TIL Zach Galifianakis had a two-week trial run as a writer on “SNL” before being let go. He wrote a sketch with Will Ferrell being the bodyguard of Britney Spears’s belly button that bombed so bad in the writer’s room that Tina Fey put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
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Submitted December 06, 2020 at 06:24PM by holyfruits
via reddit https://ift.tt/3mNyHIA
https://ift.tt/33OoWCy
Submitted December 06, 2020 at 06:24PM by holyfruits
via reddit https://ift.tt/3mNyHIA
PhillyVoice
Zach Galifianakis on Tina Fey during his very short SNL career: 'God bless her'
Zach Galifianakis told a heartwarming story about Upper Darby's Tina Fey and his very brief stint "Saturday Night Live" in a recent interview on "The Off Camera Show with Sam Jones."
TIL Ronald Reagan's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Rex, took a disliking to the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House. Thought to be haunted by Lincoln's ghost, the dog would refuse to enter the room and sometimes would stand outside it and bark through the doorway.
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Submitted December 06, 2020 at 05:41PM by ScurvyAndRaspberries
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JxB1Fj
https://ift.tt/33QP0N9
Submitted December 06, 2020 at 05:41PM by ScurvyAndRaspberries
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JxB1Fj
Wikipedia
Rex (dog)
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owned by Ronald and Nancy Reagan
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TIL eccentric 18th-century American businessman Timothy Dexter authored a book complaining about politicians, the clergy, and his wife. The book contained no punctuation, so in the second edition, he added a page with 11 lines of punctuation marks, for the readers to distribute them as they pleased
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Submitted December 06, 2020 at 07:32PM by malalatargaryen
via reddit https://ift.tt/39R2HPZ
https://ift.tt/297LunD
Submitted December 06, 2020 at 07:32PM by malalatargaryen
via reddit https://ift.tt/39R2HPZ
Wikipedia
Timothy Dexter
United States merchant
TIL that Peter Billingsley, the actor behind the iconic role of Ralphie in “A Christmas Story,” also appears in the Christmas movie classic “Elf.”
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Submitted December 06, 2020 at 09:59PM by SethbobMD
via reddit https://ift.tt/33NMoQd
https://ift.tt/2Jxoi5u
Submitted December 06, 2020 at 09:59PM by SethbobMD
via reddit https://ift.tt/33NMoQd
IndieWire
The Internet Is Just Discovering Ralphie From ‘A Christmas Story’ Stars in ‘Elf,’ and Minds Are Blown
Actor Peter Billingsley will always be associated with "A Christmas Story," but that's not the only holiday classic in which he appears.
TIL that audio experts could not tell the difference between $100 Monster speaker cables and cables made from soldering together old coat hangers
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Submitted December 06, 2020 at 11:00PM by SubstantialRange
via reddit https://ift.tt/3lS9fAa
https://ift.tt/1iMETL2
Submitted December 06, 2020 at 11:00PM by SubstantialRange
via reddit https://ift.tt/3lS9fAa
Gizmodo
Audiophile Deathmatch: Monster Cables vs. a Coat Hanger
Whether or not Monster Cables are worth it is a war that has raged since home theater immemorial. A poster at Audioholics was put in a room with five fellow audiophiles, and a Martin Logan SL-3 speaker set at 75Db at 1000KHz playing a mix of "smooth, trio…
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TIL Roman Emperor Nero used to dress in disguise to rob stores and mug civilians. One night he picked the wrong man, a senator named Montanus, who beat him within an inch of his life. Montanus later realised his error and apologised profusely, however Nero made him commit suicide as recompense.
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Submitted December 06, 2020 at 11:46PM by Die_Nameless_Bitch
via reddit https://ift.tt/2IkQS9x
https://ift.tt/3qJ8YU2
Submitted December 06, 2020 at 11:46PM by Die_Nameless_Bitch
via reddit https://ift.tt/2IkQS9x
The Historian's Hut
Emperor Nero’s Night-Time Brawl That Ended In The Death Of A Roman Senator
When Emperor Claudius died in the year 54, a teenage Nero ascended to the imperial throne. At first, there were very few signs that Nero would become one of the most infamous emperors of Rom…
TIL one of the biggest bank heists in history took place in Beirut where ~$2 billion was stolen
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 01:27AM by anthonykantara
via reddit https://ift.tt/33SjbDQ
https://ift.tt/2VLdYZY
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 01:27AM by anthonykantara
via reddit https://ift.tt/33SjbDQ
The961
How One of The Biggest Bank Heists in History Took Place In Beirut, Lebanon
The heist of the British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut is one of the world's biggest and most mysterious bank heists in history.
