TIL that Daniel Oppenheimer won the Ig Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006 for his paper "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with using long words needlessly" which argues that simple writing makes authors appear more intelligent than complex writing.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 09:45AM by danruse
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JaSwLi
https://ift.tt/38l9FdG
Submitted December 21, 2020 at 09:45AM by danruse
via reddit https://ift.tt/2JaSwLi
Wikipedia
Daniel M. Oppenheimer
American psychologist
TIL that cheese is the most shoplifted food at 4% globally being stolen
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 04:44PM by Punkduck79
via reddit https://ift.tt/38q7mpS
https://ift.tt/33gTJ8e
Submitted December 21, 2020 at 04:44PM by Punkduck79
via reddit https://ift.tt/38q7mpS
Curly Tales
The World's Most Stolen Food Is Cheese! | Curly Tales
Not chocolates or liquor but the world's most stolen food is cheese. As surprising as it may sound it's cheese!
TIL the first thing ever sold over the internet was marijuana. In the 1970s, students from Stanford sold weed to students at MIT using ARPANET to arrange the transaction.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 07:17PM by HOJlife
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pcRCNz
https://ift.tt/3azYXTk
Submitted December 21, 2020 at 07:17PM by HOJlife
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pcRCNz
History Daily
What Was The First Thing Ever Bought On The Internet? Weed, Of Course
The first online sale was, naturally, weed. When was the first online sale? How did the first online sale take place?
TIL of "Number 16," the oldest known spider. She was a wild trapdoor spider who lived in an Australian burrow. She was studied by researchers from 1973 until 2016, when her burrow was found damaged and empty, likely due to a parasitic wasp attack. She was 43 years old.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 07:25PM by HitlerNorthDakota
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KLsoal
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 07:25PM by HitlerNorthDakota
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KLsoal
Wikipedia
Number 16 (spider)
Oldest recorded individual spider
TIL alchemists considered Mercury as a magical substance that a Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang took it as the elixir of immorality which resulted in him dying at the age of 49 and even he was buried in an underground mausoleum full of mercury thinking it's going to help him rule in the afterlife
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 05:52PM by The_Questionist69
via reddit https://ift.tt/34x5PNF
https://ift.tt/2ztsV5L
Submitted December 21, 2020 at 05:52PM by The_Questionist69
via reddit https://ift.tt/34x5PNF
thestar.com
Mercury was considered a cure — until it killed you
The metal was thought to be a miracle balm, purging the body of bile. A new book, Quackery, chronicles this and other bizarre medical misfires.
TiL: There's a mutant who has been on the X-men for several years, but nobody at all ever remembered due to his power of immediately forgetting he existed once he leaves your point of view.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 08:30PM by Sonrelight
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Kp37Tq
https://ift.tt/3auPiNN
Submitted December 21, 2020 at 08:30PM by Sonrelight
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Kp37Tq
CBR
X-Men: ForgetMeNot, Marvel's Most Forgotten Mutant, Explained
ForgetMeNot is the one mutant that no one remembers, despite helping the X-Men and X-Force for years. Here is everything you need to know about him.
TIL: Cheese labeled “100 percent Parmesan” are often filled with cheese substitutes like wood pulp. And Castle Cheese produced Parmesan cheese containing no actual Parmesan for almost 30 years.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 10:21PM by diacewrb
via reddit https://ift.tt/3rl8rHW
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 10:21PM by diacewrb
via reddit https://ift.tt/3rl8rHW
Time
FDA Warns The Parmesan You Eat May Be Wood Pulp
The FDA is cracking down on companies that are lying about selling 100% Parmesan cheese
TIL about Saadat Shahr, a small rural community in Iran nicknamed ‘Astronomy Town’ because of the residents’ passion for stargazing. The town clubbed together to pay for an observatory and on special occasions all the lights are cut to improve the view of the night sky.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 01:10AM by judgeundependable
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KiqgHj
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 01:10AM by judgeundependable
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KiqgHj
Aljazeera
Stars seize Iranian imagination
People in the southern Iranian town of Saadat Shahr make sure not to miss Friday prayers.
TIL the birth of JFK's sister Rosemary in 1918 was complicated by medical resources focused elsewhere during a pandemic. A nurse, trying to delay delivery for a doctor, held her mother's legs closed. When that failed, she reached into the birth canal and held Rosemary's head in place for two hours.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 09:17PM by WhileFalseRepeat
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KqvVuL
https://ift.tt/34wtUE0
Submitted December 21, 2020 at 09:17PM by WhileFalseRepeat
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KqvVuL
Marie Claire
The Secret Lobotomy of Rosemary Kennedy
JFK's younger sister was permanently disabled by a barbaric surgery in the 1940s. Now, her legacy is more important than ever.
TIL the chocolate candy "Smarties" in Europe/Canada is entirely different from the hard sugar candy "Smarties" in the USA
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:23AM by Lobster_porn
via reddit https://ift.tt/34AhA5U
https://ift.tt/3mJj0Bc
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:23AM by Lobster_porn
via reddit https://ift.tt/34AhA5U
Candyaddict
Candy Addict » U.S. Smarties different than UK/Canadian Smarties
Candy news, views, and reviews. All the candy that’s fit to eat, and some that isn’t. All candy, all the time. Addicted to candy.
