TIL that in the US, production of alarm clocks was allowed in 1944, despite them containing brass needed for war materials, because workers kept missing their shifts due to a critical alarm clock shortage.
http://bit.ly/2vdbghM
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 04:35PM by swnkls
via reddit http://bit.ly/2WcZJPh
http://bit.ly/2vdbghM
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 04:35PM by swnkls
via reddit http://bit.ly/2WcZJPh
Wikipedia
Alarm clock
An alarm clock (alarm for short) is a clock that is designed to alert an individual or group of individuals at specified time. The primary function of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other…
TIL about "The Whole Shabangs" potato chips, available almost exclusively from US Prison system commissaries. Ex-cons consider these chips to be the best chip out there, and a high-point of their incarceration. Many end up dismayed and disappointed at their lack of availability "on the outside".
http://bit.ly/2HKtU79
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:09PM by VivaNOLA
via reddit http://bit.ly/2VNEGUa
http://bit.ly/2HKtU79
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:09PM by VivaNOLA
via reddit http://bit.ly/2VNEGUa
Mentalfloss
The Popular Potato Chip Brand You Can Only Find in Prison
The Whole Shabangs are the most popular potato chip you’ve never heard of.
TIL that the Oneida silverware company was started by a religious millennial group (1850) who practiced free love and would have menopausal women train the young males how to not ejaculate during sex as a method of abstinence.
https://wbur.fm/2JUlrkv
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 09:32PM by LianelJoseph
via reddit http://bit.ly/2JuHMGc
https://wbur.fm/2JUlrkv
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 09:32PM by LianelJoseph
via reddit http://bit.ly/2JuHMGc
www.wbur.org
The Rich, Sexy History Of Oneida — Commune And Silverware Maker
Once proclaiming free love and breeding for a super race, Oneida, New York became known for silverware production.
TIL Robert Leonard the original bassist for the band 'Sha Na Na', after proofreading the band's contracts, realized he had a knack for critically examining language. He returned to school, received his M.A., MPhil, and PhD from Columbia University and now works as a forensic linguist.
http://bit.ly/1kekrHA
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:42PM by default52
via reddit http://bit.ly/2w9haSn
http://bit.ly/1kekrHA
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:42PM by default52
via reddit http://bit.ly/2w9haSn
Wikipedia
Robert A. Leonard - Wikipedia
American forensic linguist
TIL under President Reagans directive, the United States (via the CIA) funneled more than $2 billion in guns and money to the mujaheddin (which became the Taliban) during the 1980s to defeat and remove the Soviets in Afghanistan. It was the largest covert action program since World War II.
http://bit.ly/2HIzUNI
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 12:16AM by 0penYourMind
via reddit http://bit.ly/2VR4TkW
http://bit.ly/2HIzUNI
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 12:16AM by 0penYourMind
via reddit http://bit.ly/2VR4TkW
reddit
r/todayilearned - TIL under President Reagans directive, the United States (via the CIA) funneled more than $2 billion in guns…
885 votes and 162 comments so far on Reddit
TIL that one of the most expensive wine bottles that was never to have been drunk was a 1787 Margaux from Thomas Jeffersons Collection, the owner brought it to a restaurant and a waiter knocked it over. Insurance payout was $225,000 in 1989
http://bit.ly/2EmrPh1
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:56PM by Kodkod87
via reddit http://bit.ly/2WXneJk
http://bit.ly/2EmrPh1
Submitted May 20, 2019 at 10:56PM by Kodkod87
via reddit http://bit.ly/2WXneJk
Telegraph.co.uk
10 of the world's most expensive bottles of wine
Ten fine wines that are too valuable for their owners to ever uncork.
TIL that Ebbie Tolbert was born around 1807 and spent over 50 years as a slave. She got her freedom at the age of 56. She also lived long enough so that at age 113 she could walk to the St Louis polling station and registered to vote.
http://bit.ly/2BC4eYc
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:12AM by _WaldoFindsYou_
via reddit http://bit.ly/2HEfKV9
http://bit.ly/2BC4eYc
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:12AM by _WaldoFindsYou_
via reddit http://bit.ly/2HEfKV9
The Missouri Historical Society is ... Missouri Historical Society and was founded in 1866.
