what I have learned today.

[Bledlow]

When Donald Trump's grandfather, Friedrich, returned to Bavaria as an old man, having previously trotted off to USAnia as a young man, he was turfed out in short order, by royal decree, for not having done mandatory military service and dodging emigration paperwork.   Oh and he (it is alleged) ran a brothel in one of the gold rush areas in USAnia.

Friedrich Trump was 35 when he returned to Germany, supposedly because his wife (who he'd met & married the previous time he'd been back) was homesick. So, not quite an old man. His home town is in the Pfalz, which was part of of the Kingdom of Bavaria, but not in Bavaria proper, or the modern German state.

And it wasn't a royal decree as in an order made personally by the king or even that the king knew of, but an order issued by officials in the Ministry of the Interior, which like all such paperwork at the time was in the king's name.

[Legs]

  after eating blueberries is the most astonishing red colour.  DAMHIKT.

[T42]

That the human body reflects FM signals better than it transmits them.  My FM radio/clock is tuned at last.

[barakta]

There's a very popular "radio aid" system (extra gadget for deaf ppl to add to hearing aids to aid hearing - often used in situations with big rooms or lots of people and therefore background noise) which doesn't work if there are people between the speaker and deaf person cos human bodies block the signal 

[TheLurker]

When Donald Trump's grandfather, Friedrich, returned to Bavaria as an old man, having previously trotted off to USAnia as a young man, he was turfed out in short order, by royal decree, for not having done mandatory military service and dodging emigration paperwork.   Oh and he (it is alleged) ran a brothel in one of the gold rush areas in USAnia.

Friedrich Trump was 35 when he returned to Germany, supposedly because his wife (who he'd met & married the previous time he'd been back) was homesick. So, not quite an old man. His home town is in the Pfalz, which was part of of the Kingdom of Bavaria, but not in Bavaria proper, or the modern German state.

And it wasn't a royal decree as in an order made personally by the king or even that the king knew of, but an order issued by officials in the Ministry of the Interior, which like all such paperwork at the time was in the king's name.

Aww spoilsport.  None of that unimportant detail made it into the article I read.  Anyway, what have facts and accuracy got to do with anything when it comes to Agent^wPresident-Elect Orange? 

[Ham]

I has learned how easy and effective it is to cut wire ( actually stainless steel) rope with a cold chisel. Wrap with tape to keep the ends tidy, place on an anvil (a lump of 1" plate in my case)  and whop.  Reckon it has application to bikey things, too, only not straightforward to get the end somewhere whopable.

[T42]

That in 1959 the tobacco industry was aware that smoking delivered polonium-210 and lead-210 to the lungs, but refused to remove them because doing so would make nicotine-delivery less efficient. Clicky

[David Martin]

And on a related note, tonight I discovered that my mother's first job was as an assistant in the MRC unit in Gower Street, transcribing data and plotting graphs for Sir Richard Doll in his ground breaking study on smoking. She worked there for two weeks and was paid £4 10' per week.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Gene Rodenberry was led into writing Star Trek after co-piloting a passenger aircraft that crashed into the desert

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/plane

[T42]

The Emerald Ash Borer eats its way under the bark of ash-trees and kills them. Europe is on its line of march:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_ash_borer

[Legs]

Not all AA batteries are the same size .  We've got a baby monitor that recharges its batteries when sitting on its base, so I can quite understand if non-rechargeables were minutely bigger than rechargeables (THAT would be a clever bit of poka-yoke) to safeguard against putting the wrong type in, but even the new rechargeable ones I've bought won't fit...

[Kim]

Rechargables are marketed by their capacity, so it's common for manufacturers to take liberties with the tolerances to squeeze a few more mAh in.  On the other hand there seems to be some sort of gentlemen's agreement between manufacturers never to mention the actual capacity of primary cells, so they tend to stick to the official physical spec for those.

[Ham]

Today I have learned something of the private lives of fairies. They are very sociable creatures, apparently.

Since December 1 I have had a Christmas tree on my bike, and in residence atop the said tree is Cheery, a fairy (first cousin of Cheery Littlebottom, Dwarf). She has been throwing parties and inviting her friends every day. Apparently the Puncture Fairy could only make it three times.

[Wombat]

And on a related note, tonight I discovered that my mother's first job was as an assistant in the MRC unit in Gower Street, transcribing data and plotting graphs for Sir Richard Doll in his ground breaking study on smoking. She worked there for two weeks and was paid £4 10' per week.

She wasn't also there when he was working with Mr Peto on their stuff on effects of asbestos, was she?  That was a brilliant work, and has had considerable influence on part of my career (and on a court case relating to the death of a friend).

[David Martin]

No. I think it was a two week summer job.

[Torslanda]

That Shimano Alfine lubricating oil must be the most expensive I have ever come across.

A small bottle sufficient for a hub service is over a tenner. That makes it over £200 per litre...

[Cudzoziemiec]

Not all AA batteries are the same size .  We've got a baby monitor that recharges its batteries when sitting on its base, so I can quite understand if non-rechargeables were minutely bigger than rechargeables (THAT would be a clever bit of poka-yoke) to safeguard against putting the wrong type in, but even the new rechargeable ones I've bought won't fit...

I've noticed Vapex are a bit bigger than Duracell rechargeables.

[David Martin]

That the tune originally written for 'While shepherds watched their flocks' was later taken up for a popular song regarding someone dying in Yorkshire and being eaten by waterfowl.

[Ruthie]

That the tune originally written for 'While shepherds watched their flocks' was later taken up for a popular song regarding someone dying in Yorkshire and being eaten by waterfowl.

This was referred to by that Kate Rusby in York on Sunday night 

[David Martin]

bar t'at

[T42]

Alehouse decoration or Jewish festival?

Baht'at and nowt to do wi' sock-washers.

[Ruthie]

bar t'at

Aye, and wi'out 'tshoes wi' ribbons on.

She was lovely 

[T42]

That our post-office has been closed for the last month because somebody nicked the 30 metres of copper cable connecting it to the outside world.

[Phil W]

That it takes 8 days for a caterpillar to  transform  into a butterfly.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That the Pyongyang metro is so obviously based on Moscow's even the trains are the same colours.