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Things you didn't know until very recently...

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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.

    Original post 
Hey guys...and gals...I was just browsing through an XKCD strip and ended up learning that Jimmy Carter was attacked by a swimming rabbit.

Courtesy link...

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

RaspyMink Since: Sep, 2016
#25176: Aug 25th 2017 at 6:39:21 AM

Demetrios, that is freaking COOL. I love flowers. I went to a wildlife refuge yesterday, and while most of the wildlife was too smart to hang out in 85F weather, I found a bunch of cool flowers. I'm trying to identify them now and see which ones I can plant in my garden next year.

trashconverters from MEL-bun (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
#25177: Aug 25th 2017 at 7:06:23 AM

If you scroll down the tropes page for The Alcoholic, to the music subsection, there's a little factoid embedded in Shane MacGowan's entry. Apparently he managed to survive falling of the shinkansen, but I've never heard that anywhere else, and how does one even manage to fall off?

MyFinalEdits Delete message from Parts Unknown (Spin-off Series) Relationship Status: Cast away
Delete message
#25178: Aug 25th 2017 at 7:57:08 AM

Yet another not-English realization: Oscar Wilde was born in Ireland. >_<

135 -> 180 -> 273 -> 191 -> 188 -> 230 -> 300 -> 311
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#25179: Aug 25th 2017 at 9:54:58 AM

It's called "pulling the ball" in baseball because the batter pulls his hand towards himself in the act of swinging the bat, making it more likely to get good contact on an inside pitch and more likely for the batted ball to go towards the same side of the field as the batter.

Took me like 20 years to realize this.

edited 25th Aug '17 9:55:25 AM by megarockman

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#25180: Aug 25th 2017 at 3:19:37 PM

The keyboard player of X Ambassadors, Casey Harris, is blind.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
trashconverters from MEL-bun (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
#25181: Aug 26th 2017 at 5:15:17 AM

Another Shane MacGowan related one: he and his partner Victoria Clarke have been together for 31 years, which is a pretty long time for any celebrity couple, but given how much of a human disaster MacGowan is, that's truly incredible.

edited 26th Aug '17 5:16:25 AM by trashconverters

kyun Since: Dec, 2010
#25182: Aug 26th 2017 at 11:48:44 AM

It's bad luck to keep bananas in fishing boats. Apparently, there's a superstitious rumor that they drive off fish.

TropesForever God forbid women do anything from wait where is she Since: Sep, 2016 Relationship Status: I wanna be your dog
God forbid women do anything
#25183: Aug 26th 2017 at 2:04:14 PM

Tea and Coffee taste good combined if you're a ditherer with no strong biases one way or another.

thebeatles.com/careers
RaspyMink Since: Sep, 2016
#25184: Aug 26th 2017 at 5:08:07 PM

[up] I could totally see that. Worth trying!

Anyway. This had never occurred to me: There are homeless people who have been traumatized indoors (like at a shelter, detox, or jail), and sometimes they stay on the streets because they feel safer there. Denver has built a trauma-aware apartment building to house chronically homeless people who don't feel safe indoors.

And! It's "housing-first." That means homeless people are given homes before they're given treatment or work. This model has worked well in other places, including Salt Lake City (they were early adopters due to the LDS Church and its views on helping the poor).

I'm optimistic. The article says that private companies lent the city of Denver money to build this money, and the city will pay them back with the money they save on jail and detox. Private companies are not in the business of giving away money, they want it back, and will not lend money if something seems too risky.

Sixthhokage1 Since: Feb, 2013
#25185: Aug 27th 2017 at 1:49:16 PM

Novell NetWare, which was used on my schools' computers when I was growing up, is discontinued. The last release of it was in 2009.

lee4hmz 486-powered rotating frosted cherry Pop-Tart from A shipwreck in the tidal Potomac (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
486-powered rotating frosted cherry Pop-Tart
#25186: Aug 27th 2017 at 4:33:24 PM

wow, they finally discontinued Net Ware? I thought it was never going to go away, kind of like That One Machine Running DOS.

online since 1993 | huge retrocomputing and TV nerd | lee4hmz.info (under construction) | heapershangout.com
Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Ramen Fairy
#25187: Aug 27th 2017 at 5:29:27 PM

Stormfront is defunct.

edited 27th Aug '17 5:29:36 PM by Spinosegnosaurus77

Peace is the only battle worth waging.
Demetrios Lucky Seven from Des Plaines, Illinois (unfortunately) Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Twentington Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Desperate
#25189: Aug 27th 2017 at 5:41:30 PM

Snoop Dogg is going to be hosting a game show.

Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Ramen Fairy
#25190: Aug 27th 2017 at 6:02:44 PM

[up] Wait, what? I need to hear more about this.

Peace is the only battle worth waging.
trashconverters from MEL-bun (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
#25192: Aug 28th 2017 at 3:52:25 AM

Cats can get AIDS, but dogs can't.

RaspyMink Since: Sep, 2016
#25193: Aug 28th 2017 at 6:12:14 AM

[up][up] I like your Joking Mode idea! With extra points given for comedy! I know some hella funny stoners.

This one time, my mom discovered my little brother's secret stash. She showed it to me, said, "Huh. No wonder he's so funny," and put it back.

scionofgrace from the depths of my brain Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#25194: Aug 28th 2017 at 6:33:08 AM

[up][up] Just to be clear, cat HIV (called FIV) is not the same virus as human HIV. Similar, but you don't have to worry about catching it from a cat.

MyFinalEdits Delete message from Parts Unknown (Spin-off Series) Relationship Status: Cast away
Delete message
#25195: Aug 28th 2017 at 6:46:04 AM

Wikipedia has an article on Nintendo Hard. WTF.....

135 -> 180 -> 273 -> 191 -> 188 -> 230 -> 300 -> 311
Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#25196: Aug 28th 2017 at 3:36:50 PM

The Joycons for the Switch and the Dualshock 4 controller for PS 4 can both be used as a controller for smartphones thanks to the magic of Bluetooth.

DrNoPuma Streaky from the land of Humorous Hyenas (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: Married to the music
#25197: Aug 28th 2017 at 4:47:25 PM

Not too long ago, I discovered Golliwogg's Cakewalk, which is now one of my favorite classical pieces.

When I read the title, I assumed Golliwog was someone's last name. I pictured a jolly old baker or candy shop owner.

As it turns out, the Golliwog is actually a ragdoll character who is considered a racist caricature nowadays. tongue

It's a shame, too. I wanted to use "Golliwog" as the name of a character I created, who leans more towards my original idea of who Golliwog is.

edited 28th Aug '17 4:48:44 PM by DrNoPuma

Very good kitty
Twentington Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Desperate
#25198: Aug 28th 2017 at 9:40:33 PM

The first Panda Express, the first Disney Store, one of the first two Apple Stores, and the first three-story Target are all located in the same mall in California.

DrNoPuma Streaky from the land of Humorous Hyenas (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: Married to the music

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