rapiertwit
rapiertwit t1_jcppjxh wrote
Reply to comment by ladan2189 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
At that time that would have been a shitload of paint.
rapiertwit t1_jb5i6cw wrote
Reply to comment by Barachan_Isles in TIL that the Convair Model 118, a tentative flying car from 1947, was shelved because its prototype crashed when a test pilot mixed up the flight engine's fuel gauge with the road engine's and didn't see the former run out. While he survived, this killed interest in the project. by ShabtaiBenOron
> no interest in flying, but I'm fascinated by what brings down airplanes
Nothing to see here, FBI.
rapiertwit t1_jacn193 wrote
Reply to comment by taifong in TIL Last year 93yo actor James Hong became the oldest person ever to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has over 600 acting credits spanning 70 years. by n3xus-7
If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.
rapiertwit t1_ja9lah2 wrote
rapiertwit t1_j9mje0u wrote
rapiertwit t1_j9hx6wh wrote
Reply to comment by AckbarTrapt in TIL - That avocado seeds are so large because they depended on extinct megafauna to eat and disperse them. by byronhadleigh
Your star would not feel lucky that day.
rapiertwit t1_j6odnnw wrote
Also introduced me to my lifelong fascination with redheads with brown eyes.
rapiertwit t1_j6od2xo wrote
Reply to comment by IntheCompanyofOgres in TIL Slow Loris’ have a venomous bite that causes necrosis (flesh rotting) by samsg1
Dibs on the band name Venomous Tendencies.
rapiertwit t1_j6o9qf5 wrote
Reply to TIL Maria Sabina was an indigenous medicine woman who introduced the western world to psilocybin. Her community's rituals were appropriated for power and fame, and she died in poverty. by kerblooee
Then she cursed the foreign interlopers for exploiting her sacred rituals, and that's how we got jam band music.
rapiertwit t1_j6o8nqc wrote
Reply to comment by drewismynamea in TIL Maria Sabina was an indigenous medicine woman who introduced the western world to psilocybin. Her community's rituals were appropriated for power and fame, and she died in poverty. by kerblooee
Yeah you don't hallucinate turning into a bear off just a flagon of mead.
rapiertwit t1_j1u6y6m wrote
Reply to comment by PapaGuhl in TIL that British troops developed a diss song against Nazi leaders during World War II titled "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball." It was quickly picked up and sang by Allied troops. by collarpoppppppin
Clarification: the song is "Colonel Bogey," and was featured in the movie. Just so nobody gets confused.
rapiertwit t1_j1arecd wrote
Reply to TIL about Wacky cakes, (AKA crazy cakes), which were created as the result of rationing during World War II, and which are unique in that unlike many pastries and desserts, no eggs, butter or milk are used to make the cake batter. by abaganoush
Reminds me of Korean "army base stew," a mixture of cheap local ingredients and US Army ration canned beans and SPAM that emerged from necessity after the Korean war but is still apparently enjoyed today.
My dad grew up on rations during and after WW2 in Britain, and had a life long nostalgia for stuff like Marmite, which was introduced as a nutritional supplement to compensate for the poor wartime diet.
rapiertwit t1_j0bs3yf wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in TIL Europe's wine owes its existence to the grafting of vines to American grape root stock that weren't vulnerable to a species of aphid that was destined to wipe the industry out. by salton
There's thousands of years of careful cultivation that go into those vines. You can't just take the American variety and breed it to reproduce each individual variety of grape, flavor-wise, in a few generations.
rapiertwit t1_iy00k1i wrote
Reply to comment by MyCatThinksImNeat in TIL that eating fruit is eating the dry, ripened ovaries of a plant by DestroyerCrazy
Mango don't care.
rapiertwit t1_iy00h32 wrote
Reply to comment by Godtiermasturbator in TIL that eating fruit is eating the dry, ripened ovaries of a plant by DestroyerCrazy
That's how gays are made. Says so right here in my biology textbook selected by the scientific minds of the Lubbock, Texas school board.
rapiertwit t1_ixuhchg wrote
Reply to comment by ThatOtkauWolf_90 in TIL, that by 1860, there were nearly 4 million people enslaved in the United States. by MookieV
Yeah but Scandinavians weren't keeping slaves in 1850 whole crowing about "liberty" as the basis for their civilization.
That's the difference.
rapiertwit t1_ix8ddi1 wrote
Reply to TIL the Great Pyramid of Giza is not the largest pyramid in the world, Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl, is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid in the New World, as well as the largest pyramid by volume known to exist in the world today. by Mind-Matters-Not
Yeah but "Giza" is a fuckload easier to say so...
rapiertwit t1_ix8d5e9 wrote
Reply to comment by rich115 in TIL the Great Pyramid of Giza is not the largest pyramid in the world, Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl, is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid in the New World, as well as the largest pyramid by volume known to exist in the world today. by Mind-Matters-Not
Not in my house.
rapiertwit t1_ix4v57r wrote
When Williams played the tune for the Jaws shark theme, Spielberg thought it was a joke.
Yeah, it's only one of the most iconic and memorable themes from all film history.
When you are schooling Steven Freakin Spielberg in the art of creating drama and suspense in movies, that's pretty bonkers.
rapiertwit t1_iw2912x wrote
Reply to comment by thoth1000 in TIL 'The Land of Nod' is originally a biblical reference of a sort of purgatory where Cain was exiled after murdering Abel -- rather than a 'dreamland' sleepytime dealie as it is now colloquially known. by quicxly
There is also an interpretation that this an old primitive age creation myth with holes in it big enough to drive a semi through.
rapiertwit t1_iuj2dtl wrote
Reply to comment by TheUglyTruth527 in TIL: In 2012, a group of Mexican scientists intentionally crashed a Boeing 727 to test which seats had the best chance of survival. by markphahn
And also every time you get in a car, train, bus, or boat, or ride a bike, climb a ladder, or mouth off to a stranger.
rapiertwit t1_irei1ud wrote
Reply to TIL that following their execution (by beheading) for treason, the heads of Baron Saye and his son-in-law were unceremoniously impaled on pikes by a mob and pushed together so that they appeared to kiss. by SilasMarner77
Is there a ceremonious way to shove a spear up someone's neck-hole and parade their head around?
rapiertwit t1_jduvzom wrote
Reply to TIL india is the biggest exporter of hairs in the world. India's hair exports account for 80% of the global market by pinkcheems
Only wholesale though. They won't split hairs.