Today I Learned (TIL)

My buddy bought an old filling station 40 years ago and made it go.  He had a faithful clientele that would follow him to wherever he may decide to move to.  His wife got sick and he couldn't spend a lot of  time there so he was going to sell it to the head Tech. 
 

Tech couldn't do it so some guy in NJ stepped up.  Guy from NJ ran a muffler shop and the franchise took it away from him.

TIL (because nothing was shoveled after the big storm) the owner "went outside the country" to get new employees.  He also told everyone they would be working on Japanese cars also.  You know how owners of high-end European motoring sedans love that.   The remaining Techs with the Parts & Counter man  walked. 

Place is deserted.  If I had the finances I would support the head Tech to start it up and gain the following back..... 

TIL that the 2024 Audi Q4 EV has rear drum rear brakes. I guess they couldn't get them to stop squealing because of the prodigious use of regen.

TIL that Jesse Ransom listens to fairly obscure later TMBG albums.

TIL that non-dairy cheeses have come a hell of a long way since I last gave them much of a try about 20 years ago and that it's now possible to make a gluten-free, vegan pizza with (tempeh) bacon on it that's good enough that if I'd been fed it without being told it wasn't an ordinary pizza I'd likely have not known the difference.

TIL that you could get early Porsche Cayennes with a rear spare tire mount. it was really rare, really expensive....and absolutely hideous

TIL there are still Radio Shacks?  New Prague, MN today.......

TIL that despite the butt freezing temperatures Minnesota is a cool place to live.  (Pun intended)

I mean, this wouldn't be that cool in Dallas......
 

In reply to 914Driver :  Just an update.

Ran through town this morning and saw a for sale sign on the shop.  The guy was a real (chicken's beak) and I hate to see any business fail, but I knew this one was coming.

It's a nice corner shop if you're looking.

In reply to 914Driver :

Do you think the listing agent;s name is really Julia Audi..?

TIL why windshields have those little dots around their perimeter:

It's warmer on the north coast of Alaska.

TIL about Carolina Reapers.  Episode of Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe visits the farm where the inventor gave him a tour.  At the end of it, he pulled out a pepper called Duel.  Rowe's camera man took the challenge and bit into one, so did the farmer.  Farmer acts like he ate a green bell pepper, camera man couldn't make it stop, he ended up turning white and laying on the floor praying for death.

Duke said:

TIL that Jesse Ransom listens to fairly obscure later TMBG albums.

I didn't figure anything TMBG would count as all that obscure at this point... But yes, big fan, have seen them several times, and continue to enjoy a lot of what they put out (though I may not be totally caught up).

It pushes the boundary of TIL, because it's imparting a random thing others may or may not know, but R&T had John Flansburgh write an article sampling several current high end cars' audio systems. It's not hard to search up, so I'll refrain from linking them here. IIRC they also had an article on a different topic by Frank Black.

In reply to Jesse Ransom :

Well, people tend to know the first three TMBG albums, but not so much the later catalogue.  Maybe up through Factory Showroom if they are more of a fan.

Then, of course, there are the people who think TMBG only put out kids albums.  Which is true, but not in the way they think it is.

TIL the WWII M-24 Chaffee tank had two Cadillac 322c.i. flat head engines, one for each track.

TIL that the Daewoo Lanos is built on a pretty common GM platform used world-wide. It shares a bunch of suspension mounting points and engine mounting points with some turbocharged Saabs. Sleeper anyone? Daewoo Lanos (Sleeper) vs BMW 340i vs Porsche Cayenne - Drag Race (youtube.com)

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

It's basically an Opel Kadett, no?

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Yes, that's one of the platforms listed. The Saturn Astras are on the same platform, too.

Makes me think of the Lanos' movie debut in Pineapple Express.

TIL - rabbits cannot eat carrots (or at least not a lot of them) - they have too much sugar and too many would kill it.  The entire "rabbits carrots" trope is thanks to Bugs Bunny.  And the Bugs bit is actually a reference to a Clark Gable movie (It Happened One Night) that was popular at the time when Bugs cartoons were first made. Gable played a fast-talking character that ate carrots. 

Melanie got a brand new key.

TIL that Big Bird was supposed to be on the Space Shuttle Challenger.

TIL that the Buick Envision is made in China

In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :

Well, Buick only still exists because the name carries cachet in China, and it would be foolish to ignore a large and developing market.

What would be interesting would be to see how much of that vehicle is new tech and how much is two or three generations old.  One of the pitfalls of selling in China is that you have to surrender all IP rights, so if you are going to want to sell in that market it makes sense to have China specific models, using old tech that you don't care if it gets appropriated.  And if you are going to do that, may as well just make them there and export the profits.

In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :

My UAW father-in-law retiree leased one of those and when we were at the dealer I pointed that out and he just shrugged and told me it's all from China.  

He was replacing a 2003 LeSabre and he totally hated that Envision.