancient Rome who were among the educated elite were aware that lead was poisonous and some of these people even tried to make others aware of this.
François Carré 4 years ago
Medicine was well developed in Roman civilization. I think it easily could be compared to the state of science in XIXth century. Much knowledge was lost after the fall of the Empire, not only because the education system was broken (the majority of Roman citizens could read and write) but because books became unavailable : trade route to Egypt, the main source of paper (papyrus), had been cut, and the replacement was parchment, which was very expensive and made books a rarity that only rich people and monasteries could afford.
F. H. 4 years ago
That's a big myth. Medieval medicine was almost solely based on classical Roman and Greek medicine. Surgery was well developed, but that knowledge was kept alive. Internal medicine... well, that was humoralism - exactly like they practiced it in the next 1000 years or more. The texts by Celsus, Galen and Hippokrates were seen as almost sacred by medieval doctors and that actually _prevented_ progress in medicine. What dealt medieval medicine a blow was when the pope banned clerics from performing surgery in 1163. This seperated a lot of the knowledge from the practical application of medicine. However, even among the travelling surgeons and barber surgeons that became the norm from that point on, there were many able people.
Load More Replies... Martha Meyer 4 years ago
They only used it when the water was very hard, meaning rich in calcium. It deposits a layer of chalk over time, basicaly lining the tube and making it safe.
Robin Pickering 4 years ago
The chemical symbol for Lead is Pb, a contraction of the word plumbum, Latin for plumbing. The Romans used Lead for water pipes.
D. Pitbull 4 years ago
How many of the people trying to warn about lead poisoning were "Cassandra'd" I wonder...
#25
TIL Baby horses are born with "feathers", AKA faery fingers or golden slippers (real name eponychium). They protect the mother's uterus during gestation and birth canal during parturition from damage from the otherwise sharp and dangerous hoof kicks. They harden and fall off very soon after birth.
François Carré 4 years ago
That's right ! And something I had completely forgotten about, since I haven't seen a horse's birth in ages. My horses are very old now...
Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 4 years ago
before i saw a picture i thought that horses were born with feathers all over their body. (because the post was not specific on the hooves. but maybe its my fault because my eyes are tired lol)
#26
TIL When the doctor Alois Alzheimer wanted to share in a meeting his findings of the Alzheimer patology, the attendees where uninteresed and skipped the questions because they were hurried to go to the next talk that was about "compulsive masturbation".
François Carré 4 years ago
Years later they all suffered from Alzheimer pathology, and the only activity they would remember and practice properly was compulsive masturbation.
Petra Christovová 4 years ago
Well, not exactly a surprise as it was still that time period where most psychiatrists were creeps and morons.
K. Anderson 4 years ago
Tho chronological masterbating may effect quality of life for some & create issues if you can control yourself it doesn’t appear to be that bad compared to so many mental illnesses
Load More Replies... Lorrie Rothstein 4 years ago
so.does compulsive masturbation teach you how to stop or how to.do.it?. Whats considered compulsive?
#27
TIL that when the allied forces were at the edge of the city, Hitler ordered the destruction of Paris. The Nazi commander of Paris couldn’t bring himself to execute the order and surrendered the city a few days later.
Scagsy 4 years ago
It's sometimes difficult to believe that Nazis could be heroic. Just people, I guess. With some strange ideas. But still, just people.
Monty Is Fiennes 4 years ago
I am sure there were many good people who said nothing or went along with situations because they didn't know what to do or whether they could do anything to stop what they saw or suspected was going on....not all cowards, just ordinary people, sometimes with families, afraid and feeling powerless and afraid....
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MrLoufoque 4 years ago
Recent research has shed some new light on Von Choltitz's self-built legend as "The Savior of Paris": while Hitler indeed gave the order to blast all bridges and several blocks of residential buildings, Von Choltitz presumably did not enforce that order not willingly, out of mercy and humanity, but rather out of lack of time and material resources (at this point the Allies were closing in pretty fast on the city and the population had risen up against the Nazis). Witnesses from that time, including General Leclerc who received his surrender, state that he was more interested in saving his own life when he negotiated the terms of his surrender.
Miss Cris 4 years ago (edited)
Of course he was interested in saving his life, who wouldn't? Regading to the fact he needed time, well, it also could be an excuse. If someone just said "no" to Hitler he would simply told another person to do it next minute. Everything is complex in a war.
Load More Replies... Just saying 4 years ago
People are a complicated mix of good and bad. Our current tendency to paint a person or even a whole set of people as entirely bad based on very narrow criteria (calling people Feminazis, Libtards, Terfs, SJWs, you know the kind of thing), is incredibly damaging to us as a society. It means we don't listen, engage, try to understand, dialogue, win over. My mum is a lovely lovely person.....but also anti-immigrants - she is both these things at the same time. I can either cancel her, or I can keep going in my relationship with her and use some opportunities to gently chat to her about some of her presuppositions. Similarly, I'm a Christian and my atheist dad thinks I'm crazy....so he could either cut me off as a loon, or keep our relationship going and try to gently challenge some of my beliefs to get me to see sense!
Marina Bailey 4 years ago
Wasn't sure I would like Paris but I LOVED it! If not for Brexit, I would have moved there!
Seán Baron 4 years ago
When Hitler went on his one and only visit to Paris, he was there for around two hours and never said a word. Only when he got into his car to leave did he say "I'm glad I didn't bomb the place".
Vicky Zar 4 years ago
He loved Paris and always wanted to go there. He wanted to be an artist but was denied to study art.
Load More Replies... François Carré 4 years ago
You want to see that masterpiece movie, Paris brûle-t-il ? All the French and American stars of the 1960's are in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_fTJUGSZ-M Also, and more recent, this film : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO6jcH5khvE The authenticity of Hitler's order to burn Paris and of Von Choltitz denying to obey is discussed nowadays though.
Ray Michaels 4 years ago
the vast majority of the whermacht were professinal soldiers,not Nazis
#28
TIL that In 1979, two families escaped East Germany in a homemade hot air balloon. They flew for 28 minutes at −8 °C with no shelter as the gondola was just a clothesline railing. They landed just 10km from the border. The escape was planned out over 1 and 1/2 years and took 3 attempts.
François Carré 4 years ago
This. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgyhaOEzs4w (sorry, couldn't find it in English).
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Rei 4 years ago
And you can see the original balloon in the museum "Checkpoint Charlie" in Berlin, as well as other spectacular ways of escaping the GDR.
F. H. 4 years ago
Only part of the original balloon. There's also some of it in the German Historic Museum and for some reason in the House of Bavarian History.
Load More Replies... Martha Meyer 4 years ago
There are other stories. One family dug a tunnel and even dragged grandma through it.
Radek Suski 4 years ago
They succeeded in second attempt. The first one failed and caused investigation by the secret police
Vaida Kuodytė 4 years ago (edited)
Socialism has little to do with USSR, it was a rotten regime only masquerading as social ideals. That's like saying capitalism is Amazon, where workers have to wear diapers, because they don't even get breaks.
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#29
TIL that P.T. Barnum's famous elephant Jumbo got his name from the Swahili word for chief. It was the elephant who caused the word "jumbo" to mean something large - not the other way around.
Sheila Stamey 4 years ago (edited)
.My SOs great great great grandfather started J&P Coats Thread Co. in Coats NC. it was later bought out and created Coats and Clark thread which was the largest sewing thread producer in the world for a very long time. This was an ad from the extremely early days and actually does depict "Jumbo" (see the little notation) and in fact reflects the public fascination with elephants at the time. (Yes I was corrected by SO, this ad is in his hometown museum!) If you notice the logo in the lower left this elephant is "restrained" by J&P COATS thread. This is the original logo!
Ikonye St. Jude 4 years ago
Swahili is my first language (I'm Kenyan) and can tell you for a fact that jumbo has never been used to denote 'chief' in any Swahili context. Also, articulation of the vowel 'u' in Swahili into English takes the form of 'oo' (as in 'boom') so a native would pronounce it as 'Joom-boh'. Hello=Jambo. I know this might elicit a number of downvotes but it's ok.
#30
TIL: The United States Department of Defense runs Linux. "In fact, the US Army is the single largest installed base for RedHat Linux and the US Navy nuclear submarine fleet runs on Linux"
Dave P 4 years ago
Only a few systems run on Linux. The DoD as their primary OS uses a custom Microsoft system, and uses a Windows 7 (used to be XP) type interface to make it easier for personnel to adjust to. Microsoft has won every contract for the OS since the early 90's, and recenly won it again. Linux is used for certain systems, like the Sonalyst Sensory Analysis Computers. But that Data is fed into the general DoD Microsoft Custom system after that.
Phil Eldridge 4 years ago
Sounds like you're talking about the Secure Host Baseline (SHB)... it's not a "customized" version of Windows per se, but a standard Windows image that has been secured by following the DoD's Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG) for the particular OS. It's been updated to Windows 10, I forget which build it is, but it's not too far behind the current build. I'd log in to my system to check but I'm feeling lazy. All this stuff is public knowledge searchable... hell, NSA has a GitHub for SHB!
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Jrizzy Jay 4 years ago (edited)
US Dept of Defense? Who would that be exactly? One person, the entire military, some office somewhere. I can tell you after 21 years in the Dept of Defense I have never seen Linux, just an outdated version of Windows.
Phil Eldridge 4 years ago
Linux in the DoD IS around, server side though.
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Dave In MD 4 years ago
Have to be way more specific. I have never seen Linux on a military computer. Windows is the most common OS seen.
Dynein 4 years ago
"Seen" is the keyword here. Linux runs on many systems where it's not directly seen by users - web servers, for example. Many websites run on Linux systems. A lot of scientific institutes use Linux, too. I'm not surprised that's also the case for the military.
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Rannveig Ess 4 years ago
.... and you don't have to reboot the submarine every time there's a problem
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
VA medical facilities are still running Win97. Their program requires a shell, but they aren't funded for programmers. Using Windows computers has made it easier to get everyone networked, but it is at its limits. And the GAO won't let them start using the new, custom made, more secure program because of... security concerns.... like all our info hasn't already been hacked out of the existing crappy system....
Dre Mosley 4 years ago (edited)
I think one branch of our military paid MS extra money to keep supporting Windows XP just for them.
#31
TIL that guitarist Eddie Van Halen was half Indonesian, and that his family immigrated to the United States because of how badly his mixed-race parents were treated in the Netherlands.
Danieletc 4 years ago
Gosh, and Bored Panda seems to think that only Americans are racist monsters. But alas, it's elsewhere. Golly.
Anthony Picco 4 years ago
Racism isn't a competition. It suck wherever it is done.
