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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

epiclyrice Not all there from England Since: Feb, 2011
Not all there
#4101: May 26th 2011 at 11:07:41 AM

What a Vigenère cipher actually is and how one works, following from that how a one time pad works, and following from that why they are considered the only truly secure method of encryption.

edited 26th May '11 11:08:36 AM by epiclyrice

Zyxzy Embrace the mindscrew from Salem, OR Since: Jan, 2001
Embrace the mindscrew
#4102: May 26th 2011 at 8:34:34 PM

Godzilla 1985 isn't available on DVD in the US.

What's the frequency Kenneth?|In case of war.
Idler20 Rabbit Season Since: Oct, 2010
Rabbit Season
#4103: May 27th 2011 at 5:47:38 AM

Dazzler of the X-Men had her own comic book.

You're an ad hominem attack!
MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Wicked223 from Death Star in the forest Since: Apr, 2009
#4105: May 28th 2011 at 7:09:23 PM

are you kidding me

You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!
MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Tzetze DUMB from a converted church in Venice, Italy Since: Jan, 2001
annebeeche watching down on us from by the long tidal river Since: Nov, 2010
watching down on us
#4108: May 29th 2011 at 10:01:15 PM

On May 10th of 2007 at around 2:30 in the morning two strangers barged into my bedroom. I started screaming and crying, as in my mind I was sure that these two strangers had broken into my house and were going to abduct me, rape me, kill me, or in some way harm me. They immediately told me that if I did not shut up that they would handcuff me. I was not being in any way violent or threatening. I was reacting in fear for my life by being vocal and hoping that someone would come to help. I had no idea what was going on. I stopped screaming, still in fear for my life. They started going through my closet digging out clothes as I was only in a night gown. They still had not explained what was going on. I asked, frightened, what the wanted from me, trying to see if I could in some way appease them and get them to leave. They then explained that they were going to take me to a school. It took me a second to understand what they meant by this, as this was an extremely bizarre way to introduce a child to a new school. It then occurred to me that this was what my mother had arranged for my brother several years ago when she had him shipped away to Cross Creek. The two strangers were from Teen Escort Service, a for-profit company that transports teenagers, usually by force, to WWASP (World Wide Association of Specialty Programs) facilities.

From the moment I arrived at Cross Creek, I was treated as though I was broken, dirty, and inhuman. During my stay I saw many others treated this way. I had never spoken to R., the program director, before and my first experience with him was horrible. He asked me why I was there, and I told him all of the things I’d done that I could think of that could possibly be perceived as “bad”. He yelled at me, saying that I was lying and that I didn’t love or care about my parents. I was shocked and confused, unsure of what I had done to deserve this treatment from someone I had just met.

I’d also like to mention how many times I saw staff and administration, tackle and restrain children when it was completely unnecessary. So many times I saw kids simply refuse to go to gym class or get out of bed and as punishment they were violently tackled, restrained in a painful position, and taken to a small isolation room where they were usually watched by two or three staff members. This was also what they did when a child harmed themselves. This method is extremely violent, and I remember at least one incident that happened when I was there where they tackled a girl and restrained her face down against the ground and as a result she got rug burn on her face to the point that she was bleeding and had visible scabs on her face. Another time a girl shared that being tackled and restrained gave her flashbacks of a rape she’d experienced, to which the program director responded that he felt no remorse for it and that it was really her fault for doing what ever she’d done to be restrained. You could argue that this might be appropriate in cases where a kid is being violent towards others, but from what I saw, more often than not, this was absolutely not the case and the child being restrained was not being violent. In addition to tackling and restraint being (in my humble opinion) immoral, it is unsafe, and this has been proven. If you look on the website for the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse, you can see a long list of deaths that have occurred in “behavioral modification” facilities not unlike Cross Creek as a result of tackling and restraint. http://www.caica.org/RESTRAINTS%20Death%20List.htm

Shortly after arriving at Cross Creek, I stopped getting my period for about 8 months. This was apparently a common thing that happened in the program when girls first arrived, as the body was reacting to some serious stress. I also started wetting the bed shortly after arriving at the program. This had not been an issue for me since the age of 3 or 4. This bed wetting issue continued until I left the program. After I graduated, it stopped completely.

Shortly after I left the program I was raped. I shared what happened with my mother, who then told me, like Cross Creek did, that it was my fault, I asked for it, and that I should have known it would happen.

Complete text.

I learned recently that these places exist.

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.
Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#4109: May 29th 2011 at 11:13:24 PM

jesus

fucking

christ

almighty

InverurieJones '80s TV Action Hero from North of the Wall. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
'80s TV Action Hero
#4110: May 30th 2011 at 1:21:13 AM

I'm so glad I live in a country where we have laws against that kind of thing.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#4111: May 30th 2011 at 1:21:50 AM

People CAN die from drinking too much water and falling from two stories high.

