I Later Learned...

On December 12th, 2023, Day 19 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of an invention that was first created by French physicist Jean-Augustin Fresnel for use in a specific type of building. I Later Learned more about the enduring history of lighthouses, the buildings that housed the Fresnel lenses debatably saved a million ships, and, while growing less nautically necessary, co

On December 11th, 2023, Day 18 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of beneficiaries of Section 2 of the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution. I Later Learned the history of lines of succession, which both required bringing guys like Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller to the vice presidency, and also goes much deeper down a roster to sort the order for more than a dozen possi

On December 8th, 2023, Day 17 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of the primary ingredient in the chilled soup vichyssoise. I Later Learned the history of the potato and its champion Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the French pharmacist who saved lives and changed the way the world eats by exalting the humble apple of the earth. Thank you for listening! Please subscribe on your

On December 7th, 2023, Day 16 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of a geographical term for a long and gradual curvature in a shoreline that forms a large, open bay. I Later Learned about bights like the Great Australian one, and found myself at sea wondering why, when we whittle away which water is what and where, we’re wildly wishy-washy. Thank you for listening! Please

On December 6th, 2023, Day 15 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of a massively popular video game, created by Alexei Pajitnov while he worked for the Soviet Academy of Sciences. I Later Learned how Tetris, a game about finding order in a deluge of descending debris, might be able to keep your mind from falling apart in its toughest moments. Thank you for listening! Please s

On December 5th, 2023, Day 14 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of the scientific adjective "dizygotic," most often used as a descriptor for a person (or set of people). I Later Learned more about fraternal twins, the more common twins who have less in common with each other than do identical twins, but still prove fascinating to researchers since they weren’t just siblin

On December 4th, 2023, Day 13 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of the world’s largest major airline alliances, combining forces across the skies to connect the world. I Later Learned more on a minnow mentioned in the midst of mega networks like the Star Alliance, Skyteam, and Oneworld: the Vanilla Alliance, which united a group of underdog islands trying to help one anot

On December 1st, 2023, Day 12 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of four basic human rights which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed as four freedoms. I Later Learned that baked into those four freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear—a quartet which inspired a series of iconic paintings by Norman Rockwell, was the

On November 30, 2023, Day 11 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of “a circle of latitude” with a whole bunch of cities on it, including one with a name that looked Korean. I Later Learned about the northern hemisphere’s 38th line of latitude, and the unparalleled ways in which lines of latitude have shaped our world for millennia. Thank you for listening! Please subscr

On November 29, 2023, Day 10 of Season 99 of LearnedLeague, we learned of “a Central Asian nation, the region's smallest in area and the poorest of the former Soviet republics, with a capital city of Dushanbe. I Later Learned what Tajikistan wanted me to know about Tajikistan. And then I learned some other stuff they maybe didn’t want me to know, too. Please subscribe wherever