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Isidien Gudmundsdottir 4 years ago
Funny, I did the same. They call "us" Indo's in The Netherlands which stands for Indonesian-Dutch.
Larinka Jong 4 years ago
I am dutch and i have never heard of such a thing, i hope the people who say that realize how stupid and bad it sounds.
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Curt Thurston 4 years ago
That makes as much sense as moving from Maui to Winnipeg because the weather sucked. I've lived in the U.S. and the Netherlands the Dutch are far more tolerant.
EeLynn Wong 4 years ago
I am pretty sure that Eddie is the one who is of mixed race, not his parents. His parents were treated poorly because of their interracial marriage and their mixed race children.
#32
TIL that there is more water in the vapor and clouds above the Amazon rainforest than there is in the Amazon river
François Carré 4 years ago
Well, even if Amazon river is very large with an impressive volume of liquid water, the volume of atmosphere above the rainforest is incomparably larger and thus contains even more water in gaseous state.
Pungent Sauce 4 years ago
It’s one of the most important atmospheric water “pumps” on the planet, and it’s destruction by mankind is guaranteed to hasten the end our time here. (Sorry for the buzzkill, lol)
#33
TIL in Scandinavia the Kiruna to Narvik electrified railway carries iron ore down a steeply graded route. On the way down the trains generate large amounts of electricity by regenerative braking, which is sufficient to power the empty trains back up the track and pump excess energy into the grid.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
The eMining AG "eDumper" mine truck uses exactly the same concept, and one truck saved 50k liters of diesel per year at a mine in Switzerland.
Rob 4 years ago
If this railway generates more energy than it needs to keep moving, then wouldn't this actually count as a perpetual motion machine? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
I think the answer is no, because the train depends on being full going down and empty going up and energy is required to load the iron ore on and off the train. The process of loading and unloading is therefore part of the operation and counts toward the total energy used by the train.
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Giles McArdell 4 years ago
This could be used more extensively as a way of generating green electricity. Eventually we'd run out of mountains of course and the whole planet would be flat.
Connie Martin 4 years ago
That's how my Prius works, but without the iron ore, just my lead a** in it
#34
TIL that in 2016 a research ship was named The RRS Sir David Attenborough. An internet poll to suggest the name of the ship showed the actual winner was the name "Boaty McBoatface," but the Science Minister wanted a "more suitable name" and chose a different name from the poll's choices.
James016 4 years ago
The Boaty McBoatface name was given to one of the submarines on board the ship. Also the person who suggested the name chose it for a laugh.
Chris365 4 years ago (edited)
Really? Chose it for a laugh? Do you think? I believe they were deadly serious and it ended up in court… It was settled with the guy who originally picked the name being awarded a replica in a bottle…I hear he is still salty about it
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I I 4 years ago
i voted in that , i was a joke vote just to show we can make it happen if we stand together , silly way to prove unity but it did in a way
*me* 4 years ago
True democracy. I salute you. Long live Boaty McBoatFace
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sylvanticx 4 years ago
I adore Sir David Attenborough's nature documentaries. I love all nature documentaries, but his voice is nice to listen to. I still wish Boaty McBoatface was picked, however, because Boaty McBoatface is the best.
_𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕔𝕠_𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕠_ 4 years ago
I found out about this a couple years ago. I have a sibling named "Bodhi" and he hates it when we call him "Bodhi McBoatface" I, on the other hand, think it's the best thing ever but that's just me
Bella, Your Kitty-Loving Queen 4 years ago
I call bullshit. Boaty McBoatFace would’ve been 1000 times better.
Jojo Dancer 4 years ago
There’s a ferry boat in Sydney named Boaty McBoatface. I rode it across the harbor.
#35
TIL that 10s of farmers die each year from Grain entrapment, which is when a person is partially or fully submerged in grain, and cannot get out without assistance. In 2019, 67 incidents of grain entrapment took place, of which 39 were fatal.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
There has to be a way to prevent this from happening. Or is there a way and the farmers ignore it?
sofacushionfort 4 years ago
Grain elevator workers also die of hypoxia when they enter confined spaces where inert nitrogen has been increased to remove the reactive oxygen to prevent combustion of the methane produced by decomposing grain.
Verena Gitterle 4 years ago
What happens to the grain a body was found in? Will it be destroyed or sold to someone who does not know?
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
I would imagine sold. A lot of grain is used as animal feed and they don't care if there was a dead human in it or not
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Persephone 4 years ago
Unfortunately, children often think grain or corn looks fin to jump in; other times, people fall in accidentally or have equipment malfunction. Victims sink, it fills in around them, and they suffocate, while every time they breath, it packs tighter and tighter, until they are crushed/cannot inhale... Looks so harmless, yet so deadly!!
Son of Philosoraptor 4 years ago
People also die in the gigantic vats where inexpensive wine ferments. When you open the top hatch, pure fumes come out. I handled a claim for a poor guy they found floating in the tank in the morning. Yes they tossed the 10,000 gallons of wine.
Kim Kermes 4 years ago
farming is one of the more, if not most, dangerous occupations. And the most necessary. I like to eat.
Ladytiger 4 years ago
Can't they add bungee cords in a spider pattern every so many feet and add a bell or something so they can hold on our climb out?
KittyMommy 4 years ago
No, once the grain hits a certain density it's like concrete, and every time you exhale it takes up the space your chest was just in. They suffocate/ are crushed to death very quickly. It's not at all like being trapped in a liquid
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Leslie Burleson 4 years ago
They recently developed a device to prevent that. I saw it on Dateline or a similar show .
#36
TIL of all the gold medals won by US swimmers in the history of the Olympics, nearly 10% were won by Michael Phelps. (23/246)
Hans 4 years ago
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I think there are too many medals awarded for too similar swimming competitions. This is not to downplay the performance of the swimmers in any way. I just think that the competitions at an olympic level are too fine-grained.
Andrew 4 years ago
I have had this exact thought in the past. Swimmers definitely have substantially more events to enter and compete in. I do however thoroughly enjoy watching each and every one of them. God I love the Olympics!!
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#37
TIL in 1990 Marilyn vos Savant wrote about the "Monty Hall problem" in her column in Parade magazine, correctly answering the statistical brainteaser. Thousands wrote to her to insist she was wrong, including many people with PhDs. Mythbusters even confirmed she was right in a 2011 episode.
Jill 4 years ago
Even though I teach it every year to middle and high school students, it's not the most intuitive of answers when you first look at it.
Fish Boden 4 years ago
I never have cognitive dissonance like this with anything else. But this problem... messes with me. I know the answer but it feels so wrong!
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Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
I’m sorry, but I was never taught this. What is it please. Again I apologise for my thickness
Emperor Kitten 4 years ago
Alright, so it's from an old gameshow. The host would present 3 doors, each with a prize behind it - 1 good, 1 great, 1 bad. You choose a door. The host eliminates a door. You're now left with a choice, keep your door or take the remaining one. The "problem" Is an odds question. Which is the right choice - hold or change? Turns out you should always switch because the first choice has 1/3 odds of a win, the second choice 1/2.
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François Carré 4 years ago (edited)
OK, I googled this and my brain exploded, but I upvote all the same.
Emperor Kitten 4 years ago
The door you first choose has a 1/3 chance of being right. Host eliminates 1 choice. Your door still has 1/3, its odds haven't changed, but the other doors odds are now 1/2.
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Spring Fisk 4 years ago
Just goes to show you, you may be right even if everyone thinks you're wrong.
Niall Mac Iomera 4 years ago
I just can't accept the explanation given. It just seems like semantics, not actual mathematical odds
Sawdust 4 years ago
The way I finally wrapped my head around it was: If you never switched, and always kept your original choice, you'd win 1/3 of the time...which is easy to see. Therefore, it must be that if you always switch you'd win the rest of the time, which is 2/3.
Load More Replies... #38
TIL that In 1889 a lion escaped from a travelling show in Birmingham and ran into the sewers. When an angry mob formed, Frank Bostock, the owner secretly snuck another lion out the back. He then returned with the lion clearly visible and was hailed a hero. The escaped lion was still in the sewers!
Mad Dragon 4 years ago
It took 500 members of the police force descending into the sewer , but the lion was recaptured 24 hours later. This particular lion (Wallace) escaped several times and killed at least three men and several horses while he was on the loose.
Ray Michaels 4 years ago
yet another reason to ban keeping wild animals in captivityit drive s the animals crazy and can be dangerous to the public
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Grant Barke 4 years ago
I can hear the roar every time I flush the toilet.
Load More Replies... Marina Bailey 4 years ago
Makes me think of the Garfield cartoon in which Garfield in rooting for the lion in a movie. Holding a little flag that says 'lion'!
Vaida Kuodytė 4 years ago
Cats in your lavatory... that's where they're gonna be from now... They're gonna scratch right at your ass, because they're not happy... :D
Load More Replies... Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
I want to see the film made . Does anyone ever remember an 80;S film with a crocodile in the sewers ? Oh I loved that film , watched it over and over and over again 😣I don’t remember the name, so it’s hard to get a copy
#39
TIL about “formaldehyde hunger” a well-known phenomenon in anatomy labs where med students get hungry while dissecting cadavers, allegedly due to formaldehyde being an appetite stimulant.
Katelyn Kordon 4 years ago
I can't believe this is a real thing! During my undergrad studies in Biology, when we had to dissect cats, the smell of formaldehyde would always make me really hungry. I always figured it was either because the lab was scheduled before lunchtime, or because I was a freak. Apparently, neither!
Christy Smith 4 years ago
If I had to dissect a cat, I'd willingly fail, I could barely stomach a frog, much less an animal I adore.
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ZeeZu 4 years ago
When I was doing dissection in med school there was a steak club where the macho-type male students would go out to eat steak and organ meats after to prove they weren't grossed out. I was meanwhile washing my hands with sugar and toothpaste and spritzing myself with febreeze because the smell just stays. I used to get weird looks on the bus home.
F. H. 4 years ago
I can remember that everyone was really grossed out just before the first class, but that only lasted ten minutes. Then, for some reason, nobody was. The only times people -especially myself- got squeamish, was when we had to get bisected heads out of their basins. It was hard to do without sinking your hand into the solution that far, that you'd get the liquid inside your glove. I never noticed that the smell sticks, though.
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Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
As someone who spent too dam* much time in those labs: NO. I walked away hoping to never eat again, ever, in life. Also, it could be b/c we spent four hours on our feet, no breaks, in those labs.... But that's just my opinion. (Formaldehyde smell is awful. )
#40
TIL The population of Rio de Janeiro was so unsatisfied with its politicians during the election of 1988, that a well-known local monkey from a zoo received over 400,000 votes.
