Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

blunt_analysis t1_jdaf1zj wrote

Reply to comment by jointheredditarmy in TIL China and India have been the population centers of the world for at least 6,000 years by aaleom

I have my theories around this - but also worth remembering that early governments didn't really understand modern economics or a knowledge economy - the most recentl iteration of Chinese government is only a few decades old and even they have been regressing in terms of institutions with nothing positive to show for it.

The Deng Xiaoping -> Hu Jintao period had a lot more achievements then the period prior or after and at that time the CCP was relatively more open and more rules-based rather than personality based.

In the long arc - I think successful governments needs meritocracy, which has both a technocratic and a democratic component. The technocratic component is needed to make sure things are executed well and complex problems are well understood - and the democratic component is needed so that the technocrats don't become divorced from reality and turn into a kleptocratic elite that starts acting against the benefit of the majority.

This doesn't necessarily mean a 1-man-1-vote standard democratic system - but you do need a government that is responsive to the public in some form. In Singapore for e.g. you can't really call it a democracy but the state is quite responsive to public issues. On the other hand you can have a kind of democracy where you don't really have a lot of competence which will lead to people choosing idiotic self destructive policies. Most successful advancing countries have found some balance between these two.

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blunt_analysis t1_jdaei4a wrote

Reply to comment by SomeIndividual1 in TIL China and India have been the population centers of the world for at least 6,000 years by aaleom

There are entire Native American/African tribes which were probably wiped completely out with ~100s of deaths. We probably don't know much about them because they didn't have expansive empires or significant written histories of such conflicts.

We probably still do cultural eradication of small groups like this every few years even today as society modernizes.

Going back into history the early european settlers were almost completely eradicated by the invading proto-indo-europeans (90%+ genetic replacement on the Y-chromosome).

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Sometimes_Stutters t1_jdadmng wrote

Reply to comment by therealmattsteimel in TIL That E-cigarettes were first invented in the 1960s, but were never sold in order to protect the traditional cigarette market by TooOfEverything

They mention this in the book “Barbarians at The Gate”. It has less to do with protecting the tobacco industry and more to do with the product development being over budget and the product itself being shit. It was actually developed by RJR / Phillip Morris.

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ash_274 t1_jda92yv wrote

Reply to comment by skilledwarman in TIL of the Pig War, a border dispute between the US and the UK, around Vancouver Island (present-day Canada) and Washington State. The only casualty was a pig, owned by an Irish farmer, which was shot by an American farmer for eating his potatoes. Both countries deployed military troops. by drak0bsidian

Apparently the plan was Longstreet's. Lee ordered an attack, but the tactical plan was Longstreet's and Pickett led his division (of the three divisions assembled) in the attack. Lee wanted to accept the blame (initially) for the failed attack after it had been repelled.

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patentattorney t1_jda89rd wrote

Reply to comment by DanYHKim in TIL that on April 1st, 1906, American newspapers ran prank articles reporting that Chicago had been "invaded by hordes of prehistoric monsters dealing death and destruction", illustrated with doctored photos showing dinosaurs attacking the Windy City. by TJ_Fox

The plural of the same kind of fish is fish. When there are multiple kinds of fish they are called fishes. I don’t know what multiples of different kinds of fish are called.

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skilledwarman t1_jda6ljc wrote

Reply to comment by ash_274 in TIL of the Pig War, a border dispute between the US and the UK, around Vancouver Island (present-day Canada) and Washington State. The only casualty was a pig, owned by an Irish farmer, which was shot by an American farmer for eating his potatoes. Both countries deployed military troops. by drak0bsidian

Wasn't it his division that made the charge (him included), but Lee that ordered it?

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ash_274 t1_jda69rf wrote

Reply to TIL of the Pig War, a border dispute between the US and the UK, around Vancouver Island (present-day Canada) and Washington State. The only casualty was a pig, owned by an Irish farmer, which was shot by an American farmer for eating his potatoes. Both countries deployed military troops. by drak0bsidian

The Captain initially in charge of the US side was the same George Pickett that ordered the disastrous charge for the Confederate army at Gettysburg.

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Loakattack t1_jda5jtw wrote

Reply to TIL that Deltora Quest, the Children's Fantasy Books by Australian Writer Emily Rodda, Has Its Own Anime, Which Started Airing 2 Years After the Series Ended, from 2007-2008, and has 13 Episodes of Original Content Not Found in the Books. It Even Spawned a Nintendo DS Game, Released Only in Japan. by PrecariouslyPeculiar

It’s great. Although it is odd when you realise it’s essentially Australian anime without being Australian.

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ksdkjlf t1_jda4vb0 wrote

Reply to TIL the term "death row" comes from an assassination attempt on FDR. The shooter Giuseppe Zangara was sentenced to death, but there was already a convict awaiting execution, and FL law forbade them from sharing cells. A second cell was built, turning the "death cell" into the first "death row." by AdmiralAkbar1

Unfortunately this is BS. The term is attested nearly 40 years before Zangara's sentencing. Two earlier attestations from the OED:

1894 Rocky Mountain News (Denver). 12 Mar. 3. " Thomas Jordan, who occupies a cell in the death row at Canon City Penitentiary."

1902 Salt Lake Tribune. 23 June. "Six men now occupy cells in ‘death row’ at the [Utah] penitentiary."

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Pluto_Rising t1_jda4ed2 wrote

Reply to comment by qwertycantread in TIL that Al Pacino boycotted the 45th academy awards in 1973, because despite having more screen time than Marlon Brando, he was nominated for best supporting actor and not best actor. by VengefulMight

It's really good. Even for someone who's never seen any of the Godfather trilogy.

The Offer is about Al Ruddy, an unknown whose boss at Paramount decided could make an impossible-to-make film.

Tons of amazing trivia facts along the way that most of us were totally unaware of.

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Anx1etyD0g t1_jda3xt7 wrote

Reply to comment by freedfg in TIL that Al Pacino boycotted the 45th academy awards in 1973, because despite having more screen time than Marlon Brando, he was nominated for best supporting actor and not best actor. by VengefulMight

Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is on the cover, and on posters with the title. He is Godfather for a large amount of screen time. A significant element of the story is how large of a figure Vito is, and his shadow looms over Michael after becoming Godfather. Take into account Brando's huge career before that, and it makes sense for him to be considered the lead.

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