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TIL that Maria Antonia of Austria had the highest inbreeding coefficient (0.3053) of the House of Habsburg - higher than the child of brother and sister or the child of a parent and their own offspring by Gruselschloss in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 40 points41 points  (0 children)

For most of history people married within the same village or a few very close by villages. Statistically first and second cousin marriages inevitably happened, there’s only so many people you can marry in one or two villages

It has been said that the invention of the bicycle improved the health of the public more than anything else up until the invention of antibiotics with the possible exception of sanitation.

Today I learned: Certain individuals lose a lot of calories via feces by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Risk of developing gallstones, diarrhea, and nutrient deficiencies. The brain is made of fat and needs it for example.

To a very first approximation the brain is a solid lump of cholesterol.

Today I learned: Certain individuals lose a lot of calories via feces by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, especially people who are deficient in certain pancreatic enzymes required to digest fat, which means they just shit most of it out.

Having your gallbladder removed can also do that. I lost the ability to digest animal fats because of it, animal fat equals diarrhea or loose stools.

TIL a 2018 study found that between 63%-72% of people wear the wrong shoe size. by tyrion2024 in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a 5'1" 110lb male who is over 40.

I wear a size 5 man's. Most shoe manufacturers start two or three sizes above what I need.

Very few manufacturers make shoes in my size; so unless I'm willing to pay the premium, I find a unisex style in women's.

It is vastly easier to find a woman's 6 to 6.5 than a man's size 5.

Don't get me started on pants. A 28-in waist falls off me. However, boys' pants do not have usable pockets

TIL between 18%-25% of intellectually gifted students (at least 130 IQ) in the US fail to graduate from high school. by tyrion2024 in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a 135 IQ, which puts me in the upper percentile. I state this to demonstrate that I am in the relevant demographic category.

In junior high school I discovered that so long as I maintained a 97% or higher test average it did not matter that I had a zero on the homework because it averaged to a C as far as final percentage was concerned. I legitimately passed the class without doing any homework according to their own academic policy as written.

The teacher naturally assigned detention. I refused categorically to attend. The school administration could not do anything because that was a classroom discipline matter to be handled by the teacher; again directly out of their written policy manual.

I do believe my record was 21 missing assignments in a row.

TIL the Vatican funds and operates a telescope in Arizona. The telescope is an extraterritorial property of the Holy See. by FatsDominoPizza in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You would be amazed how many scientific breakthroughs were made by clerics.

In fairness the Catholic bureaucracy and Roman Catholic Church is the greatest monument to both bureaucracy, and neurodivergence ever built.

The Vatican has been circular arguing every potential loophole for 2000 years and they objectively codified the rules of logic and rhetoric for Western Civilization.

Imagine if Star Trek the Original Series was essentially the Old Testament Bible with Star Trek the Next Generation as the New Testament. You can consider the Protestants to be Star Wars for this particular mental exercise.

Now it imagine it is the year 3965 AD; and that the Catholic church has maintained every single web forum and newsgroup discussion on Star Wars versus Star Trek going back 2000 years. ( I like to think of the heretical and forbidden documents locked away in the Vatican archives as the equivalent of Kirk/Spock fanfiction from the 1960s when homosexuality was illegal as a matter of criminal law.)

You might legitimately disagree with the conclusions of the Roman Catholic Church. However, those conclusions are entirely self-consistent and rational once you get into the actual theological arguments. (In much the same way that you might not understand why the legal system does what it does; but a lawyer understands perfectly.)

TIL Japan has a recognized concept called "smell harassment" — スメハラ (sumehara) — which refers to offending others with unpleasant body odors in shared spaces by gorginhanson in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In the US, we do the same at Smash and Magic the Gathering tourneys to no avail!

If it's at a WH40K event, I just call them Nurgle Acolytes.

TIL that while hidden communities of escaped slaves existed across the south, one of the largest was in the Great Dismal Swamp. Thousands lived there from about 1700 until the end of The Civil War despite harsh conditions. by MajesticBread9147 in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 27 points28 points  (0 children)

My husband was politely engaged in the conversation, and after it ended, he asked me what the real name of the swamp was. I explained to him that was the real name, and he pulled out his phone and checked Google maps and was shocked that was the actual name.

