TIL That Zoboomafoo was the lemur's stage name, with the full name being "Jovian Marcus Kendall" ( en.wikipedia.org )
As an extra TIL, he has grandchildren!...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/69/f3/69f3999391c5896c6bf8460f818e2f8b3d0234e2b386d037123be76ad1848a66.jpg)
Just Watched Cloud Atlas (first time) ( en.wikipedia.org )
I never got around to watching it when it came out, and I think I'd completely missed the critical reception and box-office failure it received. Which saddened me to read after the watch, I have to say, as I was really happy to have watched it....
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/eb/b0/ebb04271bb9c19cd01215697c2f3cc7c7484c196853b4d6b2f8ea26792dbf3ee.jpg)
White Lady ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/42/eb/42eb4221564db1073c7c46e380c5b58dafb674fd8663a97f08d7f4c6fff94009.jpg)
Cold-stimulus headache ("brain freeze") ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/6b/f5/6bf55cd1db42187eb5cb572569c933d9663fb3547a303e2b78230bcc57f93ba0.jpg)
Persilschein ( en.wikipedia.org )
TIL that the Vincent Price's spoken word portion of "Thriller" was written the day of recording ( en.wikipedia.org )
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1dgvx14/til_that_the_vincent_prices_spoken_word_portion/...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/c0/9e/c09e71f93d16dc03553e30743f8a84dd3b674a1222f533de663eaaf3c4ea2838.jpg)
Highway of Death ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/c1/c7/c1c7aed6498236b04ee36081f77737711591cb5e5e23ffd295869f843d8f92a4.jpg)
Gegenschein ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/10/06/10069b1a951afe1c53ea0836de1d4a04701d2a226a17bd689e7148ee28b3d424.jpg)
Aum Shinrikyo ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/55/be/55be3d5a9d033a467d0c1dc8da653e8aebd4ad78c2d4a3c3312cac72e1925846.png)
Dutch roll ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/e5/2f/e52f2286e0d54239f6e3fbb4e1d55bdbf1236e688946247241c7c6def85082ca.gif)
Herkimer diamond ( en.wikipedia.org )
A double terminated quartz crystal known for its clarity and size
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/17/9a/179a6601e2b6b947dca4c6df98b75817b38e4bf8c0473532487cfe9752ca6cac.jpg)
Heartbeat in the Brain - Lost 1970 documentary in which the director/subject drills a hole in her forehead with a dentist's drill ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/ab/37/ab37011a52ee99497ef0ee86685b404f4d49c69ca2a5a0361c3f06f27eadab53.jpg)
California Institute of Abnormalarts ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/ca/01/ca01a904ee0c0581e5abce93abe0c6cb433d223600ea9d075bf9fdf8b8d6bf89.jpg)
TIL that the House of Representatives once investigated TV quiz shows to see if they were rigged ( en.wikipedia.org )
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1dfdzwz/til_that_the_house_of_representatives_once/...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/1b/50/1b507fd535b4f39089c60914860f3ac83550132490ed74c7b2366a5808ab76e4.jpg)
Hot, dust-obscured galaxy (hot DOG) ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/fb/4a/fb4a227a4fc215f87e2ce431ae825e182012eb0ab79357ac3d9e146e9da3d73f.jpg)
Starfish Prime ( en.wikipedia.org )
"Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States, a joint effort of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Defense Atomic Support Agency. It was launched from Johnston Atoll on July 9, 1962, and was the largest nuclear test conducted in outer space, and one of five conducted by the US in...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/9a/67/9a67b0fc795e994ed0e5f3ec0b5fa224e8f1a8612612fcfa50ece89c9e27905f.jpg)
Kaiju ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/b0/71/b071f31e587fb768c10c67640ef7dc3f36c388f12d3553f9d13a359729cf16cd.jpg)
TIL about the Union of the Comoros; an archipelagic country off the southeast coast of Africa with an estimated population of 1 million people. ( en.wikipedia.org )
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1dfkn3n/til_about_the_union_of_the_comoros_an/...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/fd/b2/fdb2171023a67ceee0dc77cb84c31b24451b7748404261732cf635495d5d3d1a.png)
Lava tube ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/26/d6/26d6d1331aec4fc770b312a00e538baa4750d0f3900eeb6488ac1bce431e1bde.jpg)
TIL that while Alexander the Great conquered the known world, he never attempted to attack the city-state of Sparta. ( en.wikipedia.org )
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1df2shk/til_that_while_alexander_the_great_conquered_the/...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/00/9f/009fa8a9229e7208716a3efe47717471a431bc2b647c6c17fb74463ee9242590.png)
TIL that just a year after the failed invasion by the Spanish Armada, the English launch their own English Armada against Spain, which also failed. ( en.wikipedia.org )
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1demo8a/til_that_just_a_year_after_the_failed_invasion_by/...
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/97/af/97af42789edc6f8689dbca4f95b9bb1d1e232ea0aa35ed737b99811703234773.png)
Laika ( en.wikipedia.org )
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/1f/82/1f82ab1822ca556056481733b5b078f119d072b618ec2aff4b5c61b8d1db8e19.jpg)
Bechdel test ( en.wikipedia.org )
More fun reading about the representation of women in film.
![](https://mbin.grits.dev/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/97/5a/975afbc7396277c413127b533102d5ae69faf5a26da42f2ab8fa9cfedf3a68bc.jpg)
Women in refrigerators ( en.wikipedia.org )
Women in refrigerators is a literary trope coined by Gail Simone in 1999 describing a trend in fiction which involves female characters facing disproportionate harm, such as death, maiming, or assault, to serve as plot devices to motivate male characters, an event colloquially known as "fridging" (originating from the gruesome...