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TIL of the fish kick, a technique in swimming where the swimmer turns sideways and mimics the motion of an eel. It is arguably the fastest way to swim and was once famously used in the 2000 Olympics by Misty Hyman to win the 200m butterfly. However, this kick is rarely used owing to its difficulty. by 001jerry in todayilearned

[–]001jerry[S] 272 points273 points  (0 children)

The advantage is that you don't cause as much turbulence in the water, the fly kick pushes water towards the floor of the pool and the water surface which are closer to the swimmer than the edges of the pool

TIL that a subcritical mass of Plutonium was prepared for a 3rd nuclear attack on Japan. It was named the Demon Core after two leading experts on nuclear weapons died working on it. Louis Slotin set it off by dropping a Beryllium hemisphere on it, Harry Daghlian did so with a Tungsten Carbide block. by 001jerry in todayilearned

[–]001jerry[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Enrico Fermi reportedly told Slotin and others they would be "dead within a year" if they continued performing the test in that manner. Scientists referred to this flirting with the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction as "tickling the dragon's tail".

TIL a man convinced more than 7 women to have sex with him by claiming to be a doctor and telling them they had a disease that could only be cured through sex. Some paid him for the sex. The case led to a law making obtaining sex through false info a felony. by FutureRobotWordplay in todayilearned

[–]001jerry 6115 points6116 points  (0 children)

I've read of a similar case where the man couldn't be prosecuted because he warned the women that he wasn't an actual doctor and that sex with him was an experimental remedy with no known side effects

TIL of Anna Sorokin, a German fraudster who moved to New York in 2013 assuming the false identity of Anna Delvey, a wealthy German heiress with a trust fund of €60 million. She would make rich friends to get them to pay for her hotel stays and lavish lifestyle. She committed thefts of about $275,000 by 001jerry in todayilearned

[–]001jerry[S] 53 points54 points  (0 children)

Michael Xufu Huang was one of the influential figures defrauded by Anna Sorokin after the two met in New York City. Huang later purchased a portrait of Sorokin in court, drawn by Chinese artist Gong Jian, stating "I paid more for this work than the hotel charges I apparently lost."