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40 Fascinating Facts That People Learned Today And Couldn’t Wait To Share (New Facts)
How much do you know about the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar? Let's play two truths and one lie: which of the following facts do you think are true and which one is made up? First, Caesar was born by a cesarean section. Second, he was kidnapped by pirates when he was in his 20s. And, lastly, he only had one biological son.
If you're not sure which one of these is a lie, the TIL community on Reddit might be of help. Recently, one of these three facts was featured in a post on the subreddit. And today, we're presenting you with a compilation of the tidbits of knowledge from the group that were the most interesting to folks this August. Curious to find out more about Caesar? Scroll down and find the answer!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
TIL Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry was asked to write a series called Riverboat, set in 1860s Mississippi. When he discovered that the producers wanted no black people on the show, he argued so much with them that he lost the job.
BanjoTCat:
Quite the science fiction premise: it’s 1860s Mississippi but no black people.
AlienInOrigin:
He was a bit of a stubborn [jerk] at times, but he detested racism. Insisting on a black woman in a senior position on Star Trek TOS was game changing and changed TV.
Michael Largey 3 months ago
Reynolds grew the mustache because without it he resembled Marlon Brando in appearance (but in no other way, of course).
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sofacushionfort 3 months ago
Burt Reynolds found his costar difficult to work with. He later said “Let me put it this way. On the third day after he dies, Darrin McGavin is in for a big disappointment.”
Nikole 3 months ago
Pssh. I’d choose The Night Stalker any day of the week.
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Faelwolf 3 months ago
He then fought the studio again to have the first interracial kiss on primetime TV. That time, they couldn't fire him!
Dorothea Lehmann 3 months ago
I once heard Whoopi Goldberg on a podcast saying she wanted to be on Star Trek because TOS had been the first time TV showed a future with black people in it. Before that she always felt the world didn't want POCs in the future. That broke my heart and made me more vigilant about presentation in general.
Michelle C 3 months ago
Well done, Mr. Roddenberry! I hope that the producers repented and learned to look beyond their hatred!
arthbach 3 months ago
Gene Roddenberry was definitely not racist, nor sexist by the standards of his time. I rewatched the original series of Star Trek and was surprised how racist and sexist it was. This led me to wonder what future generations will think those of us who affirm we are not racist or sexist.
Laserleader 3 months ago
This is true... he did everything he could to create inclusion in his time while fighting the censorship. He got the first interracial kiss, and when Next Gen got rid of Beverly crusher character after the first season because the actress insisted that the female characters needed to be 3 dimensional and not just male support, he was able to get her back against the firing of the other producers.
Load More Replies... RELATED:
#2
TIL that English speakers will feel uncomfortable if a pause in conversation lasts for more than 4 seconds. Japanese speakers are comfortable with a pause of up to 8 seconds.
AntakeeMunOlla:
They tried to calculate the time for Finnish people. They're still waiting.
FreeTheUnicorn 3 months ago
This doesn't vary by language but culture. Even just looking at native speakers of English. There's large differences between Glaswegians and Hawaiians and how long "natural" pauses are.
Jnausicaa 3 months ago
Glaswegians speak Scots Gælic and Hawai'ians speak Hawai'ian.
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Lost Panda 3 months ago
But in Japanese conversationg you have to actively acknowledge you're listening with "un" "eh" etc.
Barbara Wilcock 3 months ago
You dont always have to fill the air with drab conversion. Sometimes a smile and obverse others is nice
Rich Black 3 months ago
i've always known that ignoring questions - especially rude ones - makes the other person uncomfortable
#3
TIL about Dale Schroeder, a man from Iowa who used his life savings to help send 33 kids to college. He never married, had no kids, grew up poor and worked at the same company for 67 years.
Moana Manana 3 months ago
Dale's kids. Great documentary.... And they're paying it forward https://www.thisisiowa.com/dales-kids-paying-it-forward/
Deirdre Henry 3 months ago
What a wonderful gentleman. It would be lovely if there were more caring people like him.
The Scout 3 months ago
Another feelgood story that is not. Kudos to Mr. Schroeder, but in a sane society he should not have had to do this.
Mike F 3 months ago
But, because that is not the reality at present, we celebrate this man who made this possible. Why must someone always seek a dark side to bemoan while everyone is celebrating something/someone good?
Load More Replies... #4
TIL Anthony Borges, the Parkland shooting hero who shielded his classmates with his body, legally owns the rights to the shooter's name preventing the shooter from granting interviews or make any agreements with film producers or authors without Borges' permission.
Bob Brooce 3 months ago
Owning the rights to the name only prevents others from using the name specifically for producing income. State law already prohibits anybody from profiting from their own crimes, so the shooter wouldn't be able to use his name for such purposes anyway. Others can legally use the name for all sorts of things. The shooter can't grant interviews or collaborate on films or other projects, even for free, without permission because that was a *separate* part of the settlement for the lawsuit Borges filed.
Ace 3 months ago
The criminal may be barred from profiting, but this goes a lot further and prevents anyone else, whether associated with him or not, from doing so.
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he_aint_heavy 3 months ago
This would be a much better post if the photo was Anthony Borges, not a picture of the shooter.
Hippopotamuses 3 months ago (edited)
As a New Zealander, I'm really impressed the then NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Adern, stated that the Christchurch Mosque Shooter should not be referred to by his name, and that the media, pretty much, respected that.
KnightOwl86 3 months ago (edited)
Most Scottish people had this attitude to the man responsible for the Dunblane ma*sacre. His crimes were so horrific that people wanted to focus more on the victims and not the shooter, we didn't want him to become famous. Unfortunately the press still always named him and talked about him but o this day most people couldn't tell you his name (without googling it first) and he certainly didn't become a recognised name
Load More Replies... Rich Black 3 months ago
i would like to acquire the legal rights to several politicians names, to prevent them from giving interviews. how can i get started?
#5
TIL that Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (850–934 CE), a Persian scholar, rejected the idea that mental illness was caused by demons or supernatural forces. He recognized conditions like depression and anxiety and argued they had natural psychological and physical causes, centuries ahead of modern psychiatry.
Multa Nocte 3 months ago
There are some modern day Christian Evangelicals that need to hear this.
Wij 3 months ago
They don’t listen. Low IQ and weak will. Persians were muslim, so coming from “barbarians” it would not be accepted.
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David 3 months ago
1) He was not the first to theorize this. 2) He actually wasnt sure what the cause was, just it wasnt demons, and had many theories. 3) It was Abu Sina (aka Avaceno in European Literature at the time) the Afghan physican to the Egyptian Royal Court (and a close friend, contemporary, and fellow physican to the royal family as Maimonides) who actually is credited with the proving it was natural causes. He created a system of humane treatment, putting the mentally ill into lush gardens, inventing modern therapy (he cured one of the Sultan's sons who thought he was a cow, and brought him to be reasonably functioning and no longer thinking he was a cow), etc. The real credit is Abu Sina
nah bro 3 months ago
he wasn't burnt at the stake, that's only what the English did.
Load More Replies... #6
TIL that the world's oldest and most prestigious nanny school, Norland College in England, trains nannies in self defense and evasive driving as well as more traditional childcare skills. Jokingly described as "Mary Poppins meets James Bond", some graduates go on to earn six figures.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 months ago
That sounds like a good premise for a movie. "My name is Bond... Mary Bond".
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Nice girl in the picture, but Norland nannies wear a *very* distinctive uniform when working.
Auntriarch 3 months ago
True, it's not all sieving spinach and pushing prams these days. They had the ugliest uniforms in the known universe though.
arthbach 3 months ago
The uniforms are worn in the college, or when representing it. When a nanny leaves, it's her choice whether to wear it or not. Often it is safer for the children if the nanny doesn't wear a uniform, but wears clothing that wouldn't look out of place with the other people collecting children from school etc. Wearing the Norland uniform draws attention.
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Foxglove🇮🇪 3 months ago
I saw a documentary about that place years ago, it costs a fortune to attend so you'd want to make good money when you come out!
