TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

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

Go To

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

Twentington Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Desperate
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
#23727: Jan 10th 2017 at 11:45:03 AM

Denuvo is by the same team behind SecuROM.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Demetrios Lucky Seven from Des Plaines, Illinois (unfortunately) Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
TolkienOtaku Having a good time! from Utah Since: Nov, 2013 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#23730: Jan 11th 2017 at 6:44:09 AM

RED FORMAN WAS IN THE X-FILES!

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
scionofgrace from the depths of my brain Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#23731: Jan 11th 2017 at 7:06:04 AM

The calligraphy fountain pen I've had for like 20 years has a name: Sheaffer No Nonsense.

I mean, I knew it was made by Sheaffer, but I didn't know anything about fountain pens and there wasn't anything else printed on it. And it was like $20 when I got it (in a kit with extra nibs & a bunch of ink cartridges), which is cheap for a fountain pen. Turns out Sheaffer has a reputation for good, reliable pens. Even the cheap ones. Better yet, it's compatible with some of their nicer nibs, in case I want to try swapping them out.

So that was a pleasant surprise.

fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#23732: Jan 11th 2017 at 11:23:05 AM

Until yesterday, I didn't know that you could literally shit yourself to death. Thanks, X-Files!

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
Crizelda Poisonous Maiden ~ Unknown of Unending Toxicity from the World That Renounced Its Existence Since: Sep, 2016 Relationship Status: Mu
Poisonous Maiden ~ Unknown of Unending Toxicity
#23733: Jan 11th 2017 at 12:39:03 PM

Apparently, in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Return can cause an instant KO if the Pokémon using it has 1000 or higher IQ (which is not possible in normal game play).

Ilynne: "… Sidney… that gasmask of hers… why does she wear it…? And… why… why is there no… violet text color…?"
fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#23734: Jan 11th 2017 at 1:09:46 PM

There's somebody called "The Spiderman Rapist".

What.

edited 12th Jan '17 6:42:03 AM by fredhot16

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#23735: Jan 12th 2017 at 6:40:31 AM

Today's the 48th anniversary of the 18-point underdog New York Jets defeating the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III.

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
Almohad Since: Jan, 2016
#23736: Jan 12th 2017 at 12:42:58 PM

The Dunwich Horror was adapted into Manga around 1960. Hilarious in Hindsight, since whoever knows the plot of the story can't help but snicker at the thought of where this is going.

edited 12th Jan '17 12:46:49 PM by Almohad

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
#23737: Jan 12th 2017 at 4:00:46 PM

Henry Kissinger was going to have a cameo in The Muppet Movie.

thebeatles.com/careers
Robbery Since: Jul, 2012
#23738: Jan 12th 2017 at 9:55:02 PM

The Bloody Mary legend derives from a divination ritual, one of many folk rituals by which young women were supposed to be able to find out who they were going to marry. It's a permutation of an old ritual in which a young woman would walk backwards up a staircase in a darkened house (in some versions it had to be done at midnight, in others midnight on Halloween) holding a candle and looking in a small hand mirror; in the "Bloody Mary" version, the summoner had to say "Bloody Mary" three times and then Mary'd either show the woman the face of her future husband or appear as a skull or a corpse, if the young woman in question was fated to die before being married. There are apparently loads of these kinds of rituals, some of which survived as party/ sleepover games into the late 20th century.

In the modern, non-horror movie version of the legend, you say her name three times while looking in a mirror to summon her. She's supposed to either attack you or heap abuse on you and, if you can withstand it, (or, in some versions, if you settle her down by asking her about her baby) she's supposed to tell you your future.

edited 12th Jan '17 9:56:52 PM by Robbery

Lemurian from Touhou fanboy attic Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
#23739: Jan 13th 2017 at 1:40:06 AM

The composer Yuki Kajiura, who made the the soundtracks for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Noir, .hack//Sign and much more also made the entire soundtrack for Xenosaga III and the music for the movie scenes in Xenosaga II.

EDIT: Also, I just learned that the correct Norwegian spelling is "valkyrje", not "valkyrie" (which is the Danish spelling). The word comes from the combination of the Old Norse "valr" (fallen warrior) and "kjósa" (choosing, and yes, the Modern English has the same origin as the Old Norse word: the Proto-Germanic "keus", which again has its roots in Proto-Indo-European "geus").

edited 13th Jan '17 5:44:34 AM by Lemurian

Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
TroperNo9001 Dragon in Waiting from the Dollhouse (Wise, aged troper) Relationship Status: I turn to stone when you are gone
Dragon in Waiting
#23740: Jan 14th 2017 at 2:41:14 AM

Billy West did the voices of both Ren & Stimpy.

Still waiting for someone to break him free...
MrLavisherMoot dizzy from So'ton, Hants Since: May, 2014
dizzy
#23741: Jan 14th 2017 at 4:06:31 AM

After John K. was fired, that is.

simple as
Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
kyun Since: Dec, 2010
#23743: Jan 14th 2017 at 7:17:29 AM
Thumped: This post was thumped by moderation to preserve the dignity of the author.
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
#23744: Jan 14th 2017 at 12:08:53 PM

I never thought I'd see a thump in this thread. Must resist curiosity...

thebeatles.com/careers
Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Ramen Fairy
#23745: Jan 14th 2017 at 12:14:23 PM

The Indian Ocean is larger than the Southern Ocean.

[up] I know what the post was about, but I don't know if I'm allowed to say.

Peace is the only battle worth waging.
Twentington Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Desperate
#23746: Jan 14th 2017 at 12:20:53 PM

Both Trump and Dubya have won Razzie awards.

Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Ramen Fairy
#23747: Jan 14th 2017 at 12:28:26 PM

Georges Cuvier thought monotremes were related to xenarthrans.

Peace is the only battle worth waging.
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#23748: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:01:38 AM

There is a law in Germany that specifically bans nuclear explosions. It specifically calls for up to ten years in prison depending on the extent of damage.

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Ramen Fairy
#23749: Jan 15th 2017 at 6:05:24 PM

The hippopotamus is the only terrestrial artiodactyl with internal testes.

Peace is the only battle worth waging.
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
#23750: Jan 16th 2017 at 7:40:49 AM

Ducati has a licensed line of innerwear.

The white male cat hanging around the hostel canteen of late is actually albino.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

Total posts: 43,506
Top