TIL that Isaac Asimov died of AIDS complications and his family covered up the cause of death for 10 years. He had contracted AIDS from a transfusion during heart surgery in 1977
https://ift.tt/2tP2FSk
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 03:26PM by nomaddd79
via reddit https://ift.tt/2MbIR5P
https://ift.tt/2tP2FSk
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 03:26PM by nomaddd79
via reddit https://ift.tt/2MbIR5P
Mentalfloss
15 Facts about Isaac Asimov
For all of his books about futuristic flight, he was terrified of heights and flying.
TIL Narcissistic people are more likely to be compulsive Facebook users. Facebook addiction is also associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.
https://ift.tt/2OG3yZh
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 02:04PM by amansaggu26
via reddit https://ift.tt/2orzuWK
https://ift.tt/2OG3yZh
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 02:04PM by amansaggu26
via reddit https://ift.tt/2orzuWK
PsyPost
Facebook addiction linked to narcissism and other psychological factors, study finds
People who are more narcissistic are more likely to be compulsive Facebook users, suggests a new study published in the scientific journal PLOS One. ...
TIL: A scientist from the Mars Viking mission believes we found life on Mars over 40 years ago. It was dismissed at the time despite strong signals that the tests were positive, and since then there’s been no attempt to repeat the experiment.
https://ift.tt/2OBztdb
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 04:58PM by SignalToNoiseRatio
via reddit https://ift.tt/32esV8s
https://ift.tt/2OBztdb
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 04:58PM by SignalToNoiseRatio
via reddit https://ift.tt/32esV8s
Scientific American Blog Network
I’m Convinced We Found Evidence of Life on Mars in the 1970s
The Labeled Release experiment on the Viking mission reported positive results, although most have dismissed them as inorganic chemical reactions
TIL that former Liberian President, Charles D. B. King, earned himself a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for the most fraudulent election reported in history, having won the 1927 election with 243,000 votes in a country with 15,000 registered voters.
https://ift.tt/33nLZ4d
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 05:11PM by nee_18
via reddit https://ift.tt/2B7agPW
https://ift.tt/33nLZ4d
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 05:11PM by nee_18
via reddit https://ift.tt/2B7agPW
Standard Digital News
Most rigged elections ever: He got 243,000 votes in country of less than 15,000 registered voters!
The worst ever case of electoral malpractice was witnessed in Liberia
TIL the Banana flavor of candy isn’t fake. It is based on the taste of a type of banana that went nearly extinct in the 1950s.
https://ift.tt/2zjsNqj
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 06:15PM by Nondescript-Person
via reddit https://ift.tt/2McX5DH
https://ift.tt/2zjsNqj
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 06:15PM by Nondescript-Person
via reddit https://ift.tt/2McX5DH
Science Friday
Why Doesn't Fake Banana Flavor Taste Like Real Bananas?
Actually, it does. The story of artificial banana flavoring is, well, bananas.
TIL that C.S. Lewis nominated J.R.R. Tolkien for the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was rejected on the grounds that his writing "has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality."
https://ift.tt/33rXJCV
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 07:02PM by Rob-With-One-B
via reddit https://ift.tt/2ORoJI7
https://ift.tt/33rXJCV
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 07:02PM by Rob-With-One-B
via reddit https://ift.tt/2ORoJI7
BBC News
JRR Tolkien snubbed by 1961 Nobel jury, papers reveal
JRR Tolkien was passed over for the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature after his storytelling in The Lord of the Rings was described as second rate, papers reveal.