KnightOwl86 3 months ago
Because the nannies who graduate from there often go on to work for extremely wealthy families, including royalty, political leaders and celebrities. They need to be able to keep the children safe from potential kidnappers. They demand very high salaries.
#7
TIL Freddie Mercury was born with four extra teeth, causing a prominent overbite. Despite being self-conscious about them, he never got them fixed, believing the extra space in his mouth contributed to his vocal ability. He feared altering his teeth might change his voice.
JadeAngel 3 months ago
I read once that Freddie Mercury had rare vocal cords which gave him the ability to perform with a faster vibrato and produce subharmonics.
ghtsv5bsvt 3 months ago
I heard this too - only other person with that ability is Pavarotti
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Uncle Panda 3 months ago
Most power singers have extra large mouths. I suspect it's both something you're born with and something that develops over a lifetime of power singing.
Cydney Golden 3 months ago
Barbra Streisand was encouraged early on to have a nose job. But she feared it would change her voice.
#8
TIL that in 2023, a kidnapper tried to abduct an 8 year old girl, but her 13 year old brother saved her by shooting the kidnapper with his slingshot until he ran off. A 17 year old was later arrested with wounds to his head and chest.
Niobium_Sage:
Dude, slingshots are legit. One with good bullets (marbles or such) can be a more effective deterrent than a BB gun if we’re talking children’s weapons. I’d much rather be shot with a BB gun than a slingshot at least.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 months ago
Mine has six bands, a wooden wrist brace and a wrist guard. I'm 45yo and a slingshot is my only protection against home invasion.
Ace 3 months ago
I assume that you're referring to a catapult, as per the photo, with elastic bands. Never quite worked out why US English has taken the word 'slingshot', which was historically a very effective weapon - think David vs Goliath - and confused the rest of the world by using it to refer to something with an entirely different mechanism of action.
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Rich Black 3 months ago (edited)
slingshots are illegal in a surprising number of states (see link below). there is no constitutional right to own a slingshot, baseball bat, jackknife, or pepper spray https://self-defensetools.com/are-slingshots-illegal-in-some-states/
dan s 3 months ago
The story of David and Goliath has served as a biblical story of the classic underdog. But Goliath was the actually the underdog. David's sling could fire a pebble with pinpoint accuracy that would have roughly the same impact as a .306 bullet. Goliath never stood a chance. It was the biblical version of bringing a knife to a gunfight.
#9
TIL In 1338, Scottish countess Agnes of Dunbar led the successful defense of Dunbar Castle during a 5-month siege by a much larger English army. At one point, they threatened to k**l her captured brother if she didn't surrender. She replied that his death would only benefit her as she was his heir.
#10
TIL the TV show Scrubs was filmed in the North Hollywood Medical Center, using the entire decommissioned hospital. All of the writers also worked inside it, and it had an editing suite and a sound-studio for post-production. And instead of trailers for the cast, they were given old hospital rooms.
LookAtThatBacon (OP):
And according to the wiki page for the hospital building itself, sometimes people would mistake it for an active hospital.
Foxglove🇮🇪 3 months ago
It makes so much more sense to use an existing unused building than spending a fortune recreating it in a studio.
WakandaPanda 3 months ago
One of the best story arcs ever, and I'm not talking about JD or Turk !
Onan Hag All 3 months ago
The most exciting department in any US hospital is the billing department.
#11
TIL that in 1996, Mcdonald's tried to sue the owner of a family owned restaurant located in Fairbury, Illinois that had opened in 1956 called "McDonald's Family Restaurant" and lost, ironically the owner of "McDonald's Family Restaurant" is named Ronald McDonald.
ottenball:
McDonald’s Family Restaurant was given rights to the name in Fairbury and they were allowed to approve or deny any McDonald’s franchise locations in the town.
Peace 3 months ago
Our city's burger king sign went viral. "Why eat with a clown when you can eat with a king" 😄
Load More Replies... Peace 3 months ago
Similar to the "original burger king" in Matoon, Illinois. No "Burger King" franchise can open in that city.
Uncle Panda 3 months ago (edited)
I grew up near there. Inside the Mattoon Burger King is a window for ice cream with a big sign for "The Frigid Queen." We went there in high school just for the giggles.
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Roxy222uk 3 months ago
No one is too big or too small for McDonalds to sue. Look up the McLibel trial to see when they finally got their comeuppance (to some degree) Helen Steel and David Morris are the nearest I have to actual heroes.
Cee Cee 3 months ago
Glad I'm not the only one who remembers the McLibel trial. Well covered in Private Eye at the time.
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 3 months ago
In 2018 they tried to take on an Irish place over the use of "Big Mac", and they lost the trademark in the *entire* EU. 🤦 https://apnews.com/article/mcdonalds-big-mac-eu-trademark-ireland-14922a383563c60592bd3ee152a73d87
Uncle Panda 3 months ago (edited)
It's not the fun answer but corporations have to protect their trademarks or they can lose them. There's no upside for Disney suing daycares for hand painted Mickey murals, but they have to show that they actively protect their brand.
Hippopotamuses 3 months ago (edited)
I've always been surprised that anyone can trademark a surname! It's literally part of a person's identity.
Marlene Ricker 3 months ago
It's great that this ended up with the little guy winning - as he should have!
Hiram's Friend 3 months ago
Disney sues nurseries that paint Disney characters on their walls.
#12
TIL that in Japan, it is common practice among married couples for the woman to fully control the couple's finances. The husbands' hand over their monthly pay and receive an allowance from their wives.
Cyneganders:
Used to be like this in Norway too. My grandparents (both sides, actually) had plaques in the kitchen with 'the chores of the man/woman', and one of those of the man was to hand over the money.
Cee Cee 3 months ago
My ex-husband used to give me his wage packet. It was perfectly normal back in the day.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
My wife controls all income. I get a small stipend and rely on side gigs to meet my expenses so the household does not suffer.
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SheamusFanFrom1987 3 months ago
Traditionally, she'd be the one cooking, cleaning, and basically single-handedly running the household so the working-class bloke can't complain. Last I heard the practice has changed somewhat but has mostly endured. Note that the bloke willingly hands over his paycheck in exchange for what we can consider a home.
Matthew Savestheworld 3 months ago
This is how it is in my house. My wife is a banker and I hate money
Philly Bob 3 months ago
My wife is an accontant for a global firm. She knows what she's doing with money. I just shop, cook and generally fuxx things up! LOL!
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Aileen Grist 3 months ago
Every woman I know in a successful relationship controls the money - unless she flat out refuses. My husband doesn't want anything to do with finance, so much so that I'm having to write things out for other people for if I die first.
The Majestic Opossum 3 months ago
Yep, me too! I started an "if I'm gone" binder for him and the main thing is all our financial info. And of course every other piece of information needed to run the lives of 3 other humans and 4 animals 🙄
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T.M.P Janssen 3 months ago
lol even today, my Dad doesnt do finances. he doesnt want to, either. "Your mom did it 50 years and did it well, why should I do that now?" He is retired now with lots of time, Mom still does the finances lol
Batwench 3 months ago
In Wales, it was often customary for the wives to collect the mens wage packet so they didn’t spend it all down the pub. In some cases, the landlord/lady used to take, if the men collected it, the packet off the man. Give him some beer money out of it and then give the rest to the wife so thay still had money to pay rent etc.
Rob Williams 3 months ago
My grandfather was a miner in South Wales. On Friday, around knocking off time, all the wives would sit out on a dining chair chatting away. The men would come home, drop their unopened pay packets in the apron on their wife's lap and go in for the bath that was waiting for them.
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Al Padilla 3 months ago
My wife also handles the finances. She has 4 times as many doctorates (Ph.D., D.V.M.) per pound compared to me (just an M.D.). She tells me I only know how to take care of one species....
Jon Lee 3 months ago
My ex-wife used to look after the money, it was more convenient back in the day as she could get to the bank and I couldn't. We never had any money, however much I earned. After we divorced and without her income and mine reduced, I found I was saving significant amounts each month. It turns out she was spending for the sake of spending. She would buy all sorts of unnecessary things. After she left I found unworn shoes, boots, clothing and other stuff, even though she had taken all she wanted.
