What have you learned recently that surprised you?

I learned how they get the soup in Chinese soup dumplings. The soup is made and then mixed with gelatin so it congeals. It’s cut up into cubes and mixed with the meat filling and put in the dumplings. When it’s steamed the gelled soup becomes hot soup! I thinl that’s really neat.

That people are having a harder and harder time admitting to when they screw up.

This didn’t really surprise me but I learned that “fruit” gummiy have zero vitamins. What I was surprised to learn is that they don’t have sugar either. All the calories came from from the carbs. I assume the jell they use to make the gummy is some sort of starch. And people give these things to the kids as a “healthy” snack.

That the “doneness” sensor on my toaster is just a minute timer. The magic is gone.
Sad puppy.

LOL! I just found that out myself!

That not all doctors of medicine are rich. They have a high tax rate on a pittance for some.

That Jared Kushner’s brother is a die-hard democrat. With a very cute girlfriend.

@elbanditoroso I just learned that too. Apparently she’s very nice and is liberal as well.

We’re moving to Michigan so I’ve been doing lots of research. I learned that over 50% of Michigan is forested. That adds up to 20 million acres of forest land! Today, Michigan has the fifth-largest area of timberland in the U.S., preceded by Georgia, Oregon, Alabama and Montana.

I’m surprised with this list. I would think Washington, Maine or Idaho would come before Michigan, Alabama and Georgia.

I’m not disappointed. I look forward to living near forests.

In searching Web sites for the discussion about gun control, I learned that the rate of gun ownership in the U.S. has been declining. Link

I guess it had never occurred to me to think about what type of plant black beans grow on. When I learned they grow in a pod like peas for some reason that totally blew my mind.

Much less frivilous: I learned awhile ago that not having health insurance is arguably a more common cause of death in the US than gun homicide, DUI, or heroin overdose.

Seeds are in the fruit of trees so when animals eat the fruit, and later poo them out, the seeds have plenty of fertilizer to start the growth of the plant.

I’ve learned that it’s much easier for me to see both sides of an argument when the people I talk to are not jerks. haha

That partners have different “love languages” ..its what truly makes them feel loved.
And if you do not know your partners love language their love tank remains
empty because you do not know what to do to fill it and he/she does not know
what to do to keep yours filled. So you have 2 people resentful that the other
doesn’t know how to keep them happy. If you haven’t read Gary Chapman’s
5 Love Languages and then take his test on line both you and your partner
and see what exactly it is that thrills your spouse. Many think they have a clue
but are way off base.

In January, 2011 I was working out 3 or 4 days a week. I’d say about 60% of that was strength training, and that was for only about 15 minutes on those days. I weighed myself on a counterweight scale and the result was 190 lbs.

In August, 2008 I was working out just as much but I weighed 176 pounds. Even so, I rationalized that the extra weight I saw in 2011 was due to increased muscle mass, although I suspected that most of the weight gain was actually from added fat.

In the last year, it seemed that I’d been working out less but eating just as much, so I guessed that my weight had gone up to about 200 lbs. I weighed myself on the same scale, and the result was about 180 lbs.

In summation, I was surprised to learn that I weigh 20 lbs. less than I thought I did.

That “Letter of marque” was a real thing. Legalized piracy.