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With people being constantly busy, things changing every day, and various events happening all the time, time flies super fast. So sometimes it might seem that some of the things that we just witnessed or experienced happened a long time ago. And it turns out that the same logic can be applied to some of the greatest inventions and concepts that we know today.

This TikTok account called @idea.soup decided to share some of the things that only were discovered recently even though we might think that they are quite old and have been here for ages. 

Idea Soup is where people can find interesting educational content on various topics. Its creator Michael R McBride is the one who makes and shares this content with people on various social media platforms. 

More Info: TikTok

Image source: idea.soup

#1

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t know how mountains formed until 1966. And not just mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes too. Like we were putting men into space and yet every time there was an earthquake, we were just like “What the hell is going on?”

TheMuuj Report

Bored Panda contacted the creator of Idea Soup Michael McBride to find out more about the project and his love for science. McBride shared that the idea to create videos about some of the things that were discovered only recently was born out of curiosity and interest in science. “I'm fascinated by how science is not an institution, but rather an organic, ever-evolving body of knowledge. The fact that we discovered these things recently is evidence that science is working! The beauty of the field is that it is constantly questioning itself”, shared the creator.

#2

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

Most women in America couldn’t open a credit card until 1974. But if you think that’s bad, women didn’t get the right to vote in Switzerland until 1991.
 
Women in Switzerland fought for their right to vote for decades. The first time it was seriously considered was in 1959 when a referendum was held to conclude the matter and the voters, who were only men at the time, decided against giving the right of vote to women by 654,939 votes (66.9%) to 323,727 (33%).
 
Women continued their protests and after another referendum women got the right to vote in 1971 and Switzerland became one of the last countries in Europe to recognize women as equal members to men in the political sphere.
 
However, Switzerland consists of 26 cantons and the last canton to give the right to vote was that of Appenzell Innerrhoden and it happened in 1991. This fact means that the whole country of Switzerland provided women with the right to vote only in that year.

Håkan Dahlström Report

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tobiasulrich_1 avatar
T.
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thats not fully correct: It was only the state of Appenzell Innerrhoden that didn't allow women to vote until 1991. The canton was then overruled by the constitutional court after women filed a lawsuit. But we still were freaking late to the party by only introducing it in 1971 - It even had to pass a peoples (men's) voting.

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#3

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

It took us until 2002 to confirm what was at the center of the Milky Way. We are rotating around a supermassive black hole, but we didn’t know that until after Britney Spears had released her first album.

John Fowler Report

#4

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t (fully) sequence the human genome until four months ago. We had not mapped one human’s full DNA until May 2021. The Human Genome Project which completed in 2003? Yeah, they were missing 15% of DNA base pairs. Very bold of them to call that complete. That’s like a frat guy in a group project’s version of complete.

Petra B. Fritz Report

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valentinokitchen avatar
Chef Latte
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well i mean DNA is insanely complex, so although it is the 2020’s, I’m glad we got this now rather than later

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If you’re curious to know the process of making these videos, McBride revealed that it might take from 15 minutes to 10 hours depending on the research that has to be done and the time used for editing. He also added a simple yet effective take on how he creates videos: “I don't really have any process for finding facts—I'm just an incredibly curious person and I love learning. As I come across things, I share them.”

#5

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

The Heimlich maneuver wasn’t invented until 1974. I mean, this was so recent that Dr. Heimlich was alive until 2016. He could have played Minecraft.

ocean yamaha Report

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betakrankusov avatar
snipergun
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He also used first time his own maneuver only when he was 96 in practice, when he saved female resident in retirement home where he was.

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#6

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

America’s first seatbelt laws were only in 1984 and New Hampshire still doesn’t even have them.

Mechanic Base Report

#7

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

Smoking wasn’t banned on all US flights until the year 2000 and pilots were actually exempt. They can still legally smoke on airplanes today.

Amaury Laporte Report

#8

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t know why the ocean was salty until 1979. We were just like: “Yup, whole planet’s covered in this stuff. No idea where it comes from.”

Chris Dodds Report

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McBride also revealed what is one recently discovered thing that shocked him the most: “The theory of tectonic plates—it blows my mind that we weren't sure how mountains formed or earthquakes occurred until the '60s!”