Kay blue 4 years ago
We should do this in the UK, a primate would be more effective than Boris.
I I 4 years ago
How did we end up with such a useless , self obsessed tw@ ?
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Raccoon Queen 4 years ago
I would rather have a Monkey over Trump. That’s how disappointed I was with him.
Gabby M 4 years ago
Yeah, I think like 12,000 people voted for Harambe. (RIP.)
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Ricardo Meneghel 4 years ago
For the same reasons, in 1959, voters in the city of São Paulo elected a rhinoceros called Cacareco (which means something old and useless) as councilor. Elections in Brazil have always been controversial.
Gretchen Smith 4 years ago
In 2016, Harambe got 40000 votes for prez....who would have noticed?
Carlye Piparato 4 years ago
Should’ve won against trump for people who didn’t like Hillary in 2016….
Nancy Dickerson 4 years ago
Right now that would be entirely appropriate in the U.S.--sad to say.
#41
TIL that unlike terrestrial mammals, whales do not have a connected mouth and respiratory system. They do not and cannot breathe through their mouths.
Cecilia 4 years ago
Neither can elephants. They can only breath through their trunks
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Randolph Croft 4 years ago
Try eating anything underwater. Seriously, even if you suck it up through a straw. It's the swallowing that'll getcha.
#42
TIL for centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland sheltered Jews persecuted and expelled from various European countries. About three-quarters of the world's Jews lived in Poland by the middle of the 16th century.
Gin. No tonic 4 years ago
In Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth religious freedom was official since 1573, but practiced for centuries before that, because it was a multicultural country with people of different faiths (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim). The King (Poland) and the Grand Duke (Lithuania) invited tradespeople and soldiers from other countries to immigrate for work, granting religious and cultural freedoms in exchange for having good workers.
Dave P 4 years ago
Since the 1200's with the Statute of Kaluz which granted Jews rights.
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Patti Vance 4 years ago
and, what is sad is to think that because of the nazi regime the jewish population was decimated, including my father's family.
Yvette Desmarais 4 years ago
That's horribly sad considering how that population center gave the Nazi's a way to target their victims.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Read history. the Poles didn't have much choice. Nazis didn't give a choice.
Load More Replies... François Carré 4 years ago
Even after Poland ceased to exist and its former Western part was absorbed by the new German Empire during the XIXth century, the Jewish community remained there. Until the late 1920's the Jews considered Germany one of the safest countries in Europe for them to live, which was legit compared to the atrocious persecutions they had to suffer in Russia for example.
Son of Philosoraptor 4 years ago
When my grandfather left Poland in the late 1920's, racism was such that for nationality they wrote Israelite on his passport rather than Polish. This two decades before there was an Israel again.
Paweł Duda 4 years ago
Atrocious lie. Read how much poles saved or sheltered Jews during WWII. if racism was so bad why wouldn't we support Nazis in killing Jews, but did just the opposite, risking lives? Stop your bullshit propaganda.
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Lauren Reder 4 years ago
The Pale of Settlement was what this area was called. It included portions of other countries, like Ukraine. My family thankfully got out in the early 20th century, or I wouldn't be alive. Such a terrible history. I have no doubt my extended family tree breaks off and ends in the Pale.
Dorothy Parker 4 years ago
It's very complicated for Jews to get ancestry information out of Poland.
Radek Suski 4 years ago
As nice it sounds we also have a long traditions of pogroms and antisemitic sentiments
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
As do Ukraine, Belarus, etc. but of course, the western Europeans point fingers, not paying attention to the fact they expelled Jews wholesale in the Middle Ages.... *sigh*
Load More Replies... #43
TIL Elizabeth Swaney, a relatively amateur skier, was able to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics halfpipe by accumulating points at qualifying events leading up to the Olympics by doing flawless yet completely simple routines, outscoring opponents who often would crash in their more-ambitious runs
This is how her performance looked:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e1eh4dk2b4&ab_channel=LesGoGoals
In comparison, this was the level of her competitors:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgIDsIdBTGo&ab_channel=Olympics
Rebekah Krause 4 years ago
Yeah, she is widely considered a scam artist and her qualification and example of why professional sports rankings need to change. While some express admiration for her and the time she spent doing this by mostly going to events with very few competitors (and ones with very low ranking competitors) you have to admit it’s pretty sad she even got to compete on the same field as premier athletes. She gamed system, and while it’s kind of funny it’s not admirable and it most certainly reveals terrible flaws in that system.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
I don't know how I hadn't heard of her before. Disgraceful! We love watching the Winter X Games and the Half Pipe has the best events. They would have pelted her with energy drinks if she tried that there!.
Load More Replies... Donkey boi 4 years ago
I applaud this kind of behaviour! I did almost the exact same thing on 1080 Snowboarding on the N64. My friend (whose game it was) was going for all the big scoring moves, and did really well. When it was my turn (2nd ever time playing the game), I just kept doing simple 180's but keeping the landing angle tight so I would get more jumps in. He was pissed when my final score came up!
Christy Smith 4 years ago
He should have been pissed, yours took zero skill, exactly like this lady.
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grey galah 4 years ago
holy smoke...it was like watching my 5 year old granddaughter run followed by Usain Bolt
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago
Yep, that was the story of basically any sport at 2020 Summer Olympics too: diving, gymnastics, you name it
#44
TIL Charles Dickens' father was imprisoned when he was boy for unpaid debts. At the age of 12, Dickens' was forced to leave school and work 10-hour long days at a warehouse for 6 shillings per day.
Daniel Atkins 4 years ago
That would explain why most of his heroes started out poor or wen to debtors prison as in Little Dorrit
François Carré 4 years ago
Don't tell this to big companies, they'll make up a new justification to restore child labor as a way to encourage great writers' vocations.
Elizabeth Molloy 4 years ago
Little Dorritt was inspired by that experience, not Bleak House.
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Ray Martin 4 years ago
Six shillings a day? I doubt that very much, as that would have been an unimaginable sum for most people at that time. Six shillings a week would have been a reasonably good wage for a boy.
Sue Aubrey 4 years ago
I think even 6 shillings a week would have been a fortune then. More like 6 pence a week.
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Landin Taylor 4 years ago
This is addressed in the movie "man who invented christmas" which may or may not be accurate. I know very little about Charles Dickens lol
Ahimsa Soul 4 years ago
Let's just say the movie addresses a lot of issues surrounding Charles Dickens' life, but they didn't necessarily inspired A Christmas Carol.
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Karin Gibson 4 years ago
Six shillings ...... I doubt that six shillings was a huge amount then
#45
TIL that during the 1870s, 16 Black Members held seats in Congress—14 in the House, two in the Senate, and each one a Republican from the South with Hiram Revels of Mississippi having been appointed the first Black Senator in February 1870
Dave P 4 years ago
That was because when this happened (BTW between 1866-1875, many White Southerners in certain states couldn't vote because they refused to take a loyalty oath to the US, so Southern States elected Black Members to Congress, their State Legislatures, even governors. Bascially most of the voters were Black People who were now free and elected other Black People. Once Whites got the vote back, things started to roll back.
Leesquee 4 years ago
"Once Whites got the vote back, things started to roll back." It's this kind of ignorance that shows how desperately we need to better educate Americans....because, dude, if you HONESTLY think it wasn't the organized terrorism and racism of groups like the red shirts and kkk, you haven't been educated AT ALL. Allow me.. Those poor, disenfranchised white people? Yeah, they voted in exactly the same percentages they had before the war; Black men won because there was a massive influx of highly motivated voters when slaves were freed and allowed to vote...you know,, EXACTLY HOW DEMOCRACY IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.. The Black men voted into Congress over the next few years were VIOLENTLY attacked in their home states, forcing many to leave office (and flee their homes). The election of those Black men began the seeds of the red shirts and other clandestine terror organizations that ultimately led to the kkk. Those organizations began a reign of terror that began in 1870. Shame on you.
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Daniel Marsh 4 years ago (edited)
The first popularly elected Black Senator was Republican Edwin Brooke (1967-1979). To date, the only descendants of slaves elected to the Senate are Brooke (1966, 1972), Democrat Carol Mosely Braun (1992), Republican Tim Scott (2012, 2018), Democrat Corey Booker (2012, 2018) and Raphael Warnock (2020). It should be noted that Republicans Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce weren't elected by popular vote, but were elected by the legislature as all Senators were, rather than merely short-term administrative appointments.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Was that sarcasm? If not - maybe read a bit further in the history book.
Load More Replies... Rei 4 years ago
What happened, America??? You started out so well with this to dug your way out of your past, and then kinda screwed up big time along the way.
John L 4 years ago
What happened was the north did nothing to support Reconstruction, after it was implemented. They basically freed chickens being held hostage by foxes, then released to them own devices in the woods. Jim Crow quickly resulted when the South saw that the North wasn't going to do anything.
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KatHat 4 years ago
If their party affiliation seems strange, given the extremist neo-fascist views of the current Republican party, a reminder to all comers that the Republican and Democratic platforms switched: https://www.realclearhistory.com/2019/03/20/democratic_republican_parties_switched_platforms_10440.html
Leesquee 4 years ago
Immediately after emancipation, they had all the same rights and privileges as any white citizen; it was only after reconstruction, when the federal government stopped directly supervising their laws and elections that Jim Crow laws and the encoding of white supremacy began.
Load More Replies... #46
TIL The only copies of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Beowulf" are unique manuscripts that came from the same private library -- both were nearly destroyed in a fire in 1731.
Martha Meyer 4 years ago
Someone paid a huge amount of money to have this mansucript copied and illuminated so beautifully!
#47
TIL The famously large President Taft followed a weight loss program. Taft was in contact with Dr. Yorke-Davies for over twenty years and kept a daily record of his weight, food intake, and physical activity. Taft managed to go from 340 to 244 pounds and walked 3 miles to the Capitol every day.
Bob Belcher 4 years ago
With as tall Trump is, I wouldn't be surprised if it was closer to 300. Not trying to be mean (although who cares) but simply knowing how tall he is and seeing how wide he is, Trump has to be closer to 300 pounds.
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Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
And this is exactly the reason so many people get mad when people tell a complete stranger that they need to lose weight because it is unhealthy. They might have been doing that already, but then someone says "Wow, you're still fat", basically, so... why bother? If no-one will notice, why go to that trouble?
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Pamela Page 4 years ago
Ready, set, go, let's bash Trump. Seriously, why are posters on this sit so preoccupied with Trump. Read a book, get some fresh air, and breathe!
