Today I learned...

[marc_101]

Post something interesting that you learned today.

Today I learned that there's an animal called a Colugo that's kind of like a flying squirrel but a bit more bat-like:

Colugo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ha. Funny. Just today I learned that one my colleagues had flying squirrels in her attic... Apparently they are very destructive.

 

[GrownupGirl]

Walt Disney's Bambi was based off the 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Saltin. The book was quite a bit darker than the movie, which has been criticized because all the forest animals are Bambi's friends and life in the forest is peaceful when there aren't humans around. In the book many animals get killed or eaten by predators, and there are other dangers like disease and traps and mother nature just generally being cruel. Which is kind of funny since for years I've heard how Bambi's mother's death would traumatize children.

My dad didn't like the movie because of how negatively it showed hunters and my dad liked to hunt. Also, Bambi's father is a 12 point buck, and he lives
.

 

[Crossbreed]

My dad didn't like the movie because of how negatively it showed hunters and my dad liked to hunt.

Deer jerky will quickly change many people's perspective...!

 

[tree]

That looked like it might be a joke, but apparently not.

Orange color​

The external tank's orange color is the color of the spray-on foam insulation. The first two tanks, used for STS-1 and STS-2, were painted white to protect the tanks from ultraviolet light during the extended time that the shuttle spent on the launch pad prior to launch.[7] Because this did not turn out to be a problem, Martin Marietta (now part of Lockheed Martin) reduced weight by leaving the rust-colored spray-on insulation unpainted beginning with STS-3, saving approximately 272 kg (600 lb).[8

Space Shuttle external tank - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Spoiler

The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. Space Shuttle program - Wikipedia

 

[GrownupGirl]

Sega released a Sonic The Hedgehog popcorn machine, where you'd play a mini game while waiting for your popcorn to be made. The machine was only released in Japan.

 

[tree]

The Internet's First Message Sent from UCLA | UCLA 100

UCLA becomes a harbinger of the modern era as it launches ARPANET, the precursor to the modern internet, from its Measurement Center in September. UCLA becomes the first "node" of the internet, and the first message goes from UCLA to the Stanford Research Institute, Internet Node #2, on October...

100.ucla.edu

 

[tree]

Robert Chesebrough - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Vaseline was a by product.

"Chesebrough began his career as a chemist clarifying kerosene from the oil of sperm whales. The discovery of petroleum in Titusville, Pennsylvania, rendered his job obsolete, so he traveled to Titusville to research what new materials might be created from the new fuel. As he was strolling around the oil field, he found out about something called rod wax, also known as petroleum jelly, a jellylike substance that was cleaned off of the pumping equipment often. Chesebrough was told it was a nuisance, except when someone had a cut or burn. If it was rubbed on an injury, then it would lessen the pain and make the injury heal quicker. He then trade-named the jelly as Vaseline. "

"Chesebrough's success stemmed from a firm belief in his product. Before he began selling petroleum jelly, he tested it on his own cuts and burns. Chesebrough was still unable to sell any to drug stores until he traveled around New York demonstrating his miracle product. In front of an audience, he would burn his skin with acid or an open flame, then spread the clear jelly on his injuries while demonstrating past injuries, healed, he claimed, by his miracle product.[4] In reality, it doesn't heal cuts and burns, the jelly forms a layer, causing dirt to not get in (one of the leading causes of death and disease in his day were due to open wounds being infected) and trapping the moisture in. To further create demand, he gave out free samples, one of the first instances of it ever being done."

 

[GrownupGirl]

Last night I watched a couple of videos about terrifying mythical creatures from around the world. One of them is the Krasue, an undead being from Southeast Asian folklore that is basically the floating disembodied head of a woman. The woman is usually described as looking young and beautiful, but her internal organs, usually the heart, stomach and intestines, are dangling from her head as she floats around at night while giving off an eerie glow. During the day she has a body and walks around looking like a regular person, although she does look very sleep. Then at night she detaches her head and organs from the body and goes off to feed, usually on the blood of animals and roadkill, but she also likes the blood of children and pregnant women. One way to kill the Krasue is to find her body and then hide or destroy it. If the head isn't able to find the body before dawn, the Krasue dies a horrible death. People can also put up spiky fences or make barriers of thorny branches to get her intestines caught on so she gets stuck and unable to get back to the body before dawn.

