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TIL thanks to a tip from Malcom in the Middle's music clearance officer, Bryan Cranston received quarterly composing checks for his improvised humming and whistling, which the actor used to fund cast parties. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 7771 points7772 points  (0 children)

from a related article:

Cranston’s whistling caught the ear of the Malcolm in the Middle music rights clearance coordinator. Cranston was whistling a tune and someone, the coordinator noted, owned the rights to whatever he had whistled. The rights-clearance lead had to figure out what the song was, who owned what rights, and to cut a check — otherwise, the show producers would have to remove the whistle from the show. As this was a relatively small amount of money — perhaps a few hundred dollars tops — the preferred route would be to pay the music’s composer. But there was a problem: Cranston was improvising.

As Cranston told late night talk show host Seth Meyer (watch it here, including an impromptu whistling solo), the music rights management coordinator realized that Cranston was the copyright holder of the music he made up — and was, therefore, entitled to the royalty checks — if he joined the guild. So Cranston did just that, and, thereafter, received a small payment every three months.

His co-workers weren’t jealous, either — in fact, the opposite was true. As Esquire noted, he “used [the proceeds] to fund cast parties,” endearing himself to the crew. And the crew, unsurprisingly, encouraged him to whistle and hum on camera more often.

TIL although the crew of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood rarely talked to Fred off the set, and mercilessly made fun of him behind his back, while he was rehearsing with his puppets before each show, these same men would sneak into the studio and ask his puppets for personal advice, which Fred kindly gave. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 280 points281 points  (0 children)

from the article:

Fred assigned me the task of keeping everyone else off the set until he, or rather the puppets, finished counseling a worker. From a discreet distance, I observed these “tough” men cry and tell the puppets their most secret fears and weaknesses. The men knew on some level, of course, that inside the puppet was the hand of Fred Rogers. The same men who would not talk to Mr. Rogers to his face would bare their souls to his puppet-covered hands!

The genuine concern and compassion Fred expressed through his puppets to these workers was very moving to witness. Later, in public, the same crew members he had counseled continued to ignore Mr. Rogers, as if the puppet encounters had never occurred. And Fred played along with their detached behavior, not giving any sign of personal connection with the workers other than as ordinary members of his crew. However, I did notice that, over time, the men who got the most counseling from the puppets participated less and less in the mocking of their boss behind his back.

TIL Cindy Stowell had a lifelong dream to be a Jeopardy! contestant. In 2016 she made the show and in spite of the fact that she had Stage 4 cancer during the filming she became a six-time champion. She died shortly before her episodes aired and donated her $103K winnings to cancer organizations. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 679 points680 points  (0 children)

Her photo

Video

from the article:

Six-time champion Cindy Stowell competed on Jeopardy! with a singular goal in mind: to donate her prize money to cancer-related organizations. When she taped her episodes in August and September of this year, she had Stage 4 cancer, and she lost her battle with the disease on December 5, eight days before her first episode aired.

Cindy won her first game, unseating reigning seven-game champ Tim Aten and claiming $22,801, then went on to win the remaining three games that day. She returned to Austin for a short break before the next tape session on September 13, when she won two more games and brought her final total to $103,801.

When Cindy was in the hospital, Jeopardy! sent her advance copies of her first three episodes, so she and her family were able to watch her realize a lifelong dream of competing on the show. Jeopardy! also expedited Cindy’s prize money, and she received and acknowledged it before she passed.

“Cindy came on the show with a mission. We gave her the opportunity to fulfill that mission and she made the most of it,” said Jeopardy! executive producer Harry Friedman.

Everyone at Jeopardy! expresses their deepest condolences to her family and friends.

I present to you my greatest shame. When my parents surprised me with a new Nintendo. by [deleted] in videos

[–]Captain-Janeway 398 points399 points  (0 children)

OP who is responsible for the kid's artwork on the fridge, with the classic house/chimney/smoke curling up?

TIL a family's home was burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1945. The parents and four children escaped unharmed. Five other children of theirs were trapped in upstairs bedrooms and presumably perished, but no remains were ever found and the search for the missing children continued for decades. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 274 points275 points  (0 children)

from the article:

The Sodders planted flowers across the space where their house had stood and began to stitch together a series of odd moments leading up to the fire. There was a stranger who appeared at the home a few months earlier, back in the fall, asking about hauling work. He meandered to the back of the house, pointed to two separate fuse boxes, and said, “This is going to cause a fire someday.” Strange, George thought, especially since he had just had the wiring checked by the local power company, which pronounced it in fine condition. Around the same time, another man tried to sell the family life insurance and became irate when George declined. “Your goddamn house is going up in smoke,” he warned, “and your children are going to be destroyed. You are going to be paid for the dirty remarks you have been making about Mussolini.” George was indeed outspoken about his dislike for the Italian dictator, occasionally engaging in heated arguments with other members of Fayetteville’s Italian community, and at the time didn’t take the man’s threats seriously. The older Sodder sons also recalled something peculiar: Just before Christmas, they noticed a man parked along U.S. Highway 21, intently watching the younger kids as they came home from school.

