Today I Learned (TIL)
- TIL that, although rhubarb leaves are poisonous, you would have to eat several pounds in one sitting to reach a potentially lethal levelwww.nationalgeographic.com Does Rhubarb Deserve Its Killer Reputation?
Rhubarb is next to impossible to kill. Here in northern Vermont, rhubarb is about the first thing that …
- TIL people generally can't pantomime turning the steering wheel for a lane changepsychsciencenotes.blogspot.com What miming a steering wheel tells us about what we learn
Pro-tip - keep your eyes open while doing this One of my favourite podcasts is ' 99% Invisible ' by Roman Mars . It's about design, and ...
Although almost everyone does it all the time, when trying to pantomime it without visual feedback, we essentially always forget to turn back to straight and just something like a 45° turn.
- TIL the word "jalopy" most likely comes from a mispronunciation of the Mexican city Xalapa, where old American cars were imported into Mexicowww.americanheritage.com And Why Do We Call Them That?
Every American knows that the word jalopy means an elderly, decrepit automobile. Though the word undoubtedly originated in the United States, it is now (Issue: April/May 1986)..
- TIL in 2013, an Italian mafia "Ndrangheta" made more money than McDonald's and Deutsche Bank combined (€53bn / £44bn)www.theguardian.com 'Ndrangheta mafia 'made more last year than McDonald's and Deutsche Bank'
Study finds crime network made billions of euros from drug trafficking, illegal rubbish disposal and other activities
- TIL that Volkswagen also makes and sells its own brand of sausagewww.politico.eu It’s the Wurst! Schröder slams sausage-free Volkswagen menu
‘I don’t want to do without it,’ the German ex-chancellor said about the popular sausage dish.
- TIL that following the Roman departure from Britain (410 CE), systematic construction of paved highways in the UK did not resume until the early 18th century
>After the Romans departed, systematic construction of paved highways in the United Kingdom did not resume until the early 18th century. The Roman road network remained the only nationally managed highway system within Britain until the establishment of the Ministry of Transport in the early 20th century.
- TIL India still officially recognises 5 sub-national monarchies, known as the 'Kings of Dangs'. They receive payment from the government every year during Holi
> As per the treaty signed in 1842 the British were allowed to use the forests and their natural products against which they had to pay around 3,000 silver coins to the five kings. Currently the kings receive a monthly political pension by the Government of India, which is the main source of their income. This payment is continued even though all privy purses for the Princely states of India were stopped in 1970 since the agreement was between then monarchy of Dangs and the British
- TIL of the Kingdom of Bailundo, a non-sovereign monarchy located in Angola. Its king was notably deposed in 2021 after being charged of involvement in a murder
>Ekuikui V sometimes dubbed himself as the "king of (all) Ovimbundu". In early 2021, Ekuikui V was sentenced to six years in prison by the Provincial Court of Huambo (TPH) for his implication in a murder in 2017. Ekuikui V had issued a judgment in a traditional court case, finding Jacinto Kamutali Epalangana guilty of killing a child. Following the judgment, Jacinto was beaten to death.
>On the 3 March, 2021, he was ousted from the throne following a meeting of the Angolan Association of Traditional Authorities (ASSAT). Ekuikui V had previously claimed to be the president of ASSAT, despite no election confirming him as such. He was accused of various offences, such as forcing a son of his predecessor, Ekuikui IV, to walk around Bailundo naked. He was also accused of witchcraft, concentration of powers, and illegal sales of land. It was elected at the time that João Kawengo Kasanji would replace Ekuikui V as king, and that he would take the regnal name of Tchingala TChangungu Vangalule Mbulu. Ekuikui refused to accept the decision to remove him from the throne, and denied all of the aforementioned accusations.
>In March 2021, it was announced that Isaac Francisco Lucas Somaquesenje had been installed as king of Bailundo, with the regnal name Tchongolola Tchongonga Ekuikui VI. The enthronement ceremony was attended by the provincial governor and other guests. Part of the ceremony included the newly-appointed king sitting at the entrance of his official residence and collecting a basket containing white cornmeal (omemba). This was then fed to an animal which was later sacrificed. The king later received a sword (ondelia), signifying his traditional power. Tchongolola Tchongonga is a grandson of the former king, Ekuikui IV. He was elected to the throne by the court of Ombala (a council of elders[1]) in May 2021, receiving 153 votes out of a total of 206 voters. João Kawengo Kasanji in contrast, only received 31 votes.
- TIL when Robert De Niro sought Italian citizenship, he was opposed by the largest Italian-American group for damaging the reputation of Italians by playing gangsterswww.theguardian.com Don't honour wise guy De Niro, say US Italians
An influential Italian-American organisation has appealed to Silvio Berlusconi, asking the prime minister to cancel Italy's plan to award De Niro honorary citizenship.
On the other hand, apparently the Italians loved him:
> In Ferrazzano, the village which De Niro's great grandparents left in search of the US dream in the late 19th century, most of its 3,280 residents are among his greatest fans and are adamant that he should be formally made an Italian. He does not officially qualify for a passport because neither his parents nor his grandparents were Italian born.
> De Niro was born in New York in 1943, and has never visited the village.
> Every August for eight years, the village's now wealthy population of lawyers, doctors and office workers, most of who commute to work in the nearby town of Campobasso, has turned out for a week long festival of De Niro films.
- TIL in 2011 the Argentine government is believed to have begun making McDonald's underprice the Big Mac specifically to cover the country's high inflation on The Economist's Big Mac indexwww.economist.com Overcooked, undercooked
What do burger prices tell us about the reliability of official inflation figures?
The Big Mac index started as a joke, but became a somewhat respectable—if still highly informal—way of measuring Purchasing Power Parity. Argentina took advantage of this by making it really cheap but hiding it so no one would order it, artificially improving the country's score.
- TIL treadmills originated as a form of punishment in prisonswww.mentalfloss.com The Treadmill Originated in Prisons
Exercising on a treadmill often feels like torture, and that’s not exactly a coincidence.
Hence why they're called tread-"mills"—they were used to power mills to pump water or grind grain.
- TIL that no one knows what the "p" in "pH" stands forwww.nature.com Urban legends of chemistry | Nature Chemistry
Michelle Francl reminds us that even a rigorous scientific discipline such as chemistry has its own myths and legends — and explains why this isn't such a bad thing.
"Power" (or "Potenz" or "puissance") is the most common claim, but potential, pondus, and percent are also common. When the original author designated it, he implied that it was just a random mathematical letter, akin to x, and that it didn't stand for anything, although from context one could argue it stood for potential?
- TIL the Soviet Union still produced advertisements, often of fake products, to make itself look more prosperouswww.rbth.com Soviet spiel: Why the USSR produced ads for non-existing products
Because the government required all companies to spend one percent of their revenue on advertising, the Soviet Union’s sole ad agency churned out...
- TIL Big Bird's puppeteer navigates by a TV inside the suit, showing what is being recorded by the camera
YouTube Video
Click to view this content.
- TIL that Civilloquy.com is an instance, ha
Quite a unique domain name and nice focus that the instance has, cool!
- TIL: Nick Offerman of “ Parks and Recreation” is married to the woman who played his psycho-ex Tammy in real lifeamp.theguardian.com Nick Offerman: ‘I was told I’d never not be Ron Swanson’ | Nick Offerman | The Guardian
Parks and Recreation gave the midwestern actor the role of a lifetime – one that he struggled to escape. But now, with a stunning standalone episode of The Last Of Us and a new standup tour, he’s found there’s life after Ron