TIL: Today I Learned

Old codes used by British police to identify ethnicities of subjects of interest. Cookie to anyone who guess the game DLC that brought it to my attention.

 

So we are #2? And north europeans=dr. evil.

 

A similar thing happened in Indonesia, as I'm sure Masada can elaborate.

Thing was, in these areas the Japanese were ordered to simultaneously disarm and keep order until first the British (and in the north of Indochina, Chinese) forces and then French/Dutch forces can arrive. Needless to say this made things extremely awkward for all involved.

 

French Guiana is actually part of France!

I just assumed it was a name holdover from colonial times, but apparently it's part of modern day France and the Eurozone.

 

I must admit I have, recently, been surprised at all the awkwardness that ever happened, especially during WWII.

My brother learned that the other day, coincidentally enough, and it totally blew his mind.

 

All French departments plus Saint-Martin are also fully part of the European Union, which puts its westernmost point in the Caribbean and southernmost point in Reunion.

 

TIL that we have Justin Bieber's bleeping monkey.

In fact there's a litany of Anglosphere reports and news updates on the unending saga of Bieber's monkey and the Federal Republic's unsuccessful efforts to collect some 10,000$ in fees and whatnot from Mr. Bieber.

I guess i'm roughly the last person on the planet to recieve word on the matter.

 

Not sure if i want to know what 'bieber's monkey' is, tbh.

I merely hope it is not a metaphor.

 

No, it's an actual monkey. Spider monkey, whatever, something of that nature. You know: Small, cute, derping about on Bieber's shoulders.
I knew about him having the monkey. I just didn't know that a) it was gone and b) ze evil Germans had it.

Apparently Bieber in his usual presumption of laws not applying to him thought he could bring an exotic animal to another country with essentially no documentation whatsoever. And of course the best place to try this would be everything-in-triplicate-Germany.
So, yeah, customs confiscated the monkey, vaccinated it etc.
Bieber hasn't reclaimed the monkey in a year and it's now in some wildlife park in Northern Germany (i.e. it's outside in London weather).
Also on the minus side: There's apparently about a gazillion Americans who similarly believe that they are above the law as well, because 'Murica - if the comments sections are any indication.

The plus side: Presuming the fees imposed on Mr. Bieber correspond to an actual cost, the Federal Republic has spent roughly 0.01 c of my tax money on keeping Bieber out of the country.
A prudent investment!

Even more plus:
The monkey is pretty cute. So we could use it as a bargaining chip.
Like no more Hasselhoff jokes in exchange for us not giving the monkey to a Danish zoo.
I'm sure something could be worked out.

 

Bieber is Canadian, they should be taking the heat for that one.

 

Not the point. You run the planet, you're suckers for cute animals, obsess about Danish Zoos and your primary exports are porn and cruel Hasselhoff jokes.
So we may as well negotiate with you.

And we're not taking back Klum. That's part of the deal. She's your Hasselhoff now.

 

Seeing as how Germany is now ignoring Canada diplomatically and skipping directly to the U.S., Canada has lost some diplomatic recognition and can now safely be annexed. After nearly two and a half centuries of struggle, the real American Dream can finally be realized!

TIL that the grasshopper mouse can easily defeat giant centipedes, tarantulas, and scorpions in combat.

 

Giant centipedes can take down tarantulas and small birds so that's gotta be a tough mouse to easily defeat one of those guys.

 

They're fast and determined. I'd link a video, but it's from a seriously dumbed-down, childish nature documentary.

 

Canada has always been part of 'Mvrica.

 

TIL: The United States has the only bans on cousin marriage in the Western world. [Though it varies from state to state, of course.]

EDIT: Although the Wikipedia article appears to contradict itself as a few Balkan countries do have bans on cousin marriage. Well, unless if you don't count the Balkans as the "West"

 

Doesn't Russia?

 

Appears not. Cousin marriage appears to be legal in Russia. Or, well, at least Wikipedia suggests so. Russia also seems to not have any laws against consensual incestuous relationships between adults, and my impression has been that countries that don't have such laws also tend to be a bit more lenient towards cousin marriage.

 

A haruspex is someone who uses gut feeling to predict outcomes, apparently.

Spoiler :

 

What game is that?