Today I learned

!todayilearned@lemmy.ml

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TIL about OnionShare, an Open Source Hosting, File Sharing, and Chatting Application Available on All Major Platforms

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And if the US congress gets its way, this might be a route to secure communication after they ban VPNs

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TIL that Reddit has achievements

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Why? Do they think this is a videogame??

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You can count past 1,000 on your fingers by using binary, instead of just 10

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cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/53581443

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TIL that in New York City, you don't actually need a driver’s license to own a car or buy a car

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TIL: In 1979 Park Chung Hee, the third president of South Korea, was assassinated during a dinner, the gun jammed at the 3rd shot.

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Used for the assassination: Small handguns; Smith & Wesson Model 36 and Walther PPK

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Fascism was founded by an illegal immigrant

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"De retour en Suisse, il fut expulsé du canton de Genève en avril 1904 pour avoir falsifié la date de validité de son passeport..."

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TIL In 1975, the US overthrew the democratically elected leader of Australia for his opposition to the war on Vietnam.

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A few more articles on this:

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Today I learned: Epstein Island had an area of 28 ha

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The island was Epstein's primary residence,[4][14] and he called the island "Little St. Jeff".

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TIL the United States has 94 nuclear power plants.

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In 2024, U.S. utilities operated 94 nuclear reactors with a total net generating capacity of nearly 97 gigawatts (GW), the largest commercial nuclear power generation fleet in the world.

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TiL that only seven countries make up more than half of the world's human population

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TL;DR: India, China, US, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil. Aggregated percent of total: 50.4

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TIL that Chile, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Taiwan, Greenland, and the Phillipines are the only countries that you can tunnel through to hit another land mass. All others lead to water.

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Today I learned that Barilla created Spotify playlists that are the length of time needed to cook pasta to al dente

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Drop the pasta, start the playlist, when the music is over, you've got perfectly cooked pasta

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TIL the tallest statue in Australia is a 15 M high sheep known as big merino

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TIL that Norman Borlaug, an agricultural scientist, developed high-yield, disease-resistant wheat that helped prevent famine and is credited with saving over 1.2 billion lives. He won the Nobel Prize

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TIL evidence of a precursor to warfare has been found at Nataruk in Kenya. Remains of at least 27 individuals have been found and dated to 7550–8550 BC. The skeletons were bound and beaten.

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TIL a poll of 1,000 US visitors to Scotland found 33% thought haggis was an animal; 23% said they came to Scotland believing they could catch one. Haggis is traditionally made out of a sheep's stomach

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TIL optical telegraphs (at the turn of the 19th century) had many features now commonplace in modern networks, including control characters, routing, error control, flow control, message priority, and

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TIL zombo.com still exists, and no longer requires flash

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Today I learned that the "KNIGHTS" scene from Shrek 2, the scene parodying the 'COPS' TV show, was based off of the car chase with OJ Simpson in 1994, where he fled the scene in a white Ford Bronco.

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They made Donkey a stallion and made him white, and during the episode of 'KNIGHTS' showcasing the chase with Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and the others, they call Donkey a 'white bronco' on the police radio while the chase unfolds.

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Today I learned about the "village homosexual" in Tahitian culture who is always available when there are no women.

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@todayilearned Today I learned about the "village homosexual" in Tahitian culture who is always available when there are no women.

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TIL that Taiwan isn't the only Chinese province controlled by the Republic of China

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It seems that the Republic of China also control a few islands in the Fuchien/Fujian province as well, which are quite close to the People's Republic of China

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The worlds largest Super-bulldozer was never used

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The Italian maker wanted to export to Libya. But it never happened, and it stands around in storage 🚧.

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TIL there are "libraries" in London where you can borrow gadgets

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The Library of Things offers Londoners the chance to get their hands on the random tools, gadgets, and household items they need, in a far more sustainable way than buying them brand new. From camping gear and carpet cleaners to party supplies and pressure washers; the Library of Things is packed full with handy items to borrow at affordable prices. And with 19 libraries now scattered across the city; it’s never been more convenient to borrow rather than buy.

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TIL ska originated in the 1950s and is the precursor to reggae

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Today I learned that the Archbishop of York had a piece of Louis XIV's mummified heart in a locket. In 1848 he showed it to the Dean of Westminster, who ate it.

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@todayilearned Today I learned that the Archbishop of York had a piece of Louis XIV's mummified heart in a locket. In 1848 he showed it to the Dean of Westminster, who ate it. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-buckland

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TIL of the Donner Party who were a group of pioneers including women and children who had to resort to cannibalism after an early snowfall cut off their destination, just one mountain pass over.

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TIL that, when traveling overseas, Queen Elizabeth II did not need a passport. Since all passports were issued in her name, it was unnecessary for The Queen to possess one.

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TIL that axolotls, a salamander native to Mexico, can regenerate entire limbs, spinal cords, and even parts of their brains without scarring.