#13
TIL the Netherlands Forensic Institute can detect deepfake videos by analyzing subtle changes in the facial color caused by a person’s heartbeat, which is something AI can’t convincingly fake (yet).
Pr1mrose:
I don’t think the concern should be that deep analysis won’t be able to recognize AI. It’s more that it’ll be indistinguishable to the casual viewer. By the time a dangerous deepfake has propagated around millions on social media, many of them will never see the “fact check”, or believe it even when they do.
Son of Philosoraptor 3 months ago
We have the meeting of the most realistic fakes in history with the most credulous audience in history.
CP 3 months ago
Video is just the latest version of fakery. We got used to text and photos as best we could. Video will be roughly the same. No matter what, it comes down to how educated a populace is and conservatives hate education.
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
I recently saw a YT short showing a group of police officers dancing to some song. The comments were all how awesome these police officers are. The dancer in front had three arms. When the group turned around, the backs of their uniforms said "POLLICE.' And still people believed it was real.
Rich Black 3 months ago
this is unlikely to make a dent in deepfake p**n, however, unless the viewers are watching the faces more closely than the rest of the action.
#14
TIL in 1816, the United States built a fort to protect itself from invasion by Canada. There was only one small problem: due to a surveying error, it was built in Canada. It was later known as "Fort Blunder"
Peace 3 months ago
I suspect America's obsession with building walls will one day backfire if the time comes for them to need to flee to safety.
Johnnynatfan 3 months ago
What obsession with building walls are you talking about? Trump wanted to build a wall in 2016 which he did not. There are sections of the southern border that have some fence and some that don't. There are virtually no walls between the US and Canada so again I ask you what obsession are you talking about?
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Marlene Ricker 3 months ago
I'm Canadian and I approve this post wholeheartedly!!! I love seeing the US fall on their face!
Michael Largey 3 months ago
"Well, if we just keep the Canadians busy capturing forts located in their own country, they won't have time to come over here."
Rich Black 3 months ago
wait . . . was this the war of 1812? canada was going to attack the USA to help the King of England? Let's bring on the tariffs !!!!!
#15
TIL that 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today.
Jhawk163:
That's because when it comes to aluminium, it's WAY easier to recycle it than it is to mine it and refine it from new. It's so much more difficult that in history it was actually considered more valuable than gold.
Jrog 3 months ago
That's because before the invention of the first efficient smelting process (the Hall-Héroult, invented by what is now ALCOA in the 1880s and still in use today) the production of aluminum required expensive and complicated vacuum furnaces and expensive chemicals. It's still a fairly energy intensive process, 20 times more expensive than recycling.
Saint_Zipcodus 3 months ago
Making new aluminium is basically turning sand into metal. One doesn't need to be a scientist to imagine how difficult and energy comsuming that is.
Jrog 3 months ago
To make 1 ton of aluminum from 3 tons of bauxite, you need about 2,5 tons of other reagents and 13MW of power, enough to power 550 houses for a whole day.
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Gregg Levine 3 months ago
Edwin Hall, the first name in that, also gave credit to a process. Which nothing could be done with until electronics got invented, solid state sort.
Jan Rosier 3 months ago
not quite true, that recycling thing... sodacans donot melt when put in any furnice, they burn
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
That's not actually true, as I cut up them up and melt them in my crucible at home. They have to be CLEANED, though, due to the labelling. Melting them without cleaning off the paint will result in the *paint* burning and compromising the quality of the metal. This can be done with an acid wash, which isn't fantastically easy for a setup like mine, but easier for an industrial site. Typically, the tab is the purest source, though as they are made of pure aluminum. With this in mind, it is often cheaper to recycle aluminum. Not necessarily because of the material or difficulty, but the energy input. The energy that goes into refining aluminum is ridiculously high. If you pay attention to energy market spikes, the price of aluminum will sky-rocket along with spiking energy prices (more so than other metals) due to the high energy cost of refinement.
Load More Replies... #16
TIL of "The Final Experiment" - a 2024 Antarctica expedition where flat Earth YouTubers saw the 24 hour sun, which could not be explained by non-spherical models. This prompted at least one YouTuber to publicly admit they were wrong, and leave the flat Earth community.
553l8008:
The plane ride at 30,000ft and curvature of the earth wasn't enough.
SubMeHarderThx:
Massive props to Jeranism for seeing the truth and swapping sides, it completely unrooted his entire world view.
I will make note that all the other major mainstream flat earthers, Nathan Oakley, Flatzoid's Perspective, Eric Dubay, David Weiss flat out refused the free trip to Antarctica that Will Duffy was offering. Anyone who sees this and think that those people actually care about the truth, I implore you to rethink that.
We all know David Weiss is a massive grifter who doesn't believe, but the others are cowards who refused the perfect opportunity to challenge their beliefs and find out the actual truth. This tells you that they don't care about the truth. They don't want to be wrong and they don't even fully believe what lies they spew because if they believed it, it would have been the perfect opportunity to prove that they were right to the rest of the word.
Bob Brooce 3 months ago
They were all stupid people. Notice that after watching the sun stay above the horizon for 24 hours, and (apparently) making a complete circle around the viewing location most still didn't figure it out.
Auntriarch 3 months ago
So I can show pictures of earth from space etc, but a flattie can't show me a picture of the edge, or am I insufficiently informed about their beliefs? Oh and don't try to fob me off with Paul Kidby artwork.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 months ago
I remember seeing the first flat earther ever. It was on TV and on cable news. They were interviewing a man who thought the Earth was flat. That was around 2004. It took another decade for all the other weirdos to crawl out of the woodwork.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
Flat earthers were around long before 2004!
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Börje Strömming 3 months ago
From other equally dumb people on social media.
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Chris the Bobcat 3 months ago
Hell, I would claim to be a flat earther if it got me a trip to Antarctica.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Flat Earth is basically a religion by this point. Plenty of evidence against, nothing but blind faith in support, and adherents will go to lengths to not be proven wrong.
HF 3 months ago
I have always suspected that flat earthers just did it because they wanted someone to sponsor them trips like this or a trip to space. "Oh, it IS actually a sphere, like everyone has said like forever"
Alexander Luna 3 months ago
Even if they saw it themselves, like Witsit who went to the south, they say it makes no difference/they were drugged/it was CGI etc etc. Anything to deny the globe.
Load More Replies... Remi (He/Him) 3 months ago
Wouldn't it have been easier to visit any location above the arctic circle?
Alexander Luna 3 months ago
No because on the flat earth "model" there is a 24 hour sun in the Arctic but there is only an ice wall in the south surrounding the planet and it is impossible they say to have a 24 hour sun in the south - also there is no south pole and the military will forceably stop anyone going to the Antarctic. Their beliefs defy all known science and logic.
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#17
TIL a donkey named Diesel got spooked on a hike and ran off. Five years later Diesel the donkey was spotted among a herd of elk, having assumed an alpha role.
"On April 20, 2019, Diesel accompanied Dave Drewry and a black llama on a weekend trail packing excursion in the Cache Creek Wilderness near the Judge Davis Trail by Wilson Flat. During their hike, something spooked Diesel and he bolted, dragging Drewry through the brush. Diesel's blue saddlebags were still attached when he ran off. Terrie speculated that a mountain lion spooked him.
... a local warden suspected that the donkey was responsible for k**ling a mountain lion that showed evidence of being k**led by a hoofed animal."
Son of Philosoraptor 3 months ago
He broke free. Killed a lion. Took over a harem in a new and strange land. The Muleator. His Lord Mule. Mule-ric of Mulenibone, the Eternal Champion.
