Recent comments in /f/todayilearned
Handpaper t1_ja46tk3 wrote
Reply to TIL in 1975 King Charles III (then a Prince) was the British monarchy's first qualified scuba Diver and first to dive under the Arctic ice. by mitchanium
Also has parachutists wings.
He was appointed Colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment in 1977, and insisted on qualifying. He said that he could not wear the Regiment's famous maroon beret and wings, or "look [the men] in the eye" until he had done so.
DocCaliban t1_ja46exs wrote
Reply to TIL there's a rock formation in Saudi Arabia about 6 meters high and 9 meters wide, split curiously in half and balanced on two small, natural pedestals. The origin of the Al Naslaa rock formation is unknown. by OccludedFug
Given the opportunity, I'm sure the Taliban would happily destroy it.
Neennars t1_ja468f4 wrote
Reply to TIL that the 1980 miles of Alaska’s Yukon River is only crossed by 4 bridges. By comparison, the slightly longer Mississippi River is has more than 132 bridges. by triviafrenzy
This is just in! Remote areas have less human built structures! More at 5!
KimJongIlSunglasses t1_ja465ix wrote
Reply to comment by Deafwindow in TIL: Because Nintendo could not get the rights to the Popeye cartoon character, they came up with Mario instead. by A_Bruised_Reed
In the 90s we were taught all stereotypes were bad regardless of whether they are positive or negative.
But now woke culture gets to pick and choose what is acceptable.
happytimefuture t1_ja45un1 wrote
Reply to comment by Pearse_Borty in TIL: Because Nintendo could not get the rights to the Popeye cartoon character, they came up with Mario instead. by A_Bruised_Reed
Tell me of your homeworld, Asshole.
KimJongIlSunglasses t1_ja45tde wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in TIL: Because Nintendo could not get the rights to the Popeye cartoon character, they came up with Mario instead. by A_Bruised_Reed
Asians are good at math.
lavamantis t1_ja45m5t wrote
Reply to comment by iamsce in TIL of David Sarnoff, the head of RCA and NBC who suppressed and then stole FM radio and Television from their inventors, driving one to suicide and the other to alcoholism. by Dega704
I'm always surprised I don't see a lot more people saying this. Capitalism has trained us to just roll over and accept so many injustices.
FartingBob t1_ja45m2u wrote
Reply to comment by thedefinitionofidiot in TIL Tolkien assisted on the Oxford Dictionary's first edition, focused on 'W' words waggle to warlock. He "learned more in those two years than in any other"; and certain etymologies continued to puzzle him for years, with many pages of notes written later on 'walrus' for a lecture at Leeds by PianoCharged
nice! Proto-indo-european is fascinating how a random language that was one of thousands in Eurasia ended up basically being the root of 95% of language spoken across Europe.
SucreBrun t1_ja45g7d wrote
Reply to Today I Learned that the moon distances itself from the Earth by about 3,78 cm(1.49 inches) every year. by LucasOIntoxicado
Since I'm in my 50s and 6ft (1.83m), if I lie down today, the moon will be the same distance as when I was 16 and standing up. Cool!
TTVmeatce t1_ja45cp0 wrote
Reply to comment by Cwallace98 in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
yep. In Texas history we're taught that Texians revolted because Santa Ana violated the constitution of 1824. What they don't teach is that the part he violated was the part that allowed for slavery. Also left out the part where American slave owners/slavery supporters were moved into the state just to help tip the scale.
Macemore t1_ja44y07 wrote
Reply to TIL that from 1991 to 2007, tobacco conglomerate Philip Morris Cos. successfully marketed Capri Sun to children, based on their executives' experience selling tobacco to young people. by 99-bottlesofbeer
Ahhh fuck I literally have some in my cupboard because I never got to have any as kids
Blmdh20s t1_ja44nsl wrote
Reply to TIL: "Popcorn" is not simply a descriptive term, but also refers to a specific variety of corn which has the unique characteristic of being able to pop, while the other five varieties of corn do not have this capability. by greenappletree
I directly found this fact to be true when i tried to make colored popcorn from a multi colored ear of corn. Yep, not only did I create a meteorite inside the microwave, I set off every smoke detector inside the house. My wife wasn't happy with me that day.
McMacHack t1_ja44mjv wrote
Reply to TIL of David Sarnoff, the head of RCA and NBC who suppressed and then stole FM radio and Television from their inventors, driving one to suicide and the other to alcoholism. by Dega704
The two inventors stole their inventions from Nicola Tesla anyway so they sort of had it coming.
382Whistles t1_ja445zn wrote
Reply to comment by BonoboPopo in TIL there's a rock formation in Saudi Arabia about 6 meters high and 9 meters wide, split curiously in half and balanced on two small, natural pedestals. The origin of the Al Naslaa rock formation is unknown. by OccludedFug
The Crimson Permanent Assurance Company is very old indeed
"Bone joint of a giant."
"Wikipedia says so" 🤤...( no take backs. )😬
pizza_engineer t1_ja43zip wrote
Reply to comment by wasdlmb in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
Now do John Brown.
Pearse_Borty t1_ja43vtk wrote
Reply to comment by Aquiper in TIL: Because Nintendo could not get the rights to the Popeye cartoon character, they came up with Mario instead. by A_Bruised_Reed
I'm having dreams of Arakkis
pizza_engineer t1_ja43vm5 wrote
Reply to comment by Regulai in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
Why is this being downvoted?
It’s absolutely true.
NemosGhost t1_ja43u0y wrote
Reply to comment by KA-ME-HA-ME- 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
Lincoln started the war and resorted to rape and terrorism. He is responsible for that. And most of those fighting for the Union did so because Lincoln would fucking arrest or kill them if they didn't.
There was no good side. The Confederate states left for the wrong reason, but they made EVERY attempt to leave peacefully as was their absolute, legally documented, right to do so (right to secession was a condition of ratifying the Constitution). Lincoln refused all diplomacy and started the war, and he didn't give a flying fuck about slavery. He killed those people and shredded the Constitution for power and power alone. That makes him worse by orders of magnitude.
Put the fairy tales down.
sevencoves t1_ja43sp5 wrote
Reply to Today I Learned that the moon distances itself from the Earth by about 3,78 cm(1.49 inches) every year. by LucasOIntoxicado
It like the slowest backing out of a room ever
pizza_engineer t1_ja43qu5 wrote
Reply to comment by havohej_ in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
That’s all you need to know.
The rest of it is pretty miserable.
pizza_engineer t1_ja43myq wrote
Reply to comment by annheim3 in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
Those pesky Natives, acting like they were fighting for their ancestral lands.
Tsk tsk.
pizza_engineer t1_ja43et2 wrote
Reply to comment by TTVmeatce in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
Yep.
Sherman’s only mistake was not turning west after Savannah.
pizza_engineer t1_ja42rct wrote
Reply to comment by quaffi0 in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy
Remember, the Texians & the Alamo defenders were fighting to preserve slavery in Texas.
I wouldn’t call that a “sacrifice”.
socrtwo t1_ja471k3 wrote
Reply to TIL about Alice in wonderland syndrome. A neurological condition in which one’s perception of their body image, time, or space is distorted. AIWS may also cause hallucinations, sensory distortion, and an altered sense of velocity. by Deechon
I had this as a kid. I think it was induced by taking an NSAID.