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50 Unusual And Cool Facts About The World People Just Learned This June
Life’s a lot better when you stay curious and open-minded about the world. That’s easier said than done, however. Adult responsibilities, work, studies, chores, and stress all get in the way. But if you have a few minutes to spare, some corners of the internet reward you with newfound knowledge.
To share some of that knowledge with you, we’re showcasing some of the most intriguing and unusual facts shared by members of the ‘Today I Learned’ (TIL) online community this June. Scroll down to expand your mind. Hopefully, these facts will pique your curiosity and inspire you to spend more time reading about topics you never knew you were interested in.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
TIL that when his son Xinzhen was abducted by a child trafficker in 1997, Guo Gangtang spent 24 years, his life savings and 10 motorbikes on a search for him across China. They were finally reunited in 2021 and his efforts helped the Chinese authorities find over 100 more abducted children.
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#2
TIL that Ken Allen, an orangutan at the San Diego Zoo, became famous for his many successful escapes. During his escapes, he would peacefully stroll around the zoo looking at other animals. He never acted aggressively toward patrons, but would throw rocks at Otis, another orangutan he “despised”
Owen 6 months ago
Sometimes, I think that we collectively as a species do not deserve Orangutans. Such gentle giants. For all the Orangutans out there... 'Oook'.
Deta Rossiter 6 months ago
can we all aspire to this. just be happy, apart from Otis.. he got what he deserved. HAHAHA
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 6 months ago
No one else commenting that the Orangutan has the name Ken Allen?
Wild Cream 6 months ago
It’s pretty cute 😂 I love animals with normal human names. My mom’s neighbour has a dog named Greg.
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Virgil Blue 6 months ago
You can't lock up someone who knows the secrets of L space. Librarians rule oook.
Dread Pirate Roberts 6 months ago
We could learn a lot from orangutans as a society. How to be kinder, gentler, less selfish. They're very special animals who sometimes ironically show more humanity towards others than people do.
#3
TIL in 1976, Jaime Sin was appointed a Cardinal in the Catholic Church, being formally known as "Cardinal Sin". He would greet guests to his home with "Welcome to the house of Sin".
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
Not a completely unknown name in the Clergy. Fictionally, there was the Vicar of Dymchurch, Dr. Syn, a/k/a 'The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh', in the Doctor Syn series of novels by Russell Thorndike. Fairly good Disney series starring Patrick McGoohan.
zerofoxgiven 5 months ago
I absolutely despise the Catholic Church, but this is awesome, thank you, Cardinal Sin for giving me a little hope back.
Michelle C 6 months ago
That is definitely making the best of what could have been an unfortunate situation!
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
Goes well with examples I've seen personally - 'Flood Plumbing', 'Wilt's Flowers', and 'Amelia Earhart Luggage'. Oh, yeah, and 'Roach Food Mart'.
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According to Leon F. Seltzer, PhD, curiosity seems to improve your cognitive functioning. In other words, it helps your mind work more logically and efficiently.
Seltzer explains that being curious can make us more intelligent, “enhancing our critical thinking skills and making us more likely to question assumptions, challenge beliefs, assess evidence, and so make better, more informed decisions.” On top of that, curiosity can also boost your imagination and creativity.
Furthermore, curiosity can also increase your:
- Confidence
- Self-esteem
- Sense of pride
- Purpose
- Life direction
#4
TIL that in 1999, 11-year old Mitchell Schop wrote to his favorite band, Cake, and asked if they would play his Bar Mitzvah. After Schop sang his favorite song of theirs to the band over the phone, Cake agreed and made Schop's party the first stop on their 1999 world tour
Paul Donahue 6 months ago
I love Cake like a fat kid. I was going to see them for the 4th time this Summerfest, but my stupid sister had her wedding reception.
Ge Po 6 months ago
For as far as I know, yes. But I do not know how far in advance one would start planning. I the boy was 11 years and 10 months, it would be just little over a year, and if you want a famous person of group to attend, you may have to ask them way in advance as well.
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#5
TIL that Australian convicted criminal, gang member and author Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read refused a liver transplant, saying, "I'm 55-years-old; I'm not going to put my name down against some 10-year-old kid."
Owen 6 months ago (edited)
There's a good film about the convict. It's called Chopper. He did a lot of very bad things, but he did have a great sense of humour.
