Commented - Today I Learned

TIL that millennial dads are spending 3 times as much times with their kids than their fathers spent with them. Back in 1982, 43% of fathers admitted they'd never changed a diaper. Today, that number is down to about 3%. (www.mother.ly)

TIL Fungi in Chernobyl appear to be feeding off gamma radiation and are growing towards the reactor core. (thebiologist.rsb.org.uk)

TIL the German word "backpfeifengesicht," which means "a face in need of a punch" or "a punchable face" (Visual example/definition also included)

TIL: Microsoft tried a 4-day workweek in Japan as part of a "Work Life Choice Challenge" by shutting down offices every Friday. Productivity, measured by sales per employee, increased by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year. (www.cnn.com)

A growing number of smaller companies are adopting a four-day workweek. Now the results of a recent trial at Microsoft suggest it could work even for the biggest businesses.

TIL NASA calculated that you only need 40 digits of Pi to calculate the circumference of the observable universe, to the accuracy of 1 hydrogen atom (www.jpl.nasa.gov)

TIL that in 1916 there was a proposed Amendment to the US Constitution that would put all acts of war to a national vote, and anyone voting yes would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army. (www.huffpost.com)

TIL city of Palm springs California would routinely burn down Black family homes to make room for shopping center redevelopments (www.bbc.com)

The state of California is considering giving the descendants of slaves $1.2m each.

TIL that Ford filed a patent over technology that could remotely disable a car radio or air conditioner, lock someone out of a vehicle, or cause a car to constantly beep, if a car payment is missed. (fortune.com)

Ford Motor Co. has filed for a patent on technology that could remotely shut down your radio or air conditioning, lock you out of your vehicle, or prompt it to ceaselessly beep if you miss car payments. Ford said it has no plans to use the technology, contained in just one of the many patents filed by the auto-making giant....

TIL that the US considered dropping an atomic bomb on Kyoto. However, Secretary of War Henry Stimson had vacationed there and admired the city. So, he convinced President Truman to choose another target. Nagasaki was chosen in its place. (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL that many bugle players at military funerals are simply hitting a button to play 'Taps' as there aren't enough proficient bugle players to go around. (youtu.be)

Bugles Across America reveals secret about military funerals

TIL why those with autism avoid eye contact; an overactive subcortical system, combined with an imbalance in the excitatory and inhibitory systems, can make eye contact feel like 'burning' (www.sciencedaily.com)

Direct gaze - that is, eye contact with another person - causes the subcortical system to overload, and the parts of the brain that deal with arousal and calming are failing to strike a balance. The end result is that direct eye contact triggers a physiological response which makes it physically uncomfortable to maintain eye...

TIL Carrie Fisher delivered a cow tongue inside a Tiffany box to a predatory producer who had assaulted her friend. She said, "The next delivery will be something of yours in a much smaller box!" (www.bbc.com)

TIL “Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps” was originally meant sarcastically, or to suggest an impossible accomplishment, because it is impossible for someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. (uselessetymology.com)

TIL the FBI has struggled to hire hackers because of the FBI hiring rule that the applicant must not have used marijuana during the last 3 years. (www.nydailynews.com)

The oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute, was discovered in Divje babe cave near Cerkno. It is made from the left thighbone of a young cave bear and has four pierced holes. (www.nms.si)

TIL 70,000 years ago a volcanic eruption killed many humans, leaving only 1,000 human alive in the whole word. This created a population bottleneck which vastly reduced diversity in human genetics. (en.wikipedia.org)

The Toba eruption (sometimes called the Toba supereruption or the Youngest Toba eruption) was a supervolcano eruption that occurred around 74,000 years ago at the site of present-day Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is one of Earth's largest known explosive eruptions. The Toba catastrophe theory holds that this event caused a...

TIL human bodies can incinerate and turn to ash and dust instantly during a rapid implosion

Titan Sub Implosion...

The Largest Living Organism on Earth Is a 3.5-Square-Mile Fungus Called the Armillaria ostoyae, or the "Honey Fungus." It spans over 2,385 acres. (www.discovery.com)

TIL that arguably the first comprehensive English dictionary was written by one dude over the course of seven years and that was THE dictionary for 70+ years (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL the infamous 1/3 (Third Pounder) burger was relaunched as the 3/9 burger to overcome certain customers' thinking it was smaller than McDonald's 1/4 (Quarter Pounder) burger with the tagline "It's Bigger/ genius." (www.thrillist.com)

TIL that producers of the 1980 STAR WARS Christmas music album replaced the lead singer for the track "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas" with the 17 y/o kid who was sweeping floors at the studio, and he nailed it. His name was Jon Bon Jovi. (en.wikipedia.org)

Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album is a record album produced in 1980 by RSO Records. It features recordings of Star Wars-themed Christmas songs and stories about a droid factory where the robots make toys year-round for "S. Claus". Much of the album is sung and narrated by British actor Anthony Daniels, reprising...