TIL that blind people may detect and respond to light if it is a kind of skyblue light at 481nm. "There is more to the eye than rods and cones — the discovery of a third photoreceptor is rewriting the visual rulebook."
https://ift.tt/2B3NAjC
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 05:31PM by whatatwit
via reddit https://ift.tt/2IKI2Pr
https://ift.tt/2B3NAjC
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 05:31PM by whatatwit
via reddit https://ift.tt/2IKI2Pr
Nature
Vision science: Seeing without seeing : Nature News
Nature - the world's best science and medicine on your desktop
TIL that more people die in the desert due to drowning than due to the heat. This is because people do not prepare for flash floods, which can be very extreme in the desert.
https://ift.tt/32bQ2jZ
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 01:17PM by GerardWayNoWay
via reddit https://ift.tt/32aTaN9
https://ift.tt/32bQ2jZ
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 01:17PM by GerardWayNoWay
via reddit https://ift.tt/32aTaN9
HowStuffWorks
How Desert Survival Works
Sandstorms can arise in the blink of an eye, and they're violent and blinding. Learn what to do to survive sandstorms and another desert danger -- flash floods.
TIL that women’s shirt buttons were on the left because they were meant to be buttoned by others (maids for wealthy women back then).
https://ift.tt/35lT8ns
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 02:49PM by busybearbrand
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OQTEUX
https://ift.tt/35lT8ns
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 02:49PM by busybearbrand
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OQTEUX
TIL that the first SMS text message ever sent was on December 3, 1992. It was sent by a 22 year old test engineer from his computer to a phone. The message simply read "Merry Christmas".
https://ift.tt/2zO0u3a
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 08:18PM by annieesquad
via reddit https://ift.tt/33koFEu
https://ift.tt/2zO0u3a
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 08:18PM by annieesquad
via reddit https://ift.tt/33koFEu
reddit
TIL that the first SMS text message ever sent was on December 3,...
Posted in r/todayilearned by u/annieesquad • 12,594 points and 279 comments
TIL the Spartan Pausanias was accused of treason for conspiring with the Persians, but seeked refuge in a temple so he couldn't be tried and executed while inside. His mother went to the temple to lay the first brick at the door, which was sealed until he died of starvation
https://ift.tt/2IJzsQU
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 07:20PM by Ainsley-Sorsby
via reddit https://ift.tt/2pht78c
https://ift.tt/2IJzsQU
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 07:20PM by Ainsley-Sorsby
via reddit https://ift.tt/2pht78c
Wikipedia
Pausanias (general)
ancient Spartan general
TIL that on the first night of Jerry Sandusky's prison sentence, inmates taunted him all night singing the Pink Floyd lyrics, "Hey, teacher! Leave those kids alone!"
https://ift.tt/318gfP5
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 10:27PM by TheDharmaFarmer
via reddit https://ift.tt/2M7oiay
https://ift.tt/318gfP5
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 10:27PM by TheDharmaFarmer
via reddit https://ift.tt/2M7oiay
TIL the slogan "Don't Mess with Texas" began as an anti-littering campaign in 1985 targeted at "bubbas in pickup trucks" who littered beer cans out of their vehicles and ordinary Texans who believed that littering was a "God-given right".
https://ift.tt/2pjO9mB
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 11:19PM by DanBrewer
via reddit https://ift.tt/33soyXD
https://ift.tt/2pjO9mB
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 11:19PM by DanBrewer
via reddit https://ift.tt/33soyXD
Cnn
Why there's no messing with Texas
What does it mean to be a Texan?
TIL that even though the Myers-Briggs personality test as been debunked, it is still used by thousands of companies, schools and institutions around the world to help make decisions about personnel recruitment and promotion.
https://ift.tt/2pj1LPm
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 12:12AM by DanBrewer
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Mz4Lip
https://ift.tt/2pj1LPm
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 12:12AM by DanBrewer
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Mz4Lip
www.noted.co.nz
Why the long-debunked Myers-Briggs personality test is still being used
The credibility of the world’s most popular personality test has long been debunked yet it is still used by career consultants and HR departments.