PeepPeep the duck 6 months ago
I was his waitress for while in cafe notturno on lygon st, I didn’t know who he was when I was his waitress but I loved his friend who was covered in tattoos, they were both lovely on my last night I got a photo with them and then found out it was the chopper Reid 😂
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Hiram's Friend 6 months ago
A liver transplant is not an entire liver, just a chunk because liver regenerates.
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
I applaud this generous attitude. I find it very distressing when old people are given a transplant when younger people are in need. You had your shot a life, now give someone else that ability.
#6
TIL the old Danish criteria for common law marriage was that" If anyone has a mistress in his home for three winters and obviously sleeps with her, and she commands lock and key and obviously eats and drinks with him, then she shall be his wife and rightful lady of the house."
BrunoVI 6 months ago
Most US states USED to have common law marriage. 8 still do, the largest being Texas. But there are some more criteria: you have to act as a married couple. No, not bickering. I mean you have to get joint back accounts or file joint taxes or simply tell people you're married.
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Fellfromthemoon 6 months ago
Does your dog command lock and key? Is she over 12?
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Lene 6 months ago
Aahh... it's from jyske lov. So basically an 800yo law we don't use anymore. Ok. Then I'm not confused anymore.
Load More Replies... In a recent article, UCLA points out that curiosity tends to wane as you get older. That being said, one type of curiosity—state curiosity—can increase into old age.
“State curiosity is what psychologists call the kind of momentary feeling of curiosity people experience when they are asked about specific topics. Trait curiosity [your general level of curiosity], on the other hand, is a personality trait. Some people, for example, might not be very inquisitive by nature, being content to accept things more or less at face value (trait curiosity), but have a passionate thirst for knowledge in specific topics or hobbies (state curiosity). All people possess varying degrees of both trait and state curiosity.”
Individuals who maintain their curiosity as they age can offset or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The reverse is also true. People who aren’t curious or interested in the world can be at greater risk of dementia.
#7
TIL that although intensely private, Joe DiMaggio allowed a children's hospital to use his name and image on condition that they never turn away a child because of inability to pay. The deal was struck with a promise and a handshake.
Zoey Bear 6 months ago
A handshake, the modern John Hancock. And that's amazing and selfless of Joe DiMaggio! ❤️
BrunoVI 6 months ago
Ironically, Joe DiMaggio absolutely hated publicity. He knew almost nothing about her acting career; she (falsely) presumed that as a baseball celebrity, he would understand about publicity. Turns out he hated all the press conferences and such and turned down movie roles; ironically he was once by far the most famous American, better known than FDR or Eisenhower. He resented the way Hollywood used Monroe's sexuality to sell movies. (I even heard a local legend that he never even consummated his marriage with her because he felt SOMEONE in her life shouldn't be after her for s*x; how ironic it was her husband!!!) Sadly, he allegedly (but credibly) hit her several times after witnessing the filming of the Seven Year Itch (where her skirt flies up) (Neither ever claimed this.). They divorced, he went into counselling, gave up drinking, and eventually reconciled. Supposedly, they were planning remarriage when she overdosed. She called him the shyest man she ever met.
Load More Replies... BrunoVI 6 months ago
That coat is hiding the muscles of a man who could launch a baseball 450 feet.
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Saltypepper 6 months ago
True ..sad it still can't be that way ,wish it was
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nm 6 months ago
I read that DiMaggio, even after their divorce, remained deeply affected by Monroe, and there are indications that he still cared for her. He ordered red roses to be delivered to her grave three times a week ``forever''.
#8
TIL after a woman put $40 into a lottery vending machine with the intention of buying multiple cheaper tickets, "some rude person" bumped into her & caused her to accidentally select a $30 ticket. She was annoyed until she started scratching that ticket & realized she'd won the $10 million jackpot.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
For some reason we never seem to hear the stories of losing lottery tickets. It's certainly not because of a lack of availability.
The Darkest Timeline 6 months ago
We have heard of the guy who lost his hard drive with his bitcoin “fortune” on it which is a bit like losing a lottery ticket
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Panda'sMom 6 months ago
Maybe that person wasn't so much rude, but been put there for a purpose?
Saltypepper 6 months ago
I would have given him some,after all if he didn't bump her shed a just lost 40 ..
