Today I learned

TIL that the famously wealthy King Croesus asked the Oracle at Delphi if he would win a war with Persia. The Oracle responded that if he attacked, it would mark the fall of a great empire. Croesus attacked, and the great empire that fell was his own.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croesus#War_against_Persia_and_defeat
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sf5jy8/til_that_the_famously_wealthy_king_croesus_asked/

TIL researchers compared 100+ rewilded sites in Scotland to neighboring non-rewilded land. Bird species were up 261%. Breeding territories up 546%. Bumblebees and butterflies increased tenfold. One ecologist said: "The results are astonishingly clear."

https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/press-releases/rewilding-delivers-dramatic-wildlife-recovery-across-scotland
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sjkoh4/til_researchers_compared_100_rewilded_sites_in/

TIL that in the 2004 tsunami, an oral tradition called "smong" on Simeulue Island told residents to run to the hills if the sea receded after an earthquake. 7 of 78,000 people died. On the mainland 60km away, where the tradition had been lost, over 170,000 were killed.

https://theconversation.com/why-14-years-after-the-aceh-tsunami-smong-should-be-part-of-the-indonesian-vocabulary-105809
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sga506/til_that_in_the_2004_tsunami_an_oral_tradition/

TIL reparations were awarded to former slave, Henrietta Wood, in 1878. Born into slavery, sold several times before being freed. Then kidnapped and resold. Her story, written by W. Caleb McDaniel says she bought a house and sent her son to law school and shows how reparations could change lives. 9

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Wood.
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sh57b3/til_reparations_were_awarded_to_former_slave/

TIL calling someone a "jerk" used to mean they were "an inept or pathetic person; a fool." This is why the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk" was named that - it made sense to people at the time, when now it seems strange that this basically nice guy is called a jerk. Ask someone in their 80s!

https://www.theringer.com/2023/08/08/pop-culture/jerk-word-evolution-steve-martin-goodfellas-jerry-maguire
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sp93kp/til_calling_someone_a_jerk_used_to_mean_they_were/

TIL Sabato Rodia created a complex of towers almost 10 stories high entirely by hand, using scrap metal and found object without formal training as either an artist nor an engineer. The City tried to tear them down but they survived a 10,000 pound stress test and is now the Watts Towers Arts Center

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-bites-watts-towers-2536623
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sq1xgk/til_sabato_rodia_created_a_complex_of_towers/

TIL that we have a dwarf planet candidate called Gǃkúnǁʼhòmdímà, with a moon called Gǃòʼé ǃHú. The names come from the Jul'hoan language which contains click sounds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/229762_G%C7%83k%C3%BAn%C7%81%CA%BCh%C3%B2md%C3%ADm%C3%A0
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sqjgm3/til_that_we_have_a_dwarf_planet_candidate_called/

TIL a Japanese man on a business trip to Hiroshima survived the atomic bombing with 50% burn to his body and ruptured eardrums. Next day he went back to work in Nagasaki, despite his workplace at ground zero, he survived the second atomic bombing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_Yamaguchi
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sjwls9/til_a_japanese_man_on_a_business_trip_to/

TIL that when Ringo Starr became ill prior to the Beatles' 1964 tour, session drummer Jimmie Nicol was quickly hired as a replacement. From getting the call to performing in front of 4500 fans it was 27 hours. He played 8 shows total and was gifted $500 ($14,638 in 2026) and an engraved gold watch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Nicol#With_the_Beatles
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sgarud/til_that_when_ringo_starr_became_ill_prior_to_the/

TIL that alternating current tends to flow on the outer surface of a wire due to the skin effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sfuw2e/til_that_alternating_current_tends_to_flow_on_the/

Til Michael Moore is still making movies.

https://youtu.be/wfszwkoSdQA?si=1Gy1-O9ePjj9ptO6
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sfsztz/til_michael_moore_is_still_making_movies/

TIL that the lifetime of an incandescent light bulb is inversely proportional to the voltage raised to as high as the 16th power. This means that increasing the voltage by a factor of 2 can decrease the lifetime by as much as ~65536 times

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamp_rerating
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sf8yav/til_that_the_lifetime_of_an_incandescent_light/

TIL - About the RMS Tayleur a White Star line ship that sank in 1854 on its maiden voyage to Australia with a loss of life between 290 to 380 of the 680 abroad.

