Have you learned anything interesting today?

[WiffingWaffles]

I've learned that Instagram is a Piece of garbage.

 

[VictorR]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden
Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 9–0, that the tomato should be classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit for purposes of tariffs, imports and customs.

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The court unanimously decided in favor of the respondent and found that the tomato should be classified under the customs regulations as a vegetable, based on the ways in which it is used, and the popular perception to this end. Justice Horace Gray, writing the opinion for the Court, stated that:

The passages cited from the dictionaries define the word 'fruit' as the seed of plants, or that part of plants which contains the seed, and especially the juicy, pulpy products of certain plants, covering and containing the seed. These definitions have no tendency to show that tomatoes are 'fruit,' as distinguished from 'vegetables,' in common speech, or within the meaning of the tariff act.

Justice Gray, citing several Supreme Court cases (Brown v. Piper, 91 U.S. 37, 42, and Jones v. U.S., 137 U.S. 202, 216) stated that when words have acquired no special meaning in trade or commerce, the ordinary meaning must be used by the court. In this case dictionaries cannot be admitted as evidence, but only as aids to the memory and understanding of the court. Gray acknowledged that botanically, tomatoes are classified as a "fruit of the vine"; nevertheless, they are seen as vegetables because they were usually eaten as a main course instead of being eaten as a dessert. In making his decision, Justice Gray mentioned another case where it had been claimed that beans were seeds — Justice Bradley, in Robertson v. Salomon, 130 U.S. 412, 414, similarly found that though a bean is botanically a seed, in common parlance a bean is seen as a vegetable. While on the subject, Gray clarified the status of the cucumber, squash, pea, and bean.

 

[GrownupGirl]

During the Victorian era, it was not socially acceptable for people with disabilities such as blindness to marry, because back then people believed it could be passed on to your children. Many blind people married anyway, and it was a popular in fiction by authors such as Charles Dickens, in order to build up "romantic/sexual tension".

 

[Gerontius]

I didn't know this until recently that for an older gas range you have to take the door, racks, and bottom out of the oven to light the pilot-light. Mine went out recently, and I ended up lighting it with a paper match to get it working again.

Thankfully the directions were written on the inside of the oven door--That makes it nice.

 

[GrownupGirl]

In South Korea there is a bridge where many people have ended their lives, and in 2012 it was named The Bridge of Life, and signs and other things that were supposed to help suicidal people to go on living were placed on it. Instead the rate of suicide went up even higher.

To be frank, it is really condescending to very depressed and suicidal individuals to see messages like "Think of your family" and junk.

 

[Rodafina]

To be frank, it is really condescending to very depressed and suicidal individuals to see messages like "Think of your family" and junk.

But maybe it was put there by grieving family members. I think it’s a message of desperation, not condescension.

 

[Gerontius]

I learnt there used to be a type of off-roading hot rod predating the VW Beetle-based dune buggies. These earlier cars were known as "water pumpers" because, well, they used a radiator and water pump to cool their engines. Pretty nifty machines--I had no idea.

 

[GrownupGirl]

When the Famicon was brought over to North America, it was named the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) due to fears that calling it a "video game system" would cause it to fail, due to the video game crash of 1983. They basically wanted people to think R.O.B the robot was the whole reason to buy the NES. But only two whole games were made for R.O.B., and people quickly lost interest in Nintendo's accessory items when they saw how much fun games that just required a controller could be.

Nintendo must still have a soft spot for R.O.B, though, since they made him a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. games.

 

[Kisa the tea]

Nintendo must still have a soft spot for R.O.B, though, since they made him a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. games.

R.O.B. is also playable in Mario Kart DS

https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/R.O.B.#Other_appearances

 

[GrownupGirl]

R.O.B. is also playable in Mario Kart DS

https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/R.O.B.#Other_appearances

My brother and I had R.O.B. When we discovered we could play Gyromite without having to use him, he became a somewhat interesting paperweight or dust collector.

 

[Rodafina]

The Link Trainer... from pianos to flight simulators.

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From wikipedia:

The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer"[1] is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Link Aviation Devices, founded and headed by Ed Link, based on technology he pioneered in 1929 at his family's business in Binghamton, New York. During World War II, they were used as a key pilot training aid by almost every combatant nation.

The original Link Trainer was created in 1929 out of the need for a safe way to teach new pilots how to fly by instruments. Ed Link used his knowledge of pumps, valves and bellows gained at his father's Link Piano and Organ Company to create a flight simulator that responded to the pilot's controls and gave an accurate reading on the included instruments.

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https://interestingengineering.com/...lt-flight-simulator-the-link-trainer-blue-box

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Link Piano and Organ Company Pianos:

 

[Forest Cat]

I learned that there is a city in Canada called Medicine Hat.

 

[MildredHubble]

The Link Trainer... from pianos to flight simulators.

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From wikipedia:

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https://interestingengineering.com/...lt-flight-simulator-the-link-trainer-blue-box

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Link Piano and Organ Company Pianos:

This is really cool! I if I understood correctly, they used the technology from player pianos to create a flight simulator You know what's kinda strange? I've been involved with motion rides and they use essentially the 20th century equivalent (MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface) to move the seats and trigger things like water spray. It's basically a digital player piano roll.

 

[Jumpinbare]

I learned that there is a city in Canada called Medicine Hat.

There's another one called Yellow Knife