Today I Learned (TIL)

Very large grain of salt required 

In reply to RichardNZ :

I had a laugh at other peoples' expense.

Then I thought of how the European countries colonized Africa and sort-of made Africa "Europe" and I got a little sad.

TIL that a town in Missouri got together about 40 years ago, murdered the town bully, and to this day has gotten away with it.

In reply to wae :

I read the book about that.  They had good reason. He was a total shiny happy person. Of the multiple wounds he received, the .22 that ran around inside his scull was the one that killed him.

In reply to NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) :

I've got In Broad Daylight on my to-read list now!  I'm kind of a law and order guy, but it definitely sounds like this was one of those rare cases where the "he needed killin'" defense should really work...

wae said:

TIL that a town in Missouri got together about 40 years ago, murdered the town bully, and to this day has gotten away with it.

Pretty much the way justice was  handled in the pioneer days when there was no law enforcement.  The people got together, decided upon a course of action, and did the execution. If it had been 100 years earlier he just would have been hung to be done with it.    

wae said:

TIL that a town in Missouri got together about 40 years ago, murdered the town bully, and to this day has gotten away with it.

Wikipedia said:

McElroy was born in 1934, the 15th of 16 children born to a poor, migrant tenant-farming couple...

That was a story that was never going to end well.

This week I learned: huger is apparently a word now. Because larger made too much sense I guess. 

In reply to RevRico :

I understand that language is constantly evolving, but some new words or usages are just stupid.

It's been around for a few decades now, but I feel the same way about "gifting" as a verb.  Silly me, I thought we already had "giving" for that.

jharry3 said:

wae said:

TIL that a town in Missouri got together about 40 years ago, murdered the town bully, and to this day has gotten away with it.

Pretty much the way justice was  handled in the pioneer days when there was no law enforcement.  The people got together, decided upon a course of action, and did the execution. If it had been 100 years earlier he just would have been hung to be done with it.    

I have an autobiography by the man later christened Pistol Pete called "Kill or Be Killed" about his life in Kansas and Oklahoma during its settling by whites. Toward the end of the book he recounts how near the end of his law career the area was becoming more settled and Law was getting more prevalent so one day, for the first time, he and a posse catch some cattle rustlers and do not execute them on the spot. They arrest them and take them into town for trial.

I think you might be able to guess what happened next?

The guys were acquitted.

Recounting the story years later, I don't recall that he sounded bitter, just... resigned to it. 

TIL that Sterlings are specifically called out as not being allowed up the Mt. Washington Auto Road.

How many Sterlings attempted to climb Mt. Washington that they specifically have to call them out?

TIL what a "The Mt Washington Auto Road" is.

Also, and unrelated, TIL how easy is it to repin a typical residential entry door knob, and how frighteningly flimsy their construction seems. What did I expect for $14.47?

TIL two things...  First, apparently Van Morrison was still alive as recently as 2020.  Second, he released a song called "No More Lockdown" that year.  It's not very lyrically complex, but he definitely tells us how he feels.

In reply to wae :

In fact, Van Morrison was touring as recently as 2023.  We saw him - he put on a good show.  He sang just as well as ever, played harmonica, sax, and guitar.  He did leave the band to do an extended jam about 2/3 of the way through the set, but what the heck.  He's pushing 80.

And yes, he was an angry little Irishman in a bright purple suit.  There were a few political rants between songs.

Duke said:

In reply to RevRico :

I understand that language is constantly evolving, but some new words or usages are just stupid.

It's been around for a few decades now, but I feel the same way about "gifting" as a verb.  Silly me, I thought we already had "giving" for that.

 

Now when one rubs up against a personality they don't like, instead of giving them a hard time, one can be gifting them a hard time.
Isn't that much more pleasant?

TIL the theme song for Jonny Quest, written by Hoyt Curtin in 1964 didn't really have a name.

Duke said:

And yes, he was an angry little Irishman in a bright purple suit.  There were a few political rants between songs.

 

 

Oh he's been an angry elf for a while now.  My then girlfriend / now wife bought tickets for us to see him at one of the concert venues in Boston back in the early 90's.  He sold the place out and proceeded to play none of the songs that most casual listeners would recognize. (I remember him disappearing for a while to let the band jam back then too.) 

30 plus years later and "Back to the Mystic" or another of his songs will randomly play and one or the other of us will deadpan "Would it have killed him to play that?" followed by "Apparently."

In reply to 11GTCS :

Van played enough hits to count as fan service, mixed with some stuff we didn't know.  He did let his female violinist (I think?  Maybe keyboard player)  sing "Brown Eyed Girl", though.

TIL at least one car every day crashes into a 7-11 store. 
 

https://www.businessinsider.com/drivers-crash-into-us-storefronts-every-day-7-eleven-2023-2

In reply to Duke :

See, that would have been fine!  LOL, we still get a chuckle out of it.   We weren't asking for "Wavelength"...  I guess he's mellowed.

It's like playing Mad Libs.

Person, actor, genre.  

James Hetfield and Peter Dinklage are co-starring in a Western movie that just came out.

... Okay, now I want to see them as the Burdetts in a gritty Smokey and the Bandit reboot.

TIL that there is such a thing as a Vortex Cannon and I want one. 

Please note the internet celebrity's stupidity as he has himself shot in the head with the thing and complains of a concussion after about the 3rd or 4th round.

TIL that the new Dodge Hornet has an optional Track Pack.

TIL that the Silverado EV comes with LT275/50R24 tires, which cost $577 a piece. Wonder if they'll only last 6000 miles like the Rivians.

Johnboyjjb said:

Duke said:

In reply to RevRico :

I understand that language is constantly evolving, but some new words or usages are just stupid.

It's been around for a few decades now, but I feel the same way about "gifting" as a verb.  Silly me, I thought we already had "giving" for that.

 

Now when one rubs up against a personality they don't like, instead of giving them a hard time, one can be gifting them a hard time.
Isn't that much more pleasant?

"Gift" means something entirely different in German.  But also, somewhat fitting, here.