TIL that in 1916, a construction worker, "sandhog" Marshall Mabey, while building a NYC subway tunnel was blown out of the tunnel through a breach and shot up out of bed of the East River and into the air on a geyser. He survived. Two others who were with him did not.
https://ift.tt/3iXcx3J
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 03:56PM by 0ttr
via reddit https://ift.tt/3DKlKrp
https://ift.tt/3iXcx3J
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 03:56PM by 0ttr
via reddit https://ift.tt/3DKlKrp
Brownstoner
A Sandhog Recalls Being Shot Out of a Brooklyn Heights Subway Tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel on the N and R lines was once the site of a freak explosion in which three sandhogs were shot up and out into the East River.
TIL an average horse can actually produce ~ 15 horsepower (hp)
https://ift.tt/3mEZfLX
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 04:17PM by p33k4y
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oSANJs
https://ift.tt/3mEZfLX
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 04:17PM by p33k4y
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oSANJs
BBC Science Focus Magazine
How much horsepower does a horse have?
Spoiler alert: It's not always 1HP.
TIL in order to promote Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, Ubisoft funded the exhumation, DNA testing, and facial reconstruction of famous 18th century pirate Amaro Pargo
https://ift.tt/30YjcHT
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 04:44PM by JakeCameraAction
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oSw7D9
https://ift.tt/30YjcHT
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 04:44PM by JakeCameraAction
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oSw7D9
Wikipedia
Amaro Pargo
Spanish corsair (1678–1747)
TIL Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, and Pierce Brosnan all have voiced the Conductor on Thomas and Friends.
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Submitted November 23, 2021 at 02:10PM by Candied_Vagrants
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nKbnhH
https://ift.tt/3CMdqG6
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 02:10PM by Candied_Vagrants
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nKbnhH
Wikipedia
Thomas & Friends
British children's television series
TIL when Rockstar first released Grand Theft Auto, they actually paid reviewers to negatively review the game in order to keep it controversial, and therefore popular. They targeted right wing news papers to ensure moral outrage and drive the game to success.
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Submitted November 23, 2021 at 06:19PM by galt999
via reddit https://ift.tt/3qZNogB
https://ift.tt/2yksBHN
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 06:19PM by galt999
via reddit https://ift.tt/3qZNogB
WhatCulture.com
GTA V: 9 Facts That Will Blow Your Mind
TIL that due to food and labour shortages in the 1960’s, Brazil has the world’s largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan.
https://ift.tt/3HMKhOX
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 05:32PM by subtlerays
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HJpsUy
https://ift.tt/3HMKhOX
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 05:32PM by subtlerays
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HJpsUy
BBC News
A little corner of Brazil that is forever Okinawa
Okinawan is an endangered language but in Brazil it is thriving and students come here to study it.
TIL The US Government passed the Stolen Valor Act in 2005. The Act made it illegal to wear or falsely claim to have received any military medal or decoration without authorization, including the Medal of Honor. However, the Act was later ruled unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court.
https://ift.tt/30SmxrE
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 10:20PM by New_Particular7075
via reddit https://ift.tt/3DOMCGy
https://ift.tt/30SmxrE
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 10:20PM by New_Particular7075
via reddit https://ift.tt/3DOMCGy
LII / Legal Information Institute
UNITED STATES v. ALVAREZ
TIL, with the exception of one hill, it is illegal to sled in Syracuse, the snowiest city in the United States
https://ift.tt/3rjpMUr
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 12:27AM by Aloiciousss
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HMvXpC
https://ift.tt/3rjpMUr
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 12:27AM by Aloiciousss
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HMvXpC
syracuse
On one Syracuse hill, sledding is now legal
Sledding was banned in Syracuse's parks in 1933. Now, 85 years later, a Burnet Park hill is open for legal sledding.
TIL that leeches were used to predict storms. This tempest prognosticator device was made up of 12 glass bottles filled with water, each with a live leech inside. If the leeches climbed up the bottles out of the water, a bell would ring to signal that a storm was coming.
https://ift.tt/3l3W69I
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 10:14PM by holly948
via reddit https://ift.tt/30VAm8V
https://ift.tt/3l3W69I
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 10:14PM by holly948
via reddit https://ift.tt/30VAm8V
Interesting Engineering
Scientists Used Leaches to Predict the Weather
Predicting the weather with absolute accuracy is still a task that meteorologists are trying to perfect. However, in the late 1800s, one scientist determined a way to use leeches in glass jars to tell if it was going to rain.
TIL that king George I once organized a concert on the river Thames. He hired G. F. Handel and the result was 'water music', a collection of 3 suites. It was played by 50 performers sailing from Whitehall to Chelsea on a barge. The king liked the composition so much that he asked for 3 encores.
https://ift.tt/3DLF5Zp
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 07:23PM by TheTriviaPage
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HJcd6t
https://ift.tt/3DLF5Zp
Submitted November 23, 2021 at 07:23PM by TheTriviaPage
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HJcd6t
Wikipedia
Water Music
musical suite by G. F. Handel
TIL that during the 1908 Olympics, marathon runners, including the winners, drank champagne, brandy, or strychnine cocktails, in the belief that it would provide energy. In 1924, the Paris games provided wine at rehydration stations.
https://ift.tt/2yqoWes
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 01:44AM by afeeney
via reddit https://ift.tt/3DQlOWK
https://ift.tt/2yqoWes
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 01:44AM by afeeney
via reddit https://ift.tt/3DQlOWK
Atlas Obscura
Remembering When Runners Drank Champagne as an Energy Drink
At the 1908 Marathon in London, athletes hit the bottle mid-race.
