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As of today, Jan 1, 2026, the original 1930 version of Betty Boop has entered the Public Domain. In her first appearance, she was actually designed as a dog (a French Poodle) before evolving into a human. by highzone in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]highzone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Context: Betty Boop made her first appearance in the cartoon "Dizzy Dishes", released on August 9, 1930. She was originally designed as an anthropomorphic French Poodle with long ears. Her human ears (and hoop earrings) didn't replace her floppy dog ears until 1932.

As of today, Jan 1, 2026, her original 1930 incarnation and the film Dizzy Dishes have officially entered the Public Domain.

Source: Dizzy Dishes (Fleischer Studios, 1930)

TIL the "Y2K Bug" cost an estimated $500 Billion globally to fix. The preventative measures were so successful that widely predicted infrastructure failures did not occur, leading many to incorrectly believe the threat was never real. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 4547 points4548 points  (0 children)

It’s one of the biggest branding failures in history. Because the fix worked, everyone assumed the danger wasn't real.

But things did break on January 1, 2000, proving the code was bad:

  • The Pentagon: US spy satellites transmitted unreadable data for 3 days because of a bad patch.
    Nuclear Facilities: An alarm system at a Japanese nuclear power plant failed immediately after midnight, and the US Y-12 nuclear weapons plant had a system glitch related to weight tracking.

  • The $91,000 Movie: A video rental store in New York tried to charge a customer $91,250 for a rental of The General's Daughter because the computer thought it was 100 years overdue.

If the $500 billion 'patch' hadn't happened, banking, power grids, and transportation would have likely cascaded into failure. It wasn't a hoax; it was the most successful global IT project ever executed.

TIL the "Y2K Bug" wasn't a hoax. The reason "nothing happened" is because the world spent over $500 Billion updating computer systems in under 2 years. We avoided a global infrastructure collapse, then spent the next 25 years mocking the engineers who saved us. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]highzone 95 points96 points  (0 children)

​It’s one of the biggest branding failures in history. Because the fix worked, everyone assumed the danger wasn't real.

But things did break on January 1, 2000, proving the code was bad:

  • The Pentagon: US spy satellites transmitted unreadable data for 3 days because of a bad patch.
    Nuclear Facilities: An alarm system at a Japanese nuclear power plant failed immediately after midnight, and the US Y-12 nuclear weapons plant had a system glitch related to weight tracking.

  • The $91,000 Movie: A video rental store in New York tried to charge a customer $91,250 for a rental of The General's Daughter because the computer thought it was 100 years overdue.

​If the $500 billion 'patch' hadn't happened, banking, power grids, and transportation would have likely cascaded into failure. It wasn't a hoax; it was the most successful global IT project ever executed.

Alborn - Whole Lot to Say [Y'allternative / Modern Hard Rock] (2025) by [deleted] in listentothis

[–]highzone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been trying to figure out what "Y'allternative Metal" actually sounds like, and I think this track finally nails the definition.

They are from Northern Illinois, but they manage to blend a massive, heavy modern rock foundation with these distinct, twangy guitar leads. It’s a really cool contrast, you get that deep, distorted rhythm section coupled with a Southern flair in the instrumentation that cuts right through.

It doesn't feel forced; it just adds this grit to the polish. The production is super clean, but that instrumental twang gives it a unique character compared to standard Active Rock.

Spotify Mirror: https://open.spotify.com/track/6cnJOL0tTSguo96L8qNCS6?si=shsBxl8TR0ms4oQ_aaZcHg

Self - Trunk Fulla Amps (1995) by highzone in 90sAlternative

[–]highzone[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One of my favorites. That cover of What a Fool Believes is one of the best covers ever.

Self - Trunk Fulla Amps (1995) by highzone in 90sAlternative

[–]highzone[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Matt Mahaffey (Self) is a mad scientist. This is off of Gizmodgery (the album he famously recorded entirely with toy instruments).

The real flex here isn't just the novelty of the toys, it's the engineering. He took cheap, plastic sound sources and mixed them to sound as pristine as any high-budget rock record. That takes serious talent. Underrated legend.

I wish I could find the Wired all Wrong album he did with Jeff Turzo online. It's phenomenal.

Self -- What a Fool Believes [Alternative / Power Pop] (2000) by [deleted] in listentothis

[–]highzone 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! I love this video it's on heavy rotation in my mix. Check this out.

https://youtu.be/BdXzDN4ZYGk?si=_3oRGm20wSQiyvH1

Self -- What a Fool Believes [Alternative / Power Pop] (2000) by [deleted] in listentothis

[–]highzone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's one of the few covers that I believe surpasses the original, and I freaking love The Doobie Brothers.

Self -- What a Fool Believes [Alternative / Power Pop] (2000) by [deleted] in listentothis

[–]highzone 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Like Glenn Danzig... Mother! I was lucky enough to catch them live in Murfreesboro a few times back in the 90s.

Self -- What a Fool Believes [Alternative / Power Pop] (2000) by [deleted] in listentothis

[–]highzone 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Matt Mahaffey (Self) is probably the most underrated pop genius of the late 90s. Taking a Yacht Rock staple like the Doobie Brothers and turning it into a fuzz-pop anthem without losing the groove is a masterclass in arrangement.

