The 'I didnt know that' Thread

[JohnBM01]

I mentioned making unit converters for some measurements long ago for NoteTab Light. Recently, I made my own quick converter for conversions of horsepower to either kW or PS. I practiced these factors when I was on the homepage of the online simulation racing game "Live for Speed." Even though the machine stats were indicated in horsepower and kilowatts, I practiced anyways to convert values to either measurement. Additionally, I finally learned what PS stands for in regards to power. It stands for pfderstarke. Sometimes in Japanese racing/driving games, I see PS as a measurement of power. To convert from horsepower to kW, divide the hp value by 1.341; to convert from hp to PS, divide the hp value by 0.98592325737265 to get the PS value. Because math is beautiful, multiply the kW or PS value by either conversion factor to convert to horsepower. I was thinking about conversion factors between kilowatts and pferderstarke, but since I don't use either system, I haven't added conversion values between kW and PS.

This past weekend, I also learned of the expression "spring chicken." You may have heard someone say (for example) "he/she is no spring chicken." If you're a spring chicken, you're young, as opposed to being old- as in being an "old crow." So not being a spring chicken means you're old. I also learned the expression "spring chicken" comes from the fact that chickens are born in the Spring.

True what they say- you learn something new every day. Even if most of the world already knows certain things while you just learn of them for the first time.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I also learned the expression "spring chicken" comes from the fact that chickens are born in the Spring.

Umm... no. Firstly chickens aren't born, they come out of eggs, and secondly chickens can incubate at any time of year. In colder climes wild chickens are more likely to lay successfully in spring and summer, but the (relatively modern) saying comes from the old wisdom that a chicken born in spring is stronger and better.

 

[Shaun]

As a member of high society, I concur. Box wine offers infinite value compared to the bottle.

The bag can easily be removed from the box and one can tap one's claret in precise torrents directly into the mouth. The bag is compact and completely unsmashable, and also contains a generously large volume of the good stuff.

Box wine: Stagger down your local High Street with a smile on your face.

Also they supply hours of endless entertainment.

*Language Warning obviously cos Straya*

 

[Warruz]

That people started dying in boxing after they started using gloves.

 

[Rallywagon]

That people started dying in boxing after they started using gloves.

Oh yeah. Gloves are to protect the hand from breaking, not to protect the head. The consequence of this is that not only can boxers hit harder, as they no longer had to worry about hurting their hand, but they hit with that much more weight on their hands as well. The current weigh-in format is also another contributor. Weigh-ins that happen just a week or less before a fight dont allow for a fighter to recover from the extreme dehydration they generally endure to make weight. Under the current rules it would be better to do weigh-ins a month out from the fight, or change to rules that require a fighter to maintain a certain, healthy level of hydration for weigh in.

 

[JohnBM01]

I think there is still a such thing as bare knuckle boxing today. So people may still get involved with "old school boxing," so to speak. I don't think even bare knuckle boxing types even tape their hands and knuckles when doing this kind of boxing.

 

[Rallywagon]

I think there is still a such thing as bare knuckle boxing today. So people may still get involved with "old school boxing," so to speak. I don't think even bare knuckle boxing types even tape their hands and knuckles when doing this kind of boxing.

Bas Rutten had a particular style of fighting using palm strikes rather than closed fists. He developed the style I think while in Pride, or maybe a different MMA organization over in Asia because they didnt use gloves.
Lethwei and muy thai generally go just wrapped. Those bare knuckle fighters though. Man. Good way to break your hands and get cut to crap. Those dudes are crazy.

 

[Crash]

While we're on the subject of booze, not everyone knows (yet) that box wine has some good offerings these days. If your wine budget is modest, box wine has your best buys in terms of taste for the price.

I've found that Costco generally has good bang for the buck wines. They have stuff that are super expensive, but just their regular Kirkland Signature branded wines are genuinely good, and cheap.

 

[JohnBM01]

I added another conversion factor to my existing list of conversion factors. I added one recently for converting cubic inches to cubic centimeters. This is common in engine displacement. Cubic inches to cubic centimeters means you multiply the ci³/cu in. measurement by 16.387. And because math can be beautiful and simple, you do the multiplicative inverse to go from cubic centimeters to cubic inches! So that means instead of multiplying, you divide. The cc³ measurement is divided by 16.387 to get the cubic inches (ci³/cu. in) measurement.

What I am used to between Imperial and Metric measurements is fairly mixed. Like, I'm used to pounds and feet for things, but then I become so used to cubic centimeters displacement and even sometimes millimeters in distance. So I even practiced setting up a conversion factor of certain cars and what their displacement would be in cubic centimeters. For example, a Plymouth Superbird with a 440 cu in. engine would translate to having 7210 cc displacement. A TVR Griffith with a 5.0 liter engine with 4968 cc displacement would translate to 303 cubic inches.

I put in these factors to quickly convert things when I'm doing posts on here or in any of my blog posts or other online material. I am actually saving myself from trying to access a conversion calculator program I have to make quick conversions when needed.