Ffaelan Condragh 4 years ago
Some people's lives were irrevocably changed for the worse under his "leadership". If Yours was not, consider yourself lucky and take a seat.
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#48
Til the Ford Model T, of which Henry Ford famously said "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." was not painted black because it was cheaper, more the fact black paint dried quicker, speeding up the manufacturing process.
Michael Beswick 4 years ago
But speeding up the manufacturing process makes the process cheaper!?
François Carré 4 years ago
Speeding up means you can produce more cars in a given amount of time, so you can sell more of them, and if you don't pass it on the sale price by making it lower, you make more benefits, so the whole process is logically cheaper (for you). Next step, after you've earned a lot of money with this, would be to eventually sell cheaper cars and masquerade yourself as a philantropist, which Henry Ford surely did.
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Obi Wang Kenobi 4 years ago
A little unrelated but Adolf Hitler's idol is actually HENRY FORD as Henry Ford is considered to be very racist at the time.
Benjamin Rayhill 4 years ago
there is in reality no record of him ever saying "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black" most historians belive it is made up
Tiny Dynamine 4 years ago
I'm not into cars but I think that classic cars look so much better than any modern car.
Helena Houzarová 4 years ago
That makes it cheaper when considering the cost of the space where the cars would have been stored during the drying.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
I don't really know how true that is, since they would have been using a nitrocellulose lacquer at the time, and a coat of lacquer dries in about 5 minutes.
Load More Replies... Giles McArdell 4 years ago
Apparently the Model T was also available in Green with black trim.
Victor Botha 4 years ago
Very early Model T's came in a variety of colours before the all black models came on the market.
#49
TIL the opening crawl to Star Wars begins with a storybook-esque narration ("A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....") because George Lucas first imagined his films as stories being told by an ancient race of immortals. The immortals were written out for early films, but this vestige remained.
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
I had always imagined that Emperor Palpatine was very, very ancient. Finding out that he was merely a middle-aged politician only a teenager's life before that sucked. Also, finding out that Darth was only in his 30s REALLY sucked.
Tami 4 years ago
Wait, I thought it was "...an homage to the opening crawl at the beginning of each episode of the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s and 1940s, which Star Wars creator George Lucas enjoyed as a child and which inspired Lucas to write much of the Star Wars saga." (from https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Opening_crawl)
Ray Michaels 4 years ago
also most of Star Wars was taken from old movie serials which Lucas loved as a child
D. Pitbull 4 years ago
... and then Marvel created the Watchers? Or... wait. Which came first? I'm terrible at this.
François Carré 4 years ago
So, were those immortals of the Wookiee kind or the Yoda kind ? I'm curious now.
#50
TIL the oldest woman to climb El Capitan is the mother of Alex Honnold (of Free Solo fame) who did it at the age of 66. Her first time in a climbing gym was when she was 57.
Christian Homuth 4 years ago
Um... guys, no offense, but does she have a first name? Just identifying her as "the mother of" seems a bit misogynist.
Rachel Peterson 4 years ago
Cool people! Alex Honnold has a foundation ( https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/ ) that provides grants to organizations advancing solar energy access all over the world. They believe that energy should be easy to access, affordable, and have a low impact on the natural world.
Füll Ñæmę 4 years ago
And he was born to Dierdre Wolownick who held the record for oldest woman to climb El Capitan!
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Christian Homuth 4 years ago
Yes, and I'm saying I disagree. The systematic subsumption of women's identities under men's is very clearly an expression of misogyny. If that's not real enough for you then I don't know what to tell you.
Anthony Picco 4 years ago
This is such a poorly written sentence. Who climbed it at 66? I assume she did butthe sentence says he did Try: TIL the oldest woman to climb El Capitan was 66 at the time. She is also the mother of Alex Honnold (of Free Solo fame). Her first time in a climbing gym was when she was 57.
#51
TIL Thomas Jefferson said that his Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom was “meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew, the Gentile, the Christian and the Mahometan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.” It's on his grave as 1 of 3 great accomplishments.
Rachel Peterson 4 years ago
There are SO many Americans today who would not believe this. Sadly.
KatHat 4 years ago
In 2002, the Monticello Society (descendants of Jefferson) held a vote about whether to include the Hemings descendants in the society - ie, descendants of Jefferson and Sally Hemings, a woman he kept enslaved and fathered children with. The vote went 95 to 6 against including the Hemings family.
Agnes Jekyll 4 years ago
Jefferson freed his enslaved children upon his death, but he did not free Sally Hemings. Instead, one of his children from his first wife freed her.
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#52
TIL sometimes Spitfires had to taxi to the take-off position with a person sat on the tail. In 1945 a pilot forgot about this and took-off with mechanic Margaret Horton clinging on the tail. The pilot realized that his aircraft wasn't handling correctly and landed with Miss Horton still on the tail
Wilf 4 years ago
In the 1960s an engineer (who only had experience years before as a cadet flying single engine training aircraft) was conducting an engine test of a recently repaired RAF Lightning jet Mach 2 interceptor. He inadvertently activated the afterburner which due to an electical fault couldn't be turned off. He screeched down the runway, narrowly missing another aircraft, before realising the brakes would never overcome the power of the Mach 2 interceptor at full power. He decided the only thing he could do was take off. He took off, without a flight suit or a cockpit canopy and with the ejection seat disabled (ironically to prevent someone accidentally triggering it while on the ground!), he flew a circle of the airfield and after three attempts managed to safely land the aircraft. I imagine he was slightly stressed by that experience!
#53
TIL that cavemen had relatively straight teeth and that crooked teeth are a modern phenomenon
Gin. No tonic 4 years ago
Teeth get crooked because our teeth can't fit into our modern smaller jaws, so they push each other around. Our food intake has changed significantly and since we use our teeth differently now, our jaws got smaller. Cavemen's jaws were bigger, hence all the teeth fit well and should've been straight.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
Forks. Crowded teeth and overbites are strongly linked to the use of forks! Before the fork, food was generally torn with the teeth, especially meat and the tough bread that was ubiquitous. Muscles and bone grow dependent on the stresses put upon them, and this vigorous action encorouged 'correct' alignment of teeth and jaw.
Wilf 4 years ago
Interestingly, this can be seen in medieval skeletons. The skeletons of the rich have overbites, whereas the peasants have bigger jaws and no overbite. It's attributed to the use of forks. Also, as clay tobacco pipes became popular in the 16th and 17th centuries you start seeing "pipe notches" in teeth. Where someone has literally worn a groove in their teeth by chewing on a pipe stem for decades.
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Kai Wee Toh 4 years ago
Our skull (including the jaws) can change shape slowly over our lifetime, particularly in response to chewing and tongue movements (the masseter muscle and our tongue are amongst the stronger muscles in our body).To get better teeth alignment and a more prominent jawline, eat tougher foods and chew more.
Kai Wee Toh 4 years ago
Of course, consistent consumption of tougher foods over long periods may bring better teeth alignment and stronger jawline, at the expense of greater wear on our teeth. It's a trade-off.
Load More Replies... Agnes Jekyll 4 years ago
don't forget sugar. Our teeth were much healthier (and so were we) before it became readily accessible.
#54
TIL that legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald forgot the words to “Mac the Knife” when performing it live in Berlin and completely improvised the lyrics. She won a Grammy for the performance.
Aunt Messy 4 years ago
It's a brilliant recording. You can tell that at one point she gets the giggles, then sings about how she forgot the words. One of my favorites.
Alberto Cevallos 4 years ago
and from that same concert the up tempo version of How High The Moon!
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
I have a compilation featuring her and Satchmo (Louis Armstrong). She playfully, even lovingly makes fun of his singing style and proceeds to make absolutely zero effort to get any lyrics right. Pure magic, the entire album.
Arthur Waite 4 years ago
And we hear that messed-up version on Jazz Radio at least once a week. Way to achieve immortality, Ella.
#55
TIL that Nazi Germany made a New Testament Bible where they removed the genealogies of Jesus that showed his Davidic descent, removed Jewish names and places, but left any mention of Jews that showed them in a bad light, in an attempt to Aryanize Jesus.
Mike Crow 4 years ago
The Bible was always changed to fit the narrative of those in power. It is pretty much being done today in the USA.
Spring Fisk 4 years ago
I know the Kind of England created a whole new church just so he could divorce his wife, do you know any other examples?
Load More Replies... Grant Barke 4 years ago
Man, Hitler and his cronies have a lot of explaining to do on Judgement Day.
ProfessionalTimeWaster 4 years ago (edited)
Nazi soldiers also wore a belt with words "Gott mit uns" (God with us) and they called their symbol "hakenkreuz" (hooked cross).....not swastika.
Spring Fisk 4 years ago
so very sad, Hitler was really screwed up. He was part Jewish himself so I don't understand his thought process.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
He was not alone in his hatred. Himmler,Göring and Goebbels were right by his side. And Antisemitism has been alive throughout the whole existence of Jewish people. If you read even a short summary of their history, there was hardly any moment where Jews were not outcast, prosecuted or killed. That is in no way an attempt to marginalize Hitler and the time between 1933 and 1945! Just saying that their use of Jews as the ultimate scapegoat for everything bad fell on fertile ground.
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#56
TIL that many public libraries in the US participate in Inter Library Loan (ILL). That means you have access to virtually any book, journal,magazine or dvd held by any library in the country
Wilf 4 years ago
Same in the UK. Our scheme is also backed by the British Library, which is a copyright library. In theory you should be able to obtain (or go to the BL to see it if it's really rare) a copy of ANY book ever published in modern times. It's an amazing thing when you think about it.
Scagsy 4 years ago
It's a wonderful service if you can find a library nearby that hasn't been shut down because of cost-cutting.
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Kelly Murray 4 years ago
(Librarian here) Only if the other library is willing to share that book, however. We can also get them from around the world. It's an awesome service.
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
Wait... Our Lady of the Lake university in San Antonio, Texas couldn't find a copy of Frosty the Snowman closer than Oregon?
#57
TIL, that a decapitated flatworm can regrow not only its head back entirely but also all of its old memories back with it.
Randolph Croft 4 years ago
...total waste of several thousand gallons of tequila...
Load More Replies... Marina Bailey 4 years ago
Like that guy in the one X-Files episode who later played a doctor on ER. He said after the plot in which his character lost his arm, people would come up to him and tell him to "grow another arm"! He thought this was hilarious.
#58
TIL that in 1999, author of the Dilbert comic Scott Adams released “the blue jeans of food”: a microwave burrito he affectionately dubbed the Dilberito. The product tanked, with the creator himself later admitting that “three bites made you fart so hard your intestines formed a tail”.
