Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 15:50

TIL an fMRI study mapping the female genitals onto the sensory portion of the brain found that nipple self-stimulation activates the genital sensory cortex, the same area as clitoral, vaginal, and cervical self-stimulation. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 13:49

TIL The guy who designed Big Ben in London went insane a few months after finishing the clock design and handing the design to the project boss who never credited him for it. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 11:49

TIL that Beethoven composed some of his greatest works, including his Ninth Symphony, while completely deaf. He relied on his understanding of musical theory, memory, and vibrations to create music. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 06:49

TIL that research on the Harry Potter book series found that it helps reduce readers’ prejudice toward minority groups. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 04:49

TIL the Rennaissance fair was formed by Hollywood actors who were blacklisted for accusations of communism during the red scare in the 1960s [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 02:49

TIL that if Apollo 11 had failed to land on the Moon, Apollo 12 was prepared to launch just 2 months later. However, with the success of Apollo 11, the time between launches was extended to 4 months with Apollo 12 landing on the moon November 19, 1969. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 23:49

TIL Early in his career actor Zero Mostel was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for suspected communist sympathies. During his testimony, Mostel refused to name names, made jokes, and challenged the committee's assertions. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 20:49

TIL during Obon, an annual family reunion holiday in Japan, the spirits of ancestors are believed to revisit household altars, and to help them come back home and return, a cucumber horse and an eggplant cow are crafted as vessels, respectively. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 19:49

Today I learned that companies like Starbucks and Verizon use US prison labor to increase profit margins. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 18:49

TIL about the Night of the Big Wind, a January 6th 1839 storm that was the most severe to hit Ireland in centuries. Over 20% of houses in Dublin were damaged or destroyed, and was so severe that people believed the world was ending [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 16:49

TIL while filming Metropolis (1927) they would often end up with more children in the evening than in the morning. Coming from the poorest areas of Berlin, the children would sneak onto set or climb over the fence to experience the warm rooms, games, toys, cocoa, cake, and regular meals [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 15:49

TIL that in the Tenerife air disaster, the deadliest accident in aviation history, none of the victims had tickets to Tenerife. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 13:49

TIL: That the Don McLean song "Vincent" was a particular favorite of the rapper and actor Tupac Shakur. The song was played to him at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, the hospital that he was admitted to just before he died of gunshot wounds from a drive-by shooting. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 10:49

TIL that Leonard Nimoy refused to participate in Star Trek: The Animated Series unless George Takei and Nichelle Nichols were included, emphasizing their roles as symbols of ethnic diversity in the 23rd century. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 06:49

TIL 24 year old George Jetson knocked up Jane when she was 16 or 17. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 14:50

TIL "flotsam" pertains to goods (i.e. shipping containers) that are floating on the surface of the water as the result of a wreck or accident. One who discovers flotsam is allowed to claim it unless someone else establishes their ownership of it. Even then, items may still be claimable by the finder [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 12:49

TIL there is a rare condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, where soft tissues in the body gradually turn into bone. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 10:49

TIL a high-ranking dinosaur ant who challenges her queen but fails will be immobilized, publicly chastised for several days, join the working class and lose all hope of ever ruling or reproducing [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 05:49

TIL that the last words of Apache leader and prisoner of war Geronimo were: "I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 03:49

TIL that ants have domesticated some species of butterfly [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 Nov 2024 00:49

TIL that the founder of audio electronics manufacturer Bose donated most of his shares to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT is now the company’s majority shareholder. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 21:49

TIL That Anne Spielberg, sister of Steven, co-wrote the movie Big. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 20:49

TIL in South Korea, only blind people can get a masseur's license. This law was established in 1912, to help visually impaired people earn a living. It was upheld by their Constitutional Court in 2008. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 19:49

TIL that Graphene is the thinnest two-dimensional material in existence and is 200 times stronger than steel. It is also the most conductive material on Earth, excelling in both electrical and thermal conductivity. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 18:49

TIL that in 2001, Warner Bros had to recall every single copy of a then-newly-released "The Powerpuff Girls" DVD because three of the DVD-ROM programs (including its installer) were accidentally infected with the "FunLove" computer virus, which would be spread to any PC that installed the software. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 15:49

TIL that the first ATM was developed and built by Luther George Simjian, and installed in 1939 in New York city by the City Bank of New York. Six months later, it was removed due to the lack of customer acceptance [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 14:50

TIL the tallest mountain in Spain is not located on the mainland but on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Known as Pico de Teide, it is also the highest peak on any Atlantic Ocean island. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 11:49

TIL the University of Toledo has a (disarmed) rocket pointed at the 50 yard line of their rival, Bowling Green State University [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 08:49

TIL about the 1937 marriage of 22-year-old Charlie Johns and 9-year-old Eunice Winstead, causing national attention after an article was written in Life magazine. It led to the state of Tennessee introducing a new law setting the minimum marriage age as 14. Other US jurisdictions followed similarly. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 Nov 2024 06:49

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