jamescookenotthatone

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_je4jj14 wrote on March 29, 2023 at 11:15 AM

Reply to TIL Early drones were developed during the First World War. These radio controlled planes were primarily for target practice but by 1942 a drone with a built in TV camera was capable of delivering a torpedo to a ship 20 miles from the controller. by jamescookenotthatone

I was listening to an episode of the radio drama X Minus One from 1956 when a character says they are going to send out drones and was startled to hear a reference to what I thought was a recent word. I first assumed they just lucked into it but nope, 'drone' dates back to 1936.

Link to the radio drama:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly94bW9uZS5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/YWY1MmFlOThjZGJjNGM5MWIxMjY2ZTVlOTY5YTIxYTQ?ep=14

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_jd7b7tk wrote on March 22, 2023 at 10:59 AM

Reply to TIL The Dick Van Dyke Show was originally written entirely by Carl Reiner, about stories from Reiner's life, and starred Carl Reiner. The pilot was unsuccessful so it was reworked with Dick Van Dyke playing Robert Petrie. by jamescookenotthatone

I learned this from Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast,

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vZ2lsYmVydC1nb3R0ZnJpZWQ/episode/YjRmMTYyODQtZGQ2Ni0xMWViLTg5MGMtOTc1NDhlNGZlY2Ji?ep=14

Also,

Dyke appearantly never took a dancing lesson, just did what he was told by choreographers.
Dyke has had terrible arthritis since atleast when he was 40 and was expected to be in a wheelchair by the time he was 50. He just didn't.

jamescookenotthatone t1_jcpc3sd wrote on March 18, 2023 at 3:02 PM

Reply to comment by jableshables in TIL Charles Dickens had a talking pet raven named Grip, who terrorized his dog, buried valuables in the yard, and died eating "a pound or two" of lead paint. As a character in one of his novels, Grip is believed to have inspired Poe's famous poem, and is on display in a Philadelphia public library by jableshables

Now I'm just waiting for a horror spinoff of Untitled Goose Game.

jamescookenotthatone t1_jcjyy87 wrote on March 17, 2023 at 11:46 AM

Reply to comment by Fetlocks_Glistening in TIL sitting U.S. President Harry Truman went for a 440-foot deep ride on captured German submarine U-2513 in 1946 by ElMontolero

Probably underwater, I think I understand sinking.

jamescookenotthatone t1_jb0fb0d wrote on March 5, 2023 at 2:04 PM

Reply to comment by SuckMyDerivative in TIL The acuity of Aqaba in Jordan intentionally sank 21 tanks, anti-aircraft, and other military memorabilia to create an underwater museum for divers by Chc36

And flavour.

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_j9o8d36 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 11:42 AM

Reply to TIL The Marvel No-Prize is a empty envelope that Marvel awarded fans for "meritorious service to the cause of Marveldom". Typically it was won by submitting an explanation for an error in a comic, but rules varied from author to author. The prize was inspired by George R. R. Martin. by jamescookenotthatone

I learned about this oddity from the Talking Simpsons Podcast, https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly90YWxraW5nc2ltcHNvbnMubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/MjRjOTNkZDUtYTliZC00OTg3LWI4ZjItZDk5YWZmMzNkM2E3?ep=14

Some Marvel employees were pretty stringent about what deserved a No-Prize, but not Macchio,

>Ralph Macchio (Daredevil): "The No-Prize is an honored Marvel tradition. Of course I give them away—for just about any old stupid thing. I have a million of them."[13]

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_j9etovt wrote on February 21, 2023 at 12:12 PM

Reply to TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac. by jamescookenotthatone

Something I found amusing.

>Size of stones was central to the McAdam's road building theory. The lower 8 in (20 cm) road thickness was restricted to stones no larger than 3 inches (7.5 cm). The upper 2-inch-thick (5 cm) layer of stones was limited to stones 2 centimetres (3⁄4 in) in diameter; these were checked by supervisors who carried scales. A workman could check the stone size himself by seeing if the stone would fit into his mouth. The importance of the 2 cm stone size was that the stones needed to be much smaller than the 4 inches (10 cm) width of the iron carriage wheels that travelled on the road.[5]

jamescookenotthatone t1_j8oxczz wrote on February 15, 2023 at 10:11 PM

Reply to TIL that, despite it being widely reported, Bruce Willis never sold the rights to use his likeness with deep fake technology. A Russian Advert company made it up and illegally used him in a commercial. by EarlGrey_Picard

>The tech used in the advert was created by Deepcake, which describes itself as an AI company specializing in deepfakes.

>Deepcake told the BBC it had worked closely with Willis' team on the advert.

>"What he definitely did is that he gave us his consent (and a lot of materials) to make his Digital Twin," they said.

>The company says it has a unique library of high-resolution celebrities, influencers and historical figures.

>On its website, Deepcake promotes its work with an apparent quote from Mr Willis: "I liked the precision of my character. It's a great opportunity for me to go back in time.

>"The neural network was trained on content of Die Hard and Fifth Element, so my character is similar to the images of that time."

>However, Willis's agent told the BBC, "Please know that Bruce has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company."

