Today Sam Learned...

Hi, I'm Sam, and here's what I learned today. I also reblog things I enjoy.

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2026/07/hay-did-you-know-mini-horses-can-be-service-animals-in-portland-public-schools-classrooms.html

Today I learned more about service animals.

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/magazine/terminal-lucidity.html

Today I learned more about heartbreak.

[todaysamlearned]

Kiss Kiss, Snap Snap - Portland Mercury

“You’re going to kiss more people in your life than you’re going to fuck,” says Sarah Ruby Armstrong. A Portland-based graphic designer and

Today I learned about a scientific kissing booth.

[todaysamlearned]

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5952060-us-death-rate-2025-record-low/

Today I learned that the US death rate is at a record low.

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/us/idaho-twins-death-shaw-vaccines-murder.html

Today I learned more about motivated reasoning. "Ms. Shaw’s lawyer, Joseph Filicetti, said in an interview on Tuesday that he would argue that vaccines caused the suffocation. Experts say there is no evidence that vaccines can cause suffocation."

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/us/politics/trump-folarin-balogun-fans-reaction.html

Today I learned more about what Univision (the only free channel we have for the World Cup) was talking about when the commentators were saying what sounded like "aloo gun"

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/movies/what-is-the-definitive-movie-about-america.html

Today I learned about some American movies.

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07/03/style/taylor-swift-wedding-travis-kelce

Today I learned that the biggest event of America's sesquicentennial was Taylor Swift's wedding.

[porterdavis]

[quasi-normalcy]

Mel Brooks on taking studio notes:

[todaysamlearned]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/trump-moneymaking-presidential-history.html

Today I learned more about corruption.

[explicitlyrics]

This is by a patient of mine with early late stage dementia, who was a poet for most of her life. Her new poems are dictated to me during writing workshops I run at my hospice job. She hadn't written since her diagnosis. This is one of seventeen poems I've written with her so far.

posted with permission from herself and her family.

[theinternetarchive]

She died early this morning.

I’ve been doing poetry since I could write but I do think she was my only teacher.

Working with her was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I mean it when I say you all are so lucky to get even this glimpse at the majesty of her work.

In her words from another poem (not posted):

I am not the only creature watching

All of this,

Drinking it in.

I have a companion,

The cat who sleeps in the backyard

Is watching, too,

And there is so much to be.

[todaysamlearned]

You're Weirder Than You Think

I say this with love

Today I learned about weirdness.

[todaysamlearned]

Mr. Chip Will Sell Hard-to-Find Snacks Out of an Art Studio - Portland Mercury

Calling all chip connoisseurs: Mr. Chip is opening this weekend to help cure your cravings for hard-to-find snacks.  The Mr. Chip vending ma

Today I learned more about fancy chips.

[todaysamlearned]

The Strange, Explicable Appeal of Train Dog

How a weird, awkwardly fused creature became the meme of the summer

Today I learned about Train Dog.

[todaysamlearned]

Today in History June 24 | 1374, Dancing Plague, Choreomania, & St. John’s Dance | Britannica

On June 24, 1374, the first (and worst) major outbreak of choreomania, the dancing plague, occurred in Aachen, Germany.

Today I learned that it is the anniversary of the dancing plague of Aachen.

[todaysamlearned]

Four Amazon electric vans destroyed in Portland fire

An arson investigation is underway after firefighters responded to multiple Amazon vans on fire early Monday morning.

Today I learned about this burn ban violation.