TIL that James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, is the only president to have military experience without having been an officer. He was a private in the Pennsylvania militia in 1814.
https://ift.tt/1NsjvGJ
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 03:38PM by eventualconsistency
via reddit https://ift.tt/3bsv5Zv
https://ift.tt/1NsjvGJ
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 03:38PM by eventualconsistency
via reddit https://ift.tt/3bsv5Zv
Wikipedia
James Buchanan
James Buchanan Jr. (/bjuːˈkænən/ byoo-CAN-nən; April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861). He previously served as Secretary of State (1845–1849) and represented Pennsylvania…
TIL that Russian President Boris Yeltsin once got so drunk at a state dinner that he drummed on Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev's bald head, using dinner spoons.
https://ift.tt/39jZVRn
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:01PM by chubwhump
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Ld2hcZ
https://ift.tt/39jZVRn
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:01PM by chubwhump
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Ld2hcZ
U.S.
Russia's Yeltsin known for gaffes, off-color jokes
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who died on Monday, developed a penchant over 15 years in high office of jolting world leaders by committing gaffes, cracking off-color jokes or blurting out flippant comments.
TIL that, upon his death in 1977, jazz composer Paul Desmond left the rights to royalties for his performances and compositions, including "Take Five", to the American Red Cross, which has since received combined royalties of approximately $100,000 per year
https://ift.tt/1UItVM4
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:35PM by kfraney94
via reddit https://ift.tt/2XxCVsA
https://ift.tt/1UItVM4
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:35PM by kfraney94
via reddit https://ift.tt/2XxCVsA
Wikipedia
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz standard composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond and originally recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for their albumTime Out at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studios in New York City on July 1, 1959. Two years later it became a surprisehit…
TIL In 1986, two Russian airline pilots got into an argument over wether one could land the plane without vision. The main pilot pulled the curtains over the windows, insisting he could. Then, the plane missed the runway, flipped and killed 70 of the passengers
https://ift.tt/35wbPqj
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:52PM by MaeSolug
via reddit https://ift.tt/3qbjJNH
https://ift.tt/35wbPqj
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:52PM by MaeSolug
via reddit https://ift.tt/3qbjJNH
Wikipedia
Aeroflot Flight 6502
1986 Tu-134 crash in Samara
TIL studies done by online stockbrokers where they analyse the results achieved by their clients found that the ones that did the best were those that had died (and the category that did second best had forgotten their log in details).
https://ift.tt/3nADYCA
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 07:25PM by ennis88
via reddit https://ift.tt/3saLWGp
https://ift.tt/3nADYCA
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 07:25PM by ennis88
via reddit https://ift.tt/3saLWGp
Two Cents
The Best Investors Literally Forget About Their Portfolios
“Set and forget” investing isn’t sexy, but it works. In fact, lazy investing is so effective, a study from Fidelity found that the best performing investors had either forgotten about their accounts or even crazier—they were dead.
TIL That Boeing uses potatoes to test their in-flight Wi-Fi, as they reflect and absorb the signals similarly to people. The project is called Synthetic Personnel Using Dialectic Substitution- or SPUDS.
https://ift.tt/2Z8tyTw
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 07:50PM by Difficult-Job-3918
via reddit https://ift.tt/3sgTZkY
https://ift.tt/2Z8tyTw
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 07:50PM by Difficult-Job-3918
via reddit https://ift.tt/3sgTZkY
BBC News
Boeing uses potatoes instead of people to test wi-fi
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing used unusual substitutes for passengers while testing its in-flight wi-fi system - potatoes.
TIL in 1995, Russian President Boris Yeltsin got drunk in Washington DC and was found outside in his underwear trying to find pizza
https://ift.tt/2qkhj2U
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 10:46PM by firstpc13
via reddit https://ift.tt/39oHmM4
https://ift.tt/2qkhj2U
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 10:46PM by firstpc13
via reddit https://ift.tt/39oHmM4
HISTORY
When a Russian President Ended Up Drunk and Disrobed Outside the White House
Was Bill Clinton's 1994 meeting with Boris Yeltsin the most hilariously awful state visit in history?
