Today I learned...

T.E. Lawrence, the main character of the movie Lawrence of Arabia, appears on the third row of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album

2017-02-12T18:38:00.001-08:00

1. T.E. Lawrence, the main character of the movie Lawrence of Arabia, appears on the third row of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album (grey arrow in picture below).

2. The movie Lawrence of Arabia is based on Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935), a British author, archaeologist, military officer and diplomat. The 1962 movie adaptation of his life, directed by David Lean, won nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 7.

There are a total of 173 moons orbiting the 8 planets in our solar system

2017-01-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

1. There are a total of 173 moons orbiting the 8 planets in our solar systems. An additional 15 moons orbit the 9 dwarf planets, 5 of which orbit the most well-known of the dwarf planets, Dwarf Pluto.

Planet	# of Moons
Mercury	0
Venus	0
Earth	1
Mars	2
Jupiter	67
Saturn	62
Uranus	27
Neptune	14

Source: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/
The names of all the moons can be found at the source link here.

WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement

2017-01-22T20:09:00.002-08:00

1. WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement.

In British English Checkers is called Draughts

2016-12-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

1. In British English the game checkers is called draughts.

As of October 2016, The Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver is the world's second widest bridge (213ft) behind the SF-Oak Bay Bridge (258ft)

2016-10-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

1. The Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver was the world's widest bridge from September 2012 until the opening of the new SF-Oak Bay Bridge 213ft (65m), which opened on September 2013.

Image credit: Klaus Johansson

In buddhism, a mandala represents the nature of the Enlightened mind and is expressed through the art of sandpainting

2016-10-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

1. A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe. In Buddhism, the mandala represents the nature of the Pure Land, Enlightened mind and is expressed through the art of sandpainting.

Video of construction and destruction of a sandpainting: https://youtu.be/10084L3Pqsc
Image credit (going clockwise starting top left):
-http://goo.gl/VHjv2S
-http://goo.gl/EKK2Jj
-http://goo.gl/GKXa63
-http://goo.gl/r6E0RE

The Deming Prize, honoring William E. Deming, is the top prize given in Japan for Total Quality Management (TQM)

2016-08-23T20:59:00.001-07:00

1. The Deming Prize in Total Quality Management (TQM), established in 1951, honors William E. Deming, an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant. Deming is credited with proliferating statistical quality control throughout Japan after World War II and for his 14 points, published in 1982 in his book Out of the Crisis.

https://www.juse.or.jp/deming_en/award/img/pic04.jpg

1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.

4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.

5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

6. Institute training on the job.

7. Institute leadership (see Point 12 and Ch. 8). The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company (see Ch. 3).

9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.
A. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.
B. Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership.

11. Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

12. Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. This means, inter alia, abolishment of the annual or merit rating and of management by objective (see Ch. 3).

13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

The Cadaeic Cadenza is a short story that represents the first 3835 digits of pi through using words that are equivalent in length as their representative digit place of pi

2016-03-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

1. The Cadaeic Cadenza is a short story written by Mike Keith that outlines the first 3835 digits of pi through using words that are equivalent in length as their representative digit place of pi, with zeros being 10 letter words.

2. The technique of using words as a mnemonic techniques to remember a span of digits is referred to as piphilology.

The Amen, Break is a 6 second, 4 bar drum solo played by Gregory C. Coleman that has been sampled over 2000 times.

2016-03-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

1. The Amen, Break is a 6 second, 4 bar, drum solo that has been sampled in over 2,000 songs in a variety of genres in the past 40+ years (WhoSampled). It was originally played by drummer Gregory C. Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" as a member of the band, The Winstons.

Click to hear the Amen, Break

Coleman died homeless in Atlanta following a battle with drug addiction in 2006 at the age of 62.

Image Source: BBC
G.C. Coleman (back-center)

Brigade 2506, a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group, invaded Cuba on 17 April 1961 during The Bay of Pigs Invasion

2016-03-09T21:05:00.003-08:00

1. Brigade 2506, a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group, invaded Cuba on 17 April 1961 during The Bay of Pigs Invasion. The operation failed after just three days.

Dunbar's number suggests humans can comfortably maintain 150 stable relationsihps

2016-02-28T20:46:00.003-08:00

1. By extrapolating the correlation between the neocortex size of 38 species of primates and their average social group size, British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggested humans can maintain about 150 stable relationships (95% CI 100-230).

The nomenclature hurricane, cyclone, and typhoon refers to the location of the same weather phenomenon.

