TIL about Sedevacantism, the belief that the current Pope is not Catholic and that there has not been a true Pope since John XXIII died in 1963, since all Popes after him accepted the Second Vatican Council which they call heretical
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedevacantism
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1535zyk/til_about_sedevacantism_the_belief_that_the/
TIL between 63rd and 76th Streets in New York City, scientists have found an ant species found nowhere else on Earth. They called him “ManhattAnt”.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nyc-has-its-own-ant-the-manhattant-25741340/
TIL about "Edison's Conquest of Mars" - an 1898 novel where Thomas Edison kicked alien ass in an unauthorized sequel to "The War of the Worlds." Among its MANY sci-fi inventions: First use of spacesuits, alien abductions, space wars, asteroid mining, and aliens building the Pyramids.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison%27s_Conquest_of_Mars
TIL that in the 2006 World Cup match between Croatia and Australia, Croatian Josip Šimunić received 3 yellow cards, instead of the usual 2. Šimunić is Australian-born, and hence speaks English with an Australian accent. This probably caused the mistake made by the referee
TIL that Pixar originated in 1974 as a university lab that tried to make a computer-generated film. Realizing that computers weren’t good enough, the lab workers joined the film industry, made special effects and sold software and hardware until technology in the early 90s let them make “Toy Story.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar
[TIL] In the United States, a 'Heckler's Veto' happens when a speaker is silenced by the threat of antisocial or illegal acts of a disagreeing party. For instance, a peaceful demonstration is banned due to threatened violence by opponents.
TIL that as of July 2023, there have been more than 50 near impacts of large asteroids (more than 33 feet or 10 meters across) with Earth, most of which are detected only after passing by our planet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth_in_2023
TIL - it’s OK to be honest & still be kind. And it’s OK to ask for a favor as long as you can live with an honest answer.
TIL that there is a role in system of Bosnia and Herzegovina that has the power to remove public officials from office and pass laws, although it's exclusively held by foreigners
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Representative_for_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina
TIL the male head of any Roman family possessed "ius vitae necisque," "the right of life and death," and could legally execute any of his children at any age.
Today I learned there have been 9 dog mayors elected in small Small towns in California, Minnesota, Colorado, Kentucky, as well as one in San Francisco. One "re-pup-lican"campaign promised "a bone in every dish, a cat in every tree, and a fire hydrant in every corner"
https://www.insider.com/dog-mayors-of-america-2019-7
TIL that to address complaints about graphic violence in the Simpsons, showrunner David Mormon decreed that Treehouse Of Horror V contain as much gore as possible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_V
TIL a Greenland shark — a species that's half-blind, scavenge on polar bear carcasses, survives for hundreds of years and is thought to live in freezing Arctic waters — was discovered in an unexpected place: Belize.
TIL that all of China uses one time zone. On July 1, sunrise in the country’s east is at 3:05 am and sunset in the country’s west is at 10:26 pm. On Jamuary 1, sunrise in the west is at 10:16 am and sunset in the east is at 3:18 pm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_China
TIL: Milli Vanilli were created by the same man who created Boney-M (who also lip synced and didn’t sing)
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Boney_M
TIL about "breakage" - money left on gift cards indefinitely, which the issuers eventually claim as revenue. In 2021, Starbucks reaped $181million from unused giftcards.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/starbucks-reaped-181-million-unused-gift-cards
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1532rrt/til_about_breakage_money_left_on_gift_cards/
TIL The Turbo Encabulator is a fictional electromechanical machine with a satirical technobabble description that became a famous in-joke among engineers after it was published by the British Institution of Electrical Engineers. Technical documentation has been written for the non-existent machine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_encabulator
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1532h7c/til_the_turbo_encabulator_is_a_fictional/
TIL that there have been several scientific papers published associating the winning chances in football or soccer matches with playing a short pass based possession game, now known popualrly as tiki taka
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0280030
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1532ft2/til_that_there_have_been_several_scientific/
TIL about the Liking Gap. Most people underestimate how much other people actually like them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liking_gap
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/15328tc/til_about_the_liking_gap_most_people/
TIL: The rarest blood in the world is Rhnull which is also dubbed "golden blood" and is shared by less than 45 people on Earth. It was discovered in 1961. It can be used by anyone even those with other rare blood types in the rh system and is extremely valuable with only 9 donors.
https://www.discovery.com/science/Rhnull-Rarest-Blood-Type-on-Earth