TIL a dragonfly can live for 5 years but only develops wings in its last 2-4 months of life. During its second stage of life, the nymph lives a water-bound existence where it molts (sheds skin) up to 12 times before developing wings.
https://ift.tt/3bt66oR
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:10PM by humble-heat-bundle
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oEn1IY
https://ift.tt/3bt66oR
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 05:10PM by humble-heat-bundle
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oEn1IY
Sciencing
Life Cycle of a Dragonfly
Dragonflies have three stages to their life: egg, nymph and adult. The length of each stage depends on the species of dragonfly.
TIL that Massachusetts, one of the least obese states to begin with, is one of the only states in the Union to report a drop in obesity rates within the past few years.
https://ift.tt/3i66iMf.
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 12:35AM by IanMazgelis
via reddit https://ift.tt/39rlYWi
https://ift.tt/3i66iMf.
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 12:35AM by IanMazgelis
via reddit https://ift.tt/39rlYWi
Boston Magazine
Mass. Has the Third-Lowest Obesity Rate in the Country
According to the new State of Obesity report.
TIL that Edvard Munch's famous painting "The Scream" was painted on cardboard
https://ift.tt/1bUQBk4
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 11:28PM by Twizzyu
via reddit https://ift.tt/3ozuEAk
https://ift.tt/1bUQBk4
Submitted January 11, 2021 at 11:28PM by Twizzyu
via reddit https://ift.tt/3ozuEAk
Wikipedia
The Scream
group of paintings by Edvard Munch
TIL that the opposite of "déjà vu" is "jamai vu" -- the sensation that you know rationally that you should be familiar with a thing, but you have an eerie sensation that you are seeing the thing for the first time.
https://ift.tt/1tNWNPG
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 02:42AM by draugen_pnw
via reddit https://ift.tt/3q6jjbe
https://ift.tt/1tNWNPG
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 02:42AM by draugen_pnw
via reddit https://ift.tt/3q6jjbe
Wikipedia
Jamais vu
phenomenon of experiencing a situation that one recognizes in some fashion, but nonetheless seems very unfamiliar
TIL that Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) , the aviation pioneer who, along with his brother Wilbur, invented, built and flew the first motor operated airplane lived long enough to see Chuck Yeager break the speed of sound (October 14, 1947). Imagine that!
https://ift.tt/16Nu2Kg
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 04:10AM by Mrsbingley
via reddit https://ift.tt/2LETfp1
https://ift.tt/16Nu2Kg
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 04:10AM by Mrsbingley
via reddit https://ift.tt/2LETfp1
Wikipedia
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers—Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912)—were two American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated airplane. They…
TIL the original job of the Senate Sergeant at Arms was not to protect the senators, but rather to make sure that the senators could not leave the chamber while business was being conducted.
https://ift.tt/2o58VAT
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 03:42AM by aaronhayes26
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nyH3TJ
https://ift.tt/2o58VAT
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 03:42AM by aaronhayes26
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nyH3TJ
TIL in 2016, the Swedish Tourism Council created a single phone number that connected the caller to a random Swede for you to have a conversation with. In the 79 days it was open, almost 200,000 calls were made with a combined 367 days worth of conversations.
https://ift.tt/2kLx2XL
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 05:23AM by TravellingSaffa
via reddit https://ift.tt/3qibwaJ
https://ift.tt/2kLx2XL
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 05:23AM by TravellingSaffa
via reddit https://ift.tt/3qibwaJ
Theswedishnumber
The Swedish Number
Get connected to a random Swede and talk about anything.