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TIL two men conned €55m from wealthy people by asking for aid posing as French minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in online meetings by wearing a silicone mask of Le Drian & sitting at a fake official desk.

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TIL that in 2015, Seal released an official explanation of the lyrics to "Kiss from a Rose." It read: "I have avoided explaining these lyrics for 25 years. I am not going to start doing it now."

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TIL: cow gut balloons where filled with hydrogen gas for WW1 Airships/Zeppelins 🎈

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… yes they used cow gut/intestines 🐄🐄. 7 layers of cow gut where sewn onto a carrier layer of fabric to create an airtight balloon that could hold hydrogen lifting gas for some days 🎈. 50.000 cows where slaughtered for one gas-cell

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Today I learned that Wernher von Braun (of Nazi Rocket Scientist infamy) wrote a sci-fi novel about Mars colonisation. In 1971 a South African racist named his son after the book's

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@todayilearned Today I learned that Wernher von Braun (of Nazi Rocket Scientist infamy) wrote a sci-fi novel about Mars colonisation. In 1971 a South African racist named his son after the book's Martian Leader: Elon

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(sorry if this doesn’t fit) i don’t speak russian, so today i learned “lunch” and “dinner” apparently use the same word (although dinner also has ужин)

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i know someone who is a native russian speaker and said they were “eating lunch” at 5pm despite already having eaten lunch. i was confused, and either figured they were having a second or late lunch, when i found this:

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TIL April 8th 1945 a prisoner at Buchenwald rigged up a radio transmitter and sent a message in a desperate attempt to contact the allies for rescue. 3 minutes after his message the US Army answered "

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TIL After Joan of Arc was executed on charges of heresy, her mother spent 25 years clearing her name. She convinced the pope to reopen Joan's case and attended the retrial - in her 70s.

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TIL Danny Trejo has a clause in his movie contracts that requires his villainous characters to die by the end of the film. He wants children to learn that crime doesn't pay.

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TIL, that the largest arthropod in the world is a spider crab with a width of over 12 feet and weighing in at nearly 45 pounds! Known as the Japanese Spider Crab.

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TIL Robert Kehoe discovered reports that the chemical benzidine caused bladder cancer. His client, DuPont, made benzidine. Instead of alerting the American public, Kehoe stuffed the report in a box. T

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TIL that two libraries in Portugal allow bats to nest in them, because they eat bugs that would eat the books.

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TIL During the height of Frasier's popularity, Moose, the dog who played Eddie, received more fan mail than any of his human costars.

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TIL In 1863 Copperhead leader Clement Vallandigham was exiled across enemy lines to the Confederacy by order of Abraham Lincoln, who considered him a “wily agitator” but did not want him to become a m

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TIL Australia is home to 10% of the world's reptile species, which is more than any other country.

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TIL In 1315 the republic of Florence abolished direct taxation, which was perceived as oppressive. The city was funded instead by indirect taxes, like tariffs and consumption taxes but also adopted a

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TIL in 1945 after a compulsory viewing of a film on the holocaust, 1000 German POWs at Camp Butner burned their German uniforms in disgust

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TIL "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" was first written for *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*

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TIL "god damn" doesn't actually refer to God.

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It's just another French word we fucked up.

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TIL that as you increase your walking speed there is a point where walking any faster would take more energy than running

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TIL that the OBS logo is a Japanese taiko drum symbol.

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TIL the voice actor for Marshmellow on Bob's Burger was David Herman for the first 8 seasons and now is done by Jari Jones

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She killed Seabird on the new episode "Hope N' Mic Night".

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TIL there is apparently a $43,652 chandelier on Amazon, and there are only 20 left in stock so invest now!!!

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Today I Learned that letters with round tops (Q, O, S, etc.) are drawn a smidgeon higher than letters with flat tops (E,T,F, etc.). This 'overshoot' makes them appear equal to our perception

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TIL that all those videos about the old Hollywood accent are absolute BS.

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TIL that the "Blowing smoke up my ass" phrase probably didn't come from a medical usage, but North Americans did use tobacco for health reasons.

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That unusual therapy is all very well—or perhaps not—but its existence among some pre-Columbian peoples of the Western Hemisphere and some post-Columbian peoples of eighteenth-century Europe does little to explain why the slang expression "blow smoke up [someone's] ass" emerged only in the 1940s or later. My guess is that the historical practice is only coincidentally related to the modern expression.

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TIL about "Dubbing", the practice of removing part of a farmed birds earlobes or other parts attached to the head. It is usually done without any anesthetic

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TIL that Gwyneth Paltrow is not just a harmless grifter

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I never went as far as to defend Gwyneth Paltrow, but after her Hot Ones appearance I created a post (which I will link in the comments) where I suggested that she's done no more harm than male grifters and that the dislike of her as a person was primarily due to misogyny. That's before I learned about her promotion of these unproven "vampire facials". Now an unlicensed clinic performing this procedure has given at least three women HIV. You guys were right and I was wrong.

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