TIL The Mayans had paper-based books (codices) that Spanish missionaries burned, causing "much affliction" among the surviving Maya. Only three codices survive today.
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 11:50PM by wvdirtboy
via reddit https://ift.tt/3pdHjsB
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Submitted December 21, 2020 at 11:50PM by wvdirtboy
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Wikipedia
Maya codices
manuscript
TIL that during the U.S. Civil War, Andrew Carnegie was drafted for the Army; however, rather than serve, he paid another man $850 to report for duty in his place, a common practice at the time.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:56AM by DankieKang
via reddit https://ift.tt/3rgqbnX
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 12:56AM by DankieKang
via reddit https://ift.tt/3rgqbnX
HISTORY
Andrew Carnegie
Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist.
TIL Gayla Peevey, the singer of "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" was given an actual hippopotamus. The hippo "Matilda" lived for 47 year before dying of a heart attack while being transported to Disney World's Animal Kingdom in 1998.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:29AM by Hunlea
via reddit https://ift.tt/2WCMne0
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 02:29AM by Hunlea
via reddit https://ift.tt/2WCMne0
Wikipedia
Gayla Peevey
American singer
TIL in the sea between Australia and New Zealand, there's an island taller than it is wide. Ball's Pyramid only measures 300m across, yet peaks at 562m in elevation.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:07AM by msnf
via reddit https://ift.tt/38nlf8k
https://ift.tt/1Es73IJ
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:07AM by msnf
via reddit https://ift.tt/38nlf8k
Wikipedia
Ball's Pyramid
an island and an erosional remnant of a shield volcano southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific
TIL According to one story of his last words, Voltaire's response to a priest at his deathbed urging him to renounce Satan was "Now is not the time for making new enemies."
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:32AM by investorio
via reddit https://ift.tt/3mMn8AE
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:32AM by investorio
via reddit https://ift.tt/3mMn8AE
TIL Christopher Columbus hanged, burned, or cut the hands off of hundreds of thousands of Caribbean natives for their failure to bring him a bell full of gold on an island with little to no gold. Thousands committed suicide to avoid his punishments.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 07:05AM by heyimdong
via reddit https://ift.tt/2WDaWre
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 07:05AM by heyimdong
via reddit https://ift.tt/2WDaWre
TIL Many Christmas traditions come from the Roman holiday Saturnalia.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:47AM by igloojoe
via reddit https://ift.tt/2LNCs2T
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 05:47AM by igloojoe
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HISTORY
Saturnalia
Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of
TIL Joseph Stalin originally trained as a priest in an Orthodox Spiritual Seminary. He at first achieved high grades, but later lost interest, declaring himself an atheist. He was known to stalk out of prayers, refuse to doff his hat to monks, and was confined to a cell for his rebellious behaviour.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 03:56AM by who_died_of_ennui
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nM9oqU
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 03:56AM by who_died_of_ennui
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nM9oqU
Wikipedia
Joseph Stalin
Soviet politician, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and premier of the Soviet Union (1878-1953)
TIL that the Chimney Sweepers Act of 1788 was a British Act of Parliament passed to stop child labor, as boys as young as four were being used as chimney sweeps. The Act raised the minimum age to eight years old.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:19AM by jcd1974
via reddit https://ift.tt/38jkNYo
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 06:19AM by jcd1974
via reddit https://ift.tt/38jkNYo
Wikipedia
Chimney Sweepers Act 1788
The Chimney Sweepers Act 1788 (28 Geo. 3 c. 48) was a British Act of Parliament passed to try to stop child labour. Many boys as young as four were being used as chimney sweeps.
TIL hat-makers in the 19th century regularly used mercury in the manufacturing of felt hats, which caused a high rate of poisoning and led to neurological damage like slurred speech, memory loss, and tremors. This was the inspiration for the Mad Hatter character in Alice in Wonderland.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 08:38AM by EverythingHasRabies
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KMNRja
https://ift.tt/37CVEcg
Submitted December 22, 2020 at 08:38AM by EverythingHasRabies
via reddit https://ift.tt/2KMNRja
Wikipedia
Hatter (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
fictional character from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
TIL about Srinivasa Ramanujan's lost notebook, which was rediscovered by Mathematician George Andrews in 1976. It was a bunch of notes with over 600 formulae, which he had written before his death.The mock theta functions in the notebook have been useful for calculating the entropy of black holes.
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 09:30AM by RealityCheck18
via reddit https://ift.tt/3ps6FDt
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Submitted December 22, 2020 at 09:30AM by RealityCheck18
via reddit https://ift.tt/3ps6FDt
ThatsMaths
Ramanujan’s Lost Notebook
In the Irish Times column this week ( TM010 ), we tell how a collection of papers of Srinivasa Ramanujan turned up in the Wren Library in Cambridge and set the mathematical world ablaze.