TIL of an organization called the National Lawyers Guild. The NLG can deploy a team of Legal Observers to a protest or demonstration to act as a source of legal advice for protesters, and “may serve as a deterrent to unconstitutional behavior by law enforcement.” Look for their green hats!
https://ift.tt/3ckF1B0
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 07:31AM by OldManGrizzle
via reddit https://ift.tt/35ypOvF
https://ift.tt/3ckF1B0
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 07:31AM by OldManGrizzle
via reddit https://ift.tt/35ypOvF
National Lawyers Guild | "Human rights over property interests"
NLG Legal Observer® Program | National Lawyers Guild
TIL that although they failed to find missing pilot Steve Fossett for years, in the days following his disappearance, they DID find EIGHT other previously unidentified crash sites.
https://ift.tt/2dBJxNT
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 07:03AM by subterrane
via reddit https://ift.tt/35xfvIm
https://ift.tt/2dBJxNT
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 07:03AM by subterrane
via reddit https://ift.tt/35xfvIm
Wikipedia
Steve Fossett
American businessman, record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer
TIL This photo of U.S. Army code breakers trained by William Friedman and his wife Elizebeth during WW1 spells out ‘Knowledge is Power.’ By facing either forward or sideways, the soldiers formed a coded phrase utilizing Sir Francis Bacon’s biliteral cipher.
https://ift.tt/38CyWSa
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 04:34AM by aim179
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Lg4vs8
https://ift.tt/38CyWSa
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 04:34AM by aim179
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Lg4vs8
www.cabinetmagazine.org
How to Make Anything Signify Anything | William H. Sherman
William F. Friedman and birth of modern cryptanalysis
TIL of French telecom CEO Didier Lombard, who was found guilty of moral harassment after 18 employees committed suicide under his leadership from 2008 to 2010, including an employee who stabbed himself in the stomach during a staff meeting and a woman who threw herself out of a window.
https://ift.tt/35yyPVx
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 07:52AM by Android16BirdWatch
via reddit https://ift.tt/35vsoT6
https://ift.tt/35yyPVx
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 07:52AM by Android16BirdWatch
via reddit https://ift.tt/35vsoT6
CBC
French telco Orange found guilty over workers' suicides in landmark ruling | CBC News
French telecoms group Orange and its former CEO Didier Lombard were guilty of "moral harassment" that prompted a spate of suicides during a restructuring at the company in the late 2000s, a Paris court ruled on Friday.
TIL about the so called " immovable ladder". A ladder used to clean parts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which hasn't been moved since 1759 due to an Ottoman decree that forbade any changes whatsoever to be made to the church without all six Christian communities agreeing.
https://ift.tt/3q9F228'
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 11:08AM by ixnay2000
via reddit https://ift.tt/3i6XPYZ
https://ift.tt/3q9F228'
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 11:08AM by ixnay2000
via reddit https://ift.tt/3i6XPYZ
Wikipedia
Status Quo (Jerusalem and Bethlehem)
church building in Jerusalem, Israel
TIL in the 1920s, one reason corsets went out of style was because they were made of lots of metal which was needed for tools during WWI. The U.S War Industries Board even asked women to stop buying them which helped them save enough metal to build two battleships.
https://ift.tt/3bwRmW4
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 10:26AM by JHopeHoe
via reddit https://ift.tt/3sgPF50
https://ift.tt/3bwRmW4
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 10:26AM by JHopeHoe
via reddit https://ift.tt/3sgPF50
InsideHook
100 Years of Brassieres: The Historical Evolution of the Bra - InsideHook
Delve into the history of the bra through its changing style and purpose over the decades.
TIL in 2017, a man in Texas purchased a working Sherman tank and parked it outside his house. After sending a “sternly worded letter” and realizing that they couldn’t tow the vehicle, the local HOA began issuing parking tickets on the tank. The owner left it there for two more weeks out of spite.
https://ift.tt/2zXnYmG
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 03:19PM by sgtpepper_spray
via reddit https://ift.tt/35zg9oO
https://ift.tt/2zXnYmG
Submitted January 12, 2021 at 03:19PM by sgtpepper_spray
via reddit https://ift.tt/35zg9oO
Texas Monthly
The Complete Story of the River Oaks Tank
The HOA wasn’t the only foe that Tony Buzbee and his tank, Cheyenne, faced in the Battle of River Oaks Boulevard.