Which one of these recent discoveries do you find most shocking? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below!

#9

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t know that a meteor killed the dinosaurs until 1991. That’s the same year that Home Alone came out.

Sadie Hart Report

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liddlecatpaws avatar
Jo Johannsen
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Technically, since no humans witnessed it, no dinosaurs left autobiographical records of their own, and the aliens refuse to share their footage, we still don't KNOW.

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#10

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t have wheeled luggage until 1970. Which means that astronauts that went to the moon had to carry their own suitcases.

Elizabeth Masek Report

#11

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t know that babies could feel pain until 1987. When Back to the Future came out, we were not using anesthesia on babies.

Tamaki Sono Report

#12

Things-Discovered-More-Recently-Than-You Think

We didn’t know how anesthesia worked until 2020. We were just ragdolling people into unconsciousness with no idea how it actually worked.

Thirteen Of Clubs Report

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coreysmith_2 avatar
Corey Smith
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, that's just not true. Maybe mechanisms for some few general anesthetics remain to be fully described, but we certainly knew how many of them work and we also knew very well how most of the locals work.

wianjama avatar
Rissie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The effects were known, the understanding of the actual interaction of the drugs was not. And for that matter, understanding what that interaction does on any other level is unknown now. We observe and we try to understand. It's how we roll.

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davenyc88 avatar
Dave P
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not true, we have peer reviewed scientific studies from the 1930s. And actually we knew how it worked due to Nazi Experiments on Jews, and they have a lot of info from that. But we knew for years.

valentinokitchen avatar
Chef Latte
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WAIT WE ACTUALLY LEARNED HOW IT WORKED BRUH IVE BEEN TOLD THAT IT STILL WASN’T FIGURED OUT

icemagicion avatar
Sasha
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well to be fair this is true for almost all medicine. We have some vague general idea how it works but its no where fully understood. Even mega common stuff like the ibuprofen you buy over the counter, we dont know all the exact mechanisms of action. The common "mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell" joke i always found extra funny. There were all these diagrams in my hs textbooks, then i went to uni for biology. I was asking specific questions about the atp cycle in class, and the teacher pretty much agreed that while we get how the major steps of the cycle work, when it comes to the smaller individual molecular steps we often have no clue. We kinda get what is happening, but HOW its happening? No f*****g clue. Heck this might sound really funny, but we only recently fully understood the mechanism behind how your washing machine washes your clothes (its true, look it up)

katie4309 avatar
Muff_Fluff
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So how does it work? I didn't think we knew how it worked yet, must have been dated information.

coreysmith_3 avatar
Corey Smith
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lidocaine blocks Na+ channels. Isoflurane blocks glutamate receptors. Propofol activates GABA receptors. Morphine activates delta-opioid receptors and on and on and on. Some have off-target effects but we know how most anesthetics work. And it was NOT since 2020. *waits for vaccine misinformation on BP too

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l_21 avatar
Loz
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here's an accessible reference - I also thought we still didn't know https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/scientists-unravel-the-mystery-of-anesthesia

l_21 avatar
Loz
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/scientists-unravel-the-mystery-of-anesthesia

backatya7 avatar
backatya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

they've been using as far as I know since the civil war.

54e0ac85e287c avatar
Dee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Using something and knowing what it does is not the same as knowing how it does what it does.

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cecilyholland167 avatar
Cecily Holland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The implementation of eeg sensors during sedation made it safer though

jenniferdoscher avatar
Jennifer Doscher
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's really comforting, given my major surgery as a child in '96. *cringe* I got some strange description of eleven [ladder] rungs of consciousness and the drugs would only take me down about three...

name_3 avatar
Name
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know anything about medicine, but might be referencing this paper... https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2020/20200529-hansen-lerner-anesthesia.html I remember reading this on IFL Science a while back... https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/scientists-finally-figured-general-anesthetics-work/amp.html I don't know anything other than that.

blue1steven avatar
Donkey boi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'll just leave this here : https://rcoa.ac.uk/about-college/heritage/history-anaesthesia

angeldrac avatar
Stoopham McFernybabes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We STILL don’t know how paracetamol/acetaminophen actually works. Basically if someone wee trying to get it approved for use today, it wouldn’t be because no one knows it’s actual mode of action.

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