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Today I learned...

(69 Posts)
VioletSky Sun 26-Mar-23 17:44:35

Share an interesting fact.. or Google one!

Today I learned that if sea turtles lay their eggs in warm sand, they all hatch girls but if they lay their eggs in cold sand they all hatch boys!

MerylStreep Tue 28-Mar-23 15:10:57

A fact that I’ve known for a long time but still fascinates me is the fact that I carried the eggs of my grandchildren.
That’s because a female foetus is born with all the eggs she will ever need.

singingnutty Tue 28-Mar-23 15:25:43

Today I learned that a ‘tester’ is a canopy over a four-poster bed. The answer to a crossword clue from yesterday -‘canopy’ - which I couldn’t solve, was revealed today by the answers to yesterday’s crossword in the i newspaper. Knowing this will be no use to me unless the next time I am touring a stately home and in a grand bedroom I can point to the tester and say “That canopy is called a ‘tester’ you know”.

GrannyGravy13 Tue 28-Mar-23 15:37:48

Callistemon21

Fleurpepper

Only in some parts of the USA Calli.

I really wouldn't fancy eating a crawdad!
😁

Similar crustaceans are known as bugs in Australia.
Equally offputting

I love Morton Bay Bugs, so tasty.

Callistemon21 Tue 28-Mar-23 15:40:28

Yes, they are and the Aussies do tend to call a spade a shovel, a lovely garden a back yard etc.

NanaDana Tue 28-Mar-23 17:06:25

Berwick upon Tweed, the bonny borders town which I'm currently visiting, has changed hands 13 times between English and Scottish rule. In its day, it was one of the most wealthy merchant towns in England.

March1 Tue 28-Mar-23 17:07:00

How anyone thinks it's acceptable to boil sea creatures alive to eat baffles me. I find it terribly upsetting.

gulligranny Tue 28-Mar-23 17:22:16

Today I learned that Hot Cross Buns have nothing at all to do with Easter; they've been around for thousands of years and the cross on top doesn't refer to the Crucifixion as it's the wrong shape. The buns are thought to date back to pagan times and the cross which divides the bun into four and which is more like a plus-sign is more likely to signify the four seasons. And also that the word Easter never appears in the Bible; Good Friday doesn't have anything to do with Easter; when we talk about Easter Saturday we should in fact be calling it Easter Eve and the Easter Week starts on Easter Sunday and runs through to the real Easter Saturday.

Guess what I've been to a talk on today!

VioletSky Tue 28-Mar-23 18:35:50

Today I learned that married men live longer than single men and married women have shorter lifespans than single women.

Married men have longer lifespans because of their wives making them go to the doctor and nagging them about their driving.

Married women live shorter lifespans due to the chronic stress of stopping their husbands unaliving themselves

winterwhite Tue 28-Mar-23 18:44:41

Please could you unpack your post about eggs (human) for me MS?

It was one mothering sunday (not Christmas) when I learned very very belatedly that marzipan can be bought ready made. What a game changer.

Daddima Tue 28-Mar-23 19:21:27

winterwhite

Please could you unpack your post about eggs (human) for me MS?

It was one mothering sunday (not Christmas) when I learned very very belatedly that marzipan can be bought ready made. What a game changer.

And me! I don’t understand where the grandchildren eggs come in. I know I was born with all the eggs I would ever need.

Callistemon21 Tue 28-Mar-23 19:25:43

Daddima

winterwhite

Please could you unpack your post about eggs (human) for me MS?

It was one mothering sunday (not Christmas) when I learned very very belatedly that marzipan can be bought ready made. What a game changer.

And me! I don’t understand where the grandchildren eggs come in. I know I was born with all the eggs I would ever need.

And they were formed when you were in your mother's womb, so she carried you whilst you were who carrying your future babies.

Callistemon21 Tue 28-Mar-23 19:27:43

Sorry - typo (I changed it to make it more understandable!)

Your mother carried you, your eggs were formed when you were in your mother's womb, so she carried you whilst you were carrying your future babies.

Rosiebee Tue 28-Mar-23 20:41:42

I learned today that there is a button in the car [2nd hand Honda Jazz] that turns both wing mirrors inward when I've parked the car. We've had the car 4 months and still haven't worked out all the digital gizmos. The automatic full beam frightened the life out of me the first time it happened. Something new every day.

lizzypopbottle Tue 28-Mar-23 21:18:03

Treetops05 used to work as an amanuensis. I hope the job she did was not connected with anything haruspical!

nannafizz Tue 28-Mar-23 22:54:53

I learned today how naive I was being to imagine one rehearsal would be enough to perfect my year three’s Easter service before they are let loose to perform it in front of their grownups on Friday!

hilkin Tue 28-Mar-23 23:27:25

I heard that lobsters whistling in boiling water is caused by air escaping, but it does sound rather horrible!

Kartush Wed 29-Mar-23 06:23:27

Shelflife

shysal I too am reading Where the Crawdads Sing and had to Google Crawdads. An amazing story so beautifully written! Had no idea crayfish were vocal !

They cannot sing, the title comes from a saying the girls mother used when she told her to go as far as you can way out yonder where the crawdads sing. I guess it meant go someplace far from the world deep in the swamps where anything can happen..... maybe

DutchDoll Thu 30-Mar-23 17:10:36

RakshaMK
Try being 4'10", obese with neck and shoulder problems and 2 arthritic knees! So many impossibilities! You never truly appreciate being young, slender and fit until you're not any of those!