Recent comments in /f/todayilearned
jamescookenotthatone t1_j8oxczz wrote
Reply to TIL that, despite it being widely reported, Bruce Willis never sold the rights to use his likeness with deep fake technology. A Russian Advert company made it up and illegally used him in a commercial. by EarlGrey_Picard
>The tech used in the advert was created by Deepcake, which describes itself as an AI company specializing in deepfakes.
>Deepcake told the BBC it had worked closely with Willis' team on the advert.
>"What he definitely did is that he gave us his consent (and a lot of materials) to make his Digital Twin," they said.
>The company says it has a unique library of high-resolution celebrities, influencers and historical figures.
>On its website, Deepcake promotes its work with an apparent quote from Mr Willis: "I liked the precision of my character. It's a great opportunity for me to go back in time.
>"The neural network was trained on content of Die Hard and Fifth Element, so my character is similar to the images of that time."
>However, Willis's agent told the BBC, "Please know that Bruce has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company."
>...
>In a statement from Deepcake, the company said reports that it had bought the rights to Bruce Willis's face were inaccurate.
>"The wording about rights is wrong… Bruce couldn't sell anyone any rights, they are his by default," a representative for the company said.
Wait how does that work? I assume the Deepcake people are just lying or there is some strange miscommunication.
Phraenkinstone t1_j8ox3ti wrote
Reply to TIL the 'Negro Motorist Green Book' was based on an earlier 'Jewish Vacation Guide' book which outlined places that Jews were not unwelcome to stay in America in 1917. by aripy
Shhh! You'll make the conservatives mad, nothing happened in the US before 1970.
Blank_bill t1_j8ox1mb wrote
Reply to comment by themeatbridge in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
That would be a Florida Man novel . Most excellent.
Typical_Balance3892 t1_j8owptk wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in TIL a 2013 Justin Bieber concert at the FNB stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa was rocked by an elaborate heist were the thieves made off with over 3 million rand (300,000 dollars) and were never caught. by delano1998
>despite the amount of money that was stolen.
To be fair 300,000 isn't that much to be stolen. If it was $30-Million then yeah absolutely but 300,000 is chump change for them
Isteppedinpoopy t1_j8ovl3v wrote
Reply to comment by pdxb3 in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
Owen loves his mama! Owen loves mama!
Isteppedinpoopy t1_j8ovchb wrote
Reply to comment by DJDevon3 in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
Who?
Bonneville865 t1_j8ovady wrote
Reply to comment by dylancatlow in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
I mean, it's a semicolon, so you could fairly easily replace that with a period and have the rest of the sentence play out.
And I'm not sure what you mean by giving it a different meaning. The rest of the sentence just further describes the storminess (and darkness) of the night.
rickthecabbie t1_j8ov27e wrote
Reply to TIL that in November 1954, a woman in Alabama survived being struck by a meteorite that hit the roof of her house, bounced off a radio and hit her in upper thigh and hand. She was left with a large bruise on her side but was otherwise not seriously injured. by g_man2522
It is my sincere desire that I should die from a meteor strike, and my remains be donated to The Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. To confuse and annoy students at the body farm, in perpetuity.
Ferec t1_j8our7m wrote
Reply to comment by Some0neAwesome in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
I suspect you've probably heard the Gary Provost quote before but I always think of it when i worry about sentence length. There's nothing wrong with long or short sentences. You just have to vary them. I think English teachers forget that sometimes.
Anyway, for anyone not familiar with the quote...
>This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.
GeneralNathanJessup t1_j8ouj6k wrote
Reply to TIL: The wires helping hold up antenna and poles are not "guide wires" by actually "guy-wires" by HanSolo71
"hey, what do we call these wires, guy?"
"Yes."
dylancatlow OP t1_j8ouf72 wrote
Reply to comment by Bonneville865 in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
The interest point about it is, that the first to use the phrase did not end the sentence where people do today. Which gives it a somewhat different meaning.
pdxb3 t1_j8otoob wrote
Reply to comment by PopeImpiousthePi in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
I'm getting the hell outta here. Too goddamn sultry in here.
ruiner8850 t1_j8otkk4 wrote
Reply to comment by thelandsman55 in TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92
I just don't get it because to me there are so many better pizzas out there at different price points. For instance I wouldn't say Little Caesars is good pizza exactly, but it's cheap and decent enough if you aren't spending a lot of money. All the other cheaper chains are better than Domino's. Then there are the slightly more expensive chains which are what you pay for and therefore are slightly better.
My city isn't very big, but we actually have multiple different local pizza shops which are really good and taste better than any chain. They are all more expensive than Domino's or Little Caesars though. Some are about the same price as the higher end chains while others are significantly more expensive, but also absolutely delicious.
There are simply so many better options that I can't understand when anyone chooses Domino's. Maybe the one around me is just ran terribly and they are using substandard products and techniques, but if what I had last time is their normal pizza it's absolutely disgusting. I could probably be convinced to try it again if it was free, but if it tasted the same I wouldn't even finish the slice.
Bonneville865 t1_j8oss3s wrote
Reply to TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
Thanks to OP, I now know that the novel didn’t end after the opening phrase.
purchankruly t1_j8orsjt wrote
Reply to TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92
Mental illness is multi-generational. This was thirty-four years ago.
Can we take it seriously, now, please?
BrokenEye3 t1_j8oqy0a wrote
SuperBowlMovements t1_j8oq2lt wrote
Reply to TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92
If I were him, I'd be a noid too.
[deleted] t1_j8opy3t wrote
Reply to comment by myeff in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
[removed]
allothernamestaken t1_j8opsz9 wrote
Reply to comment by captainktainer in TIL: The Chamblee Incident. In 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's Pizza "Avoid the Noid" ads were personally directed towards him, antagonizing him. He took 2 Domino's employees hostage at gunpoint. by SilentWalrus92
I ate it in the 80s. It wasn't bad, but it's better now.
sanfran_girl t1_j8opnen wrote
Reply to comment by Mister-Grumpy in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
The Crow. I was easily stuck on that page for 15 to 20 minutes the first time. 🧐 I think I might go dig out my copy of The Crow right now.☺️
Steampunk-1889 t1_j8oo1ka wrote
Reply to TIL that, despite it being widely reported, Bruce Willis never sold the rights to use his likeness with deep fake technology. A Russian Advert company made it up and illegally used him in a commercial. by EarlGrey_Picard
This shows how dangerously polluted the media food chain is. A rag like the Daily Mail picks up some Russian lie and the other cheapskate papers run with it. Even Reuters, who are supposed to do their own work.
Shows how for all its faults the BBC still has a useful role.
IndigoMichigan t1_j8oni62 wrote
Reply to comment by AgentElman in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
If he cut out the middle and put:
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, checked by violent gusts of wind which swept up the streets of London".....etc.
I feel that keeps the sentence more lean.
ADDeviant-again t1_j8on68m wrote
Reply to comment by UtahUtopia in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow
Cheers, fellow Utah-based Redditor!
EarlGrey_Picard OP t1_j8oxjuw wrote
Reply to comment by jamescookenotthatone in TIL that, despite it being widely reported, Bruce Willis never sold the rights to use his likeness with deep fake technology. A Russian Advert company made it up and illegally used him in a commercial. by EarlGrey_Picard
They most definitely are.