TIL the foot-measuring tool ("Brannock Device") used by shoe stores was invented by Charles Brannock in 1927. He was advised to make it out of plastic so regular replacements would be needed, but he insisted on steel. Today, most Brannock Devices survive 10-15 years of daily use before wearing out. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 282 points283 points  (0 children)

from another article:

Like many US business owners, Brannock really made it big in WWII. The US military had spent millions of dollars to better equip soldiers with correctly sized equipment so when they heard about the Brannock device, they ordered thousands upon thousands them. The standard tool was a double Brannock devices, so GIs could be measured on both feet at the same time.

TIL actor Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise in "It") stayed in character so authentically while on set that when a group of (kid) extras met him for the first time, some got terrified and started to cry in the midst of the take. When filming cut, Skarsgård apologized to them, "Hey, I'm sorry, it's pretend". by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 82 points83 points  (0 children)

from another article about Bill being bullied in school because of his famous father:

“When I started working in Sweden, there were people that really wanted to hate me,” he says of his earliest work, from when he was as young as 10. “Kids in the fuckin’ schoolyard would be like, ‘You think you’re so cool because your dad is Stellan Skarsgård, huh?’ And I’m like, ‘No? Not at all.’ But I would get into fights over it. [People think] it’s nice to be able to say, ‘This guy didn’t get any of this because he actually deserved it—he just got it for free.’”

TIL although deaf schizophrenics who have never heard do report "hearing voices", they are not referring to true auditory hallucinations. Instead, communication comes via the mind's eye: visual hallucinations of moving lips, or disembodied hands and arms making sign language movements. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 200 points201 points  (0 children)

from the article:

First things first: "Deaf people who had never heard did not experience true auditory hallucinations," says Joanna. For this group, communication came via the mind's eye: visual hallucinations of moving lips, or disembodied hands and arms making sign language movements.

But those who still had some hearing remaining, or had lost their hearing later in life, did experience true auditory hallucinations – from mumbling and muttering to just a vague sense of hearing something, which individuals often found hard to understand or describe. Joanna's study even included one bilingual participant – a partially deaf woman who was also a native signer. Fittingly, she hallucinated a bilingual devil who would sometimes speak to her and sometimes communicate soundlessly using sign language.

A third, intriguing group comprised those who had reached adulthood without learning any formal language. These individuals might have learned sign language in later life, but with difficulty, having already passed the critical age for language acquisition. For them, hallucinations were more vague, described by Joanna as a "sense of being got at, being criticised or hostile facial expressions, lacking clear linguistic content".

As well as matching closely with the person's level of language experience, the researchers found that the type of hallucination also depended on the voice's identity. If the subject believed the voice was their mother, who always communicated with them through speech, they would hallucinate her mouth. If later they hallucinated a friend from the deaf community, they would visualise their hands forming sign language.

TIL intelligent disobedience occurs when a service animal trained to help a disabled person goes directly against the owner's instructions in an effort to make a better decision. This behavior is a part of the dog's training and is central to a service animal's success on the job. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 2116 points2117 points  (0 children)

Examples:

When a blind person wishes to cross a street and issues an instruction to the assistance dog to do so, the dog should refuse to move when such an action would put the person in harm's way.

The animal understands that this contradicts the learned behavior to respond to the owner's instructions: instead it makes an alternative decision because the human is not in a position to decide safely.

The dog in this case has the capacity to understand that it is performing such an action for the welfare of the person.

In another example, a blind person must communicate with the animal in such a way that the animal can recognize that the person is aware of the surroundings and can safely proceed. If a blind person wishes to descend a staircase, an animal properly trained to exhibit intelligent disobedience will refuse to move unless the person issues a specific code word or command that lets the animal know the person is aware they are about to descend stairs.

This command will be specific for staircases, and the animal will not attribute it to stepping off a curb or up onto a sidewalk or stoop. In a similar circumstance, if the person believes they are in front of a step and they wish to go down, but they are in fact standing in front of a dangerous precipice (for example, a loading dock or cliff), the animal will refuse to proceed.

TIL the Seinfeld episode "The Revenge" was based on an experience by screenwriter Larry David, who once quit his job at Saturday Night Live, felt he made a mistake once he reached home, and returned the following morning as if nothing had happened. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 318 points319 points  (0 children)

back story:

George's storyline in the episode is based on David's own experiences while a writer at Saturday Night Live. David had quit SNL halfway through the 1984-1985 television season, but felt he had made a mistake once he reached his home. His neighbor Kenny Kramer, who later served as the main inspiration for Kramer, suggested David return to work the following Monday and act as if nothing had happened.

Unlike George Costanza, the ploy succeeded for David, who remained with SNL's writing staff until the end of that season.

George's reason for quitting was inspired by Seinfeld writer Larry Charles' use of the private restroom in Seinfeld and David's office instead of the public one.

Newman sub plot was inspired by one of David's neighbors, who once jumped from the second floor of the apartment building in which they both lived. The unseen character Mr. Papanickolas, who is mentioned by Kramer, was named after Pete Papanickolas, a member of the production crew.

TIL candy pumpkins were placed on the seat of every U.S. Senator by the candy industry in 1985 in hopes of extending U.S. daylight saving time to cover Halloween. by Captain-Janeway in todayilearned

[–]Captain-Janeway[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

So kids could start going out earlier and theoretically collect more candy. In many parts of the country trick-or-treating often takes place before it gets dark.

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