#todayilearned

TIL There are "hunger stones" in rivers in central Europe. These stones were carved during droughts to mark the water level as a warning to future generations that they will have to endure famine-related hardships if the water sinks to this level again. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_stone #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wsd5tx/til_there_are_hunger_stones_in_rivers_in_central/

TIL The Dutch ate their Prime Minister in 1672 alongside his brother https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_de_Witt#Death #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wqx7vp/til_the_dutch_ate_their_prime_minister_in_1672/

TIL the Passenger Pigeon was an American bird that went extinct in 1914. Prior there was an estimated population of 3-5 Billion. Due to their population size they were used in shooting contests, some requiring 30k dead pigeons to place 1st. Trappers would catch as many as 800 at a time in large nets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wr90qx/til_the_passenger_pigeon_was_an_american_bird/

TIL that Lose/Lose is a 2009 video game made as an art project that erases a random file from your computer for each enemy you beat and can therefore brick it by design if you're not lucky. A reviewer quipped that the game was so scary they only dared play it for 3 seconds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lose/Lose #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wmd9ll/til_that_loselose_is_a_2009_video_game_made_as_an/

TIL that the spiciest peppers in the world all belong to the exact same species called Capsicum chinense, named because it was mistakenly thought to come from China. It includes the habanero, Scotch bonnet, ghost pepper, Trinidad scorpion, Carolina reaper, Pepper X, and others https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum_chinense#Common_C._chinense_varieties #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wm0xz5/til_that_the_spiciest_peppers_in_the_world_all/

TIL all of the vital organs in an electric eel are crammed just behind the head, the other 80% of the body is dedicated to producing electricity http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/electric-eel #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wjprkk/til_all_of_the_vital_organs_in_an_electric_eel/

TIL The Dewey Decimal system is a copyrighted commercial product. Libraries pay a licensing fee to use it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wiwgh5/til_the_dewey_decimal_system_is_a_copyrighted/

TIL Adam West and Frank Gorshin were kicked out of an orgy because they were were determined to stay in-character as Batman and the Riddler. https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-hilarious-reason-adam-west-said-he-got-kicked-out-of-an-orgy/ #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1w82xiz/til_adam_west_and_frank_gorshin_were_kicked_out/

#TodayILearned that the Japanese verb “to torment” or “to tease” is 嬲る (naburu). The main Kanji is written as a woman 女 surrounded by two men 男. BUT! There is an alternative rendition: 嫐る (also pronounced naburu), whose Kanji is written as a man 男 surrounded by two women 女. How’s that for equal opportunity? #language #Japanese What’s your favorite rendition for “torment”?

TIL that in the 1990s, Dolly Parton made $10 million in royalties from Whitney Houston’s cover of her song “I Will Always Love You.” She then invested the money into an office complex in a majority-Black neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee. She later described it as “the house that Whitney built.” https://www.npr.org/2021/08/02/1023889920/dolly-parton-invested-royalties-from-a-whitney-houston-cover-in-a-black-communit #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vz2f7f/til_that_in_the_1990s_dolly_parton_made_10/

TIL that Allen Funt, host of the hidden-camera show Candid Camera, was on a flight hijacked to Cuba, but the other passengers assumed they were on the TV show after noticing Funk. He desperately tried to convince them it was real. The passengers even cheered. They were released from Cuba quickly. https://www.radiolab.org/podcast/smile-my-ass #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vk6vfe/til_that_allen_funt_host_of_the_hiddencamera_show/

TIL that the term "Jaywalking" was invented in the 1920s by the auto industry to shift the blame for accidents from drivers to pedestrians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vjbvsn/til_that_the_term_jaywalking_was_invented_in_the/

TIL about Unsinkable Sam, a ship's cat who purportedly served during World War II with both the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy and survived the sinking of three ships. The Sinking of the Bismark, the Sinking of the HMS Cossack, and the sinking of the HMS Ark Royal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_Sam #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vfc3r3/til_about_unsinkable_sam_a_ships_cat_who/

TIL that an early version of a TV remote in 1955 featured a trigger button for users to "shoot" at commercials to mute them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenith_Flash-matic #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vf6ofj/til_that_an_early_version_of_a_tv_remote_in_1955/

TIL that a Romanian court has ruled that a living man is legally dead and he can’t appeal it https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/16/romanian-court-tells-man-he-is-not-alive #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vbx9l2/til_that_a_romanian_court_has_ruled_that_a_living/

TIL between 1904 and 1908, Germany committed the Herero and Nama genocide in present day Namibia, killing an estimated 80% of the Herero people and half of the Nama people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herero_and_Nama_genocide #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vb3aqz/til_between_1904_and_1908_germany_committed_the/

TIL that in 1995, a man robbed two banks after rubbing lemon juice on his face, believing it would make him invisible to security cameras because lemon juice is used as invisible ink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Greater_Pittsburgh_bank_robberies #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vaypc0/til_that_in_1995_a_man_robbed_two_banks_after/

TIL that onions are the only agricultural commodity that is banned from futures trading in the US https://www.sherwoodfp.com/post/the-onion-king-and-market-manipulation #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1vaipww/til_that_onions_are_the_only_agricultural/

TIL the 2011 Japan earthquake was so powerful it moved the main island of Honshu 8 feet eastward, shifted the Earth's axis by up to 10 inches, and shortened the length of a day by 1.8 microseconds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1va4m3i/til_the_2011_japan_earthquake_was_so_powerful_it/

an insight into my frankly distressingly poor understanding of popular culture: #todayilearned the meaning of 'bucket list'. i don't think that even i can spin this as a person focused on more rarefied and important matters.