Ray Martin 4 years ago
I used to love Dilbert, but Scott Adams proved to be such an arsehole that his own personal politics and weird beliefs started creeping into the strip. It's dead to me, now.
#59
TIL 50 years ago, Ham the chimp was launched into space, where he experienced up to 14.7g during a six-minute freefall. He survived his ocean splashdown (although he nearly drown before rescue crews arrived) and lived 20 more years at a zoo in Washington D.C.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
I'm not so sure it was a mercy. Ham lived for 17 years after his splashdown in solitary confinement with no other chimps- torture for this social species. He died in his late 20s, which is very, very young for a chimpanzee.
Load More Replies... AnnaBanana 4 years ago
Not just today, but every day I learn that humans do terrible things...
MarioRossi 4 years ago
Animal cruelty aside, one cannot experience g-forces during free fall. In free fall you feel weightless.
Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
They stuck him back in the zoo when they thought he was of no use to them anymore. …. I will not swear
Rainy Day Wolf 4 years ago
well at least they didn't kill him like all the cats from the French space program
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#60
TIL that a crocodile from Burundi named Gustave has killed as many as 300 people. He has evaded numerous capture and kill attempts, and has obtained near-mythical status in the region.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Why try and kill it? I presume most people in that area know his territory so they should just stay away. The croc isn't likely to be killing for fun, unlike humans. Just leave the croc alone. If it came to your house and killed you then I would understand a bit but not if it's in his own territory that people are invading.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
That's easy enough to say, but not exactly simple in practice. People in developing countries who live around mangroves or areas prone to flooding tend to live in stilt houses and have to be in close proximity to the water by definition. Their livelihood generally depends on fishing. They can't just up and walk away.
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clive apps 4 years ago
Why don't they just drop a few poisoned (or remotely detonated explosive filled) chickens in the area and get rid of the menace. It could also be possible that there are a number of similar looking beasts in the area and this one gets the blame for all the killings.
Melissa TO 4 years ago
People were probably feeding it, it now sees humans as a food source. Jmho.
Rainy Day Wolf 4 years ago
I doubt people in Burundi are interested in feeding the crocodiles
Load More Replies... #61
TIL that In 1915, a man named Charles Hatfield convinced the town of San Diego that he could create rainfall using a secret mix of chemicals. The city offered to pay him $10,000 if he could end their drought, and the result, a few days later, was the town’s worst flood of the 20th century.
I I 4 years ago
did he get paid though ? , he did technically end the drought , i gots to get paid for that
H Edwards 4 years ago
No, he didn't get paid. The flood caused damage in the millions of dollars, Hatfield never signed a contract and the courts subsequently decided that the rain had nothing to do with Hatfield, which it didn't.
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Bella Jones 4 years ago
This has to be 100% coincidence, otherwise there would be no more drought-stricken countries.
Mrs. Jan Glass 4 years ago
Cloud-seeding is a real thing, and there are a lot of factors at play, like San Diego's natural topography, proximity to the ocean, and high desert conditions.
Load More Replies... Mrs. Jan Glass 4 years ago
Still unsure how much was his doing, although cloud-seeding is fairly common, and pluviculture was considered a respectable science at the time. Some historians suggest he followed weather patterns, too, so he could "predict" a rainfall and use his chemicals to increase it. Scientist or con man? Porque no los dos?
Load More Replies... #62
TIL that Stephen Hawking used a single cheek muscle to communicate. A sensor attached to his glasses detected these movements which in turn moved a cursor on a screen that utilized predictive text. Much of this text was personalised to Hawking and was based on phrases he had previously used
François Carré 4 years ago
He completed this with a vocal simulator that gave him that famous and fancy robot voice.
Bored Birgit 4 years ago
He was such a genius, a brillant scientist and also had a good humour.
#63
TIL that Military Chocolate was made to taste terrible on purpose, as to have the soldiers actually save it for emergencies instead of eating it prematurely.
Bella Jones 4 years ago
Having tried Hershey's, I think this is something that's carried on to this day.
Anthony Kiousopoulos 4 years ago
This is wrong, Hershey's used a new method to keep milk fresh longer and this gave it a slight "vomit" taste. Hershey's had the contract to provide chocolate to soldiers during the wars and when the wars ended soldiers craved this taste. So other competitors actually changed their chocolate to match Hershey's taste. But in Europe, this method was never used and that is why in Europe chocolate tastes differently.
Anthony Kiousopoulos 4 years ago
This is actually wrong. Hershey's had invented a new method to keep their milk fresh which had a side effect of giving it a vomit like taste (butyric acid). Hershey's had the contract to supply the soldiers with chocolate during the WW and when the war ended, the soldiers craved the same taste. Hershey's competition in the US even changed their chocolate to emulate Hershey's taste. That is why chocolate in the EU tastes differently. They never used this method to preserve milk.
Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago
The picture above is literally what Hershey's started out as. A ration.
Load More Replies... clive apps 4 years ago
Unsweetened vocal is quite bitter. Bakers chocolate is similar in taste.
Rainy Day Wolf 4 years ago
I didn't like chocolate until I discovered "dark" chocolate in adulthood... which is really sad being Mexican where cacao comes from
Nevits Yibble 4 years ago
The first ingredient in chocolate should be cocoa. In most American chocolate, the first ingredient isn't cocoa. It's sugar.
Victor Botha 4 years ago
American chocolate tastes terrible compared to Swiss or Belgian chocolate, or any other chocolate for that matter
Stephanie Hewitt 4 years ago
America chocolate just tastes bad though. Ever tried Hershey kisses? They smell like literal vomit
#64
TIL actors were not looked upon highly in the Roman Empire, and were considered to be on the same social level as prostitutes.
Randolph Croft 4 years ago
That attitude continued for many centuries. In fact, 'famous' and 'celebrated' actors are essentially a thing since about the 1880's.
arponet 4 years ago
Even later. It was nice to have an affair with an actress, but never to get married with one
Load More Replies... Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
Notice how many actors, actresses and critics can be seen enthusiastically praising and applauding Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, etc., and you'll realize that in about 97% of the cases, the Romans were right.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Well, if that person holds your career in your hands, you might put on a mask and play to the sound of the fiddle. Actors are just people, too. There are good ones as much as shitty ones. Like any profession.
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Emo Sloth 4 years ago
Actors work hard to do what they do. Just because you don't like their acting doesn't mean no one else does. You do not get to decide who has what social status. How would you like it if some random person on the internet automatically decided you were the same as a prostitute?
Load More Replies... #65
TIL the first reported successful blood transfusions were performed by the Incas as early as the 1500s. Spanish conquistadors witnessed blood transfusions when they arrived in the sixteenth century
François Carré 4 years ago
I suppose they didn't, but even with the odds of a wrong blood type, the chances of surviving thanks to a transfusion were significantly higher than with doing nothing. Besides, maybe the blood type diversity among the population was not so high as it is today, genetic features among the Incas being relatively homogenous ?
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Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
The German language. Zheesh. It's all loan words, so I can read it, but gimme a break, LOL!
#66
TIL that Teddy Roosevelt enjoyed boxing while president. His sparring partner punched him so hard he lost vision in his eye for the rest of his life. Roosevelt never told the other man what had happened.
PandaMonium 4 years ago
The picture confused me cause I was like "that's not TR" so I looked up this story - turns out this is a picture of the guy who punched him and caused the injury (according to Wikipedia anyway) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Tyler_Moore
#67
TIL: That seagrass can convert 20 times more carbon per acre than land forests.
Some Cool Guy 4 years ago
And kelp forests around the world are disappearing at a alarming rate
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
I don't mean to imply that kelp forests are any less valuable for carbon sinks, but seagrass is not kelp. It's kind of like reading, "chicken coops are cruel" and replying, "and yet Americans eat millions of cows every year."
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LivingTheDream 4 years ago
There is a theory out there that the ocean floor will eventually give up the massive amounts of carbon dioxide it has stored. They believe that is what ended the last ice age.
#68
TIL a Polynesian man named Tupaia drew an incredibly accurate map for Captain Cook, but it was misunderstood to be badly made and unusable. The map puzzled people for centuries until some researchers finally figured out how to use it correctly.
Lotus Flower 4 years ago (edited)
He was kind of awesome but because racism, wasn’t given credit until decades later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupaia_(navigator)
#69
TIL Giraffes only need 5 to 30 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour period! They often achieve that in quick naps that may last only a minute or two at a time
#70
TIL Ford originally wanted to unveil the 2021 Ford Bronco on July 9, 2020. However, the debut was rescheduled for July 13 when it was pointed out that July 9 is the birthday of O.J. Simpson.
Donkey boi 4 years ago
We don't get the Bronco in the UK. If the pic is accurate then this is the first time I've seen one.
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago (edited)
Because Simpson fled cops in a white Bronco after allegedly murdering his ex and her friend. The police chase was all over the news and the white bronco became synonymous with the Simpson trial
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#71
TIL There was a mysterious culture in Eastern Europe between 5,500 to 2,700 BC which constructed sophisticated, organized, densely-populated settlements - only to burn them to the ground every 60-80 years to rebuild the same settlement as before
Lotus Flower 4 years ago
Here is more info on the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucuteni–Trypillia_culture
#72
TIL that before Terry Crews was a football player or actor, he was a courtroom sketch artist. He covered the worst murder case in Flint, MI history.
Bob Belcher 4 years ago
So what's this baseball drawing have to do with it? Did he draw that? And then did he really paint Capt. Holt?
Amy Cohen 4 years ago
Yes! He drew this card and he did in fact do the painting in Brooklyn 99
Load More Replies... IlovemydogShilo 4 years ago
He's also a brilliant flautist. Bored Panda covered it a while back here, https://www.boredpanda.com/talented-artist-terry-crews/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
#73
TIL Stingray injuries are almost never fatal. When Steve Irwin was killed in a stingray attack in 2006, he was only the second reported fatality in Australia since 1945. Only one to two fatal attacks are reported each year worldwide.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
Steve Irwin didn't have much of a chance seeing as he was stabbed in the heart with the stinger and ended up bleeding to death. You are more likely to die from severe infection than the actual toxin itself.
clive apps 4 years ago
He might have survived they hadn,t pulled out the barb. Must punctures should be maintained intact until proper medical treatment is available. Even a nail through a foot can cause excessive bleeding or nerve damage if removed improperly.
Load More Replies... Gin. No tonic 4 years ago (edited)
He was stabbed in his chest hundreds of times within a few seconds. At least one stab pierced his heart, which is why it was fatal. RIP Steve. Edit: his death was the only stingray death recorded on video, which was later destroyed at the request of his family.
