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
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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
Me too. I am actually a yokai.
Mweheheh
The 21st century began in 2001.
edited 6th Feb '16 9:42:26 AM by Spinosegnosaurus77
Peace is the only battle worth waging.
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
....Really? Huh. I thought it was 2000.
I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.
"Just as planned."
The year zero as we understand it doesn't exactly exist - so instead we have the year 1.
Hence the 2nd millennium common era is considered to have started in 2001.
"Did you expect somebody else?"
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
Well, I certainly didn't know that.
Curry bread and melon bread aren't actually bread. And actual melon in the latter is a recent invention.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Paul Blart has been consistently ranked #1 film in all charts of all films, ever.
Paul Blart is actually in the National Film Registry right between Gone with the Wind and Schindler's List. I can confirm because I have an uncle who works there.
He is also a ghost.
edited 6th Feb '16 12:04:50 PM by Midna
Mweheheh
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Did it cure his suicide?
Cure his suicide? It increased his strength ratio by at least 420%.
'Gross', when used to mean 'disgusting', is apparently slang.
edited 6th Feb '16 12:27:55 PM by SpaceWolf
This is a signature.
Mweheheh
Isn't the real meaning "approximate" (as in "a gross estimate")?
Yes. Apparently, it also means 'large' and '144'.
This is a signature.
"Just as planned."
It can also mean things which are overweight to such a degree that one thing in particular is the focus of it being overweight. Somebody described as grossly overweight for example may have a large amount of their body as bodily fat, or even a particularly large tumor.
"Did you expect somebody else?"
Mweheheh
Jackie Chan voices Monkey in the Kung Fu Panda films.
Peace is the only battle worth waging.
Our Favorite Cowgirl, er, Mare
I prefer "gross" when it refers to earning money.
I like to keep my audience riveted.
Jackie Chan also voices Po's father in the Mandarin dub of the movie in addition to Monkey!
Officially intimidated
"Prize" and "gift" are by no means synonymous. And as soon as I learned the reasons it felt so alarming that I went into this very thread to comment on it. In many of the lottery contests, reality shows where guests are awarded with something, contests and the like, if you "win" a car, you earn full responsibility on affording the taxes included with it. People who "win" a physical item and are poor are often unable to afford the tax, because even if it's only a small fraction of the monetary value you would have to pay if you purchased the item normally, it's still very high (often around 7000 dollars). So if you can't pay the tax, you either have to sell what you won to do so, or just reject the prize altogether. Ouch.
Things get a little better if the prize is money, though. You pay the tax that comes with it and keep the rest for you to enjoy.
135 - 169 - 273 - 191 - 188 - 230 - 300
'80s TV Action Hero
The only difference between a prize and a gift is that you have to win a price, while a gift is simply given.
In your example, even if you were given the car as a gift, you'd still be liable for the costs incurred in running it. It doesn't matter how you came to own it; unless the person who give it to you (as prize or gift) also agreed to pay for its upkeep, that is now your responsibility as its owner. A car is a bit of a white elephant to give somebody, really.
edited 8th Feb '16 6:14:57 AM by InverurieJones
'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
Re: gifting cars:
My older brother gave me a (beat-up old) Nissan for my high school graduation. However, he also wrote up a bill of sale saying I bought it for a penny. IIRC, when registering a car for the first time, there's a fee that's based on how much the owner paid for it. Unless it's a gift, in which case the fee would be based on the car's market value. I mean, there was a fixed amount I had to pay either way, but there was an added percentage based on the value/price of the car. Not sure if this is still true, or if it varies by state.
(This same brother now runs a used car lot.)
Mweheheh
Peanuts porn is a thing. Goodbye, childhood.
Peace is the only battle worth waging.
I swear, it's like Brain Bleach companies created Rule 34 so we would buy more of their product.
Also, I learned there are a surprisingly large amount of people at my school who not only bring their 3DSes to school, but also play Fire Emblem: Awakening.
edited 8th Feb '16 7:40:46 AM by valozzy
Our Favorite Cowgirl, er, Mare
Speaking of school, my brother said there's been an outbreak of mumps at his.
I like to keep my audience riveted.
The 46-year-old composer for such Disney films as Monsters University and Big Hero 6 ..... has died after battle with cancer.
Again.
I'm actually dead right now. I've been a ghost for several weeks. I can't type because my fingers are ethereal, so I'm dictating to someone else.