Michelle C 3 months ago
Thankfully, he found somewhere safe he could be! Entirely out of curiosity, does anyone know if Diesel ever went back to his human family?
bElLa sTairZz 3 months ago
similar thing happened with my schools goat running off to live with a pack of kangaroos. not sure if she was in charge though
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
I read that as "got spooked on a bike"...whole different image :)
#18
TIL that when scientists put a hamster wheel out in the woods, different types of animals seemed to enjoy running on it, including mice, rats, snails, and frogs.
Splunge-:
I'd like to see the snail doing it.
ETA: OK, well, here's a slug tearing it up.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
Yeah. It's not just hamsters, definitely. We bought our cats what was effectively a cat-sized hamster wheel. THEY never used it, but it was pretty hilarious when we went to a zoo and the *armadillos* had the same make and model wheel. The armadillos did, in fact, enjoy using the wheel.
Rich Black 3 months ago
i'm guessing the snail did not get on the wheel for fun. it probably had insufficient brain capacity to figure out how to exit.
#19
TIL that in 1984, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith heard a song on the radio. Tyler liked it and told Perry that they should do a cover version. Perry turned to Tyler and said "That's us, f*ckhead." Tyler's didn't remember writing or performing their '75 song "You See Me Crying"
Bob Brooce 3 months ago
He probably doesn't remember the commercials about his brain on drugs, either. untitled-6...8cb7f6.jpg 
Uncle Panda 3 months ago
We used that as a party game in college. "Everybody drink/smoke/snort..."
Load More Replies... Uncle Panda 3 months ago
Most of my BP posts happen before I'm really awake. It's my favorite way to have morning coffee. Every so often, I'll crack myself up with a post I don't recall making. Sometimes on the same day.
Marlene Ricker 3 months ago
It sounds like something the ugliest man on the planet would say!!
#20
TIL Nike made an ad where a Samburu tribesman said Nike's slogan "Just Do it" in his native language. An anthropologist called Nike out. The phrase actually meant, "I don’t want these. Give me big shoes.” Nike admitted their mistake and stated “we thought nobody in America would know what he said."
Peace 3 months ago
So the Nike marketing team thought all Americans were stupid. I suspect most corporations think this way.
#21
TIL about Jesse Heiman, a prolific background extra in tv and film. He has 108 credits including Spider-Man, The Social Network, Transformers, Monk, How I Met Your Mother and many more. It’s believed he is the most recognizable extra in film history.
Luke Branwen 3 months ago
Lmao he kinda looks like me, maybe I should rethink my career choices
Hippopotamuses 3 months ago (edited)
I recognised him the moment I scrolled down, but had no idea from where. Now it's 'from wheres'
#22
TIL the Falkland Islands used to have a native wolf called the warrah that was so friendly and unafraid of humans it would literally swim out to greet boats. Settlers wiped it out in the 1800s because it was too friendly to run away. It was the first canid to go extinct in recorded history.
rampantradius:
In The Voyage of the Beagle (1839), Charles Darwin documented the warrah’s remarkable tameness, noting how these wolves showed little fear of humans, often approaching closely and even swimming out to boats. He described their curiosity as a key trait, which made them vulnerable to hunting.
They wiped them out just because they assumed it was a threat to livestock like sheep, when in reality it mostly fed on small animals and scavenged from the sea. The sheep was a new animal in it's ecosystem, so the warrah were probably just curious as Darwin comments on their curious nature. But European settlers had zero tolerance for any predators, even the potential ones.
Also for their fur and they were also k****d for museum specimens, cus they were the only native land mammal on the island.
Grace Sssssss 3 months ago
Oh gosh, if ever there was an animal to bring back using DNA! WANT TO HUG FLOOFY
SheamusFanFrom1987 3 months ago (edited)
For doing that to a friendly canine, war-rah should be declared on humankind!!! >:-(
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Hmm, is it possible to find a story with "Settlers" that isn't some sort of tragedy to what was there before?
#23
TIL in 1981 Tom Petty voiced his objections when he found out that MCA was going to list his album 'Hard Promises' at $9.98 instead of the usual list price of $8.98. After Petty threatened to name the album 'Eight Ninety Eight' or to even withhold it entirely, MCA decided against raising the price.
bayesian13:
A dollar in 1981 would be worth $3.54 dollars today. So the usual list price of $8.98 in 1981 would be worth $31.79 today. and the $9.98 price would be $35.33 today.
Rich Black 3 months ago
and this is why nobody buys vinyl or CDs today. $35 for just one album? instead of signing up for Spotify or You Tube?
ohjojo (you/your's) 3 months ago
we might as well be playing with Monopoly money at this point. money has no meaning anymore. can you imagine paying 3533 for an album?
#24
TIL that Stephen Stucker, best known for his role as the mad traffic controller in the 1980 movie Airplane, died only six years later to AIDs. He publicly revealed his condition in 1985, making him one of the first popular entertainers to be lost to recently discovered disease. He was 38.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
"Tell me what's going on, from the beginning".."well the dinosaurs existed, but they grew fat and lazy and died, then the Arabs bought Mercedes Benzes"
#25
TIL the 'Naked Gun' theme played at Leslie Nielsen's funeral and he chose "Let 'er rip" as his epitaph as a final reference to his favorite practical joke, a fart machine
The Majestic Opossum 3 months ago (edited)
I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.
Load More Replies... #26
TIL: Someone at the National Health Service in England sent a test email to 840000 colleagues and another replied all, resulting in one of the largest reply all storms. 168 million emails were sent between people and caused the health system to be down for half a day.
Tucker Cahooter 3 months ago
Kudos to whatever email system they were using. MS Outlook would choke on that many names
Margaret Wartime 3 months ago
Drives me crazy. I often need to send an email to an entire team of salespeople updating them on something or other. I don’t need a reply, it’s just “hey guys, just a heads up blah blah blah, thanks.” Every single salesperson feels the need to Reply All, “ok!” “Thank you!” “Sounds good!” “Appreciate it!” I can hear the email ping sound echoing around the building as everyone gets the same emails over and over again lol
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Russell Bowman 3 months ago
Simple ... way to prevent that. The workaround is to add the address to the BCC line and leave the To/CC fields empty, so that pressing the reply/reply all button results in empty. Former Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS)
Ffion Jones 3 months ago
That happened where I work last year. Chaos ensued for a whole day and outlook was down. I work for a big multi national company. Bet the guy who started it got a bollocking
Uncle Panda 3 months ago
When auto forward was first introduced, my boss accidentally pointed two email systems at each other. There were around 10,000 back-and-forth forwards when he finally stopped it. This was also before you could select "delete all" or "delete selected." He sat there and deleted them one at a time over a couple of days. The email systems got smarter and that ceased to be a possibility.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
This is why management needs to be sandboxed from the rest of the world.
Catherine Spencer-Mills 3 months ago
Had that happen one place I worked. A lot fewer people. A large email with a video. Lots of yelling by managers.
#27
TIL that in 2018, the Japanese minister Yoshitaka Sakurada admitted that he had never used a computer in his life... even though he was in charge of the country's cybersecurity at the time.
Remi (He/Him) 3 months ago
The latest idiot was the Japanese agriculture minister who insisted that rice isn't too expensive during the shortage earlier this year, so he wouldn't open the reserves for use. He also blurted out that he's never bought rice, because he gets enough as gifts. 🤦🏽
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 months ago
Not trying to up you but the President of the USA has never shopped for groceries.
Load More Replies... Bob Brooce 3 months ago
At least they picked a guy who never had a cybersecurity incident of any kind.
Reemerger 3 months ago
I suspect political careers are quite removed from the experience of average employees like myself. Different dynamics.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 3 months ago
In 1985 I worked for a principal who said computers were just for people in clerical positions.
#28
TIL the "Mona Lisa" wasn't widely considered a masterpiece until after it was stolen by three handymen; the theft wasn't even noticed for over 24 hours
Tim Fawcett 3 months ago
But does it have "This is a fake" written under the paint in black marker pen....IYKYK
George Costanza 3 months ago
True. It isn't really a masterpiece. It's just become a cultural icon.
Francois 3 months ago
I must be old. I found it underwhelming compared to Rembrandt, Turner or Michelangelo work.
