# Something you learned recently, that you didn't know before **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199 "2017-08-09T22:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/21 "2017-08-11T09:19:00Z")
I had always thought Americans were just hidebound in hanging on to paper dollar bills when pretty much everyone else turned to coins for the basic unit of currency - Euro, pound sterling, AUD, CAD, etc. Something about sentimental attachment to the greenback, so I foolishly thought. Actual exposure to the tipping culture in the US makes it obvious why workers can’t have a bunch of coins rattling around in their pockets. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/22 "2017-08-11T14:18:36Z")
I learned that bees make a tiny little [whoop!](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2121275-honeybees-let-out-a-whoop-when-they-bump-into-each-other/) when they’re startled by another bee bumping into them. Which is adorable. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/23 "2017-08-11T16:45:15Z")
Beijing has 470,000 CCTV cameras, and they claim there is one “one every corner.” The official name of this system: **Skynet**. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/24 "2017-08-12T04:11:31Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Huh? The Klan was around 80 years before the ‘Mafia’ was known as such. > > The Klan came about soon after the Civil War, as an attempt by the rebels to keep slavery clandestinely. > > The Mafia became organized as a recognized group around the time of Prohibition. Mea culpa. When the urgeoning American Mafia took a hit as a result of Prohibition, the KKK took advantage of their influence with the booming southern moonshining industry to make inroads on the mafia’s weakened alcohol distribution networks. According to the documentary, the KKK had their fingers in a number of vice-related industries. When the KKK began dabbling in such industries, they structured their organization based on that of the Sicilian mafia. I had no idea that the KKK had any agenda other than the suppression of blacks before viewing this show. Hope that is clearer. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/25 "2017-08-12T04:31:19Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I learned that bees make a tiny little [whoop!](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2121275-honeybees-let-out-a-whoop-when-they-bump-into-each-other/) when they’re startled by another bee bumping into them. Which is adorable. That’s fascinating – and I never knew about it, either! Ignorance fought. 🙂 I learned today how to make a new cocktail that handily uses up fresh peaches with bourbon. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/26 "2017-08-12T06:53:17Z")
Only three species in the animal kingdom experience menopause. Humans, orcas, and blue finned whales. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/27 "2017-08-12T07:06:06Z")
I found out that blood type A is nearly as common as blood type O. I had thought that O significantly outnumbered every other type by a pretty big margin. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/28 "2017-08-12T07:20:00Z")
I learned a couple of days ago that, in the 1950s, someone tried to steal a nearby lighthouse. Would’ve gotten away with it, if it weren’t for those meddling Coast Guard kids. (Apparently, a couple of enterprising souls decided to salvage the Savannah Gray bricks from the Cockspur Island lighthouse, near Fort Pulaski/Savannah. A Coast Guard patrol caught them, and they claimed that they had permission from the DNR. But it turns out that the USCG actually still owned that lighthouse, so the vandals were stopped, and the cute little lighthouse was sold to the Department of the Interior, asap. Iirc, Cockspur Island is now part of the Fort Pulaski National Monument. And it’s still the cutest little miniature lighthouse you’ve ever seen. (It’s in the mouth of the Savannah River, so it didn’t have to be tall. It was basically marking sandbars for ships that relied on sails and steam, when built.) That’s obscure history about a tiny corner of the world, but as a student of eccentric local history, I’m a little bit surprised that I hadn’t heard the story before last week. More personally, I’ve learned quite a lot about the peregrinations of my mother’s father’s mother’s family lately. My mom’s cousin loaned a shoebox of unidentified family photos in hopes of help with identification. And I’ve had a lot of personal satisfaction, identifying people and locations. (Apparently, my photographer uncle shot a lot of commercial postcards in the teens and twenties. I wish I knew what happened to his studio’s negatives, but we’ve identified photos from as far away as the Panama Canal Zone and Danielsville Kentucky.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/29 "2017-08-12T10:41:03Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I learned last Saturday that I’m old enough to “fall and can’t get up”, or at least not be able to get up in an hour. ☹ Wow, hope you are okay - assume so since you were able to post. That’s scary. I am surprised that a puppy can be a guest in two-cat, never-a-dog home and not have all animals freak out. My son is visiting with his new dog and she is a very mellow hound mix/mutt. She’s in the basement, and the cats are fine - touch noses with her through the toddler barrier; no puffy tails. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/30 "2017-08-12T11:40:03Z")
