The "Today I Learned" Thread • Page 5

TIL the Soviet Air Force in WW2 develop flying aircraft carriers. Essentially huge planes that had detachable fighters on the wings, and they actually flew missions on the Eastern Front. The concept being they can penetrate deep into enemy territory and do fighter raids where the enemy least expects it

This concept is actually coming back too. I have read before that there is early development in the USAF of autonomous drones that can be dropped from stealth bombers to do basically the same thing.

 

TIL that Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono is a creep. He started dating his partner when he was 29 and she was 17. He also identifies politically as an Anarcho-Capitalist.

 

Ugh. Bummer to hear about the first part. I really enjoyed his work in The Claypool/Lennon Delirium.

As for the second part, I always got a weird vibe regarding his political views. His Twitter is interesting…

 

TIL Big L, Ma$e, and Cam'ron were in a rap group together before they popped off.

 

TIL that James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins founded and owned a clothing brand only available in Asian markets. And apparently as of today, the brand is now defunct

 

TIL methheads sometimes smoke meth in lightbulbs. such a methhead thing to do

 

TIL that Epic Games acquired the game developer Harnonix, the company responsible Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Which now answers my question “how was Fortnite able to get away with Fortnite Festival?”

 

I am listening to an audio book about the Lincoln assassination (the one that is being adapted into a limited series for Apple) and TIL it wasn't just a lone wolf thing from Booth, it was a conspiracy to wipe out at least 3 levels of the line of succession and cripple the federal government. The Secretary of State was also attacked at his home and stabbed and nearly died that night too but survived. The guy that was supposed to kill the VP got drunk and went to sleep instead.

 

I read a book called Dead Presidents by Brady Carlson that was about how each president died, their funerals, and their legacy. I learned a bunch of interesting facts about each one. It was a solid read, you might like it!

 

TIL that the Ray Ban Wayfarer saw a significant increase in popularity and fashion in the 1980’s due to Ray Ban inking a $60,000/yr deal with a company responsible for product-placement in movies that placed the sunglasses in multiple popular movies in the 80’s. So ultimately, they became fashionable in that era not because of natural interest, but because Ray Ban paid to make the Wayfarer popular

(typing this as I’m wearing a pair rn)

 

TIL that despite being a Los Angeles football team, the LA Rams played at Anaheim Stadium (now known as Angels Stadium) from 1980 to 1994 before moving to St. Louis

 

TIL

 

TIL: “Murder On The Dance Floor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor was actually written by Gregg Alexander of New Radicals (of “You Get What You Give” fame) and was intended to be NR’s debut single. However, it could not be completed in time of its intended release, so YGWYG was selected as the lead single instead and he ended up scrapping MOTDF

A couple years later, the duo met and re-tooled the song together and it became what we know it as today

 

TIL Gorillas don't drink water. They eat so much fruit and vegetation that they get all of their hydration just from their food.

 

Not sure if I ever mentioned this, but as part of my job I send out a weekly email to our entire staff every Monday morning. To keep the e-mail interesting, for the last few years, I include a random 'Did You Know?' fact at the bottom. They're always totally random and have zero to do with our work - just more so an effort to make sure people open the e-mail and read to the bottom.

I spend an embarrassing amount of time looking for good ones - and making sure they're true. What I have found is most 'Did You Know' websites and lists turn out to either be myths or not 100% true.

So if anyone has any good sources for random facts/'did you knows' please link them.

 

TIL the origin of the term "Hoser" for stereotypical Canadians is believed to come from the old days of outdoor ice hockey, where the losing team was made to hose down the ice after the game to smooth it out. It basically means Loser.

It's basically the same as Jabroni

 

This is something I actually learned a few years ago, but I was telling a coworker about this yesterday and his mind was blown, so I thought I’d share it here too:

YHL: In the early 90’s Disney had made plans to open a water-side resort in Long Beach, CA named Port Disney. It was set to be built near the Port Of Long Beach and was to feature five hotels, water-side restaurants, The Queen Mary (as Disney was in ownership of it at the time), a cruise ship with a handful of destinations and an amusement park named DisneySea. The city and residents were keen on the idea until it was revealed to the public where it received pushback. After a year of further planning, Disney ultimately abandoned the project completely in favor of opening WESTcot in Anaheim at the Disneyland Resort (which also ended up abandoned and then turned into development of California Adventure)

It’s pretty interesting tbh. If anyone wants to read about it: Port Disney - Wikipedia

 

Good they have too much power already

 

Oh it’s true. Haha.

As a Disney park enthusiast, it’s an interesting “what could have been” thing for me that part of me wishes actually saw the light of day. But also as someone who loves Long Beach and visits often, it probably would’ve ended up being hell. That area gets pretty busy anyway so traffic would’ve been a nightmare. Plus, Disney’s presence would’ve taken a lot of authenticity and history away from the city too

 

Can’t wait to see the representation for this

 

My girlfriend and I were talking about this the other day and concluded we probably wouldn't live in Long Beach now if this had happened because it would've changed the landscape of the whole city, not just physically, but economically and socially.

 

I still think about that American History themed park Disney planned for the DC suburbs in the early 90's that thankfully never happened.

 

IIRC there was also talks of them buying Knott’s in the 80’s and turning it into that concept too but I might be misremembering

 

Oh for sure. I think it would’ve lost a lot of its charm had Disney made a presence there.

And I mean… Anaheim does have some cool spots too outside of Disney, but it’s very clear their shadow is there. Would be strongly felt in LB too, I’d assume