Spidercat 3 months ago
It is underwhelming. Rembrandt is a far superior portrait artist. Besides, there were three copies and Da Vinci used to carry one around and tell people it was the greatest work of all time. If you have to tell people, then it probably isn't. The French like to make a song and dance about it but only because it's in a French gallery.
Load More Replies... #29
TIL the Kong family, descendants of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, have the longest traceable family tree in the world spanning more than 80 generations with over 2 million members
Luke Branwen 3 months ago
And they have some other prominent members, like their distant cousin King
Gebidozo 2 months ago
Longest, not largest. Kong Zi (Confucius) lived in 6th century BC, 1600 years before Genghis Khan. The time gap between Confucius and Genghis Khan is about twice as much as between Genghis Khan and us. Speaking of renowned bloodlines, if the claim of the modern descendants of David, king of Israel, is true, then that family tree would be even longer, since David lived in 11th century BC.
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SnarkyPixelPanda 3 months ago
Korean actor/heartthrob Gong Yoo is one of those descendants. ❤️
#30
TIL Douglas Adams conceived the hitchhikes guide while “lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck… Inebriated beneath the swirling stars, clutching a copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe, Adams decided that someone should devise a similar guidebook to the whole of the Milky Way.”
Apprehensive-Fun4181:
He amended this later in life, saying he thinks he embellished for the sake of interviews and such, though really like what /iamverydeep wrote below. People wanted a cool story and he was famous enough to be put into that position.
Humans like a good story. We embellish them for our audience. Psychology now knows that when we "remember", we actually reassemble, changing things, often "putting the Present in the Past".
We are predictable, but not consistent.
ohjojo (you/your's) 3 months ago
thanks to him I am rarely without a towel
Load More Replies... #31
TIL that after starring as an unemployed man in the 1948 neorealist film Bicycle Thieves, factory worker Lamberto Maggiorani was fired from his real job - his employer assumed the film made him rich, but he was only paid $1,000 and struggled to find work again, mirroring his on-screen character.
#32
TIL when staying as a guest in Charles Dickens' house, Hans Christian Andersen requested that one of Dickens' sons give him a daily shave (he said that was customary when hosting male guests in Denmark). Dickens was weirded out and instead gave him a daily appointment at a nearby barbershop.
JosephFinn:
Andersen as a house guest of the Dickens is a whole bundle of weird. Stayed way too long and became very uncomfortable for them.
Tim Fawcett 3 months ago
Are you going to let the son of an unwilling host near your throat with a single edge razer?
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sofacushionfort 3 months ago (edited)
“Hans, maybe go stay with Louis Carrol. Sounds like you two have a lot in common”
CartoonCasey 3 months ago
"The Hans that Came to Dinner", with Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Dickins, Bette Davis, and Jimmy Durante. Literary Hi-jinks abound. (Not to mention creepy AF hi-jinks with Hans wanting the Dickins' boy to shave him.)
#33
TIL two rival scientists in the 1800s waged a petty, sabotage-filled war over who could discover more dinosaurs. They blew up dig sites, bribed workers, and ruined each other’s careers—yet still named over 130 species. It’s called the Bone Wars.
WakandaPanda 3 months ago
"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi.....You served my Father in the Bone Wars !"
Grudge-holding Treefrog 3 months ago
Started because one told the other that he put the head on the wrong end of a sauropod
#34
TIL Evel Knievel was fired from his mining job after high school for attempting a motorcycle-type wheelie in a large earthmover but accidentally hit the main power line, knocking out power for Butte, Montana
Christos Arvanitis 3 months ago
Are we going to ignore the insane dog ear shirt collar? https://plaidstallions.blogspot.com/2014/09/collar-king.html
#35
TIL the first yelling at Rocky Horror Picture Show screening happened after 5 months in midnight screening. Upon seeing a character place a newspaper over her head to protect herself from rain, someone yelled, "Buy an umbrella you cheap b***h!"
Son of Philosoraptor 3 months ago
45 years ago there was a good balance, you could hear the movie but also throw toilet paper. Then it became Crowd Does Entire Movie, that was too much for me.
Cydney Golden 3 months ago
By the 70s it was such an experience. The audience in costume and singing along!
Philly Bob 3 months ago
I ran it (projectionist) at the TLA Cinema on South St in Philadelphia, PA from 1977 to 1981 when the theater closed down to soon become a music venue. It was hella fun to see everyone every weekend!
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
It's constantly amazing how many movie characters go out in the rain without an umbrella. Obviously sometimes it's for the drama or the plot (eg Helen Hunt's wet t-shirt in As Good As It Gets) but in the UK, it's pretty rare to be without one in a bag or a car.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
The number of times I've seen kids walking home from school *in* *the* *UK* without an umbrella...
Load More Replies... #36
TIL the 1922 Nosferatu movie was ordered by court to have all copies of it destroyed, Bram Stoker's widow considered it too alike to Dracula and sued over the adaptation's copyright violation. Some copies survived and Nosferatu went on to become one of the most influential horror films of all time.
nicholas nolan 3 months ago
Track it down if you have any interest at all in horror or film history.
Load More Replies... #37
TIL That a Contronym is a word that can have two opposite valid meanings, for example Cleave, to split something and also hold on to something, or another example is Bolt, to affix something and also to get away. There are many others.
TotallyNOTAFox 3 months ago (edited)
In german we have "Umfahren" - Depending on the emphasised syllable it can either mean to drive around something or to drive over something
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
*Contranym. Never heard of cleave meaning to hold onto something. Others though include screen, temper and fast.
Auntriarch 3 months ago
It's probably obsolete. The only example I can think of is husband cleaving unto wife. Which is not exactly current slang.
Load More Replies... #38
TIL the restaurant betrayal scene in the Matrix used a spit bucket for actor Joe Pantoliano, who said rare beef makes him gag. In wide shots they used shiitake mushrooms rigged to look like steak for the actor to eat.
Az Oz 3 months ago
IMO better texture, flavour and moistness. But each to their own, I won't judge you on how you like your food. Don't "yuck" my "yum".
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Saltypepper 3 months ago
My friends món would say shititake mushrooms whene ever she thought we were lieing ..
Anonymouse 3 months ago
I always laugh because (if I remember correctly) he asked to be somebody important, like an actor or the president, and they said, of course, Mr Reagan... Internet correct me if I am wrong! https://matrix.fandom.com/wiki/Cypher
nicholas nolan 3 months ago
It wouldn't have looked very good on camera. They were painting a picture of Cypher. Brown/grey steak wouldn't do.
Load More Replies... #39
TIL: Rather than fiddling while Rome Burned, Nero rushed to the city from his villa to organize the relief effort.
Kukukichu:
My mind was blown when I realised why the CD burning software I used to use was called Nero Burning Rom.
David 3 months ago
Actually Nero was in Greece at the time, there was a different official who ran to organize efforts, and the pro-Nero ancient scholars swapped his name in, to counter the anti-neri scholars of the time who invented the fiddling myth. But he was in Greece on official business when it happened
UKGrandad 3 months ago
Do you have a source for that? All accounts I've seen place Nero at his home in Antium, about 15 miles from Rome.
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UKGrandad 3 months ago
Nero couldn't have fiddled while Rome burned because the fiddle wasn't invented until around 900 years after Nero died.
Gebidozo 2 months ago
More precisely, he couldn’t have played the medieval European fiddle, which was indeed adopted (not invented) from the Byzantine lira around 900 years after Nero. He could have theoretically played a fiddle in the broad sense, as in any bowed string instrument. The technique of rubbing a string with a bow harks back to the musical bows of the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, which could be 70,000 year old or even older. That said, it is still very unlikely that Nero played that kind of instrument, for the simple reason that, according to the available evidence, ancient Romans plucked the strings on their lutes rather than bowed them.
Load More Replies... #40
TIL in 2013, reporters dropped 192 wallets across 16 major cities to test honesty. Helsinki, Finland topped the list with 11/12 wallets returned, while Lisbon, Portugal ranked lowest: only 1 out of 12 wallets was returned
Börje Strömming 3 months ago
First, it has nothing with stupid people. Secondly , how would they do that, seems as hard as not letting stupid people comment on BP. Fortunately downvotes usually shows who they are.