Ebbie Tolbert and the Right to Vote | Missouri Historical Society
On September 14, 1920, a formerly enslaved African American woman in her 100s at long last entered her name in the local voter registry. Her story is a powerful reminder for us all.
TIL Alexander the Great has a giant glass barrel made. He sat in it and had people lower it into the water so he could look at fish.
http://bit.ly/2Wd9ZHv
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 01:13AM by agaponka
via reddit http://bit.ly/2LWtPmr
http://bit.ly/2Wd9ZHv
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 01:13AM by agaponka
via reddit http://bit.ly/2LWtPmr
Hellenicaworld
Alexander the Great and the bathysphere
Greece Online Encyclopedia
TIL that the British sent ships and men to the US at the start of WWII to protect us from German U-boats. One ship sank and all 37 men on-board died. Only 4 washed up on shore. A special "British Cemetery" was created and it is leased in perpetuity to England so the men are at rest on British soil
http://bit.ly/2WYwKMy
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:41AM by Work_high_earn_high
via reddit http://bit.ly/2WfRGRQ
http://bit.ly/2WYwKMy
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:41AM by Work_high_earn_high
via reddit http://bit.ly/2WfRGRQ
Atlas Obscura
British Cemetery of Ocracoke
The North Carolina grounds are leased in perpetuity to the British Commonwealth for as long as the WWII sailors are buried there.
TIL that the job with the highest death rate in the USA is the position of President at 18%.
http://bit.ly/2VRFTK5
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:11AM by rooney247
via reddit http://bit.ly/2HGkgCC
http://bit.ly/2VRFTK5
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:11AM by rooney247
via reddit http://bit.ly/2HGkgCC
New Statesman
The most dangerous job in America? US presidents have a fatality rate roughly 27 times that of lumberjacks
The naming of the dead.
TIL Fat Bottom Girls and Bicycle Race by Queen were released together on a double A-sided single, and refer to each other. Near the end of Fat Bottomed Girls, Mercury shouts, "Get on your bikes and ride!" Bicycle Race reciprocates with the lyric "fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today."
http://bit.ly/2YHccIJ
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 01:11PM by dartmaster666
via reddit http://bit.ly/2walctF
http://bit.ly/2YHccIJ
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 01:11PM by dartmaster666
via reddit http://bit.ly/2walctF
Wikipedia
Bicycle Race
"Bicycle Race" is a single by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album Jazz and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls". The song is notable…
Today I learned that flat-faced dogs like pugs are so deformed that veterinary students can mistake their x-rays for dogs that have been hit by cars. One vet has publicly stated that their nose is so misshapen that they only get enough oxygen when they're intubated with a breathing tube.
http://bit.ly/2cU7rFk
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 06:13AM by rrtaylor
via reddit http://bit.ly/2JSONA4
http://bit.ly/2cU7rFk
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 06:13AM by rrtaylor
via reddit http://bit.ly/2JSONA4
the Guardian
Pugs are anatomical disasters. Vets must speak out – even if it’s bad for business
Owners must be told some breeds are born to a lifetime of suffering, even if it means upsetting clients and putting livelihoods on the line
TIL that comedy actor Harold Ramis successfully dodged the Vietnam draft by taking meth immediately before his physical.
http://bit.ly/NrNHe1
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 09:59AM by yrdsl
via reddit http://bit.ly/2EmURgB
http://bit.ly/NrNHe1
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 09:59AM by yrdsl
via reddit http://bit.ly/2EmURgB
Wikipedia
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (/ˈreɪmɪs/; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, director, writer, and comedian. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989) and Russell Ziskey in Stripes…
TIL the Chinese word for contradiction, Maodun, roughly translates to ‘Spear-Shield’ which stems from an old tale of a merchant selling a spear that could break any shield and a shield that could withstand any weapon.
http://bit.ly/2VTrFbA
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 02:23PM by jakeeem
via reddit http://bit.ly/2YCbvAv
http://bit.ly/2VTrFbA
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 02:23PM by jakeeem
via reddit http://bit.ly/2YCbvAv
GBTIMES
Two ancient weapons of China
Maodun, the Chinese word for ‘contradiction’, is an unusual compound word that brings together two ancient weapons from the battlefields of China.