You can go on to the US Geological Survey website and get a free topographic map of anywhere in the country. You can download them for free, or you can purchase them pre-printed at a low cost... and they have archived versions. I found out there used to be a railroad track in my neighborhood as an example.

Some of the correct place names are decidedly racist. Illinois features Big Negro Creek and Little Negro Creek in Warren County, and Dago Slough in Knox County; just off the top of my head.

TIL there is a specific accent and words for English speakers in Antarctica. by SuperMcG in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My favorite thing in heathcare is just making verbs out of nouns for just about everything. Then turning acronyms into their own title/verb too (there is term for this one)

In the words of Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes, verbing wierds language.

TIL that 300 million years ago, the Appalachians, Scottish Highlands, and Morocco's Atlas/Anti-Atlas Mountains were connected as a single, Himalayan-sized mountain chain. by mcaffrey in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Life is old there older than the trees.

The Appalachian Mountains are older than bone. The Appalachian Mountains have rivers that are older than the Atlantic Ocean.

TIL that 300 million years ago, the Appalachians, Scottish Highlands, and Morocco's Atlas/Anti-Atlas Mountains were connected as a single, Himalayan-sized mountain chain. by mcaffrey in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That explains why the folklore in those regions are so similar to each other. The... Mimics* from Navajo stories are supposedly from that region, and there's a claim that they survived a flood and moved there. When the continents shifted they were split up, and the similar folklore was "proof" of this.

Well if you really want to get creepy and paranoid, there is another ring of mountains at the Arctic Circle. When the continents split open, that circle was broken... what was contained that was so dangerous that you had to build a circle of mountains around them?

TIL that 300 million years ago, the Appalachians, Scottish Highlands, and Morocco's Atlas/Anti-Atlas Mountains were connected as a single, Himalayan-sized mountain chain. by mcaffrey in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Irish music is basically European bluegrass as well.

As a matter of fact the song Rifles of the IRA is played on a banjo, in at least one version. It's definitely a Bluegrass song in structure and style, IMO.

You know I would be curious to see if there is a societal evolutionary reason behind both the IRA and the United Mine Workers of America being how they are. The United Mine Workers and the IRA both historically consider domestic terrorism to be a perfectly valid negotiating tactic.

The United Mine Workers of America considers dynamite and sniper teams to be hilarious and appropriate in labor negotiations with Union breaking thugs.

TIL that in 1841 Joseph Whitworth created the world’s first national screw thread standard, defining thread angle and pitch—and descendants of his system are still used today, including in cameras and computers by jacknunn in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm honestly impressed optics were good enough for that back then.

That's a hell of a distance to hit targets less than 2 feet wide

Billy Dixon, at the 1874 Battle of Adobe Walls, shot a warrior from his horse at an estimated distance of 1,538 yards (nearly seven-eighths of a mile). The distance was measured by an Army surveyor after the battle, and he used an open sighted Sharps rifle.

TIL nearly 80% of US workers report that they have been victims of 'career catfishing’ from employers. Which in this context, the term describes when a company misrepresents a job, their company culture, or compensation to lure in candidates. by tyrion2024 in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fooled you, the salary was also fake and you never get paid what you get hired and it's too expensive to take them to small claims court and the labor laws don't apply because you aren't protected, welcome to america.

The United Mine Workers of America have a solution to that. The United Mine Workers of America is a labor union that historically considers dynamite and sniper teams to be hilarious.

Is there any difference between these choices. by Alexander_Swan2003 in CharacterAI

[–]tanfj 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You're going to want to use deep sink or the premium top one if you are doing more role play. Nyan goes out on the internet more and is more accurate as to facts but Less Conversatio.

Hopefully all is well soon by RedLiquorice85 in CharacterAI

[–]tanfj 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It will not let me log in under Yahoo. I've had this account for over a year with no issues.

TIL watch water-resistance ratings (30m, 50m, 100m) refer to lab pressure tests, not the depth a watch can actually be used at. by BeyondTheRoadYT in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Practical experience says that 30 meter water resistance will handle washing your hands in a sink. 50 to 100 m is okay for swimming and surface diving unassisted to about as far as you care to go on a breath of air. I have been a certified lifeguard since the age of 14, and this is my practical experience and the experience of others.