Load More Replies... #41
TIL that Steven Spielberg originally requested to use M&Ms for E.T., but Mars responded, saying they needed to see the script before agreeing. Not wanting to share anything about the movie, Spielberg switched to Reese’s Pieces.
#42
TIL about Sadako Sasaki (1943–1955). She was two years old when Hiroshima was bombed and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years before dying from leukemia caused by radiation exposure. She is remembered for folding over a thousand origami cranes before her death.
GhostlySnail (she/her) 3 months ago
I read the book “Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes” when I was a kid and it made me so sad. It’s a great book though.
Aileen Grist 3 months ago
There's a beautiful song 'Cranes over Hiroshima' by Fred Small about her.
#43
TIL that in 2019, guards at an Oklahoma jail faced a lawsuit after forcing prisoners to listen to ‘Baby Shark’ on repeat for hours.
#44
TIL in 1910 Vienna was the third largest city in Europe after London and Paris. By 2025 it still hasn't reached the same population it had in 1910.
UKGrandad 3 months ago
I have always loathed that bloody dirge of a song.
Load More Replies... #45
TIL that in 1967, the Prime Minister of Albania declared the country the world’s first atheist state, banning all religion.
richardelmore:
It was enforced until Enver Hoxha died in 1985 and was officially repealed in 1990.
Agfox 3 months ago
Yes, he made a public announcement reminding people of the ban every year on Good Friday.../jk (just in case)
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
Our(US) founders tried to "split the baby" by finding all forms of worship protected. Something the "Christian Nation" adherents abhor, with their Constitutions tucked in their pockets.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
If only they'd all done that, we'd have a lot less religious strife.
#46
TIL Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar that would later become emperor Augustus, ordered the k**ling of the only known biological son of Caesar (with Cleopatra) named Caesarion (the last Egyptian pharaoh), following the advice of his companion who said "Too many Caesars is not good".
Michael Largey 3 months ago
In fact just a couple of slices of that brand is more than enough.
#47
TIL The Beatles, as we know them today, were only together for 8 years (1962 to 1970). In this time they released a staggering 13 studio albums, totaling 213 songs, with over 100 more being released since their break up
Glix Drap 3 months ago
Well they they had a little help from their friends, worked eight days a week and had more than one hard day's night.
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 months ago (edited)
All while living on a yellow submarine and strolling through strawberry fields while keeping an eye on the fool on the hill.
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#48
TIL dental flossing was significantly associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke in a 2025 study.
#49
TIL a man was confined to an abandoned container ship with no power for 4 years, after it was detained in Egypt and its owners went bankrupt
Jrog 3 months ago
There are a few similar cases, mostly related to the "Yellow Fleet" blocked in the Suez Canal during the Six Day War and the prolonged Israeli occupation of the eastern bank of the Canal. Some of them remained on their ships for three years before a crew rotation was implemented. I think OP is referring to the MV Aman, a ship that was impounded by Egypt because of expired safety equipment and for being unable to cover her bunkering expenses. The owners abandoned the ship, so court named the last officer onboard "guardian" of the vessel, preventing him from leaving the stranded ship. He lost power after a few weeks, had no refrigerators, no sanitation and resorted to swim ashore to get food every few days. The ship ultimately run aground, he tried to escape the vessel but was caught and brought back, despite suffering for scurvy. He was replaced only after maritime organizations called for humanitarian help.
Jrog 3 months ago
The AIS details are here. Notice 2140 days since she stopped transmitting (definitively lost power), and there a are a few photos showing her decline. It's not a big ship like in BP imagination. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:477202/mmsi:408598000/imo:9215517/vessel:AMAN
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#50
TIL in 1960 when the book Lady Chatterley's Lover was on trial for obscenity, the prosecutor Mervyn Griffith-Jones asked the jury “Is it a book that you would even wish your wife or servants to read?” In response, members of the jury broke out in laughter.
arthbach 3 months ago
The question had been used in previous trials regarding obscenity. It was often seen as the *test*. Griffith-Jones used the oft used argument, but had totally failed to take into consideration the changes in society. He also asked "would you approve of your young sons, young daughters – because girls can read as well as boys – reading this book?"
Eastendbird 3 months ago
Mervyn Griffith-Jones had planned his speech but later admitted he adlibbed this part. It was seen as one of the turning points of the trial, the question was so out of touch with the reality for most people in the UK at the time.
Onan Hag All 3 months ago
Because very few, probably less than 5% of the country had servants in 1960.
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#51
TIL that James Bond actor George Lazenby quit after one film because his agent, Ronan O’ Rahilly, told him the character wouldn’t last through the 70s.
WakandaPanda 3 months ago
More likely because he was a sh*t actor ! (I use the word 'actor' very broadly here !)
#52
TIL that Hans Christian Andersen frequently accompanied his younger Danish friends to Paris brothels, where, while his companions "amused themselves", he talked to the sex workers
UKGrandad 3 months ago
Genuinely curious here: how can there be an asexual spectrum? Surely one is either asexual or not.
Load More Replies... Son of Philosoraptor 3 months ago (edited)
I did that in TJ because the drinks probably were not infected but the gals?
#53
TIL that Ant Wars are raging around the world between supercolonies of Argentine Ants. Near San Diego, they fight on piles of their dead brethren.
Caroline Nagel 3 months ago
Sir Terry and Discworld references always get an upvote from me.
Load More Replies... Luke Branwen 3 months ago
Let them fight. If they ever reach armistice and decide to wage war with humans instead, we're royally f@cked.
Feathered Dinosaur 3 months ago
More like fallen sisters, all soldier ants (and workers) are female
#54
TIL: Leonidas of Rhodes, ancient Greek runner whose record of most individual Olympic victories was unbroken until 2016 by Michael Phelps
#55
TIL While the Wright Brothers flew in 1903, Gustave Whitehead claims to have flown in 1901. The Smithsonian signed an agreement with the Wright estate that if they acknowledge any flight before the Wright brothers, the Smithsonian loses the Wright Flyer.
#56
TIL that in 1950 the actor Peter Butterworth, after being a POW during WWII, was rejected from playing a part in the film "The Wooden Horse" about the real escape he helped take place because: "he didn't look convincingly heroic or athletic enough".
Kim Kermes 3 months ago
Thereby missing the point that most heroes are everyday people rising to the need at hand. I understand the buff athletes are the first to fail training for Special Forces, SEALS, etc., as it's inner strength and resilience which is needed.
Auntriarch 3 months ago (edited)
Christopher Lee was told he was wrong when he acted being shot. The director said that wasn't how it looked when someone is shot and killed. Lee said he'd seen lots of men shot and killed and that was exactly how it looks.
#57
TIL producer Brian Grazer had doubts about making 8 Mile with Eminem when Em was reportedly having an issue with Elton John. However, Tom Hanks convinced him to not drop the movie by responding, "Are you crazy? That’s another character...That’s Slim Shady. He doesn’t even take it seriously".
#58
TIL in the 1980s, doughnut shops in Southern California started using pink-colored boxes because they were cheaper than plain white boxes due to there being a large amount leftover of pink-dyed cardboard stock just sitting around, taking up warehouse space at restaurant supply company Westco.
FreeTheUnicorn 3 months ago
This can't be uncommon. Don't most places use the cheapest packaging, if it's pink, orange or striped?
#59
TIL before WWII 20% of the entire Jewish global population lived in Poland.
Ian Webling 3 months ago
What many people don't realise, probably because of their contributions to Western society (cf. Nobel Prizes), that the total number of Jews in the world is about 16 million - or 0.2 of the global population.