TIL The African continent is being split in two due to the birth of a new ocean. In 2005, an eight-meter-wide and 60-kilometer-long stretch of the Earth opened up over a period of just ten days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RDqFdSMTGE
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 02:03AM by duckyoumate
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OH0zzH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RDqFdSMTGE
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 02:03AM by duckyoumate
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OH0zzH
YouTube
12 Incredible Facts About the Ocean
1. More than half of Earth's oxygen comes from the ocean and not from trees. It comes from marine photosynthesizers like phytoplankton and seaweed. https://o...
TIL China was one of the only places in the world that did not release Elvis Presley's music at the time of its initial release. The few Elvis fans who managed to get their hands on his records often saw the material set ablaze by Red Guards and the government denounced his music as pornography
https://ift.tt/33r4c0K
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 12:51AM by vannybros
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Ma9kR5
https://ift.tt/33r4c0K
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 12:51AM by vannybros
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Ma9kR5
Cgtn
Does China remember Elvis Presley, the ‘King of Rock and Roll’?
In the 1950s and ‘60s, Elvis Presley was at his peak, as millions of fans from the United States fell in love with his iconic pelvic thrusts and groovy tunes.
TIL that there was a blind bisexual goose who fell in love with two swans and helped raise 60+ of their babies
https://ift.tt/33ne9MT
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 12:10AM by pavTheory
via reddit https://ift.tt/35wGfqD
https://ift.tt/33ne9MT
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 12:10AM by pavTheory
via reddit https://ift.tt/35wGfqD
BBC News
New Zealand goose: How one blind bisexual bird became an icon
Henry the goose spent many years in a love triangle with two swans, helping raise their children.
TIL that 300 million years ago, trees didn't rot because the microbes to do so didn't exist yet.
https://ift.tt/2OIuh7m
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 03:11AM by Xglossygern
via reddit https://ift.tt/2VDojpK
https://ift.tt/2OIuh7m
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 03:11AM by Xglossygern
via reddit https://ift.tt/2VDojpK
Ars Technica
Why was most of the Earth’s coal made all at once?
It wasn’t because fungi couldn’t break down early trees, study argues.
TIL Julius Caesar would personally conduct espionage on his enemies. Once, he even dressed up as a Gaul and snuck behind enemy lines. When his soldiers failed to sneak him back, he boarded a Gaul ship blockading the Romans and sailed back into Roman territory without anyone noticing.
https://ift.tt/1cJmJdg
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 03:43AM by N-A-M-R-O-G
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OOs1vk
https://ift.tt/1cJmJdg
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 03:43AM by N-A-M-R-O-G
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OOs1vk
penelope.uchicago.edu
Suetonius • Life of Julius Caesar
An English translation, linked to the original Latin text. Part of a very large site on classical Antiquity, with many other ancient works.
TIL The name "orangutan" is derived from the Malay and Indonesian words orang, meaning "person", and hutan, meaning "forest", thus "person of the forest".
https://ift.tt/OEokqa
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 05:00AM by floatjoy
via reddit https://ift.tt/2qaY1zN
https://ift.tt/OEokqa
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 05:00AM by floatjoy
via reddit https://ift.tt/2qaY1zN
Wikipedia
Orangutan
The orangutans (also spelled orang-utan, orangutang, or orang-utang) are three extant species of great apes native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Orangutans are currently only found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans…
TIL during the Punic Wars, the Romans realized they had no clue how to build ships. They decided to rent row boats, run aground a Carthaginian ship, and plagiarize the designs. The entire first fleet of their new Navy was based off this ship, but learning to row proved more challenging.
https://ift.tt/33s4LHL
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 06:42AM by N-A-M-R-O-G
via reddit https://ift.tt/2M99RD2
https://ift.tt/33s4LHL
Submitted October 13, 2019 at 06:42AM by N-A-M-R-O-G
via reddit https://ift.tt/2M99RD2
penelope.uchicago.edu
Polybius • Histories — Book 1
Part of a complete English translation of Polybius. Site contains many Greek and Latin texts, translations and related material.