H Edwards 4 years ago
Hundreds of times within a few seconds? I didn't know that was possible.
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lara 4 years ago
He was stabbed in the heart, if he had left the stinger in he would have survived.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Supposedly no one removed the barb. This is coming from the cameraman that witnessed and videoed the attack. The damage to Steve's heart was so extensive that he would have died either way.
Load More Replies... #74
TIL that there are ancient languages that are considered untranslatable or ‘extinct’ because we have no descendant languages to use as a frame of reference for translation. One example is the Etruscan language of Italy that belonged to people who lived in Italy before the Romans.
arponet 4 years ago
The consideration of "untranslatable" is completely wrong. You always can discover a Rosetta stone that will help scholars to decipher it.
J. F. 4 years ago
The Rosetta stone was only readable because it had ancient greek on it - withouth it would have been useless as well
Load More Replies... VeninTheNonBinaryRogue 4 years ago
Makes me kind of sad that there are languages and things and animals and stuff that we’ll never get to see because we don’t know how or because we killed them off :(
#75
TIL in the 1990’s, a group of Mazda engineers created a suitcase “car” from a large Samsonite suitcase and a pocket bike; the suitcase car took just a minute to assemble and had a top speed of 30 km/h (18.46 mph)
#76
TIL the role of Hannibal Lecter was turned down by Sean Connery, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro & others. Silence of the Lambs would go on to be the 3rd film in history to win all "Big 5" Academy Awards & upon release in 1991 on VHS, became the most rented film in the United States.
Dodo 4 years ago
Yeah it was subtle, which isn't exactly what those three are known for
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IlovemydogShilo 4 years ago
Sean Connery also turned down the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings.
#77
TIL During the American Revolution at the Battle of Long Island, 400 Maryland Soldiers repeatedly attacked a superior British force in order to allow Gen. Washington’s army to escape total destruction. Washington said of them, “Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose”.
Dave P 4 years ago
There was no Battle of Long Island...Maybe you meant the Battle of Brooklyn? But the Marylanders held the Whitestone Pass, to allow for an alternate route if Washington got cut off from Manhattan, but he didnt and retreated to Manhattan from Brooklyn. They did hold the Whitestone Pass which kept many British troops tied down which were not used against Washington as a Result.
Dinah Brand 4 years ago
The Battle of Brooklyn is ALSO known as the Battle of Long Island.
Load More Replies... Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
300 the sequel: 400. This time, the good guys win. Also known as the Battle of Brooklyn, because while it happened on Long Island, that part of Long Island today isn't really thought of as Long Island by Long Islanders, being that it's now "the City (of New York)."
Lotus Flower 4 years ago
Not terribly accurate but I must say I’m glad we threw their damned tea in the harbor lol ‘Murica
#78
TIL that contrary to popular belief, sweating does not remove toxins from the body. Dehydration from excessive sweating can actually make it harder for your body to remove toxins.
#79
TIL One study found that job seekers are more likely to be hired if they wear glasses to their interview. Several studies have shown that people who wear glasses are typically perceived as more intelligent, more competent, and more industrious than those without spectacles
LivingTheDream 4 years ago
Note to self. Remember to spell prescription and other words properly on resume....
Load More Replies... Donkey boi 4 years ago
Wow, talk about cherry picking! The "studies" are almost exclusively carried out my spectacle designers, manufactures and regulatory bodies. The most comprehensive study carried out by an unbiased party was produced by the British Psychological Society in 2016. While it did uncover the above named preconceptions, they also found that people still felt that people with glasses were "weaker, submissive, more compliant and prone to following orders'. Overall people's perceptions of those that wear glasses have a larger list of negative traits than positive, The BPS passed their finding onto the GOC (General Optical Council) expressing a need for a more positive influences for spectacle wearers. Since 2016 the number of people wearing glasses in British produced TV & film has increased by almost 60%.
#80
TIL about Devin McLean, an Air Force veteran who saved his boss from an armed robber and was later fired by AutoZone for violating workplace policy.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
Unfortunately doing anything to tackle or confront a robber is strictly against most workplace policies and this is a more common occurrence than one would wish.
Kiss Army 4 years ago
Yup, a guy tried to grab my sister through the drive thru window and told her to give him the money in the register, she beamed him with the coffee pot and he ended up running away covered with broken glass and hot coffee - she didn't get fired but she got in trouble. Policy was to give him the money and not "fight back".
Load More Replies... #81
TIL that despite being strongly associated with NASA and astronauts, freeze-dried ice cream was never taken on board any missions to space.
#82
TIL that in 1981, the US Post Office issued an anti-alcoholism stamp that said "Alcoholism: You can beat it!" Though well intentioned, it was a huge flop mainly because it could look like the sender was sending a specific message to the recipient.
#83
TIL the Statue of Liberty almost wasn't built in New York because the governor wouldn't use city funds to build its pedestal, but Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper articles inspired 160,000 people to donate. Though a majority of donations were less than $1, they raised over $100,000 in just five months.
Bob Belcher 4 years ago
Most donations were $0.01. There was a whole segment about it on Drunk History. Great show
PandaMonium 4 years ago
I love Drunk History - that's a good episode too!
Load More Replies... Yevvie ART 4 years ago
Small correction with official numbers (Harris, Jonathan (1985). A Statue for America: The First 100 Years of the Statue of Liberty): "After five months of daily calls to donate to the statue fund, on August 11, 1885, the World announced that $102,000 had been raised from 120,000 donors, and that 80 percent of the total had been received in sums of less than one dollar."
Lotus Flower 4 years ago
Statuephobia (automatonophobia) is real and I deeply dislike this statue. I can’t even say it’s name. It is one of the statues that gives me one of the worst reactions. I often say I wish it was destroyed but ppl think that’s unAmerican, which isn’t true. Being a kid of the 70s/80s was miserable if I stayed up until midnight and the loops of it along w other Americans symbols were displayed.
Ray Martin 4 years ago
Starting the time-honoured tradition of putting women on pedestals, but not listening to what they have to say. ;-)
bonnyatlast 4 years ago
Large correction. The donors were school children giving their pennies.
#84
TIL talk-show host Stephen Colbert half-jokingly ran for US President in the 2008 election. He stated that he would only he run if he received a sign, which came when Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, appeared on his show and gave him a replica of the the sword, 'Anduril'.
KatHat 4 years ago
I don't know which of the two you mean, but then I realized it doesn't matter, because they're both aces :)
Load More Replies... Katy McMouse 4 years ago
Stephen Colbert is the only reason I didn't spend 2016-2020 crying, confused and bewildered.
PandaMonium 4 years ago
agreed but John Oliver, Seth Meyers and Trevor Noah helped me too
Load More Replies... #85
TIL In 1957 woman was struck by consecutive foul balls. First one broke her nose and the second broke her leg while being carried out on a stretcher.
Emo Sloth 4 years ago
Probably not. Foul balls are balls that the batter struck outside the foul line. "Balls" are balls that the pitcher threw outside the foul line. So it was more likely that the batter was her ex.
Load More Replies... IlovemydogShilo 4 years ago (edited)
Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn hit a foul ball that struck Alice Roth squarely in the face, breaking her nose. The game was then paused as medics came in to tend to Roth. As they were carrying her away on a stretcher, play was resumed and Ashburn fouled off the first pitch thrown to him. This foul subsequently struck Roth as she was being carried off by the medics. The second foul ball broke a bone in her knee. The fan, Alice Roth, was the wife of the sports editor for The Philadelphia Bulletin who was there with her two grandsons. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. The Phils treated the family royally after the event and the kids were invited into the clubhouse and given free tickets and an autographed baseball. The next day Ashburn visited Roth in the hospital and they became friends. Henceforth, Roth chose to sit in the left field bleachers, well out of harm’s way. On top of that, Roth’s son eventually became the Phillies’ batboy.
Katy McMouse 4 years ago
That's a brutal thing to witness. I've been witness to two head strikes, close enough to one to actually hear the crack of the impact and it was physically sickening. You have to always be aware of the ball as best you can - especially in stands close to baselines.
#86
TIL that the Moai (Easter Island Heads) were originally intricately carved before being weathered by wind. Some had holes for eyes made of coral and obsidian designed to awaken their power, and others had tophats for ceremonies. Island legend says a shaman awoke the first Moai and made them walk.
Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago
They walked by being wobbled from their quarry to their pedestal.
Katherine Boag 4 years ago (edited)
The walking is people moving them around by tipping them partway with ropes
#87
TIL of the German general Ferdinand Schörner, who at the end of World War II abandoned his army group to fly to Austria and personally surrender to the Americans, all to avoid capture by the Soviets. The Americans handed him to the Soviets.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
The allies let the Russians deal with war criminals in a fast and inexpensive way. The Nurnberg trials were a demonstration to the world what happens with the elite of sadistic murderers.
#88
TIL: The ADA exclusively recommends "soft" bristles for toothbrushes. Medium or firmer brushes are considered harmful because they can erode teeth enamel and damage your gums.
#89
TIL that the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool began during the industrial revolution when Manchester built a canal to circumvent Liverpool to avoid paying fees for importing/exporting goods through their port.
#90
TIL Over half of psychology studies fail reproducibility test
sofacushionfort 4 years ago
And yet you have to take some version of a Myers-Briggs to get a minimum wage job.
Nicola Roberts 4 years ago
That took me a second to understand. It didn't help that I read student instead of studies!
AlecBarley 4 years ago
It means that a psychological study done again is going to produce a different result.
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Tim Douglass 4 years ago
I suspect it has something to do with a combination of the immense variability of human behavior and thought and the fact that it's virtually impossible to create a sound psychological study that meets human testing requirements.
Spring Fisk 4 years ago
That's why I have started taking every new study with a grain of salt.
ProfessionalTimeWaster 4 years ago
Anti depressants in clinical tests are also seen to be just slightly better than placebo. It works in some and it doesn't work at all in others.
Amy Cohen 4 years ago
Yes but it's about finding the right one that works or trying other methods. It's very important.
Load More Replies... First Name Last Name 4 years ago
Honestly it is mostly due to bad study design, which is done in most cases because the grants which fund them are dependent upon getting the desired result. Not surprisingly, the worst offenders by far are liberal American Universities and Communist governments.
#91
TIL if you scale the history of the universe to a single year, where the Big Bang happened at January 1st 00:00:00 and the present day is December 31st 23:59:59, all of recorded human history fits within the last 12 seconds
Phil DeBlanc 4 years ago
We are also closer in time to the T. Rex than the T. Rex is to the Stegosaurus.