#60
TIL In 1964, Australia proposed annexing the country of Nauru, relocating the population to Curtis Island (a much larger island), and giving all the people Australian citizenship. Nauru refused.
arthbach 3 months ago
I don't think this counts as 'arseholey' behaviour. The Merry Old Land of Oz wanted the phosphates of Naura. The proposal was rejected, and Australia DID NOT invade, and take the land. Australia did not relocate the people. They accepted the rejection. During the colonial land grabs of history, I can't think of a time when the inhabitants' opinions mattered at all.
Load More Replies... Foxglove🇮🇪 3 months ago
IIRC A few years ago Australia proposed using Nauru to house asylum seekers until their cases were decided but I don't know if it ever happened.
Huddo's sister 3 months ago
Yes, it's been used as a detention centre from 2001-08, then 2012-19.
Load More Replies... #61
TIL after Leo Gao saw that his bank accidentally deposited $10m into his account, he fled New Zealand with his gf & stayed on the run for 2 yrs before being caught. He was paroled after 16 months despite the court assuming that Gao controlled & would have access to the $3.7m that was never recovered
#62
TIL about the Agricultural Bank of China robbery, where two bank managers stole US$4.3M to buy lottery tickets, hoping to win enough to repay the theft and keep the rest. They won only US$12.7K, fled, were caught, and eventually executed.
Pandemonium 3 months ago
They both skipped class the day the teacher covered probability and statistics
#63
TIL scurvy was so common during the Age of Sail that shipowners and governments assumed a 50% death rate from the disease for their sailors on any major voyage.
TotallyNOTAFox 3 months ago
And that's why James Cook took sauerkraut onboard his ships when he went on expeditions to prevent scurvy
Ace 3 months ago
The sauerkraut, as well as the malt and various other provisions they were experimenting with as prophylaxis against scurvy were later shown to have almost no effect. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/captaincook_scurvy_01.shtml
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FreeTheUnicorn 3 months ago
That's why the English are called limeys. They kept the vitamin c for themselves and let the conscripts and lower classes die, even after potatoes were shown to be cheap, long storing options that didn't k**l the crew.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
They used limes because they didn't have access to enough lemons, which were known to be a better source.
Load More Replies... #64
TIL that TV dinners were invented as a way to use up 260 tons of leftover, frozen turkey that Swanson didn't know what to do with after Thanksgiving.
#65
TIL after meeting William Woods in 1988, Matthew David Keirans went on to assume Woods's identity for over 30 yrs. Woods tried to reclaim his identity during this time, but was stopped by Keirans which led to him spending 428 days in jail & 147 days in a psychiatric hospital before being exonerated.
#66
TIL in 2010 a teenager, who began by bartering an old cell phone on Craigslist with the goal of scoring a dirt bike, ended up continuing to trade up in a series of 14 swaps over 2 years. It eventually ended with him trading a 1975 Ford Bronco (considered a collectible) for a 2000 Porsche Boxster S.
Roxy222uk 3 months ago
There was one that started with a paper clip and ended with a house. Does anyone else remember it? It may have been in the 90s or very early 2000s? He wrote a book and was interviewed and was ‘all over’ the internet.
Otto Katz 3 months ago
https://www.google.com/maps/@50.101998,-102.6301885,3a,15y,181.66h,91.39t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEh01lVr5pZQJPR_uV8pHvw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-1.3908814712317223%26panoid%3DEh01lVr5pZQJPR_uV8pHvw%26yaw%3D181.66207474834167!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
#67
TIL, The most abundant animal species on Earth is the nematode, also known as the roundworm. There are approximately 57 billion nematodes for every human on Earth. They make up about 4/5 of all animal life.
Jay Scales 3 months ago
The life going on under our feet, without us even knowing about it, is astounding!
Hiram's Friend 3 months ago
Consider the life going on on your skin. Just 8in your eyelashes: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/eyelash-mites-are-normal-part-of-bodys-microbiome
Load More Replies... #68
TIL that the Arabian desert was also once a lush, green savannah that supported large lakes and abundant wildlife. While it's well known that the Sahara desert would go through wet and dry periods, there's now strong evidence that this was also happening on the Arabian Peninsula.
Moana Manana 3 months ago
Unrelated, but I recently heard a joke and this reminded me of it: A man was walking through the dessert, exhausted and thirty. Finally he meets a bedouin and asks: please, can you tell me where I can find water? The bedouin answers: oh that's easy, no worries. You just walk further down, just straight and on Thursday you turn right. 🤣😂😂
George Costanza 3 months ago
Supposedly the Sahara goes through green cycles and desert cycles, roughly every 20K years. The Sahara would have had to be in a green cycle for humans to migrate out of Africa.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
My grandfather once told me that he'd been a lumberjack in the Sahara forest. I said "There aren't any trees in the Sahara!" He said "Not any more, no..."
#69
TIL that Brazil in the 30s burned the equivalent of 3 times the annual worldwide consumption of coffee. They chose to burn it instead of selling it cheaply, and managed to cause the price of coffee to rise after the Great Depression. It remains one of the largest supply destructions in history.
#70
TIL in 2010 Eminem reported a high score in Donkey Kong of 465,800 with photo proof, which would have put him within the Top 30 worldwide at the time. As of March 2023, his high score ranked 191st in the world.
#71
TIL Venezuela has by far the biggest proven oil reserves in the world, but produces ~10x less oil per day than the country in second place by proven oil reserves (Saudi Arabia)
#72
TIL: That Quentin Tarantino kept the only copy of the third act of the script to 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' in a safe to prevent it from being prematurely released. Brad Pitt later revealed that the only other copy of the script was burned by Tarantino.
Spidercat 3 months ago
Tarantino also once allegedly got in a fist fight with Oliver Stone over Natural Born Kïllers because he wasn't allowed to direct it, despite writing it. It spawned his insistence on writing and directing all his own work and led to his long running relationship with Miramax, who essentially let Tarantino do as he wishes.
#73
TIL that nearly 40% of all people suffer from cancer in their lifetime
Reemerger 3 months ago
I'm not an esoteric in any way, but I bet a fiver that our modern lifestyle since the industrial revolution (pollution, highly processed food etc.) can be blamed for a lot of cancer cases.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago (edited)
Improvements in detection and identification mean it's impossible to compare how many cancer cases there were previously. Quite a few would have died from other causes (eg swordfights, ex3cut1on) without knowing they had cancer. Also - would you rather the industrial revolution hadn't happened and you had to get up at the crack of dawn to farm your own food?
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#74
Til that the first president of Turkmenistan banned beards and dogs from the capital, and ordered the closure of all hospitals and libraries outside the capital, stating that the sick should go to the capital for treatment, and that Turkmens did not read anyway
Grace Sssssss 3 months ago
Ah, Turkmenbashi. Truly one of the most insanely flashy dictators in the world.
hannahbahngswife 3 months ago
Didn't he also ban all books except his autobiography or something? If I'm not mistaken, he forced every schools, religious places and even driving schools to teach about autobiography (one minute of silence for all the people who didn't graduate because they didn't know his mom's cat's son's wife's name or something /j)
Remi (He/Him) 3 months ago
Didn't the beard thing have an age limit? Over 40 you are allowed a beard iirc
#75
TIL a Georgia lottery winner used his winnings to attempt to build a m**h empire. Less than 18 months later, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
arthbach 3 months ago
For me, it would be a pair of handmade boots. I have incredibly well muscled calves, and finding boots to fit is almost impossible. Boots would be my 'frivolous luxury'. I've lived without boots for so many year, I don't need them, but if money was no object, I'd definitely want them, and I'd wear them.
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#76
TIL Anendophasia refers to the absence of an internal monologu or inner voice. While not a clinical diagnosis, it's a concept that describes a specific way of thinking where some individuals don't experience the constant stream of self-talk that many people take for granted.
Nikki Sevven 3 months ago
I would like to experience it, as least briefly, as my brain never STFU.
#77
TIL the iPad was in development long before the iPhone, despite officially releasing 3 years after the iPhone.
#78
TIL banks keep stacks of bills with dye packs next to a magnetic plate at a bank teller's workstation. It remains in standby mode until it's removed from the plate, causing it to become armed. A radio transmitter located at the door triggers an explosion that can reach temperatures of about 400 °F.
