Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

ksdkjlf t1_jegnwkv wrote

Reply to comment by bolanrox in TIL that New Orleans chicory coffee mix started during the American Civil War when Union naval blockades cut off the port of New Orleans bringing coffee shipments to a halt. New Orleanians looking for their coffee fix began mixing chicory with coffee to stretch out the supply. by GeoJono

Thai coffee is really interesting: it's usually not just coffee. The most common brand I see — this one — is actually only 50% coffee, along with roasted corn and soy. Other common ingredients are sesame, cardamom, and rice. So, similar to Viet coffee in that it's sort of filled out with lesser ingredients, but the flavor profile of Thai coffee is pretty unique

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LittlestLass t1_jegnjah wrote

Reply to comment by CallitCalli in TIL that on top of the 3 matters of state that we’re all familiar with (solid, liquid, gas), there are at least 24 more, though most only exist under extreme conditions by gianthooverpig

This song caused my then 6 year old to loudly complain to her teacher that the reading book she'd brought home from school was wrong. The book had tried to convince her the sun was made of gas and, thanks to They Might Be Giants, she knew that was wrong and was furious that school had lied to her.

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themagicbong t1_jegn5ul wrote

Reply to comment by Conscious_Bend_7308 in TIL In the West the largest meal of the day has historically been eaten at midday. It was not until Napoleon's empire there was the "abominable habit of dining as late as seven in the evening" as British travelers reported. The British adopted later dinners by 1850 from changes in work schedules. by jamescookenotthatone

Not gonna lie, it took me a while to be able to understand some of the older crowd around here, lol. Especially when they speak at a fast pace. The older folk from Down East/Harker's Island have the heaviest accents that I've heard. Had a few teachers growing up from there and it was a bit interesting at times haha.

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ksdkjlf t1_jegmv22 wrote

Reply to comment by theflyingpupusa in TIL that New Orleans chicory coffee mix started during the American Civil War when Union naval blockades cut off the port of New Orleans bringing coffee shipments to a halt. New Orleanians looking for their coffee fix began mixing chicory with coffee to stretch out the supply. by GeoJono

If you live in a city with a sizeable Asian community there's a reasonable chance you can get actual Vietnamese coffee these days, usually cheaper than any of the New Orleans chickory blends. (Trung Nguyen, the leading Viet brand, seems to've greatly expanded their availability in the US in the past decade or so.) And a Vietnamese coffee filter is usually only 3 or 4 bucks. Cafe du Monde is often available at regular American grocery stores, but at a pretty steep markup for what it is.

The key is that Vietnamese coffee generally isn't Arabica coffee, the smooth variety most common in American coffee these days; it simply doesn't grow well in Vietnam. It's mostly Robusta, which is rather bitter, along with other 'inferior' varieties. This, combined with the long extraction of a traditional Vietnamese drip filter, leads to a very strong, bitter brew that stands up well to the cloying sweetness of the sweetened condensed milk. Chickory provides that same bitterness, which is why New Orleans coffee is often basically half coffee and half milk (and usually with some sugar too). If you try to make either New Orleans or Vietnamese coffee with an Arabica, even a strong, dark roast, it just doesn't have the bitterness you need to make it taste right.

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A_Melee_Ensued t1_jegmpfh wrote

Reply to TIL, that Sierra Blanca Peak in New Mexico is the southernmost mountain in the lower 48 to reach above 11,000 ft. Being just 19ft shy of being the southernmost point above 12000ft by NeutronicTachyon

Few people know about New Mexico's mountain ranges. Wheeler Peak, above Taos, NM, is over 13,000 feet. For perspective, that is higher than Mount Hood and bit less high than Mount Rainier. But nobody knows Wheeler is even there.

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KnudsonRegime t1_jegljj4 wrote

Reply to comment by tukekairo in TIL that as President-Elect, US Pres. James Buchanan improperly wrote to a Supreme Court justice asking him to vote pro-slavery in the Dred Scott case. The court would rule 7-2 that Scott was a possession, not a person, and denied his petition for freedom by archfapper

Frozen human embryos are still considered property and are traded under regular contract law. Slavery, and the people who support it, are still around.

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themagicbong t1_jegkm7x wrote

Reply to comment by Conscious_Bend_7308 in TIL In the West the largest meal of the day has historically been eaten at midday. It was not until Napoleon's empire there was the "abominable habit of dining as late as seven in the evening" as British travelers reported. The British adopted later dinners by 1850 from changes in work schedules. by jamescookenotthatone

Grew up in coastal NC and it was usually breakfast>lunch>dinner. Especially since at school theres a big emphasis on "lunch" though people might say supper instead of dinner, was still usually the biggest meal at the end of the day. The area was settled by a lot of english settlers, and some of them on this isolated island basically kept their accents to this day. Bit of a trip to hear.

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_captainSpaceCadet t1_jegkhkr wrote

Reply to comment by Haze95 in TIL that as President-Elect, US Pres. James Buchanan improperly wrote to a Supreme Court justice asking him to vote pro-slavery in the Dred Scott case. The court would rule 7-2 that Scott was a possession, not a person, and denied his petition for freedom by archfapper

Whenever I hear people say someone is the worst president ever, I always mention Buchanan. And no one has any idea what I'm talking about.

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