 

[TexRex]

I use 61.02 cubic inches per liter as it's an easier number to remember, and going from liters to cc is obviously just a matter of moving the decimal.

 

[BobK]

You could just use units.

I've used it to convert mph to furlongs per fortnight.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Units

 

[Scaff]

Not as big a bump as I was expecting to make; scrolled right past on my first attempt but I started over once I realized I went too far.

Angostura bitters, so named for House of Angostura in Trinidad where the tonic is produced, doesn't actually contain bark from the medicinal plant Angostura trifoliata.

The bitter flavor compound present in the bark is used in other bitters formulas, however, such as those in the product range over at Fee Brothers.

Washington Island (pop. 718) is the worlds largest consumer of Angostura bitters.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/washington-island-wisconsin-bitters-shots

 

[JohnBM01]

Here is a food post of things I didn't know.

I always seemed to think gelato and tiramisu were both Japanese dishes. Perhaps thinking of gelato from playing the first "Yakuza" and then Tiramisu playing "Neko Atsume." Well... both are Italian delicacies, not Japanese.

Some time ago, I had a meal from Sprouts Farmer's Market called Chicken Tikka Masala. I always had thought of it as an exclusively Indian meal, but its roots also include some British influence. It was very good. So Chicken Tikka Masala is more a British-Indian meal.

 

[MaxAttack]

Here is a food post of things I didn't know.

I always seemed to think gelato and tiramisu were both Japanese dishes. Perhaps thinking of gelato from playing the first "Yakuza" and then Tiramisu playing "Neko Atsume." Well... both are Italian delicacies, not Japanese.

Some time ago, I had a meal from Sprouts Farmer's Market called Chicken Tikka Masala. I always had thought of it as an exclusively Indian meal, but its roots also include some British influence. It was very good. So Chicken Tikka Masala is more a British-Indian meal.

Chicken Tikka Masala is basically straight up British. There's a whole school of Indian cooking for the British pallette with its roots in the colonial days, of course.

Interestingly enough, it's oft quoted that the British prefer their food much hotter than any Indian would normally want. The world of super hot vindaloos is very much a British influenced one.

Traditionally most Indian food isn't as "hot" as it's made out to be.

Source - I lived with ~50 Indians for the past few months. A lot of the younger generation have the hotter pallette, but all the most traditional meals are usually pretty mild, with cumin, coriander and garam masala being the staple spices.

One evening the boys decided to cook hot and made an absolutely nuclear chicken biriani, accompanied by a chili soup that made aforementioned blasting hot curry seem like vanilla ice cream. I stayed away from the soup, because I dont think I've ever seen a human sweat so much from ingesting something that wasn't outright poison.

 

[kolio]

This is highly embarrassing.

Yesterday I learned that Michael Jordan is still alive. What!?!?

Hear me out.

I was born is 1997, and not even a remote hint of a basketball fan anywhere in my immediate family or friends. Anytime he has ever been brought up in my life, he was talked about like a legend (that he was indeed), no pictures were provided, and I've never seen/heard him in the media in my entire life that I can remember. I wouldn't even be able to point the guy out if there were a picture of him right in front of me. The crying picture of him is likely the only picture I would ever be able to point out of him because it was meme-y for a bit.

Anyways, I've buried myself alive with this one.

I didn't know Michael Jordan was a living human being.

 

[Blood Eagle]

This is highly embarrassing.

Yesterday I learned that Michael Jordan is still alive. What!?!?

Here me out.

I was born is 1997, and not even a remote hint of a basketball fan anywhere in my immediate family or friends. Anytime he has ever been brought up in my life, he was talked about like a legend (that he was indeed), no pictures were provided, and I've never seen/heard him in the media in my entire life that I can remember. I wouldn't even be able to point the guy out if there were a picture of him right in front of me. The crying picture of him is likely the only picture I would ever be able to point out of him because it was meme-y for a bit.

Anyways, I've buried myself alive with this one.

I didn't know Michael Jordan was a living human being.

 

[wvmgmidget]

If I remember right, he mostly just hangs out at golf courses and strip clubs nowadays. He also owns the Charlotte Hornets.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Is he still annoying people on airplanes about their underwear?

 

[TexRex]

 

[W3H5]

This is highly embarrassing.

Yesterday I learned that Michael Jordan is still alive. What!?!?

Hear me out.

I was born is 1997, and not even a remote hint of a basketball fan anywhere in my immediate family or friends. Anytime he has ever been brought up in my life, he was talked about like a legend (that he was indeed), no pictures were provided, and I've never seen/heard him in the media in my entire life that I can remember. I wouldn't even be able to point the guy out if there were a picture of him right in front of me. The crying picture of him is likely the only picture I would ever be able to point out of him because it was meme-y for a bit.

Anyways, I've buried myself alive with this one.

I didn't know Michael Jordan was a living human being.

