Things you were shockingly old when you learned

Private jets fly at a higher altitude than commercial jets. Typically 6,000 - 8,000 feet higher, sometimes more.

That's a pretty cool fact! Never knew.

There seem to be a few reasons for it but at the center of it is the fact that they *can* fly higher (mechanically it's possible) and that they *choose* to fly higher to get out of the way of commercial traffic.

Not so much choosing as being directed to do so by air traffic control rules.

Nah. It's just really important for rich people to stay far above the riff-raff. It was mostly figurative for a long time, now they want it to be literal.

At some point, all the rich people will just be in permanent low-earth orbit in their sky-yachts while the surface-dwellers cling to piles of burning trash amid rising oceans

Huh. We see literally dozens of planes flying to and from O'Hare through our enormous windows on any given day but I guess it is always commercial aircraft (and they're often close enough to tell).

interesting way to disclose you live on a sky-yacht with enormous windows

The enormous windows are actually in the mansion which hangs from our sky-yacht by ropes of gold and the finest of silks.

My favorite flight tracker

"You Get What You Give" is not a World Party song

lol

Just this moment made the connection between 'count' (as in the title) and 'county'.

how to pronounce
- chutzpah
- imbroglio
- Tucson
- Thomas

How were you pronouncing Thomas?

Not really a shocking epiphany, but yesterday I discovered that "Mr. Hughes" in the song "Garden Party" referred to George Harrison. I always thought it was Howard Hughes.

Even though he was only 27 when he died, Brian Jones had five kids. And his Mum was Australian.

All by different women, it seems. Wear a bloody condom, Brian!

Found out this week that he was into non-consentual sadistic sex, even to the disgust of noted mysoginists Jagger & Richards, so must have been pretty bad.

I just read yesterday that Oswald Mosley was married in a secret ceremony in Goebbels' drawing room and Hitler was one of the 6 guests. And when he was imprisoned during the war it was in a small house in Holloway prison and he was permitted to take on other prisoners as servants!

xps MIck Jagger's mum was Australian too

It's why his accent is so good in the Ned Kelly movie.

Even though he was only 27 when he died, Brian Jones had five kids. And his Mum was Australian.

Also on Brian Jones, the house where he drowned (Cotchford Farm in Sussex) is the same house where A.A. Milne wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh books.

More like Winded in-the-Pool

Too soon

How were you pronouncing Thomas?

Tuomas

I had no idea that the theme music to Curb Your Enthusiasm is adapted from a piece by Italian soundtrack composer Luciano Michelini, and originally appeared in a rare non-exploitation flick by trash maestro Sergio Martino - director of Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, The Mountain of the Cannibal God and So Sweet... So Perverse among others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOnpPK21ofw

ha! me neither

JUst saw a reference to netflix being around in 2004 that surprised me. Hadn't realised it was around quite taht early. THough maybe it hadn't quite as much coverage of territory as it does now.

It's been around since the 90s but it was originally a DVD by mail service

Oh man, I loved those little envelopes showing up in the mailbox.

Someone like Eric posted a link recently about how DVD-only era Netflix really did seem to have everything in one place and that kind of thing is not likely to happen again.

I still get DVD from Netflix

Fair enough, but I believe their catalog is not nearly as deep as it once was.

discrete means "separate," while discreet means "unobtrusive

the 't' in discrete breaks up the 'e's into two separate letters.

Exactly

TIL there are at least two discrete guitars playing the intro to “California Dreamin’.” At least that’s what I am hearing now. Maybe the same guy double-tracked, P. F. Sloan.

the 't' in discrete breaks up the 'e's into two separate letters.

I would assume, just cause he's credited on the album, the first guitar playing the straight arpeggios is John Phillips.

What a mustang is, other than a Ford and part of an annoying song.

Also, that 'mute site' on a Chrome tab mutes that site completely till you unmute it, even in fresh tabs. Very useful for stupid news sites that insist on autoplaying video after a few seconds, leaving you in a hunt for the offending tab.

Today I learned two things which have gently disconcerted me:
- 'Care of Cell 44' by the Zombies was originally called 'Care of Cell 69' but their American publisher told them they couldn't call it that.
- Gabriel Clarke, ITV football's rakish half-time roving reporter, is the son of film director Alan Clarke.

Talking of ITV football, I was shockingly old when I learned that Tom Rosenthal, of Friday Night Dinner fame, is Jim Rosenthal's son.

Funny story is that Jamaica, Queens is named for the Lenape word for "beaver" (yameco) and evolved from Dutch to English. Jamaica the country is named for the Arawak word for the island (Xaymaca) and evolved from Spanish to English. Totally unrelated! https://t.co/5jfFl8fw6k

— Jordan Fraade (@schadenfraade) August 9, 2021

How did they wind up with the same spelling tho

someone in the replies suggests that the spelling of the island did influence the town's official spelling, but nonetheless their independent origins was news to me! (not that I fact-checked this tweet)

so the spellings went that way... of their own accord

Gabriel Clarke, ITV football's rakish half-time roving reporter, is the son of film director Alan Clarke.