TIL that "Häagen-Dazs" was completely made up by its Polish Jewish founders to sound Danish. The umlaut (¨) does not even exist in Danish and neither does the "zs" letter combination.
http://bit.ly/2LVGkyu
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 03:53PM by emilylikesredditalot
via reddit http://bit.ly/2YGVOYS
http://bit.ly/2LVGkyu
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 03:53PM by emilylikesredditalot
via reddit http://bit.ly/2YGVOYS
Atlas Obscura
Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Is From the Bronx—So What’s With the Name?
Examining the phenomenon of the faux-foreign product.
TIL in the 1820s a Cherokee named Sequoyah, impressed by European written languages, invented a writing system with 85 characters that was considered superior to the English alphabet. The Cherokee syllabary could be learned in a few weeks and by 1825 the majority of Cherokees could read and write.
http://bit.ly/1DTTTPM
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:32PM by VoodooChilled
via reddit http://bit.ly/2M9b8w2
http://bit.ly/1DTTTPM
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:32PM by VoodooChilled
via reddit http://bit.ly/2M9b8w2
Wikipedia
Cherokee syllabary
The Cherokee syllabary is a syllabary invented by Sequoyah to write the Cherokee language in the late 1810s and early 1820s. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy as he could not previously read any noscript. He first experimented with logograms…
TIL Chiropractic was founded by a traveling religious miracle healer who belived that magnets could cure diseases. He was sent to jail in Iowa in 1906 for practicing medicine without a license. The American Medical Association later labelled chiropractors an "unscientific cult."
http://bit.ly/OUVOLc
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:55PM by dexterpine
via reddit http://bit.ly/2LYPJpe
http://bit.ly/OUVOLc
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 04:55PM by dexterpine
via reddit http://bit.ly/2LYPJpe
Wikipedia
History of chiropractic
The history of chiropractic began in 1895 when Daniel David Palmer of Iowa performed the first chiropractic adjustment on a partially deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. While Lillard was working without his shirt on in Palmers office, Lillard bent over to empty…
TIL that a 50 year old woman, Violet Gibson, attempted to assassinate Mussolini in 1927. She fired a gun once, but Mussolini moved his head and the shot hit his nose; she tried again, but the gun misfired. She was almost lynched by the crowd but was rescued by police and taken away for questioning.
http://bit.ly/2975Vff
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 07:49PM by StypticParasite
via reddit http://bit.ly/2M2O6Xm
http://bit.ly/2975Vff
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 07:49PM by StypticParasite
via reddit http://bit.ly/2M2O6Xm
Wikipedia
Violet Gibson
The Honourable Violet Albina Gibson (31 August 1876 – 2 May 1956) was an Anglo-Irish woman, the daughter of Lord Ashbourne. She attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini in 1926.
TIL 95% of individuals in the witness protection program are criminals, but only 10% of these people re-offend. Ex-prisoners have a recidivism rate of 65%+
http://bit.ly/2RQHp8C
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 03:09PM by iamcatmeow
via reddit http://bit.ly/2QfEZks
http://bit.ly/2RQHp8C
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 03:09PM by iamcatmeow
via reddit http://bit.ly/2QfEZks
Popular Mechanics
Here's How the Witness Protection Program Decides Where To Send People
Are witnesses ever relocated somewhere cool? Or just the middle of nowhere?
TIL the oldest living animals are black corals over 4,000 years old, nearly as old as the pyramids of Egypt
http://bit.ly/2bKHU32
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 07:52PM by Zisx
via reddit http://bit.ly/2HCiNgw
http://bit.ly/2bKHU32
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 07:52PM by Zisx
via reddit http://bit.ly/2HCiNgw
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Deep sea corals may be oldest living marine organism
LIVERMORE, Calif.
TIL in the Breaking Bad episode “Ozymandias”, the show's producers secured special permission from the Hollywood guilds to delay the credits (which would normally appear after the main noscript sequence) until 19 minutes into the episode, in order to preserve the impact of the beginning scene.
http://bit.ly/2ElX7EG
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 09:23PM by kevoooandres
via reddit http://bit.ly/2wdEZIS
http://bit.ly/2ElX7EG
Submitted May 21, 2019 at 09:23PM by kevoooandres
via reddit http://bit.ly/2wdEZIS
UPROXX
‘Breaking Bad’: ‘Ozymandias’ review, take two
Back in mid-September, “Breaking Bad” gave us its best episode ever in “Ozymandias, on the exact same day I wound up in the hospital with a burst appendix and a […]