#9
TIL that, in the first printed attestation of orangutans in western sources, Malays claimed the ape could talk but preferred not to “lest he be compelled to labour”
Jane Hower 6 months ago
Love that. I heard about the old guy who got a hearing aid but still didn't talk. A friend asked why and he said they still think he can't hear and he's changed his will 3 times already. hehe
The ‘Today I Learned’ group, boasting 41 million members, is one of the largest communities on Reddit. Originally, it was created in late 2008. The premise is simple: you share interesting facts about something that you only recently found out.
These aren’t random opinions or biased posts either. If you want to share something you learned on the TIL sub, you must back up the facts you post with reliable, objective sources. The high bar set by the moderators is one of the reasons why the subreddit continues to be so incredibly successful.
#10
TIL that a sunfish in a Japanese aquarium became so lonely after the aquarium closed to visitors for renovations that it stopped eating. Only after staff placed photos of people’s faces near its tank did the sunfish perk up and start eating again
Jaya 6 months ago (edited)
I wonder if he's actually lonely, or just bored out of his mind. Fish need stuff to keep them occupied and mentally stimulated when they're in an aquarium. Putting up photos of faces could simply mean something new happening which gets him stimulated again.
Wild Cream 6 months ago
Same reason why I leave my tv on “cat tv” on YouTube for my cats when I’m out of the house - without the stimulation they just sleep all day
#11
TIL 15-year-old Shyam Lal in India decided to take his spade and dig a pond to quench the thirst of people and cattles. Fellow villagers laughed at him. Lal identified a spot in the forest in and kept digging — for 27 years. The result was a one-acre 15-feet deep pond.
ohjojo (you/your's) 6 months ago
well he dug another hole next to the pond he was digging and put the dirt into that.
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#12
TIL Humans are not the only species that has discovered agriculture. Ants have been practicing agriculture for at least 50 million years. The domestication of plant, fungus, and animal species by ants is well documented.
A penny for your thoughts, Pandas. Which of the TIL facts that we’ve featured here today genuinely surprised you? Which ones got you thinking about the topic so much that you actually want to do more research?
On the other hand, which of these facts did you actually know before? What do you do to stay curious about the world, no matter what life throws at you? We’re always happy to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments below.
#13
TIL that Jeremy Clarkson’s mother, Shirley Clarkson, designed and created the very first Paddington Bear toy in the early 1970s, prototypes that she made for Jeremy and his sister later became a licensed product that funded his education and helped launch his TV career
Poppy 6 months ago
So we have Paddington to thank for releasing that monstrosity on to our tv screens?
Mook The Mediocre 6 months ago
He works hard to look that way. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's no idiot.
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TIL there’s a philosophy that believes humans shouldn’t procreate and should eventually go extinct and it’s called antinatalism
David Smith 6 months ago
There ARE a lot of humans who shouldn't have been allowed to procreate!
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
Very familiar with this philosophy. Considering no other species has ever been as destructive to the planet, I think it's a great idea. Humans, imo, are the worst species to have ever existed.
Senjo Krane 6 months ago
I'm on the fence here. I believe Earth doesn't need us, but I also love living here...
DaisyBee 6 months ago
I get that. I’m of the belief that nature gonna do what nature gonna do. If that means we keep having kids and creating more humans, fine. If nature decides it’s done with us and some event happens that wipes us out? That’s fine too.
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Gerry Higgins 6 months ago
The Earth and all the inhabitants {except humans} would be better off. All we do is trash the place. Be sure to turn the nuclear power off before we die out though
MagicJacket 6 months ago
Due to the ridiculous cost of living, with corporations gobbling up properties and pricing people out of owning a home, health care and education costs, my kids will probably never have kids, so they are involuntary antinatalists I guess.
#15
TIL in the 1980s, a woman bought a ring at a car boot sale for £10 & proceeded to wear it regularly under the assumption it was a piece of costume jewelry. However when she had it appraised decades later, it was identified as a real 26-carat diamond ring from the 1800s, which she then sold for £656K
Judy Reynolds 6 months ago
She wore it all those years because she liked it! I find that heartwarming!!
Wang Zhuang 6 months ago
I think it should be standard practice for people who put jewelry up for sale to have it appraised beforehand. Congrats to the woman, but I feel kinda bad for the person who didn't realize what they were selling.
