Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

No-Owl9201 t1_ja032v2 wrote

Reply to TIL that Ben S. Cauley, Jr. was the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed singer Otis Redding & 6 other people in 1967. Cauley took off his seat belt shortly before the crash. He managed to cling to a seat cushion for 20 minutes, until a rescue boat pulled him from the freezing lake waters. by Paiger__

Otis Redding died at age 26 shortly after writing and recording 'The Dock of the Bay' which became a major hit after his death.
Like other great talents who died too young we can only guess at what might have been.

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jervoise t1_ja019b5 wrote

Reply to comment by Dirt_E_Harry in TIL about the only double barrel cannon in the world. When it was its first tested during the American Civil War, the chain snapped immediately and one ball tore into a nearby cabin, knocking down its chimney; the other spun off erratically and struck a nearby cow, killing it instantly. by ExpertPreference8481

Increasing the weight of the payload without extra force reduces the range. Also the chain doesn’t really help against infantry.

−19

Landlubber77 t1_ja012ah wrote

Reply to TIL that Ben S. Cauley, Jr. was the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed singer Otis Redding & 6 other people in 1967. Cauley took off his seat belt shortly before the crash. He managed to cling to a seat cushion for 20 minutes, until a rescue boat pulled him from the freezing lake waters. by Paiger__

Thank god someone was sitting on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away or they wouldn't have known someone needed resucuing.

8

Hattix t1_ja00rcq wrote

Reply to TIL that despite having brains the size of poppy seeds, bees are able to recognize and remember human faces. In a study, researchers paired images of human faces with sugar-laced water, and bees were able to recognize and remember the faces even when the reward was no longer present. by MaleficentTop6074

Brain size is a really misleading metric unless you're just discussing mammals. Mammals have very highly innervated bodies and spend a massive pile of brain power on mere housekeeping.

Non-synapsid animals don't do this, it's synapsid only, and probably diagnostic of them. Without that massive brain being wasted on trivial menialities, other animals can do more with less. This is why bees can do good pattern recognition, crows can solve puzzles, crocodiles can count, and dragonflies can accurately intercept almost anything that flies.

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