Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

Thecna2 t1_ja7kx7f wrote

Reply to TIL a year after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English sent their own Armada to Spain, leading to similar losses of ships and men, and an ignominious English defeat by malektewaus

The reason theyre remembered differently is a bit more complex than 'they only remember stuff that they won'.

The Spanish Armadas specific PLAN was to help invade England and overthrow the monarchy and put a Catholic on the throne. Where Spain was considered more powerful than England and at an advantage.

Defeating this, by whatever means, is going to leave a significant mark in the memory of the people of the time.

The English Armadas plans were a lot more modest, kick the Spanish fleet, grab a few random islands in the Atlantic, (the Azores), cause some local fuss by creating a rebellion in Portugal and maybe grab some Spanish treasure. These were, to the English at the time, far more vague and ephemeral goals than the Spanish Armadas, and the subsequent failure of it would have led to loads of grumbling in the local press for 6months and then everyone would move on.

The names, Spanish Armada vs English Armada may seem co-equal in nature, but the potential risk vs success were quite different in the way they would imprint on the people of the time.

I dont have a Spanish education but I bet that the failure of the English Armada doesnt come up much in Spanish History either, at least not to the extent that the Spanish Armada is mentioned in English History.

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greed-man t1_ja7ko02 wrote

Reply to comment by DiabeticPissingSyrup 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 see your point, but put this in context.

Baird invented a TV process that gained very little traction. It absolutely worked, BBC was using it (although receiving sets were far and few between), but BBC gave up on it as newer methods came along. Baird's picture quality was poor (30 lines), and not portable in any way. 99% of the world had no idea that this even existed.

Farnsworth invented the process of electronic TV, along with Zworkin's CRT tube, which had much better picture, was much more portable, and reliable. It became the standard that the world adopted.

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RealJonathanBronco t1_ja7jk9c wrote

Reply to comment by ghotiaroma 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 think that's an old world mentality that's on its way out. Social media is increasing the reach of the average person by the day. I feel like we're approaching the era where pissing off an influencer will signal boost as much as pissing off a company.

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greed-man t1_ja7j1os wrote

Reply to comment by DiabeticPissingSyrup 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

Baird invented one method of television. What is referred to as a mechanical version. It worked.

Farnsworth invented a different method, what is referred to as electronic. The market chose the electronic method. It worked.

Both statements are correct.

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HobgoblinKhanate1 t1_ja7iov1 wrote

Reply to comment by PrettyText in TIL a year after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English sent their own Armada to Spain, leading to similar losses of ships and men, and an ignominious English defeat by malektewaus

What makes you think the Irish potato famine might not been known about at all? Or that it was wholly a tragic accident? I don’t know anyone that thinks this

In school in the 90’s, all we were taught was that the British Empire was a bad thing. I don’t ever remember being taught the empire was glorious at all

A good example (because I know someone is going to bring it up) is Oliver Cromwell. We learned about him in school as basically a dictator. He banned Christmas (probably didn’t personally) and was a Puritan. We’re taught that life under him wasn’t very good at all. In fact, after he died, the English exhumed his body and cut his head off. But, there is the article people get giddy over of “top 100 Britons” that they love to link. This gets twisted by people on the attack as “Brits see Cromwell as a hero”. In fact, people are just stupid and simply don’t know more than 10 historical Britons and that’s how he made the list.

Who is understating the role of the Soviet Union? What decade are you referring to, the 1950’s?

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