2016-02-04T17:29:00.002-08:00

1. The nomenclature hurricane, cyclone, and typhoon refers to the location of the same weather phenomenon. Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific. Typhoon is the term used for Northwest Pacific and in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the event is called a cyclone.

image source: Wikimedia

A total of 15 states and 5 US territories hold Caucuses.

2016-02-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

1. A total of 15 states and 5 US territories hold Caucuses.

A full list of states can be seen here

On six instances an MLB player has been intentionally walked with the bases loaded

2015-11-01T12:27:00.001-08:00

1. On six instances an MLB player has been intentionally walked with the bases loaded. In all six cases, the pitching team won the game.

--Abner Dalrymple (1881)
--Nap Lajoie (1901)
--Del Bissonette (1928)
--Bill Nicholson (1944)
--Barry Bonds (1998)
--Josh Hamilton (2008)

The indentation at the bottom of a wine/champagne bottle is called a punt

2015-09-28T21:13:00.001-07:00

1. The indentation found at the bottom of a wine/champagne bottle is called a punt.

Image Credit: NewAir

San Jose was the first capital of California

2015-09-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

1. When California gained statehood on September 9, 1850, San Jose served as the first capital for a short time until 1851.

A growing moon is said to be "waxing" and a shrinking moon is said to be "waning"

2015-09-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

1. A growing moon is said to be "waxing" and a shrinking moon is said to be "waning." The left side of the picture is of a waxing moon and the right is of a waning moon. A mnemonic device to help remember the waxing vs. waning phase is to think of the moon as making a "C" shape during the waning phase and associate the "C" with the word "Ceasing," a synonym for waning.

Only Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to be part of the Papal Conclave that elects the next pope

2015-09-16T21:19:00.002-07:00

1. Staring in 1970, resulting from a decree of Pope Paul VI, cardinals over the age of 80 when the papacy becomes vacant are not eligible to be part of the Papal Conclave that gathers to elect the next pope. Pope Paul VI also set the maximum number of cardinals that may vote to 120. This number has been changed several times prior to 1970.

In 2006, No. 5, by Paul Jackson Pollock became the 5th most expensive painting ever sold--$164M adjusted for inflation

2015-09-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

1. Paul Jackson Pollock (born 1912, died 1956) was a painter and influential figure in the abstraction expressionist movement. His 8ft x 4ft mural, No. 5 (painted in 1948) sold in 2006 for $140M ($164M adjusted to 2015 dollars). He stopped naming his works and began just numbering them because he felt it allowed people to look at his work without preconceived ideas.

No. 5, 1948" by Taken from Art Market Watch.com.
Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

After US DoD and China's People's Liberation Army, Walmart has the world's 3rd most employees in the world

2015-08-23T09:17:00.001-07:00

1. After the United States Department of Defense's 3.2 million employees and China Liberation Army's 2.3 million, Wal-Mart employs the most people in the world at 2.1 million people. McDonald's is fourth with 1.7 million employees if the employees of the franchised locations are counted.

There are 12 animals making up the Chinese Zodiac (Shēngxiào)

2015-08-08T00:21:00.000-07:00

1. There are 12 animals that make up the Chinese Zodiac (Shēngxiào). In order they are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

William Howard Taft was the only president to serve on the Supreme Court

2015-07-15T21:36:00.001-07:00

1. William Howard Taft was the only president (1909-1913) to serve on the Supreme Court (1921-1930).

A prolate spheroid is the name for shape of ball used in Rugby

2015-04-07T21:18:00.002-07:00

1. The shape of the ball used in Rugby is called a "prolate spheroid." This shape is characterised by a polar radius (a) that is greater than equatorial radius (b).

2. An American Football can more accurately be describe by the term "vesica piscis." In Latin it literally means "fish bladder," and is a term for the shape formed by the intersection of two equal circles whose centers are offset by a distance equal to the circle radii.

Photo Credit

A group of frogs is called an army of frogs or a knot of frogs

2015-03-06T22:45:00.001-08:00

1. A group of frogs is called an army of frogs or a knot of frogs. Other interesting names for group of animals:
-A bale of turtles
-A gaggle of geese (while on ground)
-A skein of geese (while in flight)
-A skulk of foxes
-A cloud of bats

It costs $300/day to shoot a movie in SF

2015-02-27T23:48:00.000-08:00

1. The daily fee to shoot a TV Series, Movie, Pilot, Web Series, or Documentary in San Francisco is $300/day.