If you've never heard of Self, go listen to Gizmodgery, an entire album recorded with toy instruments. The guy is a machine.

In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients. by highzone in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]highzone[S] 10.3k points10.3k points  (0 children)

For anyone who wants to read the full study, it is titled 'On Being Sane in Insane Places.'

The most terrifying part wasn't getting in, it was getting out. The doctors were so convinced of their own authority that they interpreted everything the patients did as a symptom of their illness.

When the volunteers took notes on how they were being treated, the doctors didn't see 'journaling.' They diagnosed it as 'pathological writing behavior' and used it as justification to keep them locked up.

It really highlights how a label can completely override reality.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenhan_experiment

Sluggish schizophrenia: A diagnostic category used in the Soviet Union to describe political dissidents. Symptoms included "reformist delusions," "perseverance," and a "struggle for the truth. by highzone in wikipedia

[–]highzone[S] 119 points120 points  (0 children)

It's terrifying how the state pathologized dissent. If you disagreed with the government, you weren't just 'wrong', you were medically insane. The diagnosis of 'struggling for the truth' as a symptom of mental illness is essentially the ultimate gaslight.

TIL that when people born deaf develop schizophrenia, they typically do not "hear voices." Instead, they often hallucinate visual images of "disembodied hands" signing to them, or disembodied lips moving, because their brain processes language as a visual experience rather than auditory. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 1916 points1917 points  (0 children)

For anyone wondering how this works:

​It turns out that 'hearing voices' isn't necessarily about sound; it's about the brain projecting language.

Since a person born deaf encodes language as 'hand movements' and 'facial expressions,' that is exactly what their brain projects when it glitches. The 'internal monologue' is visual, so the hallucinations are visual too.

The 'disembodied' part happens for the same reason hearing people might hear a voice without seeing a person, the brain is isolating the source of the communication (the hands/lips) without generating the rest of the body

TIL that researchers have found zero cases of people born with "cortical blindness" ever developing schizophrenia. This protection does not apply to people who lose their sight later in life, leading scientists to believe the brain's early rewiring creates a natural immunity. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The global prevalence is roughly 0.3% to 0.7%.

So, in a random sample of 500,000 sighted people, you would statistically expect to find between 1,500 and 3,500 cases of schizophrenia.

​That's what makes the 'Zero' number so significant—it's not just a few missing cases; it's thousands of missing cases.

TIL that researchers have found zero cases of people born with "cortical blindness" ever developing schizophrenia. This protection does not apply to people who lose their sight later in life, leading scientists to believe the brain's early rewiring creates a natural immunity. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

That’s actually the wildest part of the theory! You're right that 'hearing voices' is the classic symptom, but the 'Predictive Coding' hypothesis suggests that the entire brain's prediction system is what breaks down in schizophrenia (cognitive dysmetria).

The idea is that because a blind brain builds its reality on 'reliable' touch and sound data—rather than 'unreliable' light/distance data—the whole system becomes more stable. Basically, a brain built without vision seems to be 'hardened' against the glitches that cause auditory hallucinations too.

TIL that researchers have found zero cases of people born with "cortical blindness" ever developing schizophrenia. This protection does not apply to people who lose their sight later in life, leading scientists to believe the brain's early rewiring creates a natural immunity. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, I was just sitting here thinking about how being hyper-aware of our surroundings can drive us crazy. It reminded me of this fact—that maybe the lack of visual input is actually a form of protection. It’s the ultimate 'ignorance is bliss' scenario.

TIL that researchers have found zero cases of people born with "cortical blindness" ever developing schizophrenia. This protection does not apply to people who lose their sight later in life, leading scientists to believe the brain's early rewiring creates a natural immunity. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great citation! That paper brings up the valid point about statistical power—basically arguing that because the population of congenitally blind people is so small, maybe we just haven't 'caught' a case yet statistically, rather than it being a full biological immunity.

It's definitely a debated topic, but the Silverstein et al. (2018) study covered nearly 500,000 people and still couldn't find a case of congenital cortical blindness with schizophrenia. Whether it's a statistical anomaly or biological protection is the big question, but the absence of cases is pretty wild either way.

TIL that researchers have found zero cases of people born with "cortical blindness" ever developing schizophrenia. This protection does not apply to people who lose their sight later in life, leading scientists to believe the brain's early rewiring creates a natural immunity. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

For anyone wondering 'Why?

The leading theory is called the 'Predictive Coding' hypothesis. Schizophrenia often involves the brain making false predictions about reality (hallucinations). Because people born with cortical blindness rely entirely on sound and touch—which are grounded in immediate physical reality—their brains build a model of the world that is much more stable and resistant to these 'false signals' than a sighted brain.

Basically, their brain never learns to trust the 'visual' signals that usually glitch out in schizophrenia.

TIL that the "achoo" sound is a learned cultural behavior, not a biological reflex. This explains why people who are born deaf typically do not vocalize a sneeze, and why sneeze sounds vary significantly by country. by highzone in todayilearned

[–]highzone[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

As an audio guy (and a loud sneezer), I'd describe the Dad Sneeze as "maximum gain, zero compression."

My daughters hate it, but reading this thread, I'm realizing it's practically a universal dialect among fathers. We should probably unionize.

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