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~cmi/books/emigrant/tayleur.html
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sq4v71/til_about_the_rms_tayleur_a_white_star_line_ship/

TIL: The Perseverance rover on Mars alerts Nasa's Deep Space Network to upcoming solar flares before they can be detected on earth. This early warning system gives analysts critical time to advise the Artemis II crew to take shelter inside the Orion capsule if a solar storm erupts.

https://pasadenanow.com/main/pasadenas-jpl-and-caltech-steer-nasas-artemis-ii-mission-toward-the-moon
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sed9ua/til_the_perseverance_rover_on_mars_alerts_nasas/

TIL that there are more slaves today than at any other point in history.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/25/modern-slavery-trafficking-persons-one-in-200#:~:text=Experts%20have%20calculated%20that%20roughly%2013%20million,modern%20slavery%2C%20according%20to%20the%20latest%20figures
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sbb7mp/til_that_there_are_more_slaves_today_than_at_any/

TIL Johnny Appleseed was an actual person who existed, and his real name was John Chapman.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sfc4ge/til_johnny_appleseed_was_an_actual_person_who/

TIL Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise, is the only living person to have ever gone to the moon, and not land on it. That is likely to change in the next 10 days.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/fred-haise-native-son-turned-enduring-hero/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sa1lx6/til_apollo_13_lunar_module_pilot_fred_haise_is/

TIL Helmut Kentler was a psychologist who placed several neglected youth as foster children in the home of ρedophile fathers with the authorization and support from Berlin Senate. He believed ρedophiles could make acceptable parents, and that any sexual contact would be relatively harmless

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Kentler
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sdv1ld/til_helmut_kentler_was_a_psychologist_who_placed/

TIL when a French soldier refused to wear the bloodstained trousers of a dead man, his commanding officer had him executed in order to make an example out of him in lieu of newly-arrived recruits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Bersot
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sa1ga8/til_when_a_french_soldier_refused_to_wear_the/

TIL Americans get uncomfortable watching a movie if there isn't a musical cue every 2 or 3 minutes to tell them how they should be feeling

https://www.nausicaa.net/wiki/Laputa%3A_Castle_in_the_Sky_(Rescoring)
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sjjd96/til_americans_get_uncomfortable_watching_a_movie/

TIL the USA performed a high-speed train test in 1966 by literally strapping two jet engines on top of a rail car. It did 183 MPH.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-497_Black_Beetle
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1s9vyjz/til_the_usa_performed_a_highspeed_train_test_in/

TIL that the first SMS ever sent said ‘Merry Christmas’ in 1992

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS?utm_source=chatgpt.com
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sf4h4i/til_that_the_first_sms_ever_sent_said_merry/

TIL the word "robot" is derived from Czech word "robota" meaning forced labor. The word was introduced by Czech intellectual and playwright, Karel Čapek, in his play titled “R.U.R.” (“Rossum’s Universal Robots”), which premiered in 1921 Prague

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/origin-word-robot-rur/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1s9y870/til_the_word_robot_is_derived_from_czech_word/

TIL that during the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, a daily short ceasefire was observed by both the Irish Rebels and British army to allow the groundskeeper of St. Stephens Green to feed the ducks in the pond.

