That there’s no actual species of fish called a ‘Sardine’, that they’re basically Herrings.
That raisins are dried grapes. I used to think raisins were raisins and grapes were grapes.
So they were all interred (in turd) together…holy crap!
Match the person to his last words.
Humphrey Bogart; John Wilkes Booth; Gary Coleman; Bing Crosby; Bobby Fischer; Ben Franklin; Bill Hicks; Michael Landon; Pablo Picasso; Vince Lombardi
A dying man can do nothing easily
Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink any more.
Happy anniversary. I love you.
I should never have switched from scotch to martinis.
I love you and my head hurts.
I’ve said all that I’ve had to say.
Nothing soothes pain like human touch
That was a great game of golf, fellers.
Useless…useless.
You’re right. It’s time. I love you all.
A dying man can do nothing easily. Ben Franklin
Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink any more. Pablo Picasso
Happy anniversary. I love you. Vince Lombardi
I should never have switched from scotch to martinis. Humphrey Bogart
I love you and my head hurts. Gary Coleman
I’ve said all that I’ve had to say. Bill Hicks
Nothing soothes pain like human touch. Bobby Fischer
That was a great game of golf, fellers. Bing Crosby
Useless…useless. John Wilkes Booth
You’re right. It’s time. I love you all. Michael Landon.
Persifor Frazer Smith of California history fame was often confused with his cousin, a Philadelphia lawyer also named Persifor Frazer Smith.
It’s occasionally said the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t actually free any slaves. This is incorrect.
It didn’t free any slaves in Northern states because Lincoln didn’t have the authority. It had to be done as a law or constitutional amendment.
It didn’t free any slaves in Confederacy for obvious reasons.
But Lincoln was Commander-in-Chief and thus could set policy for the army. The Proclamation meant that any slave captured by the army was now free and all commanders had to treat them as such (this wasn’t always the case). This led to many slaves crossing Union lines knowing they would be freed.
One of Thomas Pynchon’s ancestors was a righteous man here in New England, and the first to have a book banned in Boston!
I thought Bogart’s last words to Lauren Bacall were, “See you later, Honey”.
I learned today that the MOSFET is, by far, the most-produced human-manufactured device in history. Over 13 sextillion have been made over the past few decades.
(That is 13,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 MOSFETs)
You can do that with a gazillion songs, and a lot of Emily Dickson poems, too! (Try “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.”) That 8 6 8 6 meter is a type of “hymn meter,” specifically “C.M.” or “common meter.” 8 8 8 8 is “L.M.” or “long meter” and “6 6 8 6” is “S.M.” or “short meter.” You will see this type of beat count listed in a lot of hymnals.
Some sources vary, it appears.
There is a stage actor named James Earl Jones II. I first became aware of him when I saw him in the San Francisco production of Come From Away. He is not the son of James Earl Jones, as I initially assumed. He is actually a distant cousin of James Earl Jones. As I understand it they were both named after the same ancestor.
Dry air is heavier than moist air.
Harry Houdini did the first controlled powered flight in Australia, in a Voisin biplane he bought. Several flights, including one six mile flight. After his Australian tour, he announced he would use his plane to fly from city to city, but he never flew again. Details here.
I’m always amazed when I discover something simple and common that I should have known but, somehow, have managed to get through 38 years without knowing it!
Example: Despite the fact that my English skills are very strong,I always assumed the word “Gala” was pronounced “Gay-lah”.
One evening, I was watching the movie, “Ocean’s Eight” with Sandra Bullock, and there was a scene in which one of the conspirators, who was pretending to be someone knowledgeable about the event, was talking to the chief organizer of the “Gay-lah” they were going to rob. The woman looked at her sharply and replied, "You mean our “Gah-lah”?!
Merriam-Webster says both are right - there’s even a 3rd pronunciation:
Yeah, in American English, I generally only hear “GAY-luh” /ˈˈɡeɪlə/ and “GAL-uh.” /ˈɡælə/ “GAH-luh” /ˈɡɑːlə/ is more UK English, in my experience.
You just blew my mind.
Then, as far as I’m concerned, I’m exonerated! 
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders was a student at Kent State University in Ohio, and witness on the commons, to the shootings that left 4 students dead on May 4th, 1970.
One mindblow, that’ll be $37.50 plus tip.
I actually swiped it from reddit ‘today I learned’ which is pretty much endless interesting random facts.
There is a sex worker joke in there somewhere.