Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

Mick_86 t1_jadak3j wrote

Reply to comment by ImmoralJester54 in TIL On Christmas Eve 1969, Francisco Macias Nguema had 186 suspected dissidents executed in the national football stadium in Malabo with the executioners dressed as Santa Claus, with the amplifiers played Mary Hopkin's song "Those Were the Days". by Osrever101

It was obviously a trick. A bogus cry for help. Anyone taking it seriously was in line for some bizarre execution, guillotine by razor blade or something.

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signal_lost t1_jadahu4 wrote

Reply to comment by waiv in TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650. by triviafrenzy

Calling it a law that Santa Anna demanded when he was a despot and had control of the government is a bit of a stretch. Hitler had all kinds of laws passed that didn’t make them fairly unethical war crimes.

Goliad was a massacre that even the Mexican commander didn’t want to commit and begged Santa Anna to back down on.

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kj3044 t1_jadaa0g wrote

Reply to comment by Vorpishly in TIL Anvil firing is the practice of exploding an anvil into the air. Anvils are typically fired as a celebration, be it to honor St. Clement's (the Patron Saint of blacksmiths) or in a 21 anvil salut as found in New Westminster, British Columbia. by jamescookenotthatone

Right. Was deployed to Bosnia in the 90s and they celebrated EVERYTHING with gunfire. Had to always be on high alert, especially when on patrol.

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XIphos12 t1_jad9ai1 wrote

Reply to comment by zebrastarz in TIL Thomas Jefferson regularly attended many different churches and declared "I am of a sect by myself" unlike many of the other devoted founding fathers. by skylightyourlife

That's true too. Remember discussions don't have to stay in one place though. The post was about Thomas Jefferson's variety with churches he attended, and the comments drifted toward a discussion about Thomas Jefferson in general, which seems normal honestly. It's natural for people who aren't fans of Jefferson to point out his flaws and for people who think positively about him to defend all his merits

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AlexNovember t1_jad8voh wrote

Reply to TIL Anvil firing is the practice of exploding an anvil into the air. Anvils are typically fired as a celebration, be it to honor St. Clement's (the Patron Saint of blacksmiths) or in a 21 anvil salut as found in New Westminster, British Columbia. by jamescookenotthatone

They did this during "Pioneer day" at my school in like 5th grade, and I remember being just absolutely terrified the whole time because I just KNEW that thing was going to come down on top of me but they just made us sit there in the grass watching it.

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LewisEFurr t1_jad83ux wrote

Reply to comment by Nivekian13 in TIL Thomas Jefferson regularly attended many different churches and declared "I am of a sect by myself" unlike many of the other devoted founding fathers. by skylightyourlife

This is extremely important. The difference between a deist and a theist is massive and despite them aligning themselves with Christian values, it's dangerously disingenuous to use that as proof of the US being founded on Christianity.

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trashhampster t1_jad8184 wrote

Reply to comment by __the_alchemist__ in TIL Hawaii is the best place on earth to see rainbows. There are words for Earth-clinging rainbows (uakoko), standing rainbow shafts (kāhili), barely visible rainbows (punakea), and moonbows (ānuenue kau pō). The rainbow is seen as a symbol of transformation and a pathway between Earth and Heaven. by -AMARYANA-

They’re still rainbows. The new design isn’t even picked yet, let alone rolled out.

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adamcoe t1_jad7zqc wrote

Reply to comment by malepitt in TIL that when you say a word many times over, and it stops sounding like a word, that is called 'semantic satiation.' by Bean_Superiority

Mostly people say that because it gives them an opportunity to think of something to say. Politicians use these kinds of things a LOT, so they can think of something clever sounding (or what they think is clever sounding) to respond to journalists.

"You know my team and I have been spending a lot of time talking about that very issue, Bob" (I'm barely familiar with whatever you just said and my assistant is going to give me the talking points about this on the bus so I'll have a better answer for this question when I get asked it 5 more times today.)

"I'm glad you brought that up, because I think that's a question that a lot of people here in (town/state) have, and I'm glad that finally my party has an answer for them." (Proceeds to give that "answer" in the broadest terms possible, like "we're bringing jobs back to (area)!" or "that's why that once we're elected, we're going to make these streets safe again!")

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