TIL Elias Howe, inventor of the lockstitch sewing machine, discovered the idea in a dream. In the dream, a king gave him 24 hours to build a sewing machine with a punishment of death if he failed. On the way to the execution, he saw the guards' spears had holes near the head, giving him his idea.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 02:46AM by MorsesTheHorse
via reddit https://ift.tt/2VRKGIZ
https://ift.tt/2wfsivE
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 02:46AM by MorsesTheHorse
via reddit https://ift.tt/2VRKGIZ
Wikipedia
Elias Howe
American inventor
TIL on average, a drunk driver will drive 80 times under the influence before their first arrest.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 05:15AM by jesuscrikey
via reddit https://ift.tt/3lNhdKP
https://ift.tt/2JVmbbg
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 05:15AM by jesuscrikey
via reddit https://ift.tt/3lNhdKP
DoSomething.org
11 Facts About Driving Under the Influence
Read more about what driving under the influence is and why driving impaired kills. Get statistics about drinking and driving and driving under any other kind o...
TIL That the Hadza tribe from Tanzania find honey by whistling a special tune to a "honeyguide" bird that then leads them to a nearby bee hive.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 01:07AM by WanderingZed
via reddit https://ift.tt/3owNqrU
https://ift.tt/3qywFy1
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 01:07AM by WanderingZed
via reddit https://ift.tt/3owNqrU
Atlas Obscura
The Surprisingly Sticky Tale of the Hadza and the Honeyguide Bird
In the tree-strewn savannah of northern Tanzania, near the salty shores of Lake Eyasi, live some of the planet’s few remaining hunter-gatherers. Known as the...
TIL Theodore Roosevelt's 1880 undergraduate thesis at Harvard was titled: "The Practicability of Equalizing Men and Women before the Law" which argued for women's rights, including property ownership, and argued that women ought to keep their birth names upon marrying.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 06:20AM by Suitable_Penguin
via reddit https://ift.tt/36P7I9Z
https://ift.tt/3qzdZOL
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 06:20AM by Suitable_Penguin
via reddit https://ift.tt/36P7I9Z
TIL that Anthony Bourdain did not respect many celebrity chefs, with the notable exception of Thomas Keller. Keller once served Bourdain a 20-course tasting menu which included a mid-meal “coffee and cigarette,” a coffee custard infused with tobacco, with a foie gras mousse.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 03:04AM by EtOHMartini
via reddit https://ift.tt/33P9shs
https://ift.tt/1Km8d52
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 03:04AM by EtOHMartini
via reddit https://ift.tt/33P9shs
Wikipedia
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael Bourdain (/bɔːrˈdeɪn/; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian, who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdain…
TIL Scotland banned Christmas for nearly 400 years. It didn’t become a public holiday until 1958.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 05:03AM by Mentalographist
via reddit https://ift.tt/33RH9yT
https://ift.tt/2iaZuxG
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 05:03AM by Mentalographist
via reddit https://ift.tt/33RH9yT
reddit
TIL Scotland banned Christmas for nearly 400 years. It didn’t...
Posted in r/todayilearned by u/Mentalographist • 867 points and 63 comments
TIL that the title of the Radiohead album "OK Computer" comes from a line in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "OK, computer, I want full manual control now." The song "Paranoid Android" refers to "Hitchhiker" character Marvin, the Paranoid Android.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 06:43AM by granta50
via reddit https://ift.tt/36OJaxK
https://ift.tt/2JTnXtF
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 06:43AM by granta50
via reddit https://ift.tt/36OJaxK
Vice
Thom Yorke Confirms Radiohead's 'OK Computer' Is Nerdy As Shit
Wait until you hear about his phone case, too.
