Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

DarkAlman t1_jcv41dl wrote

Reply to TIL: The British Ministry of Pensions distributed Invacars free to disabled people from 1948 until the 1970s. The Invacar was that vehicle. by buzz_uk

Often referred to by the derogatory term 'Spazwagon'

The program was ended in 1973 primarily due to safety concerns. The cars had virtually no crash protection, were notorious unstable due to the 3-wheel configuration, and the drivers did not have to take proper driving tests to qualify to drive one.

Most of them have been taken off the road and scrapped because they were owned by the Government program rather than personally owned. With the EU regulations on cars and motorcycles officially killing them off in 2003.

However like a similar fiberglass 3-wheeled car the Reliant Robin, they have a special place in British pop culture with many of the few remaining examples being tuned or modified. Remaining on the road under classic car licenses.

24

ivycvae t1_jcv2ryx wrote

Reply to TIL that many species of spiders can fly through the air with a technique called ballooning by last_air_nomad

Many sailors have reported spiders being caught in their ship's sails over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) from land. They have even been detected in atmospheric data balloons collecting air samples at slightly less than 5 kilometres (16,000 ft) above sea level. Spiderlings are known to survive without food while travelling in air currents of jet streams for 25 days or longer. CUZ I NEEDED MORE REASONS TO GREAT THEM

1

JeffFromSchool t1_jcv0d75 wrote

Reply to comment by QristopherQuixote in TIL In the history of the Catholic Church there has been over a decade without a Pope on the throne. The longest continuous time the throne was empty was two years ten months from 1268 to 1271. by jamescookenotthatone

Decline is one thing, but US protestants, specifically evangelicals, are definitely the most out of touch Christians. I'd love to see them take the same stance as the pope on homosexuality.

2

GonWithTheNen t1_jcuxjtt wrote

Reply to TIL that in 2020, to educate the public about misinformation, researchers used AI to have Richard Nixon deliver the never-used "In Event of Moon Disaster" Apollo 11 speech. by [deleted]

Concerning Nixon's voice: 7 years ago, Adobe showcased a program called Audio Manipulator that could emulate anyone's voice and speech patterns. It only required a 20 minute audio sample of that person's speech.

It's no surprise that the development of this kind of audio replication was going to stick around, and now it's being added to deep fake videos. Interesting tech... and scary at the same time.

45

penregalia t1_jcuvc69 wrote

Reply to comment by Feisty_Jury_5325 in TIL In the history of the Catholic Church there has been over a decade without a Pope on the throne. The longest continuous time the throne was empty was two years ten months from 1268 to 1271. by jamescookenotthatone

I've got a buddy obsessed with Latin Mass. Routinely rails against the evils of Vatican II. I think it's more easily explained that anyone not repulsed by the demonstrable evils of the clergy against children wants things going backwards and more conservative. It's just funny cherry-picking Catholic dogma/rules to serve your worldview.

4

Dixiehusker t1_jcuum00 wrote

Reply to comment by Liqu1dSnake in TIL that it is a common misconception that the reflection of the sky is the sole reason bodies of water appear blue. It is primarily because water absorbs colours in the red part of the light spectrum. by monkey-tennis

My comment is referring exactly to the what the title and article explains, that people think 'the sole or predominant reason that water is blue is due to the sky'. My example would defeat that notion as the water still appears plenty blue while the sky is white.

I suggest you look at a dictionary and see what "this" means.

6