Staffing 'not normal' in air traffic control tower at time of midair collision, FAA report obtained by AP

Control Tower Staffing Was ‘Not Normal’ During Deadly Crash, F.A.A. Report Says

TIL about the term 'mondegreen,' it is when you mishear or misinterpret a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. It is most common when people mishear song lyrics. It was named by writer Sylvia Wright who misheard the words "laid him on the green" in a Scottish ballad as "Lady Mondegreen".

TIL about skeuomorphism, when modern objects, real or digital, retain features of previous designs even when they aren't functional. Examples include the very tiny handle on maple syrup bottles, faux buckles on shoes, the floppy disk 'save' icon, or the sound of a shutter on a cell phone camera.

TIL of safety razor slots. In the 1930s-50s some home bathrooms had slots built into their walls where people would insert used razor blades. Future renovations have found walls packed with hundreds of blades.

TIL about tsukumogami, objects that have acquired a spirit. In Japanese folklore it is believe that when objects reach their 100th birthday they become alive and self-aware.

TIL that a single gallstone from a cow is worth more than all of its meat. Gallstones are prized items in traditional Chinese medicine and they can go for between $1,700 to $4,000 an ounce.

TIL about post-micturition convulsion syndrome (PMCS), also known as ‘piss shivers,’ the shivering some people feel during and after urinating. It happens equally to men and women. The current theory is that it is caused by the autonomic nervous system getting its signals crossed.

TIL that dogs smell time. Dogs can judge how much time has passed based on the strength of particular odors in the home (such as your odor). As the strength of an odor decreases throughout the day, dogs can come to associate that with an event (like you coming home)

TIL about calques. Calques are loanwords from other languages into English. However, unlike loanwords (ex:restaurant), calques are translated into English. Examples include: potsticker, beer garden, ear worm, and flea market.

TIL that the reason we feel groggy when we first wake up is caused by 'sleep inertia.' The gradual feeling of waking up is due to blood flow. Our 'primitive brain centers' get blood flow first and it isn't for 15 minutes or longer before blood flow returns to deeper thinking areas.

TIL that according to a survey of schoolchildren (6-18 years of age), 86% did not know what a pager was, 71% couldn't identify an overhead projector, and 67% could said they had no idea what a floppy disk was.

TIL that during WWII the average recruit was 5’8” tall and weighed 144 pounds. During basic training, they gained 5-20 pounds and added an inch to their 33 1/4” chest.

TIL in 1953 Nazi rocket-physicist Wernher von Braun wrote a sci-fi book called Project Mars. In it, the Mars colony has a leader known as 'the Elon.'

TIL that McDonald’s redesigned their coffee stirrers because they were being used as cocaine spoons. In fact, in some cities a dose of coke was referred to as a McSpoon. Today, instead of small spoons, McDonalds has flat paddles for stirring coffee.

TIL that before Gen X became popularly known as Gen X, the terms post-Boomers, Baby Busters (falling birthrate), New Lost Generation, Latchkey Generation, MTV Generation, and 13th Generation (13th since American independence) were all used.

What's your 'one weird hack' for cooking that no one else seems to know about?

Costco preparing for end times?

TIL that the first laws outlawing food coloring were in regards to bread. White bread was expensive and some bakers added chalk to lighten dark bread. King Edward I (1272-1307) created a law saying anyone caught using whiteners in bread would be put in the public pillory for one hour.

My biggest flex currently is having an absolutely pristine King Arthur FLOUR whole wheat flour bag from before covid 😂

TIL of the SnackWell Effect, the tendency of people to go overboard on something when they are given free pass (such as the low fat cookie the effect is named after). The effect is seen in other areas. For example, people with low-energy light bulbs tend to leave them on longer.

TIL that in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the sound of the snakes was a combination of someone running their fingers through a warm cheese casserole and a skateboard on wet sponges.

TIL John Ratzenberger came up with the Cheer’s character Cliff Clavin at his audition (for another part). On his way out the door he asked the producers if they had a bar ‘know it all’ and proceeded to improv the idea on the spot. They wrote it into the show.

TIL the reason that purple has traditionally been associated with royalty was because, in Ancient Rome, the only source of purple was milking and fermenting the liquid from a snail. It took 12,000 snails to produce 1 gram of dye! This made the Caesars declare it their exclusive color.

TIL that Waffle House has a unique way of staging orders in their kitchens called the Magic Marker System that does not require a written order. This involves placing items like ketchup packets, napkins or tomato slices at specific locations on the plate to serve as a visual order for the cook.