TIL that Robert Millikan disliked Einstein's results about light consisting of particles (photons) and carefully designed experiments to disprove them, but ended up confirming the particle nature of light, and earned a Nobel Prize for that.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 08:29AM by SawOnGam
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JTtWi7
https://ift.tt/37Ec0A4
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 08:29AM by SawOnGam
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JTtWi7
Scienceblogs
Millikan, Einstein, and Planck: The Experiment io9 Forgot | ScienceBlogs
A couple of weeks ago, io9 ran a piece about the old accusations that Robert Millikan manipulated his data for the electron charge with the headlineDid a Case of Scientific Misconduct Win the Nobel Prize for Physics? that got a lot of attention.
TIL Canadians in WW1 regularly executed prisoners and exploited truces. "[He] described the practice of lobbing tins of corned beef into a neighbouring German trench. When the Canadians started hearing happy shouts of “More! Give us more!” they then let loose with an armload of grenades."
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 08:03AM by ThisIsADuckHere
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JYSiXr
https://ift.tt/2DiAmBL
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 08:03AM by ThisIsADuckHere
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JYSiXr
National Post
The forgotten ruthlessness of Canada’s Great War soldiers
Modern Canadians cannot condemn the sometimes shocking behaviour of their WWI soldiers without knowing the stress of battle, historian Tim Cook says
TIL before his murder spree that resulted in the deaths of 16 people, Charles Whitman left a note requesting an autopsy to see if there was a biological explanation for his actions, and increasingly intense headaches. The autopsy performed found that he a "pecan-sized," brain tumor.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 01:00PM by ScurvyAndRaspberries
via reddit https://ift.tt/3otsDVZ
https://ift.tt/39SWHWX
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 01:00PM by ScurvyAndRaspberries
via reddit https://ift.tt/3otsDVZ
Wikipedia
Charles Whitman
American mass murderer and spree killer; perpetrator of the University of Texas Tower shooting
TIL of NeverSeconds, a blog started by 9 year old Martha Payne to rate her school lunches and raise money for charity. Gaining popularity, parents started to take notice of the small size of the lunches and Martha was asked by the school to stop blogging.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 02:37PM by Radiocureee
via reddit https://ift.tt/37Gol70
https://ift.tt/2LjlfhP
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 02:37PM by Radiocureee
via reddit https://ift.tt/37Gol70
Wikipedia
NeverSeconds
blog describing school meals
TIL In Australia when it gets very hot, the nectar in some flowers ferments and turns into alcohol. Bees that get drunk from the nectar are not allowed back in their hive—guard bees keep them out to prevent them from making the nectar into alcohol honey.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 04:25PM by AndriesFlorr
via reddit https://ift.tt/3gigi48
https://ift.tt/3mSvE1R
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 04:25PM by AndriesFlorr
via reddit https://ift.tt/3gigi48
Vice
Bees in Australia are Getting Drunk on Fermented Nectar and Being Refused Re-Entry to the Hive
Oddly, the phenomenon has been observed several times around the lawns of Australia's Parliament House.
TIL in 1942 a British forest guard in India made an alarming discovery, he stumbled across a frozen lake surrounded by hundreds of human skeletons.On studying the skeletons, scientists reached an unexpected conclusion - The hundreds of people all died from a sudden and severe hailstorm in 850 AD.
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 04:20PM by IsThisTheEndOfMe
via reddit https://ift.tt/3lSK4Ob
https://ift.tt/2f7VZu5
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 04:20PM by IsThisTheEndOfMe
via reddit https://ift.tt/3lSK4Ob
Slate Magazine
Ancient Skeletons Killed From Above
Atlas Obscura on Slate is a new travel blog. Like us on Facebook, Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura In 1942 a British forest guard in Roopk ...
TIL in the early 19th century the US Senate's desks were updated to make them more usable (i.e. a writing box and an extra drawer). Daniel Webster refused to update his desk, thinking it was a waste of money. The desk is still used as nobody wants to get rid of it since it belonged to Daniel Webster
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Submitted December 07, 2020 at 05:24PM by derstherower
via reddit https://ift.tt/3gszTyz
https://ift.tt/2LfSKBv
Submitted December 07, 2020 at 05:24PM by derstherower
via reddit https://ift.tt/3gszTyz
Mentalfloss
The Hot Seats: 5 Famous Senate Desks
The historic moments that happened at these desks—and the Senate VIPs who sat behind them—mean that some have taken on lives of their own.