Ali H M Salehuddin 4 years ago
Our universe is predicted to end in big rip in 1x10^2500 years. Compared to the time now which is 1.38x10^10 years since the big bang, our universe age is so young. It is like the universe is just being born a moment ago. A blink of an eye years old! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_an_expanding_universe?wprov=sfla1
Al Christensen 4 years ago
Which really upsets some people who imagine the universe was created just for humans (and most likely only for certain humans).
#92
TIL the 1970 Guess Who song "No Sugar Tonight" was created when the band's guitarist saw a tough biker in a California intersection getting yelled at by his girlfriend for not taking out the trash and leaving her with the kids. She added, "And one more thing, you ain't getting no sugar tonight."
Eslamala 4 years ago
According to Burton Cummings, as Randy Bachman had written "New Mother Nature" which was in the same key as "No Sugar Tonight", they decided to make one song, while keeping each of the song's names. So, "No Sugar Tonight" is actually called "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature"
#93
TIL of Mikhail Devyataev, a Soviet fighter pilot who in Feb 1945 escaped a Nazi concentration camp near Peenemünde with nine other POWs by taking over the commandant's He 111 bomber. The NKVD didn't believe his story and classified him as a criminal, but in 1957 he became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
lara 4 years ago
ALL Red Army personnel who were POWs were, by law, traitors and when they returned to the Soviet Union they AND their families were sent to the Gulag. The Soviets even had prison camps for children under the age of 12. Older ones were sent to "regular" camps.
Amelia 4 years ago
Fun fact: Stalin's son, who was labelled a traitor while serving in the army, was also sent to a camp. Stalin did not exempt him from the rule where you and your whole family are sent away, and thus most of the family, including Stalin's wife and some of his other children, were sent. The one thing his son did that made Stalin proud was when he (the son) intentionally angered a guard and was killed. I learned this crazy yet fascinating fact from the Behind the Bastards podcast, check it out!
Load More Replies... #94
TIL Winston Churchill's mom was an "American dollar princess" from Brooklyn who had a snake tattoo on her wrist!
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Dollar Princesses", were wealthy American heiresses hoping to infiltrate the upper echelons of the British imperial elite by marriage.
#95
TIL prior to making Clerks, Kevin Smith would see how many credit cards he was able to approved for, competing for the most active cards against his friends. Those credit cards stayed mostly unused until production of Clerks had begun, and would up being maxed out for the production.
Bob Belcher 4 years ago
He was also the sole worker for the video store he worked at. When the credit card companies called his place of employment to verify his income he stated he was the owner and the amount was correct. Snoogins
Saint Thomas 4 years ago (edited)
An independant movie by Kevin Smith. It launched his career : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerks_(film)
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#96
TIL James Murray Spangler (1848–1915), a salesman and janitor, invented the first commercially successful portable electric vacuum cleaner that revolutionized household carpet cleaning. His device was the first to use both a cloth filter bag and cleaning attachments. His invention was patented 1908.
#97
TIL: It only took one week in 2000 for the Olympic Village to run out of 70,000 condoms. Olympians have been shown to have need for more and more condoms as the years go by, requiring over 100,000 in 2012.
Allen Lavine 4 years ago
I know this year there passing out 10,000 I think but ask them to not to use them tell they get home
Tim Douglass 4 years ago
While strictly true, most of the condoms probably aren't being used, since a condom in an Olympic games wrappers is a pretty cool souvenir to take home to your friends.
#98
TIL Thomas Jefferson sent a giant moose carcass to Paris to prove that America’s animals were bigger than Europe’s
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
No, it was because French officials didn't believe him when he told them about the animals in the US. So he decided to give them proof.
#99
TIL Mariah Carey wrote and recorded a secret grunge album under the pseudonym "Chick" because Sony thought it would ruin her image
#100
TIL Alcatraz's prison guards created the myths about man eating sharks and deadly waters of San Francisco to discourage prisoners from escaping. There is only one recorded shark fatality in San Francisco in 1959
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Because telling prisoners about freezing water, strong tides and disorienting fog wasn't obviously enough to stop them from trying to escape.
Al Christensen 4 years ago
Yeah, the entire "You'll die if you try to swim from Alcatraz" thing gets disproved each year during the local iron man event when hundreds of contestants swim to the island and back.
Kim Kermes 4 years ago
The only people who swim in the Bay have support to keep from being swept away or succumbing to hypothermia. I doubt there's much in the Bay for sharks to eat, except sea lions, but outside the Golden Gate...
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
"Except sea lions" would have been pretty enticing for sharks.
Load More Replies... #101
Today I learned that the CIA secretly owned a Swiss company called Crypto AG that maintained offices all over the world and sold products with secret backdoors for the US government and key allies.
#102
TIL Screenwriter Tom Schulman was hired to rewrite the script for Honey I Shrunk the Kids, given only 7 days to overhaul it from a drama into a comedy.
#103
TIL that, in order for the British Army to legally exist, Parliament must pass an act every 5 years. This stems from the Bill of Rights 1689, which forbade a standing army in time of peace without Parliamentary approval.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
Not a whole lot, other than one major beef the British colonists in North America had with the King was The Quartering Act of 1765 which required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. If the barracks were too small to house all the soldiers, then localities were to accommodate the soldiers in local inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualling houses and the houses of sellers of wine. Because of this The US Constitution explicitly states "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
Load More Replies... Donkey boi 4 years ago
Couldn't google a picture for the bill of rights, no? Just slap up a pic of any old looking document, no one will notice!
François Carré 4 years ago
Good. Civil government keeping control over armed forces is fundamental, it prevents from military interference into politics and coup attempts. Should be a must in every democracy.
#104
TIL that Alaska is not least populated state of the US. It has more people than Vermont and Wyoming.
Rachel Peterson 4 years ago
In fact, Washington DC (population 705,749) also has more people than either Vermont (623,989) or Wyoming (578,759), however they have no vote, nor any representation in the US Congress.
clive apps 4 years ago
Oil and mineral mining are the reason for this. There is also a large amount of radar installations and military presence there.
#105
TIL of Alfred Wintle, a British officer in World War 1 who tried to escape hospital disguised as a nurse. Although he successfully attended a women-only dance in the nurses' quarters, he was caught as he forgot to take off his monocle.
Amanita Virosa 4 years ago (edited)
The internet said Wintle was injured in a shell explosion that cost him his sight in his left eye, several of his fingers and one of his kneecaps. Wintle was sent back to England where he was informed his war was over. He was pissed off as he wanted to go back to the front. He started making plans to escape the hospital and get back to the front. He made several attempts to escape, once going so far as to dress in a nurse’s uniform. It would have been the perfect disguise; unfortunately, his mustache and monocle were a dead giveaway. He did get back to the Front, earning the Military Cross for capturing vital intelligence along with thirty-five German soldiers single-handedly on the 4th of November 1918.
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#106
TIL that Bethesda set up a challenge that would reward any couple free Bethesda games for life if they gave birth on Skyrim's 11/11/11 release date and named the baby Dovahkiin. One couple took up that challenge and their son's now called Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer
#107
TIL Martin Luther enrolled at the University of Erfurt at age 17 to study law which he described as a "beerhouse and whorehouse". He gave up law for philosophy but eventually left university altogether, sold his books, & became a monk.
DC 4 years ago
And a true preacher of hate! The hero worshippery about him is actually quite irritating, if you know about books he wrote, like "About the jews and their lies". A lot of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" was taken from Martin Luther. Self-righteous, full of hate for ... farmers, women, non-christians of any kind, and a lot of his fellow christians, too. Erasmus of Amsterdam, another reformer of that time, was actually disgusted about him. Rightfully so.
François Carré 4 years ago
Then he became the first puritan preacher of his kind, because neither the Catholic monks were austere enough to his taste.
clive apps 4 years ago
A lot of times the law will protect what should not exist. This is the problem that Luther noticed in every system he joined; stupidity, irrationality, and feeding the problem not the solution.
#108
TIL that famous computer hacker Kevin Mitnick only wound up in jail originally because a "friend" was pissed that Mitnick beat him at a $150 bet. | After being bested, Mitnick's then-friend was so angry about losing that he called the FBI and blew Mitnick in.
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Holy crap! One of the best characters from the video game Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is a hacker Nosferatu called Mitnick! I never realized who he was named after! I am so happy to know this now.
Sunshine Sunshine 4 years ago (edited)
Mitnick is one of the absolute OG's. He was a white hat hacker. He was also aware of the fact that the FBI was coming for him and placed a box of donuts in his fridge with a note on top saying, " for the FBI". Total ledge move. I'm a big fan. Ghost in the Wires is a book on him. Definitely worth a read.
#109
TIL in 1816, 147 shipwrecked Frenchman were stuck adrift on a makeshift raft when their captain cut the rope towing them. It took only 3 days for them to resort to cannibalism & only 15 survived to be rescued after 13 days. The aristocrat captain hadn't sailed in 20 yrs & it was 100% avoidable.
Steve Barnett 4 years ago
FYI. The French frigate Méduse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_M%C3%A9duse_(1810)
François Carré 4 years ago
Indeed, very famous story and even more famous painting by Théodore Géricault.
Load More Replies... Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago
Well, when you are a barbaric colonizer of Senegal, you get what you deserve.
#110
TIL farts don’t dissipate easily in space and a particularly smelly astronaut, while in the space shuttle’s middeck, would position his butt next to an air hose that led to the ISS and fire away. He called it “sending emails” to the ISS
#111
TIL that during WWII, the US military developed a manual to sabotage German corporations, with tips such as "Do your work poorly and blame it on bad tools. Work slowly. Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible. Spread rumors. Haggle over precise wordings. Never permit short-cuts."
Tom Susala 4 years ago
"Do your work poorly and blame it on bad tools. Work slowly. Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible. Spread rumors. Haggle over precise wordings. Never permit short-cuts." hmmm ......sounds like the Senate
lara 4 years ago
Believe it or not, but the Germans used Jewish slave labor to build artillery shells and make German uniforms. Guess what?
#112
TIL in the 80’s and 90’s, the LAPD set up a task force to look into the possibility of an active serial killer they dubbed the “Southside Slayer”. In reality, they had 4 or 5 active serial killers.
Steve Barnett 4 years ago
Always wondered if a serial killer has unknowingly killed another serial killer.
Dagnirath 4 years ago
Movie idea: a serial killer who hunts and kills serial killers.
Load More Replies... #113
TIL Marco Polo became Kublai Khan's diplomat at 21 years old. One of his journeys included 2-year voyage from China to the Persian Gulf where of 600 men, only 18 survived. Altogether, throughout his life he traveled almost 15,000 miles or 24,000 km.