No biggie. I though Mandela died in the 80's. Man, was I wrong.

 

[Spacegoat]

The QI Twitter account always has some interesting facts. Had no idea that any creature aside from the Galapagos tortoise could live that long.

An all time classic film. I refuse to be told otherwise.

 

[W3H5]

The colloquial term "Hog" for a HD motorcycle comes from the early days of bike racing on board tracks, where Harley were late to the party but were really successful. Laurance Ray Wieshaar, a team rider, took a small pig as the team mascot and would carry it on victory laps.

 

[Sonygamer455]

Something I didn't know until just this past hour is Zac Brown Band actually released their first album back in 2005 called "Homegrown". When I went through my music and looked at the song "Got Whatever It Is" I got from my cousin years ago, I noticed it was dated 2005 and it was from the album Homegrown. At first, I was like "this can't be right" because I remembered the song "Homegrown" and "Got Whatever It is" being hits years after that time. Then I listened to a portion of "Got Whatever It Is" and noticed it didn't sound the same as the one that I used to hear on the radio.

So I looked it up and turns out they did have an album released in 2005 and it had earlier versions of songs that were apparently re-recorded, later on, the re-recordings being the hits I remember hearing on the radio. So apparently what I thought was a mislabeled song in my library was actually correct all along and now I know why it didn't sound the same. On another note, I can remember my cousin also downloaded a version of "Chicken Fried" that sounded kind of weird to me back then and I could never figure out why. Now it makes sense, it was also an earlier version from this album.

I assume their first album wasn't a hit and I wouldn't be surprised if they were in a similar boat that Maren Morris was once in with her first 3 albums.

 

[JohnBM01]

"Lllllet's get ready to rumble!" I always thought Michael Buffer and Bruce Buffer were father and son. Turns out... they're brothers! I was reading that when I was looking to hype up the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in the boxing/MMA thread of the Sports forums.

 

[Sonygamer455]

Something I didn't know until just recently is Taylor Swift actually has more versions of her song "Our Song" than I thought. I sort of noticed it recently upon viewing two files I had on my computer in Audacity and noticing there were some slight oddities between the two, but I didn't think much of it at the time. However, upon looking it up today, I notice she has an original version from the 2006 release of her first album and then she later had a newer issue of the album featuring the radio single version, both of which have some pretty minor differences, but can still be told apart. Namely when the instruments stop playing and she says "could play it again" at the beginning of the song, her voice is projected a bit more in the radio single version than it was in the original version. Not only that, but I also noticed she also had pop and international versions of the song, neither of which I was aware existed until now. I remember she had multiple versions of the song "Love Story", both of which I grew up listening to, but I didn't know "Our Song" did too.

Am I surprised by this? Not entirely. If I remember correctly, Shania Twain was her inspiration and as someone who listens to her often and owns a bunch of her CD's, I can tell you for a fact Shania was no stranger to making multiple versions of her songs as well. She had 3 different versions of her album Up! and a few different releases of Come on Over as well and I would not be surprised if Taylor adopted that trait from her. It seems plausible to me.

 

[HenrySwanson]

That Keira Knightley was only 18 in Love Actually....just 5 years older than the kid playing Liam Neeson's son

 

[W3H5]

That Keira Knightley was only 18 in Love Actually....just 5 years older than the kid playing Liam Neeson's son

I reckon she was even younger in The Phantom Menace.

 

[Sonygamer455]

Something I didn't know until about a month or so ago is this is called a Skidsteer.

Mind you, I have lived near a farm my whole life, my uncle has had one of these for a very long time, possibly longer than I have even been alive and it's not uncommon to hear one of these around here. Yet, despite this, I don't ever recall hearing the word Skidsteer not once in my entire life despite being around them for so long. Every time I ever heard someone talking about these things, they simply referred to them as "loaders". It wasn't until my brother started buying die-cast versions of them and telling me about it that I realized they were called this. I feel pretty dumb now because this is something you'd think would be common knowledge to me now.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Something I didn't know until about a month or so ago is this is called a Skidsteer.

Mind you, I have lived near a farm my whole life, my uncle has had one of these for a very long time, possibly longer than I have even been alive and it's not uncommon to hear one of these around here. Yet, despite this, I don't ever recall hearing the word Skidsteer not once in my entire life despite being around them for so long. Every time I ever heard someone talking about these things, they simply referred to them as "loaders". It wasn't until my brother started buying die-cast versions of them and telling me about it that I realized they were called this. I feel pretty dumb now because this is something you'd think would be common knowledge to me now.

Obligatory Ward Burton commercial.

Spoiler: Language Warning!

 

[JohnBM01]

I did another one of those posts pretending it was Real Racing Roots '99 from "Ridge Racer Type 4." Here's a few things I've noticed:

* The 1st Heat races of R4 were held on Saturdays.
* The 2nd Heat races of R4 were held on Thursdays.
* All Final Heat races of R4 were held on Fridays.

Just unique observations from one of the best racing games ever.