What interesting things have you only recently learned about?
To be clear, this is about things which have been true for some time and you only recently learned about, not things that only happened recently. In particular, recent deaths of celebrities and other high-profile individuals should go in the General RIP Thread
.
So, what interesting things have you guys...and gals...only recently learned about?
Edited by Twiddler on Apr 8th 2023 at 1:07:55 AM
Embrace the mindscrew
Best of: Well I had just finished having my clock cleaned by the HD collection.
What's the frequency Kenneth?|In case of war.
Britain is the same size as the state of Oregon.
Embrace the mindscrew
Small place, Europe.
What's the frequency Kenneth?|In case of war.
The EU has an area of 4 324 782 km².
The US has an area of 9 826 675 km²
The EU has a population of 500 million, therefore, having a PD of 117/km².
The US has a population of 314 million, therefore having a PD of 33.7/km².
Small and packed.
edited 3rd Aug '12 11:23:28 AM by Inhopelessguy
Blowing on a leaf
That Community has only 13 episodes for their 4th season. 
On a similar note, California's population is larger than that of Canada.
Despite spending over 80 hours playing Fallout New Vegas, I had no idea that Michael Hogan was in it until I started a new game and recognised his voice from Battlestar Galactica Reimagined.
edited 3rd Aug '12 12:48:34 PM by JimmyTMalice
"Steel wins battles. Gold wins wars."
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
So according to Troper Demographics, there are actually people over 65 who are using TV Tropes.
Uh...huh.
edited 3rd Aug '12 2:42:21 PM by dRoy
I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.
When I was three, I liked counting forward and backwards from one to ten.
'80s TV Action Hero
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
There are people over 65 years old?!!
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
I can't believe it either.
... Dude. You have stumbled upon the secrets of the universe.
ETERNAL
Belgium used to be the Spanish Netherlands.
I had my suspicions due to Geography, but never definitively knew.
"You'd never do something as irrational as dying."
'80s TV Action Hero
I knew that...because of Imperialism II.
edited 4th Aug '12 7:27:22 AM by InverurieJones
'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
Bloody Fossil
The "OTAN" on NATO AWACS aircraft
◊ isn't just some symmetry gimmick like the mirrored stars'n'stripes on US aircraft, the acronym of the French name actually is "OTAN"
Iced tea and margaritas do not mix well.
You didn't know that?
I don't know why the official languages of Nato are English and French. It should be English and German. Or English and Spanish.
edited 4th Aug '12 11:35:22 AM by Inhopelessguy
ETERNAL
English and Spanish would make sense.
Considering Spain was a colonial Superpower and is a really common language.
"You'd never do something as irrational as dying."
Obviously, the official languages should be German and Finnish. Obviously.
Bloody Fossil
Living in blissful ignorance of most things French, no. 
They really do seem quite pushy with their language though sometimes.
A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line
@ Olly. And considering in the Nato union, there are far more Spanish than there are French speakers.
ETERNAL
Why not make the official language Latin?
"You'd never do something as irrational as dying."
Nah. Esperanto
Oh, another tidbit. Esperanto is not an official language of the European Union.
edited 4th Aug '12 12:17:18 PM by Inhopelessguy
Judging you
You don't need to wait two hours after having your food to be able to swim
Haw Haw Haw
The question is what came first, the media doing it or people doing it.
Read my stories!