Pretty spooky and kind of gross. I also learned that although the Krasue is mythical, many people in Southeast Asia have reported sightings in the 21st Century when they saw strange lights. Or blamed it on the mysterious deaths of their chickens. Avian flu, anyone?

 

[tree]

The Cool S, also known as the Universal S, is a graffiti sign in popular culture that is typically doodled on children's notebooks or graffitied on walls. The exact origin of the Cool S is unknown,[1] but it became prevalent around the early 1970s as a part of graffiti culture

Cool S - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[tree]

Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Wikipedia
This guy I have known about since I was 10.

This one, only since last week.
I looked him up today to make sure I hadn't heard it wrong, on the radio.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Wikipedia

 

[tree]

Belphegor's prime is the palindromic prime number 1000000000000066600000000000001 (1030 + 666 × 1014 + 1), a number which reads the same both backwards and forwards and is only divisible by itself and one. It was discovered by Harvey Dubner.

The name Belphegor refers to one of the Seven Princes of Hell, who was charged with helping people make ingenious inventions and discoveries.[1] "Belphegor's prime" is a name coined by author Clifford A. Pickover.[2]

The number itself contains superstitious elements that have given it its name: the number 666 at the heart of Belphegor's Prime is widely associated as being the Number of the Beast, used in symbolism to represent one of the creatures in the Apocalypse or, more commonly, the Devil.

This number is surrounded on either side by thirteen zeroes and is 31 digits in length (thirteen reversed), with thirteen itself long regarded superstitiously as an unlucky number in Western culture.

Belphegor's prime - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[tree]

All the times I've seen Short Circuit 2 and today was the first time
I thought of looking up the word that Ben wails when Johnny 5 is
dying.

For years I thought he was hollering "yard" which didn't make any sense.
Eventually I noticed (watching youtube videos) that people from India
said 'yaar.' Thought it was just a nonsense syllable.

13 Things You'll Only Hear Indians Say

From like that only to nothing is coming here are some of the things that all Indians are guilty of having used at least once in their lives

theculturetrip.com

Saw the ending of Short Circuit 2 a couple nights ago.

 

[Crossbreed]

...in India, “yaar” can be used to communicate many more feelings. Depending on the tone used, it can express happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, excitement and any other emotions that you can possibly think of.

I Am Groot...!

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

With an amazon.com business account, you get a lot better service. This also works at Home Depot. So if you have any kind of a business, and find amazon's customer service atrocious, you might try setting up a business account.

 

[Forest Cat]

I learned that Norway is the 7th most promiscuous country in the world. I'm surprised, I would have guessed we were in the top 3. Maybe next year, we just have to try harder. We can win this.

Most promiscuous countries in the world revealed: Here’s how America scores

“The average number of sexual partners can vary significantly from country to country, as cultural norms can have a significant impact on the number of people someone has sex with,” res…

nypost.com

 

[grommet]

The moon orbits the earth. I thought everything was in orbit around the sun. Surprised to find this out but also that I never knew.

 

[grommet]

I learned that Norway is the 7th most promiscuous country in the world. I'm surprised, I would have guessed we were in the top 3. Maybe next year, we just have to try harder. We can win this.

Most promiscuous countries in the world revealed: Here’s how America scores

“The average number of sexual partners can vary significantly from country to country, as cultural norms can have a significant impact on the number of people someone has sex with,” res…

nypost.com

I always thought my number was very low. According to this article, it is not. Now I am not sure what to think.

 

[Forest Cat]

I learned that there is now a speed limit on music in Chechnya. Only music with over 80 and under 116 beats per minute is allowed. So for example Michael Jacksons "Billie Jean" is illegal to play there, because that's 117 beats per minute. One beat too much. Sounds like a fun place.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I learned that Norway is the 7th most promiscuous country in the world. I'm surprised, I would have guessed we were in the top 3. Maybe next year, we just have to try harder. We can win this.

Most promiscuous countries in the world revealed: Here’s how America scores

“The average number of sexual partners can vary significantly from country to country, as cultural norms can have a significant impact on the number of people someone has sex with,” res…

nypost.com

A new pick up line envisioned here…

 

[thejuice]

That's the averages? Holy crap I'm so sheltered