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
InverurieJones '80s TV Action Hero from North of the Wall. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
'80s TV Action Hero
#4112: May 30th 2011 at 1:26:41 AM

Uh...two storeys (note spelling) is a long way to fall. You can die from tripping over your shoelace if you land badly.

Death by drinking too much water is slow and painful. Best avoided by drinking whisky instead, as you'll fall over before you get to the point where the water content of the ingested liquid is dangerous.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#4113: May 30th 2011 at 1:46:30 AM

I don't know man, I don't know where you live, but where I live, two story is usually less than ten feet. Hell, I once jumped (read: slipped) from three stories tall and ended up with a broken leg for about three months....ok, that was a pretty bad, but even then I didn't really thought it could kill someone, just hurt like mother.

Anaesthesia (?) wasn't used until fairly recently. Holy shit, how did they do amputations?

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
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
#4114: May 30th 2011 at 1:53:39 AM

Anne: I've read about those places before. Why they're not completely illegal in the US (and the parents liable for abduction and attempted murder for using them) is beyond me.

Seriously, anyone that sends their kid there, especially if they use paid thugs to do it, should get life in prison. Fuck them.

online since 1993 | huge retrocomputing and TV nerd | lee4hmz.info (under construction) | heapershangout.com
InverurieJones '80s TV Action Hero from North of the Wall. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
'80s TV Action Hero
#4115: May 30th 2011 at 1:59:24 AM

d Roy: It's all in the landing; ten feet is a long drop onto your face and more than enough to kill a human. An RAF officer once fell three miles from a burning Lancaster and lived, but I wouldn't want to give that a go either.

It's 'storey/storeys' when refering to floors in a building, by the way.

As for the amputations...there was screaming. Lots of screaming and biting things.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
epiclyrice Not all there from England Since: Feb, 2011
Not all there
#4116: May 30th 2011 at 2:49:34 AM

[up] Also, alcohol. And drugs. But mainly, you had to really prepared for what was going to happen to you.

dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#4117: May 30th 2011 at 2:55:31 AM

[up][up] Oh so that was what you meant. I was wondering why you were talking about storeys.

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
LuckyRevenant ALMSIVI from The Flood Since: Jan, 2001
ALMSIVI
#4118: May 30th 2011 at 3:03:57 AM

The oldest known use of things like frame stories and stories within a story is in ancient Sanskrit literature. These are generally believed to have been improved upon and popularised by 1001 Arabian Nights.

"I can't imagine what Hell will have in store, but I know when I'm there, I won't wander anymore."
Justice4243 Writer of horse words from Portland, OR, USA Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Brony
Writer of horse words
#4119: May 30th 2011 at 4:25:51 AM

People CAN die from drinking too much water.

On a related note, enjoy “morning zoo” idiocy at its absolute worse.

Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.Proverbs21:15 FimFiction account.
Zudak Since: Dec, 1969
#4120: May 30th 2011 at 11:25:00 AM

[up]That was pretty much the first thing that came to mind when I read Roy's post.

cutewithoutthe Góðberit Norðling Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Star-crossed
Góðberit Norðling
#4121: May 30th 2011 at 11:25:59 AM

It is possible for me to lose in an arm wrestling match against a Ninth Grader.

annebeeche watching down on us from by the long tidal river Since: Nov, 2010
watching down on us
#4122: May 30th 2011 at 11:26:56 AM

I can lose an arm wrestling match against just about anybody.

Except maybe a small child.

edited 30th May '11 11:27:06 AM by annebeeche

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.
Justice4243 Writer of horse words from Portland, OR, USA Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Brony
Writer of horse words
#4123: May 30th 2011 at 12:36:36 PM

The Danish have banned many food items for having fortified vitamins.

Danes said [Kelloggs] Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Special K wanted to include "toxic" doses which, if eaten regularly, could damage children's livers and kidneys and harm foetuses in pregnant women

“Daddy, why do I have two extra toes?”

“Because MOMMY couldn’t kick her CORN FLAKES addiction!”

edited 30th May '11 12:37:15 PM by Justice4243

Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.Proverbs21:15 FimFiction account.
Zizoz Since: Feb, 2010
#4124: May 30th 2011 at 1:47:34 PM

I'm pretty sure «storey» is a British spelling, and the American spelling is «story».

lolacat Dead? You thought wrong from Vancouver Island Since: Mar, 2011
Dead? You thought wrong
#4125: May 30th 2011 at 4:18:04 PM

"That was the first thing that came to mind when I read Roy's post."

Same here!

Seeing all these piss ant tropers trying to talk tough makes me laugh. If Matrix were here, he'd laugh too.

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