Continuous Learning

Sometimes no matter how often you do something, there's still new things to learn about it. For instance, yesterday my family and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry. We're members, so we visit about two or three times a year. Whenever we go, we usually check out certain key exhibits, such as the U-505 submarine and the Coal Mine. I've lost track of how many times I've seen the U-505; in fact, I remember seeing it with my dad when I was a girl and the submarine was still outside. Although the basic story remains the same each time, every tour guide provides different details. Yesterday, the tour guide told us that the sub sank only eight merchant ships during its career, which was much lower than other German submarines. I asked the guide why this was, and apparently French saboteurs tinkered with the sub while she was in port so that she would break down quickly, shortening her patrols. In fact, this poor performance may have contributed to the suicide of one of the submarine's commanders in the control room--and I've never heard any tour guide talk about that. (That might be because it happened well before the sub's capture--or perhaps the guides don't want to discuss it in front of kids.)

Have you learned anything new about something you thought you already knew well? Feel free to share your story in the comments section.