Today I learned...

[Luxuria]

Today, I learned today that an EF0 tornado actually wandered through my town last weekend with a windspeed of 75 MPH/121 KMH. Thankfully, everyone is okay. But still. THERE WAS A TORNADO!!!

I am honestly glad I wasn't in the basement for nothing.

 

[Iain Aschendale]

Today (yesterday but I was too busy to login) I learned that "vitriol" is an archaic name for sulfuric acid (H2SO4*). So the expression "spraying vitriol" at someone didn't originally mean "saying something nasty to them," it was about a literal acid attack. Learned this from a youtube documentary on the subject, not gonna link because it's a pretty horrible topic with some pretty horrible graphics, but it puts the whole linguistic thing in a different light.

*A limerick from my 7th grade science teacher:
Johnny was a chemist
But Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

 

[JLT]

*A limerick from my 7th grade science teacher:
Johnny was a chemist
But Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

Back in the days when Bosco (remember Bosco?) was advertised in the media with an odious jingle, there was a parody of it circulating among us kids:

"I hate Bosco
It's full of TNT
Mommy puts it in my milk to try and poison me.
But I fooled Mommy
I put it in her tea,
And now there is no mommy to try and poison me."

That was the epitome of wit when you're eight years old.

 

[Iain Aschendale]

That was the epitome of wit when you're eight years old.

We were big on posterior insertion rhymes, although I'm not sure of the exact age.

Up your butt with a coconut.
Up your rear with a can of beer.

And others that even I hesitate to google in this day and age...

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Today I learned -- or perhaps was just reminded? -- that when my parents were young (before there were refrigerators), their family and their neighbours built a large wooden box and put it in the basement of their shared building. They filled this box with ice, put apples (or other season fruit) on top, and closed the box.

Everyone in the building had a key to the basement, so whenever someone wanted fresh fruit, they could just wander in and help themselves.

This system was obviously not as hygienic as fridges, modern or otherwise, and relied on the honour system. But it was one way to keep fruit fresh.

 

[Schism]

I feel my stories especially when they hit a certain rhythm. Listening to a song, having a patchwork of images winding its way through my head. Few mental modes compare to that.

 

[JLT]

I feel my stories especially when they hit a certain rhythm. Listening to a song, having a patchwork of images winding its way through my head. Few mental modes compare to that.

That's what song-writing does to me. I've got a few tunes running through my head almost all the time, and a few sets of lyrics that keep wanting to get set to some music. The trick is to match them together.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Today I learned that in the early 20th century women could buy tampons soaked in opium, to relieve pain and relax the vagina.

I was skeptical, so checked it out Snopes. It’s true. Pond's medicated tampon - sold in the 1900s - did indeed contain opium.