I learned that the sun is about 400,000 times the size of the moon, and is also about 400,000 times as far away as the moon, which is why we can have solar eclipses on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/31 "2017-08-12T12:01:20Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > What? > Ferdinand Porsche was a friend of Hitler, designed the ‘peoples car’ (Volkswagen) for him, and the Porsche company contributed financially to the Nazi party. > > German, not at all Italian. Not only that, but he inspired the invention of LSD\*, too. - - [the Limited-Slip Differential](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited-slip_differential#Early_history) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/32 "2017-08-12T12:56:37Z")
Today I learned there are [drive-thru banks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=833153). ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/33 "2017-08-13T03:18:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I learned last Saturday that I’m old enough to “fall and can’t get up”, or at least not be able to get up in an hour. ☹ I learned this several years ago. More recently I learned I have a brain bleed. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/34 "2017-08-13T03:43:17Z")
> [@Nayna](#): > > I learned that the sun is about 400,000 times the size of the moon, and is also about 400,000 times as far away as the moon, which is why we can have solar eclipses on earth. Correction: The sun is about 400 times as far away and its radius is about 400 times the moon’s radius. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/35 "2017-08-13T04:25:34Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > When the urgeoning American Mafia took a hit as a result of Prohibition, the KKK took advantage of their influence with the booming southern moonshining industry to make inroads on the mafia’s weakened alcohol distribution networks. That’s the first time I ever heard that Prohibition was bad for Italian organized crime. ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/36 "2017-08-13T04:36:54Z")
Correction: The sun is about 400 times as far away and its radius is about 400 times the moon’s radius. [/QUOTE] Thank you! The “radius” cleans it all up for me. I don’t even remember where I read it - obviously some article about the upcoming eclipse - but 400 makes a lot more sense than 400k. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/37 "2017-08-13T04:37:45Z")
Just today I learned that most Americans don’t use an electric kettle. I thought my nephew was pulling my leg, until [I googled](http://http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/03/08/most-americans-dont-use-electric-kettles-and-australians-just-a_a_21876747/) and lo and behold, it’s true! ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/38 "2017-08-13T18:19:58Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Just today I learned that most Americans don’t use an electric kettle. I thought my nephew was pulling my leg, until [I googled](http://http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/03/08/most-americans-dont-use-electric-kettles-and-australians-just-a_a_21876747/) and lo and behold, it’s true! You can buy an electric kettle for $20, but I’ve never seen the need for one. If I need hot (but not boiling) water I use the microwave. I don’t like to boil it, and try to have something in the cup to prevent any explosions. If I need boiling water I use the stove top. I don’t use boiling water for tea, hot chocolate, ramen, etc. I prefer merely hot water and the microwave is fine for that. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/39 "2017-08-14T06:58:24Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Last night/early this morning, I watched a late 1990s Channel 4 documentary about housecats on You Tube. I found out that not only have feral cats driven several small-animal species to near extinction in the outback, they are also a ready source of bushmeat for the Aborigines who still live in that area. Since you mentioned ‘outback’ and capitalized ‘Aborigines’ I’m going to presume you’re talking about Australian Aborigines. Whilst feral cats are indeed a problem especially knocking off native marsupials, I can pretty much guarantee that there are \>1 aborigines eating cat-bushmeat. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199/40 "2017-08-14T13:22:30Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Only three species in the animal kingdom experience menopause. Humans, orcas, and blue finned whales. > > Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Does that explain the alternative orca name, Killer Whales? (Ducks and Runs – whales don’t have access to chocolate) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-learned-recently-that-you-didnt-know-before/793199.md?page=3)