TIL a woman named Sara Jane Moore tried to kill U.S. president Gerald Ford. She was in prison for 32 years. When asked about her crime in an interview, Moore stated, "I am very glad I did not succeed. I know now that I was wrong to try."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Jane_Moore
#til #todayilearned
TIL that the creators of Howdy Doody and Lamb Chop died 3 days of each other.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bob_Smith
#til #todayilearned
TIL the 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known as 11M) that occurred March 11th, 2004 resulted in 193 deaths precisely 911 days after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The main perpetrators went on to receive combined prison sentences of over 100,000 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Madrid_train_bombings
#til #todayilearned
TIL of Special Force, a 2003 Lebanese video game developed by Hezbollah, which recreates battles from the South Lebanon conflict from Hezbollah's POV. After being released in countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, and the UAE, 8,000 copies were sold in one week
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Force_(2003_video_game)
#til #todayilearned
TIL some 8th century Anglo-Saxon coins contained the words "Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah" written in Arabic, alongside the name of the king in English. This was apparently a result of imitating the aesthetics of Caliphate coins, without understanding the meaning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-Kufic#Early_examples
#til #todayilearned
TIL about Roman politicians Saturninus and Glaucia who allegedly had a political opponent, Gaius Memmius, beaten to death in front of the voters. This caused civil unrest within Roman aristocracy and an angry mob brutally killed the duo among their alleged conspirators.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Appuleius_Saturninus
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/16yn94a/til_about_roman_politicians_saturninus_and/
TIL There are computers for the Amish. There are computers specially designed without internet, video, or music capabilities. The features include word processing, drawing, accounting, and spreadsheets.
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/02/25/172886170/a-computer-fit-for-the-amish
#til #todayilearned
TIL there's a real robotics company called Cyberdine and one of its robotic exeoskeleton suit is named HAL.
https://gizmodo.com.au/2015/01/theres-a-real-robotics-company-called-cyberdyne-and-now-im-scared/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/16yjm3g/til_theres_a_real_robotics_company_called/
TIL New York City is sinking 1-2mm each year due to the weight of its skyscrapers, worsening the effects of rising sea levels and flooding.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/19/new-york-city-sinking-skyscrapers-climate-crisis
#til #todayilearned
TIL that the smallest type of black holes are called primordial black holes and they can be as small as a single atom but with a mass of a large mountain
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-black-hole-58.html
#til #todayilearned
TIL the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch (who died of throat cancer in 2012) straight-up invented a sound never heard before: the reverse drum beat, played on Paul Revere (source in notes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdfF0cOC50w
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/16qw0ea/til_the_beastie_boys_adam_yauch_who_died_of/
TIL of the Bronx Zoo Most Dangerous Animal in the World exhibit of 1963, which featured a cage and a mirror, allowing visitors to see that it was humanity which was most dangerous.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Dangerous_Animal_in_the_World
#til #todayilearned
TIL Upton Sinclair, author of "The Jungle", was the Democrat nominee for governor of California in the 1934 election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair
#til #todayilearned
TIL that the Sahara is roughly the same size as China or the USA
https://thebucketlistcompany.co.uk/10-facts-about-the-sahara/
#til #todayilearned
TIL: The only Congressional Medal of Honor not presented publicly at the White House and not by the President was Captain William McGonagle's medal for his actions during the 1967 attack on his ship
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-mar-11-mn-16287-story.html
#til #todayilearned
TIL Nicolas Cage once searched England and the United States looking for the Holy Grail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Cage#Political_views_and_religious_beliefs
#til #todayilearned
TIL: there is a travel agency that will help you go to Somalia called Mogadishu Adventure. They promise to take you to Liido Beach and the Black Hawk Down site. They provide a full security detail and you get to stay at the airport hotel which has never been infiltrated by El-Shabaab.
https://www.mogadishu.holiday/
#til #todayilearned
TIL "AC/DC" is an abbreviation meaning "alternating current/direct current" electricity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC/DC
#til #todayilearned
TIL The earthy smell after a rain is cause by the chemical compound “Geosmin”. Humans are very sensitive to the smell, it has been reported that humans can detect 100 parts in a trillion. That’s more sensitive than sharks smell for blood in the water.
https://www.jic.ac.uk/blog/meet-the-molecules-geosmin/
#til #todayilearned
TIL that the story of NASA spending millions on a space pen is a lie.The pen was invented by a man called Paul Fisher who sold it to NASA for $6 a pen.
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/spinoff/How_NASA_Astronauts_Write_in_Space/
#til #todayilearned