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/an-easter-rising-timeline-wednesday-april-26th-1916-1.2188089
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1se8rve/til_that_during_the_1916_easter_rising_in_dublin/

TIL of the Greenbrier Ghost, the only case in US history where a ghost’s testimony helped convict a murderer. In 1897, a woman's spirit allegedly appeared to her mother to reveal she’d been strangled. The exhumation proved it was true, creating a permanent glitch in legal and medical history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenbrier_Ghost
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sdzjw3/til_of_the_greenbrier_ghost_the_only_case_in_us/

TIL that blind people tilt their head to kiss naturally proving it is biological not learned behavior.

https://www.bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bpsy/news/news00175.html.en
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sdapi3/til_that_blind_people_tilt_their_head_to_kiss/

TIL in 1941 two Navy pilots in an open biplane executed a mid-air rescue of a Marine who was dangling upside down by four shroud lines 100 ft behind a transport plane 3K ft above San Diego. The Marine's chute had opened suddenly while he was still on board, which forcibly pulled him out of the plane

https://www.rd.com/article/miracle-in-midair/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1scglet/til_in_1941_two_navy_pilots_in_an_open_biplane/

TIL The Proboscis Monkey is also Named "Dutch Monkey" by Indonesians when Dutch Colonist Arrived due to the Monkeys Resemblence of Red Face, Large Nose and Big potbelly

https://borneoadventure.com/blog/2018/09/proboscis-monkey/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sd5i5l/til_the_proboscis_monkey_is_also_named_dutch/

TIL in 1981 a doctor saved the life of a 3.2lb premature baby boy who had a 50% chance of survival by working around the clock to stabilize him. In 2011 that same doctor was pinned inside a burning vehicle after an accident, but was saved by a paramedic who turned out to be the baby he saved in '81.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/doctor-saves-baby-karma/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1scko9o/til_in_1981_a_doctor_saved_the_life_of_a_32lb/

TIL that RAM became so expensive, Samsung Semiconductor reportedly refused a RAM order for new Galaxy phones from Samsung Electronics.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2998935/ram-is-so-expensive-samsung-wont-even-sell-it-to-samsung.html
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sdcdrv/til_that_ram_became_so_expensive_samsung/

TIL A Japanese sewage treatment faculty extracts precious metals from sludge. They reported finding up to 1,890g of gold per ton of ash from incinerated sludge, far higher than the 20-40g of gold per ton of ore from Hishikari Mine, one of the world’s top gold mines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuse_of_human_excreta?wprov=sfti1#Precious_metals_recovery
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1se3xp1/til_a_japanese_sewage_treatment_faculty_extracts/

TIL Alan Tudyk is the #3 actor of all time by total box office across films with credited roles (and has an estimated net worth of $4-8 million).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_actors
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1se6fza/til_alan_tudyk_is_the_3_actor_of_all_time_by/

TIL Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of Bouvet Island is a king penguin who is the mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard. During Nils promotion, a citation from the King described the penguin "in every way qualified to receive the honour and dignity of knighthood”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_Olav?repost
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1scia43/til_major_general_sir_nils_olav_iii_baron_of/

TIL that Muslims around the world pay 2.5% of their annual saved wealth to charity, as a religious duty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sa138z/til_that_muslims_around_the_world_pay_25_of_their/

TIL Stalin's daughter died in 2011 in Wisconsin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Alliluyeva?wprov=sfla1
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sjx5ig/til_stalins_daughter_died_in_2011_in_wisconsin/

TIL the astronaut crew of Artemis II named a lunar feature for the late-wife of their mission commander, to honor her passing in solidarity.

