Recent comments in /f/todayilearned
Laure95 t1_j6fmu2r wrote
Reply to comment by Gathorall in TIL that sperm whales are the loudest animal on Earth, and their clicks can literally kill you with sound by g1ucose
Best movie ever, yes.
KayWDubs t1_j6fmqtr wrote
Reply to comment by BrokenEye3 in TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
I first heard it while watching a playthrough of The Lego Movie ages ago.
I haven't seen it on TV Tropes, though. Haven't even visited the site in a while for that matter. Now I at least know it has a page there, so I have that going on for me.
jkksldkjflskjdsflkdj t1_j6fmoht wrote
Reply to TIL in the 1980s Monty Python got much of its exposure to the US through PBS, because of CBS censoring parts of "The Holy Grail" in a 1977 broadcast. This upset the comedy troupe, prompting them to withdraw the broadcast rights. by AnthillOmbudsman
I watched it in the 70's on PBS. Nothing was censored, I was 10yo.
RedtheGamer100 t1_j6fmn98 wrote
Reply to comment by Mr_Westerfield in TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
$10000 you didn't know the phrase before you stumbled upon it lol
pagersky OP t1_j6fmecw wrote
Reply to comment by PatrickAplomb in TIL that Manhattanhenge is an event when the sunrise and sunset aligns with the east-west main street grid in Manhattan, NYC by pagersky
I had some difficulty so I removed the original
BrokenEye3 t1_j6fmbxv wrote
Reply to comment by KayWDubs in TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
I'm sure anyone who frequents TV Tropes would also recognize it instantly.
Lelabear t1_j6fmbk7 wrote
Reply to comment by pseudocultist in TIL that modern store mannequins can now record video, sound and automatically analyze demographic data and customers reactions to products from facial expressions analysis by human8264829264
Knew a guy about 10 years ago who was an audio engineer that got a job with Wal-Mart designing subliminal sound devices to put in the end caps at the stores to make customers want to buy that merchandise. Never went in a box store again without headphones.
BrokenEye3 t1_j6fm9o5 wrote
Reply to TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
To a given value of "utopian". The birds in the play are a bit, well, batty. Props to them for usurping the gods, though.
PatrickAplomb t1_j6fm51w wrote
Reply to TIL that Manhattanhenge is an event when the sunrise and sunset aligns with the east-west main street grid in Manhattan, NYC by pagersky
Thanks for the repost
scotty-doesnt_know t1_j6fluxs wrote
Reply to TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
a lot of the nuance of the society is lost if do not understand bird law.
Fonty57 t1_j6fljgz wrote
Reply to TIL that modern store mannequins can now record video, sound and automatically analyze demographic data and customers reactions to products from facial expressions analysis by human8264829264
Last time I tell a mannequin they have a nicely molded ass.
1984happens t1_j6flgbv wrote
Reply to comment by Euripidaristophanist in TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
With that username... you can't be impartial...
sign: a (proud) Greek!
[deleted] t1_j6flf0q wrote
NotPortlyPenguin t1_j6flb27 wrote
[deleted] t1_j6fl1k0 wrote
Broccoli-Basic t1_j6fkldx wrote
Reply to TIL that modern store mannequins can now record video, sound and automatically analyze demographic data and customers reactions to products from facial expressions analysis by human8264829264
Can I not accept the cookies at the door? Guess I'll be wearing a surgical mask forever.
keenweasel74 t1_j6fkhm0 wrote
Reply to TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
I'm 49, never once heard this phrase.
ermghoti t1_j6fkabj wrote
Reply to comment by Flyyer in TIL in the 1980s Monty Python got much of its exposure to the US through PBS, because of CBS censoring parts of "The Holy Grail" in a 1977 broadcast. This upset the comedy troupe, prompting them to withdraw the broadcast rights. by AnthillOmbudsman
Wait until you see early TV edits of Blazing Saddles!
Euripidaristophanist t1_j6fk6lo wrote
Reply to TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
I'm a 40-year old man whose never set foot in an English-speaking country, and even I've heard of this expression.
I don't know if these complainers who say they've never heard of it, either live under a rock, or don't read a lot.
One of them even calls this post stupid, which is a weirdly aggressive way of turning ignorance into hostility.
[deleted] t1_j6fk2ss wrote
Sorry-Letter6859 t1_j6fk1ai wrote
Mr_Westerfield OP t1_j6fjz6w wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
TIL people get weirdly aggressive when you reference a term they haven’t heard before, as though it’s a requirement for it to be legitimate
EmphasisFinal t1_j6fjun2 wrote
Reply to TIL that sperm whales are the loudest animal on Earth, and their clicks can literally kill you with sound by g1ucose
The US Navy actually uses technology that imitates this on some ships.
1984happens t1_j6fje5t wrote
Reply to TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
"ΝΕΦΕΛΟΚΟΚΚΥΓΙΑ" "ΝΕΦΕΛΟ("cloud")ΚΟΚΚΥΓ("cuckoo")ΙΑ(usual suffix for countries)"
lazyMarthaStewart t1_j6fn1ds wrote
Reply to TIL the term “cloud cuckoo land” goes back to the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who used it for a utopian city of birds in his farce, the Birds by Mr_Westerfield
I had not heard the phrase before either, until I read the book, which was extraordinary.