François Carré 4 years ago
Thanks to the kind of universal peace brought to Asia after brutal Mongol conquests (AKA "Pax Mongolica"), crossing all of the continent as Marco Polo did was somehow safer then than it is today...
#114
TIL Steve Jobs purchased a company from George Lucas in 1986, named it "Pixar", and its first client after being incorporated was Disney.
#115
TIL that the white rind of a watermelon, between the pink flesh and green skin, is loaded with nutrients and just as healthy as the commonly eaten pink flesh.
Donkey boi 4 years ago
Wait... what? What do they mean 'Commonly eaten pink flesh'? Are you not meant to eat the whole thing?
#116
TIL Truman was among the poorest U.S. presidents, with a net worth much less than $1 million. His financial situation contributed to the doubling of the presidential salary to $100,000 in 1949. In addition, the presidential pension was created in 1958 when Truman was again having financial hardship.
Nicola Roberts 4 years ago
If the media is to be believed Trump's perceived wealth is smoke and mirrors.
Agnes Jekyll 4 years ago
Trump is broke. Just count the number of times he's declared bankruptcy or been sued for not paying his bills.
Load More Replies... Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
Boris will argue that he is the poorest, he cannot even afford a nanny for his many kids. Oh or a comb
#117
TIL a woman named Pamela Kreimeyer died at a gender reveal party after her family members filled a steel umbrella stand with gun powder, but instead of it emitting a shower of sparks, the metal pipe could not take the overpressure; acting like a pipe bomb.
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
6 people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_injured_or_killed_at_gender_reveal_parties Plus the death of a firefighter fighting a wildfire caused by another stupid gender reveal party.
Load More Replies... Gin. No tonic 4 years ago
Gender reveal parties are basically a synonym for foolish explosive tragedies now.
Apachebathmat 4 years ago
I don’t get these gender reveal parties, it’s either a girl or a boy ... the same options all parents have, it’s 50/50. Declaring Boy or Girl isn’t really that much of a surprise!
Rachel Peterson 4 years ago
Ironically, at a time in history when the concept of "gender" matters less and less... people are being killed by stupid parlor tricks like gender 'reveals' SMFH...
#118
TIL after an obese umpire died during a game, Major League Baseball decided to enforce weight limits. In 1999 under this policy, umpire Eric Gregg was fined $5,000 for exceeding 300lbs.
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Are you asking people to Google for you? Because the poster was on Reddit not here. You can't ask them questions from a completely different website.
Load More Replies... WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
300 Lbs is 136 Kg. Even a person 30 years of age, with a length of 2.10 mtr (6.8 ft) with that weight would be considered dangerously overweight/ obese
#119
TIL of Labi Siffre. Dr. Dre wanted to sample his 1970s song "I got the..." for Eminem's "My Name Is" but Siffre, openly gay, initially refused, demanding sexist and homophobic lyrics be removed. Dre and Eminem made changes and the song became a massive hit.
Chris 4 years ago
And the legandary Chas and Dave played on the Labi Siffre track... so bascially Eminem is Snooker Loopy, and got mor Rabbit than Sainsburys.
Scagsy 4 years ago
I don't mind, I don't care. I got my beer on the sideboard here!
Load More Replies... #120
TIL the man who invented the modern theory about oxygen and combustion, Antoine Lavoisier, was guillotined in 1794 during the French Revolution:
Katherine Boag 4 years ago
This is what happens when only independently wealthy people can practice science
François Carré 4 years ago
How Revolution devoured its children. Many great minds, still young and with high potential, were stupidly lost in the process.
#121
TIL that in 2016, Live Nation admitted that less than 1/3 of tickets for a popular tour were available to fans | When The Tragically Hip announced their final tour, 2/3 of tickets were sold to brokers and more were held for industry guests.
Agnes Jekyll 4 years ago
This made people so angry it threatened a revision of the way tickets were sold. It also made people angry at the government, who had allowed it to happen
Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago
To think this all happened so Gord could say good bye before he died.
Mary Haynes 4 years ago
no wonder I was always in the 2nd to the last row in the nose bleed section
#122
TIL that the human foot is uniquely advantageous for endurance running. Having entirely front-facing and short toe length decreases the amount of mechanical work required to push off the ground, thereby reducing the metabolic cost.
Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago (edited)
That is our "thing". The reason we survived. Lions hunt, birds fly, we run. Not fast, but long enough to outpace our prey.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Sadly, people stopped using the front of their feet for walking and put all their weight on the heel of the foot nowadays. which is not what the heel is made for. Damn the shoe-industry with their heightened heels! (And not just those from high-heels. I'm talking sneakers and business-shoes, too)
#123
TIL that when US Pres. John Tyler refused to toe the Whig party line in 1841, his cabinet resigned one by one and the Whigs expelled him from their party. He served the majority of his term as "a man without a party."
Rachel Peterson 4 years ago
Gee, I wish Mitch McConnell had had the cojones to do the same in 2017. sigh.
Dagnirath 4 years ago
I would love to see ANY politician renounce their party and follow their own moral compass after they get elected.
Load More Replies... #124
TIL After Peter the Great mandated that all officers in his army must have started their career as privates, noble families began to register newborn boys as privates. First reporting for service at the age of 15, the boys were then promoted through seniority to junior lieutenant or equivalent rank
Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago
Always finding ways to try to prove their "superiority".
Load More Replies... clive apps 4 years ago
Scam. I would have made them stay at the bottom twice as long so they can see how the poor have died to protect their over consumptive vain society.
#125
TIL President William Henry Harrison used to do his own grocery shopping at the local market, and was known to invite people he met there to have breakfast with him at the White House. The practice stopped when people seeking jobs in the new administration began harassing him.
DE Ray 4 years ago
I find this story unlikely, as Harrison was president for all of 31 days and was very sick (fatally so) from pneumonia the entire time.
Daenarys 4 years ago
Actually, he wasn't 'fatally' sick the entire time, but rather fighting off a cold. It wasn't until 9 days before his death that he was bedridden. He really did go to the market 2-3 days a week himself before that, whether this was due to the fact that he had no staff hired or if it was just to get away from the stress and crowds filling the White House is not clear, though. https://www.historynet.com/the-thirty-one-day-presidency-of-william-henry-harrison.htm
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#126
TIL of the Heart Attack Grill restaurant in Las Vegas, which serves high fat/sugar food. Customers wear hospital gowns, waitresses are dressed as nurses, and customers over 350lb in weight eat for free. There is in fact a history of people dying there from cardiac arrest.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Such a bad idea. Offering free food to someone severely obese is appalling. Yes it is the individuals choice to eat it, but where is the companies accountability for encouraging it.
Katherine Boag 4 years ago
Thin people have heart attacks too, and are less likely to survive.
Load More Replies... clive apps 4 years ago
This is America. You can have anything you want even if it kills you. A complete denial of any responsibility or culpability. If the government really cared about the people they would have shut down half the toxin producing businesses years ago (alcohol, tobacco, junk food, and others) instead of just making medical care ridiculously e pensive for the average person.
Ploploplop 4 years ago
The burgers are called single, double triple and quadrouble bypasses, depending how many beef patties are on it.
#127
TIL the explosion that led to the Chernobyl nuclear accident was chemical, driven by gases and steam generated by the core runaway, not by nuclear reactions. No commercial nuclear reactor contains a high enough concentration of U-235 or plutonium to cause a nuclear explosion.
Colin Matthews 4 years ago
Youre splitting hairs.the heat that caused the explosion came from run away uncontrolled nuclear reactions.
John L 4 years ago
I don't know that it's so much splitting hairs as much as a misconception about how nuclear power works. Plant's don't just have a nuclear reaction and somehow directly plug into it. The reaction heats water to steam, which turns turbines, which generates electricity. Meltdowns and accidents occur when the cooling system fails to keep the reaction controlled, not the fissionable material directly exploding.
Load More Replies... Jimifan 4 years ago
You're not going to get a nuclear explosion from a reactor anyway. For a nuclear explosion, like the kinds that fission bombs create, you need not only critical mass, but critical geometry as well. Steam explosions and massive radiation leaks from criticality accidents? Yes. Hiroshima? No.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Who needs a nuclear explosion when you can poison people in a radius of hundreds of miles with nuclear fallout without any structural damage?
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Faith Hurst 4 years ago
I love how these are always called "Things I didn't learn in school" as if school was supposed to teach you about Nicholas Cage, etc.
Menthe Litchi 4 years ago
I totally agree with you. I am a teacher and I am SO tired of this. Children are at school 24h per week. So 144 hours per week at home. We teach French, Maths, English, History, Geography, Sport, Music, Arts, Sciences. And of course social behaviour because they do not learned at home how to say "good morning, thanks, please". So sorry we do not have time to teach them everything else.
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John Montgomery 4 years ago
Is there a setting I'm missing for the bored panda app? This has no pics for me. It's just the text.
Lyn Moffett 4 years ago
John. When you are reading the captions there is a little chain link at the bottom of it. Press on that and it will take you to the story and any pictures if there are any included.
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Alloydog 4 years ago
C'mon Bored Panda, stop recycling other internet sites' content! I subscribe to Reddit's TIL and read it several times a day. Most of these have been lifted from there and in pretty much the same order.
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
Try actually reading the article instead of just looking at the pretty pictures.
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Elisabeth Wright 4 years ago
I find it immensely frustrating to have to read 'TIL' at the beginning of every single fact. It's just not necessary -_-
Faith Hurst 4 years ago
I love how these are always called "Things I didn't learn in school" as if school was supposed to teach you about Nicholas Cage, etc.
Menthe Litchi 4 years ago
I totally agree with you. I am a teacher and I am SO tired of this. Children are at school 24h per week. So 144 hours per week at home. We teach French, Maths, English, History, Geography, Sport, Music, Arts, Sciences. And of course social behaviour because they do not learned at home how to say "good morning, thanks, please". So sorry we do not have time to teach them everything else.
Load More Replies... John Montgomery 4 years ago
Is there a setting I'm missing for the bored panda app? This has no pics for me. It's just the text.
Lyn Moffett 4 years ago
John. When you are reading the captions there is a little chain link at the bottom of it. Press on that and it will take you to the story and any pictures if there are any included.
Load More Replies... Alloydog 4 years ago
C'mon Bored Panda, stop recycling other internet sites' content! I subscribe to Reddit's TIL and read it several times a day. Most of these have been lifted from there and in pretty much the same order.
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
Try actually reading the article instead of just looking at the pretty pictures.
Load More Replies... Elisabeth Wright 4 years ago
I find it immensely frustrating to have to read 'TIL' at the beginning of every single fact. It's just not necessary -_-
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