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c5ylvz3rzyxo
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1seocr9/til_the_astronaut_crew_of_artemis_ii_named_a/

TIL about Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, who saved around 1000 Polish orphans during the occupation of Poland in WW2 and even encouraged other Rajas to do the same. After Poland regained its independence, he helped rehabilitate all of the children.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digvijaysinhji_Ranjitsinhji_Jadeja
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sbt6gt/til_about_maharaja_digvijaysinhji_ranjitsinhji/

TIL The U.S. Interstate Highway System has a numbering logic copied from the German Autobahn which was built earlier: even‑numbered interstates run east–west and their numbers get higher as you go north, while odd‑numbered interstates run north–south and their numbers get higher as you go east.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System#:~:text=He%20recalled%20that%2C%20%22The%20old,such%20a%20system%2C%20Clay%20stated%2C
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sqx8x8/til_the_us_interstate_highway_system_has_a/

TIL a pig named Lulu saved her owner’s life who was having a heart attack. The pig he forced her way out of the yard, ran into the road and played dead to stop the traffic. A driver stopped, followed the pig into the trailer, and called 911.

http://vault50.com/lulu-pig-played-dead-save-dying-owner/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1s9ypvv/til_a_pig_named_lulu_saved_her_owners_life_who/

TIL that while hidden communities of escaped slaves existed across the south, one of the largest was in the Great Dismal Swamp. Thousands lived there from about 1700 until the end of The Civil War despite harsh conditions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dismal_Swamp_maroons
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sbe6er/til_that_while_hidden_communities_of_escaped/

TIL of the 1902 kosher meat boycott, when Jewish women of New York City staged a boycott of kosher butchers in 1902 in response to a coordinated increase in price of kosher meat from 12 to 18 cents a pound

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1902_kosher_meat_boycott
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sqx9lh/til_of_the_1902_kosher_meat_boycott_when_jewish/

TIL: Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, and Amanda Plummer were all in Pulp Fiction (1994), and The Prophecy (1995) and Pulp Fiction

https://trailersfromhell.com/the-prophecy/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sa0b7m/til_christopher_walken_eric_stoltz_and_amanda/

TIL Kazuo Sakamaki was the first Japanese POW captured by the US in WWII. During the Pearl Harbor attack, he and his crewmate swam to shore after a failed attempt to scuttle their damaged 2-man sub. The other man drowned, but Sakamaki was found unconscious, washed up on a beach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo_Sakamaki?wprov=sfti1
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1s9tgh6/til_kazuo_sakamaki_was_the_first_japanese_pow/

TIL that Bologna (Italy) "was probably the first city in the world to abolish slavery"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liber_Paradisus
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sgrtne/til_that_bologna_italy_was_probably_the_first/

TIL The benandanti sect of 16th century Italy believed that they left their bodies in their sleep to fight evil sorcerers by beating them with fennel sticks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benandanti
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1se8kah/til_the_benandanti_sect_of_16th_century_italy/

TIL there is a specific accent and words for English speakers in Antarctica.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_English
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sbeouj/til_there_is_a_specific_accent_and_words_for/

TIL Moonraker (1979) was filmed before the NASA's Space Shuttle program launched, so no stock footage of a shuttle launch was available. Shuttle models attached to bottle rockets and signal flares were used for take-off, and the smoke trail was created with salt that fell from the models.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonraker_(film)#Filming
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sexrkg/til_moonraker_1979_was_filmed_before_the_nasas/

Today I Learned that the world's largest kidney stone was larger than the kidney that contained it.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/6/worlds-largest-and-heaviest-kidney-stone-removed-from-sri-lankan-man-753054
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1s9thm2/today_i_learned_that_the_worlds_largest_kidney/

TIL sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins. By intentionally slowing their heart rates by up to two-thirds, sloths can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes underwater, while dolphins generally need to surface for air every 8 to 10 minutes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth#Activity:~:text=Sloths%20can%20reduce%20their%20already,for%20up%20to%2040%20minutes
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sbmqfi/til_sloths_can_hold_their_breath_longer_than/

TIL Evi Nemeth, lead author of the Linux System Administration Handbook, disappeared at sea in 2013. The vintage yacht she was traveling on vanished between New Zealand and Australia during a storm with 26ft swells and 65mph winds. She and six others were never found

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evi_Nemeth#Disappearance_at_sea
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1sirzw7/til_evi_nemeth_lead_author_of_the_linux_system/