Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

DisfavoredFlavored t1_j9f1cts wrote

Reply to comment by Loki-L in TIL that Milton Bradley originally had been in the business of selling pictures of celebrities. After his biggest seller Abraham Lincoln grew his iconic beard and rendered his entire stock of lithographs worthless and had customers demanding their money back, MB switched to selling board games by Loki-L

Bradley: "Well, so much for the lithograph business, but I guess that's life...wait a second, I have a new idea!"

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[deleted] t1_j9f0zb3 wrote

Reply to comment by zippotato in TIL that artificial banana flavoring isn't based on a species of banana that got wiped out, but instead uses Isoamyl acetate to replicate the flavor, which is only part of what gives bananas their distinctive taste. by NoLackofEnthusiasm

The gros michel is extinct, the few clones still available don’t change that, it is just a matter of time till they meet the fungus which doomed that clone.

Extinct as in not having a sustainqble population nor the ability to reproduce, clones

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zippotato t1_j9f0jyb wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in TIL that artificial banana flavoring isn't based on a species of banana that got wiped out, but instead uses Isoamyl acetate to replicate the flavor, which is only part of what gives bananas their distinctive taste. by NoLackofEnthusiasm

Gros Michel didn't go extinct. It was just replaced by Cavendish as the dominant cultivar on the market, and is still being produced in smaller scale.

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mrsc1880 t1_j9ezc5k wrote

Reply to TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac. by jamescookenotthatone

>Because of the historic use of macadam as a road surface, roads in some parts of the United States (such as parts of Pennsylvania) are often referred to as macadam, even though they might be made of asphalt or concrete. Similarly, the term "tarmac" is sometimes colloquially applied to asphalt roads or aircraft runways.[22]

I've always referred to blacktop or asphalt as macadam. I didn't realize this was just a local thing (Pennsylvania).

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Tolanator t1_j9eykfj wrote

Reply to comment by st3akkn1fe in TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac. by jamescookenotthatone

Nope, neither are wrong, but for different reasons. With hoover, the brand became so dominant at one time that it's name was synonymous with the product. With tarmac, historically calling the road surface tarmac was correct and the name stuck, even though the process changed. That happens a lot with the English language, the name stays even if circumstances change. Another example is movie trailers, they were so-called because they were previews of coming attractions that were shown at the end of a film, or in other words they would "trail" a film. The name stuck even though today they are shown before a movie or even screened independently. Words endure even when meanings change.

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sparky1499 t1_j9exdsi wrote

Reply to TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac. by jamescookenotthatone

Proud Scotsman chiming in here!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scottish_inventions_and_discoveries?wprov=sfti1

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st3akkn1fe t1_j9ex6e1 wrote

Reply to comment by Tolanator in TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac. by jamescookenotthatone

Yeah but that's wrong isn't it? Like calling all vacuum cleaners a hoover when hoover is the brand.

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