You learn something new everyday: what did you learn today?

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I found out that weird papery stuff they inexplicably make you bite repeatedly at the dentist actually makes marks on new fillings so the dentist can see where the filling material needs to be ground down to fit in with your bite.

There used to be a rumor that Bubble Yum, which was the first bubble gum that was soft and easier to chew, got its then-unusual texture from spider eggs. Apparently the rumor became so widespread that the Life Savers company, which originally created the gum, started posting everywhere telling people that was not true. And it wasn't, but you've got to wonder how urban myths like these got started. Maybe because Bubble Yum felt more slippery than previous gum and spider eggs are slippery, too? But spider eggs are wrapped up in silk, so how can they be slippery? Some "genius" or a little kid must have had them confused with frog eggs.

I always liked Hubba Bubba gum as a kid, because the bubbles were big and wouldn't stick to your face. I wonder if there were any weird urban myths about that as well?

^ There's always that myth of bubble gum staying in your body for seven years if you swallow it. In reality it gets passed out soon enough, along with any other food your body can't digest.

As for me, I finally got around to learning the meaning of the phrase "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Basically it means that it's better to have a little of something with certainty ("a bird in the hand") than trying to get more at the risk of ending up with nothing ("two in the bush" ... out of your hands/grasp). Birds here can also refer to falcons, which were valuable for hunting hundreds of years ago.

I learned that there oughta be a GD law that all outdoor dogs must wear diapers.

Just learned about Silk Screening errors in PCB design.

Never thought about that (human factor) as a problem factor for troubleshooting motherboards, i thought people who did that sort of thing knew what they were doing and QA checked up on that kind of stuff.

http://www.omnicircuitboards.com/blog/bid/312861/understanding-pcb-manufacturing-silk-screening

I learned that cats can be like ninjas, even when you are expecting it.

I learned anew of the charms of the old record, "around the world with the chipmunks."

Black-capped chickadees can lower their body temperature when it's cold at night and store food for the winter. That's why they don't migrate.

The ankh is an Egyptian hieroglyphic that symbolizes life, that was very popular during the 60's when people were heavily into New Age culture.

Not long ago I was watching a video about how over-the-top the censorship had once gotten with Nintendo, and they showed a graveyard where the crosses were all changed to ankhs because they just couldn't allow religious symbols in their games. Since learning that it symbolizes life I think that makes it even more weird to put on a gravestone.

I just discovered this gem

Most doctors are f***heads.

that it's possible to sonically restore even the worst audio recordings, to a point.

I learned that cats will even play with buttons.

That during a class presentation, I learned American Horror Story uses factors from reality to create a world of melodrama and fear.

Today is World Toilet Day. Ummm, okay...

No seriously, it's a day set aside to raise awareness of the billions of people in lesser developed countries who don't have access to toilets or any other place where they can relieve themselves in a more discreet and less unsanitary manner.

I guess that's something we should all give a #2 about.