Today I Learned

[Orodruin]

Gives new meaning to the name pufferfish …

 

[Hornbein]

Tanigawa-dake is sometimes called "mountain of death". As of December 2014, since its initial exploration and route-finding in the early 1930s, a total of 805 people have died on Tanigawa-dake.[1][2][3] (Compare with the approximately 200 people who have died on Mt. Everest over a comparable period.) In 1943, a climbing party disappeared on the mountain. They were not found until another climbing party stumbled upon their remains in 1973. In the 1960s, there was a famous rescue attempt of Japanese climbers on the main face who had died of exposure. Their bodies were eventually brought down when the Japanese Self-Defense Forces cut the rope with gunfire in order to retrieve the bodies.[4]

 

[BWV]

Learned about this alleged airburst that destroyed an ancient Mesopotamian city in the otherwise good The Earth Transformed by Frank Pankopan. The story came out in Nature and the Smithsonian Article referenced below, the wiki article indicates considerable skepticism has arisen over the last few years though



The destruction of Tall el-Hammam, a Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley, by an exploding comet or meteor may have inspired the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, a new study suggests. (“[N]otoriously sinful cities,” Sodom and Gomorrah’s devastation by sulfur and fire is recorded in the Book of Genesis, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.)

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...e-inspired-biblical-story-of-sodom-180978734/

 

[jtbell]

TIL that Florida's state bird is not the flamingo. It’s the mockingbird. This year will see the eighth attempt to fix that, in the state legislature.

 

[Ibix]

TIL that Florida's state bird is not the flamingo. It’s the mockingbird. This year will see the eighth attempt to fix that, in the state legislature.

I assume all "Bill to kill the Mockingbird" jokes have already been done?

 

[Borg]

Maybe they should make a movie about it.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Last year I learned how handy an Observium unit can be for network diagnostics.

 

[Hornbein]

For almost 29 years after the end of World War Two, Hiroo Onoda carried out guerrilla warfare on Lubang Island in the Philippines, on several occasions engaging in shootouts with locals and the police. Onoda initially held out with three other soldiers: one surrendered in 1950, and two who were killed, one in 1954 and one in 1972. They did not believe flyers saying that the war was over. Onoda was contacted in 1974 by a Japanese explorer, but still refused to surrender until he was relieved of duty by his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who flew from Japan to Lubang to issue the order.

Onoda surrendered on 10 March 1974 and received a hero's welcome when he returned to Japan. That year he wrote and published his autobiography. He later followed his brother to Brazil, where he joined an established Japanese immigrant community in Mato Grosso do Sul. He set up a cattle ranch. After 1984, he spent three months of the year in Brazil and the rest of his time in Japan

 

[jack action]

The best speech to promote A4 (at least, to nerds with OCD):

​

 

[pinball1970]

TIL Darwin's grave vandalised by just stop oil.

 

[russ_watters]

To really leave an impression, this map does the trick:

View attachment 355409​

Related: 70% of Canadians live south of the main readily identifiable border with the US (the 49th parallel).

 

[Astronuc]

Pacific bluefin tuna are large, migratory fish found throughout the biggest ocean on Earth. A typical Pacific bluefin weighs about 130 pounds, but occasionally, these iridescent swimmers can balloon in size, topping the scales at nearly 1,000 pounds. They feast on squid and various types of fish, including herring, anchovies, saury, sardines and mackerel.

Unlike most other fish, bluefin tuna are warm-blooded. They have a unique blood vessel structure, known as a countercurrent exchanger, that allows them to retain body heat, even when they’re submerged in frigid waters. This adaptation allows them to inhabit cold areas and dive up to 1,800 feet deep. It also makes them fast and powerful swimmers: The fish are known to cross the Pacific Ocean in just 55 days.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...-million-at-a-japanese-fish-market-180985799/

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that a whetstone is used while wet.

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL that the "finger gun" gesture is now verboten in schools.

I was informed - and chastised - by my 5yo gd.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

TIL that the "finger gun" gesture is now verboten in schools.
View attachment 355892
I was informed - and chastised - by my 5yo gd.

Are you some kind of terrorist? Jeez!

Actually, it is a gesture that can mean, I'm going to kill you. So it is understandable.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

TIL not to do this

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that the "finger gun" gesture is now verboten in schools.
View attachment 355892
I was informed - and chastised - by my 5yo gd.

In some areas of Japan the finger gun is such a tradition that victims will pretend to have been hit. Even strangers will do this.

 

[Orodruin]

TIL not to do this

One thing leading to another … TIL many spiders do not use muscles to extend their legs. They use hydraulics.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnid_locomotion

 

[BillTre]

TIL that
Jayden Daniel's fourth down conversion rate is better than
Michael Jordan's free throw percentage.

 

[Borg]

TIL that
Jayden Daniel's fourth down conversion rate is better than
Michael Jordan's free throw percentage.

He's still going to lose against the Lions on Saturday.

 

[BillTre]

He's still going to lose against the Lions on Saturday.

Time will tell. The Lions have their weaknesses.

 

[pinball1970]

TIL not to do this

I am going to have fun with the ladies at work on Monday. Hey, can I just show you this?

 

[pinball1970]

My uncle played semi professional football in the 1950s-70s. I know he played for Hyde United and was a Manchester "boys" player as a kid. I am researching his other clubs, he died 2017. His hero Denis Law died yesterday, the last of the famous United Trinity. Worth a mention at least RIP.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Trinity

 

[jack action]

TIL there is an error forever embedded in the speed of light definition:

​

 

[Ivan Seeking]

TIL bearcats smell like buttered popcorn,

https://today.duke.edu/2016/04/popcornscentedbinturong

 

[Hornbein]

TIL bearcats smell like buttered popcorn,

View attachment 356061
https://today.duke.edu/2016/04/popcornscentedbinturong

I used to smell like that.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I used to smell like that.

And now, fettuccini alfredo?

 

[BillTre]

He's still going to lose against the Lions on Saturday.

Ha!

 

[Borg]

Ha!

Yes, Washington was the better team last night. Way too many turnovers and no defense.

 

[BillTre]

Yes, Washington was the better team last night. Way too many turnovers and no defense.

True. But fun game.

Clearly Detroit was impacted by all their injuries.
Detroit should have kept going to Gibbs. That guy is awesome!