Notices by Today I learned (todayilearned@noc.social)

TIL: A site manager's failed attempt to free a stuck flatbed truck resulted in it rolling off a cliff, blocking a railway tunnel just as an express train was approaching, leading to a crash that killed 49 people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Hualien_train_derailment
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gx3own/til_a_site_managers_failed_attempt_to_free_a/

TIL the longest range gunnery hit in naval combat is 26,000 yards, shared between HMS Warspite against Giulio Cesare in July 1940 and Scharnhorst against HMS Glorious a month before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warspite_(03)#Mediterranean_(1940%E2%80%931941)
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gwez7g/til_the_longest_range_gunnery_hit_in_naval_combat/

TIL: After the 2017 movie "It" there was a spike in coulrophiliacs, or people who are attracted to clowns, mainly among women. Vice interviewed Sugar Weasel, a clown escort who say women were typically clients. Props are a major part of the scene.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-kinky-brightly-colored-world-of-clown-fetishists/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gweglh/til_after_the_2017_movie_it_there_was_a_spike_in/

TIL that water can boil and freeze at the same time under the right conditions, known as the triple point, where all three phases—solid, liquid, and gas—coexist in perfect equilibrium at 0.01°C and 611.657 pascals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_point
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gwbyo0/til_that_water_can_boil_and_freeze_at_the_same/

TIL A 71 year old man was acquitted of murder after claiming self-defense when another moviegoer threw popcorn at him

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/25/us/curtis-reeves-murder-trial-jury-deliberations
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1guoo2t/til_a_71_year_old_man_was_acquitted_of_murder/

TIL this is the song the James Bond theme was based upon

https://youtu.be/lNHbKBHV0kw
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gusrsp/til_this_is_the_song_the_james_bond_theme_was/

TIL the US's primary defense against ICBMs has a success rate of just over 50%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-Based_Midcourse_Defense
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gutyyl/til_the_uss_primary_defense_against_icbms_has_a/

TIL that to satisfy a record contract, goth rocker Andrew Eldritch recorded an album as the band SSV-NSMABAAOTWMODAACOTIATW, said to stand for "Screw Shareholder Value - Not So Much a Band as Another Opportunity to Waste Money on Drugs and Ammunition Courtesy of the Idiots at Time Warner.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSV_(band)
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gvhbok/til_that_to_satisfy_a_record_contract_goth_rocker/

TIL - Who Owns Your Pets: You or the Government? Did you know that in many jurisdictions, pets are legally considered personal property, similar to a car or furniture? This classification grants owners significant rights but also subjects them to various government regulations, such as mandatory...

https://animalmedia.org/who-owns-your-pets-you-or-the-government/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gtf7ko/til_who_owns_your_pets_you_or_the_government_did/

TIL ecologists once thought Beaver dam-building was an amazing feat of planning, indicative of the high intellect. This was tested when a recording of running water was played in a field near a beaver pond. Although on dry land, the beaver covered the tape player with branches and mud.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gsowgh/til_ecologists_once_thought_beaver_dambuilding/

TIL: Over the past 15 years, 1 in 11 students at Harvard have come from just 21 high schools. So 9.1% of Harvard students come from 0.07% of US schools.

https://interactives.thecrimson.com/2024/news/feedershttps://interactives.thecrimson.com/2024/news/feeders
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gsdqd4/til_over_the_past_15_years_1_in_11_students_at/

TIL Spanish is the only language that uses inverted question mark (¿) and exclamation mark (¡)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upside-down_question_and_exclamation_marks
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gs5cbq/til_spanish_is_the_only_language_that_uses/

TIL the band Rednex, most famous for the song Cotton Eye Joe, is Swedish

https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rednex
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1grjn0a/til_the_band_rednex_most_famous_for_the_song/

TIL the baku, a mythical Japanese creature that eats nightmares. In the Meiji period, children would say, "Baku-san, come eat my dream" three times to get rid of bad dreams. But if the baku remained hungry after eating, it might also devour their hopes and desires, leaving them with an empty life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku_(mythology)
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1grq74y/til_the_baku_a_mythical_japanese_creature_that/

TIL If you come across a smartphone review video mere hours after its announcement, there's a 90% chance it's fake!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af1mW9Ry5ws
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gr08s0/til_if_you_come_across_a_smartphone_review_video/

TIL that because the Earth takes 365.2422 days to complete a rotation around the Sun, 1 Leap Day every 4 years would give us 3 extra days across 400 years. To prevent this, Leap Days are skipped on years ending with 00 but not divisible by 400 (1700, 1800, and 1900 skipped Leap Days, but not 2000).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gqqbm3/til_that_because_the_earth_takes_3652422_days_to/

TIL that rhinoceros mating can be brutal. First the males fight for dominance. Then the female chases the male. This is called a "bluff and bluster" ritual, & lasts hours. It often becomes violent, with wrestling and fighting. Sometimes it can even lead to death.

https://tsavotrust.org/how-do-rhinos-mate/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gqknhn/til_that_rhinoceros_mating_can_be_brutal_first/

TIL that Los Angeles has oil rigs concealed in fake buildings all over the city including one that's meant to resemble a synagogue and even has a small island chain built off it's coast for the sole purpose of drilling oil. They are the only decorated oil islands in the United States.

https://youtu.be/CfaY9zqD-4A?si=aXsjWrLYQbGQvSpK
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gqi30w/til_that_los_angeles_has_oil_rigs_concealed_in/

TIL the doctor who discovered washing hands saves lives was sent to an insane asylum where the guards beat him to death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gqis1l/til_the_doctor_who_discovered_washing_hands_saves/

TIL that capuchin monkeys in Brazil have been observed using stones to crack open nuts for over 3,000 years. They’re so skilled at it that some rocks show ancient wear marks, making these monkeys accidental archaeologists with their own "prehistoric" toolkits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_monkey#Tool_use
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gqb2zl/til_that_capuchin_monkeys_in_brazil_have_been/