David Paterson

TIL that Detroit, once America's 5th largest city at 1.85 million residents in 1957, saw 66 straight years of population loss to a low of 630,000 residents in 2022. This makes it the only US city to drop below 1 million after reaching it. It would see its first reversal of this trend in 2023.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

I was on that list until I turned 25.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

If you drank in one sitting all the alcohol I drank before I turned 40, you might get mildly tipsy.

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TIL that 44% of the world's adult population has never consumed alcohol

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

What about terminal velocity?

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TIL that one of the reasons why trash cans are scarce in Japan is due to the 1995 Sarin Gas Attack where the Aum Shinrikyo cult hid Sarin Gas - a toxic chemical - in trash cans at Tokyo subway. In response, many public trash cans were removed as a precautionary measure to prevent similar attacks.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

You should look up the "Sedlec Ossuary" in the Czech Republic

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

If we could replicate it, it would revolutionize building.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

It was all about the photo and the propaganda

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

It's also the second rising of the flag. The first one that made it to the peak was smaller and replaced with the second, bigger one

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TIL Kidney (and other organ) donations typically do not last the rest of the patient’s life. ~50% of transplant organs fail within 10 years.

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TIL that Magnus Carlsen, one of the greatest chess players of all time, has never lost 3 or more classical chess games in a row in his adult professional career. The last time he lost 3 games in a row was in 2003, when he was 12.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

The subtlety is whether dogs help humans because of self-interest or altruism. Self-interest because they get rewarded for helping. The Harvard study showed that it was true altruism.

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TIL some dogs have shown spontaneous empathy in Harvard lab experiments, approaching and trying to “help” humans who pretended to be in pain.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

No water to disperse the charge will do that. Also, it is sharp as héll, like microscopic shards of glass.

81 Times People Contributed Fascinating Facts To The ‘Today I Learned’ Community (New Facts)

When they came back inside they brought me dust with them on their suits. Couldn't change on the ladder. Probably got into the air conditioning equipment.

Reddit Post

TIL that moon dust (lunar regolith) is electrically charged and will stick to anything it comes into contact with. It's also likely toxic to humans. Apollo astronauts regularly complained of coughing, watery eyes, throat irritation and blurry vision after each foray onto the moon's surface