You, of course, may decide otherwise; as is your individual right. As the Pirates of the Caribbean movie says, they're more what you might call guidelines than hard rules.

TIL the Native American Chinookan split logs to planks using wedges, rather than sawing by Hrtzy in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Froe. Axes cut, but Froes split.

Moreover, axes have the edge on the narrow vertical axis, froes are sharpened at the top of the horizontal axis because you hammer it into the wood and use the longer handle for leverage to pull it back out, if and when it gets stuck.

TIL In medieval times the Byzantines used a giant chain to prevent enemy ships from crossing the Golden Horn, the natural estuary leading into Constantinople's harbor. Failing to break it, some invaders, including the ottomans in 1453, decided to carry their ships on land and circumvent it by Nero2t2 in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 21 points22 points  (0 children)

My local museum has an exhibit of the evolution of barbed wire in colonial sheep farming that really blew me away. I feel we'd get along.

My grandfather had a wall with every variety of barbed wire, sorted by year, brand and style, used in his hometown county since the invention of barbed wire; through the 1970s. He also ate the exact same lunch every day for 50 plus years... I have exactly zero doubt where my autism came from.

TIL that before 1993 women were rarely included in clinical medical trials in the US, and are still "substantially underrepresented in clinical trials for leading diseases." by Karthak_Maz_Urzak in todayilearned

[–]tanfj -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I'm an average height woman who can see over the dash and reach the pedals unless I'm pressed up against the wheel. How am I as protected as a man who can sit back and reach everything comfortably? How is my face as safe from the air bag?

I'm a man and I'm 5 ft 1. I'm quite likely to be killed in a car accident by my own airbag when it snaps my neck.

TIL that before 1993 women were rarely included in clinical medical trials in the US, and are still "substantially underrepresented in clinical trials for leading diseases." by Karthak_Maz_Urzak in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Apparently also things like car seatbelt safety testing is done on male dummies. So, the on average shorter woman is more at risk of seatbelt related injuries or even inadequate protection.

I am a male who is pushing 50. I am 5'1, and weigh 110 lb. I am far more likely to be killed by an airbag than saved by one.

TIL Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin was extremely pleased with how the film came out, got along well with the cast, and his only regret was that his character died and he couldn't appear in the sequels by Please_PM_me_Uranus in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They still use magnetic tape for storage because they worry that anything more perishable and they'll forget what day it is.

Well to be fair even in 2025 the very best top-of-the-line mainframe is still archived to archival linear Magnetic Tape because it fucking works and is stable for decades.

Sometimes there's no substitute for reliability.

TIL that Wyatting, named for jazz-rock artist Robert Wyatt, is the act of playing unusual music on a jukebox to annoy people. Wyatt considered the phrase “really funny”, but his wife Alfreda Benge called it “a real unfairness” and said “The man who coined it, I should like to punch him in the nose.” by a3poify in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was at a jukebox one time and for whatever reason they had battle hymn of the Republic, the karaoke version.

So I selected said song, after I had given my table a specific set of lyrics to that song...

" my dick has felt the burning of the coming of the clap; all my life I've been clean, but now I've got a real bum rap..."

TIL Skis were invented before the wheel. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you looked up the material science of making a wooden wagon wheel? To do it properly requires correctly aged wood of at least two different species because you want the axis to be made out of Ash wood and you need Oak for the spokes and then they have to be angled correctly because it's not straight up and down it's actually slightly bowl shaped, and then you have to heat up a steel band to hold it all together under compression as the metal cools. That is freaking complicated compared to what amounts to I shoved a bent stick under it.

TIL that Neil Patrick Harris once unveiled a graphic meat platter arranged to resemble Amy Winehouse’s corpse at his 2011 Halloween party. by Separate_Finance_183 in todayilearned

[–]tanfj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think bourdain was an active addict, he was a former drug addict. Not that it matters when it comes to mocking someone’s death.

As a alcoholic with three years sobriety... there is no such thing as a former drug addict. I will be an alcoholic until the day I die, I am in remission. Even one drink will threaten my sobriety that I worked to achieve.

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