>...

>In a statement from Deepcake, the company said reports that it had bought the rights to Bruce Willis's face were inaccurate.

>"The wording about rights is wrong… Bruce couldn't sell anyone any rights, they are his by default," a representative for the company said.

Wait how does that work? I assume the Deepcake people are just lying or there is some strange miscommunication.

jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rt1nr wrote on February 8, 2023 at 11:15 PM

Reply to comment by gonejahman in TIL different kinds of tea (black, green, white, oolong) come from the same plant. The only difference is in how the leaves are processed. by wombat-slayer

The hard part is inflating the pickles into cucumbers.

jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rsmq1 wrote on February 8, 2023 at 11:12 PM

Reply to comment by BrokenEye3 in TIL different kinds of tea (black, green, white, oolong) come from the same plant. The only difference is in how the leaves are processed. by wombat-slayer

Tastes best if finely aged in the half broken warmer of a food truck.

jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rse3c wrote on February 8, 2023 at 11:10 PM

Reply to TIL different kinds of tea (black, green, white, oolong) come from the same plant. The only difference is in how the leaves are processed. by wombat-slayer

If anyone is wondering, orange pekoe is not a special technique, it is a grade of black tea.

jamescookenotthatone

TIL In the West the largest meal of the day has historically been eaten at midday. It was not until Napoleon's empire there was the "abominable habit of dining as late as seven in the evening" as British travelers reported. The British adopted later dinners by 1850 from changes in work schedules.

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_je4jj14 wrote on March 29, 2023 at 11:15 AM

TIL Early drones were developed during the First World War. These radio controlled planes were primarily for target practice but by 1942 a drone with a built in TV camera was capable of delivering a torpedo to a ship 20 miles from the controller.

TIL Simeon Stylites lived on top of columns for 37 years. Simeon did this as a form of asceticism because when he lived in a cave people kept making pilgrimages to him and asking him religious questions. Ultimately his column life drew in even bigger crowds who would climb ladders to talk to him.

TIL The aardwolf knows not to destory its food sources. Aardwolves eat part of a termite mound, leaves it, and return a few months later when the colony has rebuilt so it can have another meal. An aardwolf keeps track of mounds it attacked and can eat 250,000 termites in a single night.

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_jd7b7tk wrote on March 22, 2023 at 10:59 AM

TIL The Dick Van Dyke Show was originally written entirely by Carl Reiner, about stories from Reiner's life, and starred Carl Reiner. The pilot was unsuccessful so it was reworked with Dick Van Dyke playing Robert Petrie.

TIL A coal seam in Australia is believed to have been burning for 6,000 years, making it the oldest coal fire. The site's name is Mount Wingen but is commonly called Burning Mountain and the fire is traveling south 1m per year discoloring the ground as it goes.

TIL In the history of the Catholic Church there has been over a decade without a Pope on the throne. The longest continuous time the throne was empty was two years ten months from 1268 to 1271.

jamescookenotthatone t1_jcpc3sd wrote on March 18, 2023 at 3:02 PM

jamescookenotthatone t1_jcjyy87 wrote on March 17, 2023 at 11:46 AM

jamescookenotthatone t1_jb0fb0d wrote on March 5, 2023 at 2:04 PM

TIL Anvil firing is the practice of exploding an anvil into the air. Anvils are typically fired as a celebration, be it to honor St. Clement's (the Patron Saint of blacksmiths) or in a 21 anvil salut as found in New Westminster, British Columbia.

TIL Texas A&M University used to have an annual bonfire. In 1999, 12 students died when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed upon them during construction. The deaths led to the end of the tradition as the University faced a series of lawsuits and couldn't afford the expected $2 million per year insurance.

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_j9o8d36 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 11:42 AM

TIL The Marvel No-Prize is a empty envelope that Marvel awarded fans for "meritorious service to the cause of Marveldom". Typically it was won by submitting an explanation for an error in a comic, but rules varied from author to author. The prize was inspired by George R. R. Martin.

jamescookenotthatone OP t1_j9etovt wrote on February 21, 2023 at 12:12 PM

TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac.

TIL Shift work is associated with cognitive decline. Shift work throws of the circadian rhythm which causes hormonal irregularities and various neurobehavioural issues. Decline was seen in processing speed, working memory, psychomotor vigilance, cognitive control, and visual attention.

jamescookenotthatone t1_j8oxczz wrote on February 15, 2023 at 10:11 PM

TIL Eating every course seperately is Service à la russe. Before this meals were service à la française where all courses were served at once. Ambassador Alexander Kurakin introduced Service à la russe to France in 1810 and it became the norm by the 1880s.

jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rt1nr wrote on February 8, 2023 at 11:15 PM

jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rsmq1 wrote on February 8, 2023 at 11:12 PM

jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rse3c wrote on February 8, 2023 at 11:10 PM

TIL In the 1970s East Germany had a coffee shortage so they made Vietnam into a supplier. East Germany invested the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars into Vietnam in exchange for half of Vietnam's coffee harvests for 20 years. By the first harvest in 1990 East Germany was already dissolved.