TIL because pendulum clocks are unreliable at sea, the first attempt at a marine chronometer was undertaken in 1673 utilizing a balance wheel and spring for regulation instead of a pendulum. This opened the way for the first modern pocket watches and wristwatches.
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Submitted November 24, 2021 at 04:26AM by hjb214
via reddit https://ift.tt/3r3q8y8
https://ift.tt/32uQGy8
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 04:26AM by hjb214
via reddit https://ift.tt/3r3q8y8
Wikipedia
Marine chronometer
portable timepiece
TIL that Silverchair's multi-million selling debut album Frogstomp was made when the band members were only 15.
https://ift.tt/3cHZQcr
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 12:15AM by Dr_Talon
via reddit https://ift.tt/3CLvq3q
https://ift.tt/3cHZQcr
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 12:15AM by Dr_Talon
via reddit https://ift.tt/3CLvq3q
Wikipedia
Frogstomp
Frogstomp is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. It was released on 27 March 1995, when the band members were only 15 years of age, by record label Murmur. The album features the band's most successful single, "Tomorrow".
TIL that a Cantonese phrase used by parents upset by their kids is that "it'd be better to have given birth to barbecued pork instead of you". It comes from the use of meal tickets in 1950s China in which meat tickets were highly priced and barbecued pork was a luxury.
https://ift.tt/37cBtQc
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 04:19AM by dilettantedebrah
via reddit https://ift.tt/3xgnupZ
https://ift.tt/37cBtQc
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 04:19AM by dilettantedebrah
via reddit https://ift.tt/3xgnupZ
Zolima City Magazine
Pop Cantonese: Better to Give Birth to Char Siu Than You
Ever wonder where some of the words we use every day in Hong Kong lingo come from? Here’s why some parents dream of giving birth to char siu.
TIL That Woody Harrelson ate vegan cornmeal “Twinkies” for Zombieland because he follows a raw vegan diet.
https://ift.tt/32tzwRv
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 05:29AM by marmalt218
via reddit https://ift.tt/3kZ4Yxp
https://ift.tt/32tzwRv
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 05:29AM by marmalt218
via reddit https://ift.tt/3kZ4Yxp
HuffPost UK
Woody Harrelson's Veganism Gives Rise To The Vegan Twinkie
TIL the rounding part of a machinist’s hammer, opposite of the face, is called a “peen.” This type of hammer is used for surface hardening by impact or “peening.”
https://ift.tt/3DOIgzh
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 12:34AM by TheB1GWazowski
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nMdvp8
https://ift.tt/3DOIgzh
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 12:34AM by TheB1GWazowski
via reddit https://ift.tt/3nMdvp8
Wikipedia
Ball-peen hammer
type of hammer used in metalworking
TIL American muffins are actually individual "quickbreads" or oil cakes (like zucchini bread), making them essentially cupcakes. English muffins are griddled flatbreads, which is why they are chemically and nutritionally more similar to pita or pizza than to American muffins.
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Submitted November 24, 2021 at 06:51AM by lemontreelemur
via reddit https://ift.tt/3cKBsqs
https://ift.tt/3HOrd2P
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 06:51AM by lemontreelemur
via reddit https://ift.tt/3cKBsqs
Wikipedia
Muffin
type of baked product
TIL: NYC Sandhogs were curious about their pensions lady being able to afford private jet trips and expensive watches - turned out that she'd stole $42 million dollars from their pension fund!
https://ift.tt/2Zia4gu
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 11:13AM by deeply__offensive
via reddit https://ift.tt/3FIhhpQ
https://ift.tt/2Zia4gu
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 11:13AM by deeply__offensive
via reddit https://ift.tt/3FIhhpQ
TIL Swaziland changed it's name to eSwatini in 2018 in part because the country's name was often confused with Switzerland
https://ift.tt/2K4tkBf
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 09:29AM by GBreezy
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oSAVbT
https://ift.tt/2K4tkBf
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 09:29AM by GBreezy
via reddit https://ift.tt/3oSAVbT
BBC News
Swaziland king renames country 'the Kingdom of eSwatini'
King Mswati III declares a name change at events celebrating independence and his 50th birthday.
TIL the Ancient Silk Road city of Merv, Turkmenistan had once held the title of the world's largest city during the 12th-13th century with a population of more than 500,000 and in 1221 was horrifically decimated in its entirety by the Mongols in one of the worst genocides in human history
https://ift.tt/3CS1LFL
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 11:16AM by iamhipster
via reddit https://ift.tt/3CL8zVF
https://ift.tt/3CS1LFL
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 11:16AM by iamhipster
via reddit https://ift.tt/3CL8zVF
Wikipedia
Merv
ancient city
TIL Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall Series, was originally a milkman that volunteered to read to blind students along his route. Dissatisfied with the selection of children’s books available, he decided to write his own and became a best-selling author.
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Submitted November 24, 2021 at 02:55PM by The_Ry_Ry
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HQ4Xp7
https://ift.tt/3DPSuzy
Submitted November 24, 2021 at 02:55PM by The_Ry_Ry
via reddit https://ift.tt/3HQ4Xp7
The Escapist
The Legacy of Redwall Lives on in Root, D&D, and Other Fantasy Games
There are franchises and then there are phenomena, and the difference is the latter can be a lot harder to explain. To properly articulate why the Kickstarter for a tabletop roleplaying game set in the adorable woodland world of the board game Root is so…