Today I learned about the Phoebus Cartel, who controlled light bulbs until WW2.
Fact: They’re both great.
When the game Among Us gained popularity in 2020, it was discovered that it had been in violation of the Geneva Convention for two years. Why? Not something in the way the game is played. The game itself was in violation. Answer at 6:02.
The Geneva Convention prohibits unauthorized use of the Red Cross/Crescent symbol for any purpose outside of war. Other games, including the original Doom, have also been in violation.
Today I learned that on May 5, 1945, six people, five of whom were children, were killed by a Japanese ‘balloon bomb’ in southern Oregon. These six were the only civilians to die by enemy weapons on the United States mainland during World War II.
Even if you’ve never used one, you have probably seen a Simpson 260 multimeter. It’s one of the most well-known meters ever made. I just discovered a couple interesting things about it. For one thing, it is still made by Simpson, and it’s made in the USA (in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin). Secondly, Simpson Electric is owned by a Native American tribe: the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Well, that makes me a little uneasy, an electrician tool in such close proximity to “flambeau”.
A minister, his pregnant wife Elsie, and a small Sunday school class found the fugō while on a picnic. The minister, Archie Michell, was the only survivor when the bomb exploded.
Mitchell later married the older sister of two of the bomb victims. 20 years after the deaths of the children and Elsie Mitchell, Rev. Mitchell was on a mission trip in South Vietnam when he and two others were kidnapped by the Viet Cong. The three were never heard from again even though Mitchell’s wife Betty spent the rest of her life trying to get him freed – despite the new unified communist Vietnam denying Mitchell even existed as a prisoner (he was likely long dead by the time Saigon fell).
The Mitchell monument, located at the site of the fugō explosion, isn’t too far from me but I’ve never been there. I should make a trip one of these summers and see it for myself.
Judith Krantz (the trashy romance novelist) was married to Steve Krantz (whose animation studio produced cartoons like Rocket Robin Hood, Spider-Man and Fritz the Cat) and her brother was married to Shari Lewis (the ventriloquist).
That explains the title of her most famous book “Lambchop Vs. Doctor Octopus”.
That there is some serious rishathra.
Huh. Not an electrician. Never heard of the brand but I always have some form of electrical tester handy (well in the shed).
I still love the advertisement/slogan “If it works, it’s a Fluke” I stick with them. But who knows. I generaly just need to know it it’s hot, or continuity.
How the village of Chicken, Alaska got its name.
Speaking of strange name origins, the River Eden is actually named after the town of Edenbridge, rather than the other way around. (You could argue that it’s named after a bridge over it - but that isn’t any less strange).
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The spelling of ptarmigan is a historical accident, it is unrelated to other words of Greek origin that have a silent P, such as Pterodactyl.
The word ptarmigan comes from the Scottish Gaelic tàrmachan , meaning croaker. The silent initial p was added in 1684 by Robert Sibbald through the influence of Greek, especially pteron (πτερόν pterón ), “wing”, “feather”, or “pinion”.
TIL, do not ever click the “random” button at xkcd.
It happens a lot:
The river is named after the town which is named after the ford.
TIL that Sophie Thatcher of Yellowjackets fame has the middle name of “Bathsheba.” An interesting choice.
We watched a documentary on Monet last night. Lots of stuff I didn’t know. The main one was that he was a very long term friend with French politician Georges Clemenceau. Clemenceau was key in getting Monet’s work on the map. He was PM, War Minister (at the start of WWI) and PM again (at the end). He was a key figure in the terms of the Versailles Treaty.
Their friendship was strained during WWI due to Monet becoming increasingly a pacifist and Clemenceau, well, being the War Minister. Still Clemenceau was the guy who got the giant water lilies panels placed in the Musée de l’Orangerie.shortly after Monet’s death. He also wrote a biography on Monet.
I guess it helps to have friends in high places. Go figure.
Bwaa-ha-ha. Thanks for sharing. That’s hilarious.
Dorothy Gale of “Oz” fame was named after Dorothy Gage, niece of Maud Gage Baum. . . and L. Frank Baum. She was five months old when she died in 1898.
Mary Ann from “Gilligan’s Island” and Dorothy Gale were both from Winfield, KS. In some eps, Mary Ann is in pigtails, and wearing a checkered dress, similar to Dorothy.