#79
TIL JFK was almost assassinated just after his election win due to his catholic faith. JFK was only saved because the attacker didnt want to harm Jackie or kids and couldnt find the president alone .
FreeTheUnicorn 3 months ago
Not sure why you think Nixon would have done any better or differently. Troops were already in Vietnam in 58 and he supported that action. The only "ended the Vietnamese War" due to the change in domestic politics.
Load More Replies... #80
TIL: AI fever turns Anguilla’s “.ai” domain into a digital gold mine. In 2024, 23% of Anguilla's entire yearly revenue consisted of selling its national domain name ".ai".
Roxy222uk 3 months ago
Their time has truly passed. I hope they used that money wisely.
Load More Replies... #81
TIL that it wasn’t until 30 July 1956 that “In God We Trust” became the official U.S. motto. President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law passed by the 84th Congress, replacing “E Pluribus Unum” (Latin: “Out of many, one”), which has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States since 1782.
Gabby Ghoul 3 months ago
Yes! And the Soviets were so intimidated by our new motto that several decades later they gave up. 😂
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Hiram's Friend 3 months ago
The Constitution only says that the government shall not ESTABLISH a national church such as the Church of England. Frequently gotten wrong by people who've never read the Constitution.
Load More Replies... #82
TIL that Fusako Sano is a Japanese woman who was kidnapped at age 9 and held captive for nine years and two months. Rescued at 19, she was frail and mentally affected by isolation, suffering from PTSD and physical weakness. In 2007, her father drowned in a pond while they were spending time together
#83
TIL that only about 17% of Japanese citizens have passports
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
Well, duh, they live on an island. We have planes, sure, but planning a trip requiring plane travel isn't the smallest of endeavors. I probably wouldn't have one either if it weren't a useful secondary form of identification.
#84
TIL that the creator of VeggieTales mother forbade two things on the show 1. They could not display Jesus as a Vegetable 2. The Veggies can have no redemptive relationship with God
Hollerfloozy 3 months ago
Seeking redemption in one form or another? Like they couldnt talk to or about god in a way that suggests they have sinned and need forgiveness. I dont know, best i got.
Load More Replies... #85
TIL that the Mongol empire, being the largest land empire to exist, only lasted around 150 years.
Gebidozo 2 months ago
150 years is a very short time compared to most historically prominent empires. The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, for example, existed for over a 1000 years.
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Charlie the Cat 3 months ago
The British Empire was larger than the Mongol Empire. At its peak, the British Empire covered about 13.71 million square miles, while the Mongol Empire spanned roughly 9.27 million square miles. This makes the British Empire approximately 50% larger in terms of land area.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
Well, you could measure it based on the furthest points apart, in which case the British Empire would be bigger.
Load More Replies... Gebidozo 2 months ago
The Mongol Empire as a unified state, comprising all the territories the Mongols have conquered, yes, only 150, till the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in China. But parts of the empire, ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan in the conquered territories, existed far longer. The Golden Horde, for example, lasted till the 16th century.
#86
TIL after boxes of booster packs containing unreleased Magic: The Gathering cards were opened online, the publisher Wizards of the Coast sent Pinkerton agents to the home of the presenter to retrieve them. They confiscated 22 boxes after a confrontation that reportedly made the presenter's wife cry.
WalterWhiteSavannah 3 months ago
I only knew that because they tried to sue Rockstar over their depiction in red dead redemption 2.
Load More Replies... Wij 3 months ago
On what grounds? They were stolen? Pinkertons don’t have the authority to confiscate.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
No, but they have the authority to issue threats of civil litigation that would bankrupt a household due to Wizard's wide assortment of retained legal counsel. You can get a lot out of a person just by threatening to ruin their life.
Load More Replies... #87
TIL that U.S. flamethrower units had up to a 92% casualty rate on Iwo Jima, leaving few troops trained to use the weapon
TotallyNOTAFox 3 months ago (edited)
No wonder, flamethrowers were priority targets. The Red Army tried to disguise their flamethrowers as rifles to prevent drawing attention to them
Johnnynatfan 3 months ago
Until that big flame came spewing out of the nozzle.
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TIL about Williams Syndrome, a genetic condition that makes people more friendly and sociable aswell as soemewhat intellectually disabled and results in "elefin" facial features and a host of physical problems.
Lady Eowyn 3 months ago
Williams syndrome (WS), also Williams–Beuren syndrome (WBS), is a genetic disorder that affects many parts of the body.[2] Facial features frequently include a broad forehead, underdeveloped chin, short nose, and full cheeks.[2] Mild to moderate intellectual disability is observed, particularly challenges with visual spatial tasks such as drawing. Verbal skills are relatively unaffected.[2] Many people have an outgoing personality, a happy disposition, an openness to engaging with other people, increased empathy and decreased aggression.[2][4] Medical issues with teeth, heart problems (especially supravalvular aortic stenosis), and periods of high blood calcium are common.[1][2]
Bi.Felicia 3 months ago
My best friends daughter has Williams Syndrome. She's 25 years old but has the mental capacity of a 5 year old. She is typically a happy go lucky kid, who is very friendly, sometimes to a fault, which is why she's always with a trusted person, because she would walk off with a complete stranger.
#89
TIL the book Progress and Poverty by the economist Henry George, now largely forgotten, was once more widely read than any book except the Bible and was praised by Churchill, Einstein, Tolstoy and others
#90
TIL because of increasing standards of hygiene the number and size of holes in Swiss cheese declined in the 2000s. In 2025 the Swiss Federal Administrative Court approved the addition of hay flower powder to the milk during cheesemaking just for the creation of cheese holes.
Ace 3 months ago (edited)
It's misleading to talk about "Swiss Cheese" in this way. That term is only (mostly) used in the US for a generic type of cheese with holes in it, nearly all of which is produced there. . . . . In Switzerland the cheese referred to here is called Emmental, after the region where it is exclusively made, and this is the cheese to which the legislation applies, following on from US regulation changes some years before for its own domestic production. . . . . Most actual Swiss cheese, as in cheese made in Switzerland, does not have holes in it.
#91
TIL y2k cost 300 billion dollars to fix.
Johnnynatfan 3 months ago
Prevent what? Prevent the year 2000 from coming? The cost the post is talking about is from having to update computers to recognize the year 2000 it had nothing to do with prevention.
Load More Replies... #92
TIL in 2021 a bank accidentally deposited $50 billion into a Louisiana family’s account
#93
TIL the original Fallout 1 & 2 source code was believed to have been destroyed (preventing official re-releases), but a developer secretly defied orders and preserved it. The code still exists today but can't be released without Bethesda's approval.
#94
TIL: Radio station KUOW accidentally used an extensionless image for its logo on its stream. This caused Mazda infotainment systems to be permanently stuck on KUOW if it tuned in, because it didn't know what to do with an extensionless image, requiring a total replacement costing $1500
Ace 3 months ago
No idea what this all means, but they're talking about replacing car radios in Mazda vehicles.
michael reid 3 months ago
Think it means there was no file extension like .jpg or .gif
Load More Replies... Bi.Felicia 3 months ago
For those who need a little more clarification- A National Public Radio network has become a must-listen for some Mazda drivers in Washington State, as a tech bug means they are unable to retune. Owners of 2014-17 Mazdas, in the Puget Sound area, contacted KUOW to report their infotainment systems were permanently locked in to the network. Missing file extensions in album images sent with its digital-radio broadcast reportedly triggered the glitch. The fix, according to Mazda, requires the replacement of a component. So like Michael Reid said the files were missing.jpeg, etc. A radio station in the Seattle area sent image files with no extension (eg missing '.jpeg' or '.gif'), which caused an issue on some 2014-17 Mazda vehicles with older software.
#95
TIL about the artist Lee Lozano, who as a work of art titled: "Decide to Boycott Women", refused to speak or interact with other woman. It lasted the last 27 years of her life. She cut off all ties with female friends, family, fellow artists, and long-time supporters of her art.
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