Becky Samuel 6 months ago
Jewellery appraisals are expensive. If you're lucky enough to find a local jeweller who's prepared to look over your items for free then you might get lucky, or you might not. It's quite tricky holding your own when someone gives you what seems like a reasonable offer on a piece, and they're hardly motivated to tell you to take it elsewhere and make more of a profit.
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Savannah greenleaf 6 months ago
That's pretty good. The best I ever found was a $1 dress that had a $10 in a pocket.
Danielle 6 months ago
I bought a glittery dress for £8 a couple of weeks ago, did a Google image search and found it on the retailer's website for £400!
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#16
TIL Ireland's population peaked in the census of 1841 with over 8 million people. It never recovered from the long lasting effects of the potato famine. Was at 4 million for half a century. Today, it's at 7.2 million, having not fully recovered almost 2 centuries post famine
Spidercat 6 months ago
Manufactured famine. There were plenty of potatoes but England were shipping them across the Irish channel. Stop calling it a famine and call it what it was... attempted genocide.
David 6 months ago
1) the British didn't ship the potatoes, the british shipped the Irish wheat and barley across the channel. And 2) it is a famine, bc there was a Potato blight that ravaged the potato crops, so unlike previous years where the Potatoes were able to sustain ireland, that year there wasn't, but the British refused to stop the grain shipments, even though there was enough grain to sustain ireland (though barely, it would have been barely enough, and the Brits made sure the Protestants had enough food). So there was a large reduction in the food supply from a natural disaster, which is the definition of a famine, the fact there was enough food produced to save the population and it was taken away is a different aspect, and part of the dark legacy of British rule
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Michael Largey 6 months ago
For those of you wondering, 7.2 million is the current population of the entire island, not just the Republic of Ireland.
ॐBoyGanesh 6 months ago
Some think there shouldn’t be such a distinction between the entire island and the republic.
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shg stewart 6 months ago
There are still fewer Jews in the world than there were before the H*******t, too.
Debby Keir 6 months ago
But a lot more emigrated. There are more 'Irish' people in other countries than there are in Ireland.
#17
TIL that all diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, such as Creutzfeldt–Jakob and fatal insomnia, have a perfect 100% mortality rate. There are no cases of survival and these diseases are invariably fatal.
Virgil Blue 6 months ago
They are like those SF nanomachines. Little molecular devices that have gone wrong.
Load More Replies... Spidercat 6 months ago
And this is why cannibals don't eat certain parts of the body like spinal columns and brains...
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 6 months ago
But some do. There's a prion disease called kuru which was caused by eating brain tissue.
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Mook The Mediocre 6 months ago
"have a perfect 100% mortality rate. There are no cases of survival and these diseases are invariably fatal." -- That's a good way to say exactly the same thing three times.
Rick Murray 6 months ago
"are no cases of survival and these diseases are invariably fatal" - was this written by AI?
Karynne Williams 6 months ago
Okay, I had been disqualified from donating blood due to possible C-J exposure in the 90s when I lived in Spain and ate british beef. I have since been cleared to donate blood, does that mean that if I had it, I would be dead by now?
ChickyChicky 6 months ago
Probably. I couldn't donate blood for a while due to living in europe in the early 2000s.
Load More Replies... #18
TIL People with social anxiety disorder have a different gut microbiome - transplanting their microbiome to mice causes the mice to suffer from increased social fear
David Paterson 6 months ago
Ditto obesity. Completely different gut microbiome. Which opens up the possibility that obesity is actually an infectious disease.
Ace 6 months ago
Some experiments with mice, not people, suggest some sort of link but it's far from definitive, a long way from any possible treatments.
BrunoVI 6 months ago
In the meanwhile, just to be safe, I'm not eating any socially anxious mice.
Load More Replies... Becky Samuel 6 months ago
To be fair, if a scientist 1,000 times my size forcibly fed me póop, I'd also suffer from increased social fear.
#19
TIL at the luxurious French brothel One-Two-Two there were themed rooms. One of the rooms, the Orient Express was a replica of a train car. It had sound effects and shook and bounced like a real train in motion. You could even have an intrusive conductor barge into the room and join in.
PrettyJoyBird 6 months ago
He was very much against touching and germs. Took him and Amy years then it was once a year per their contract. 😉 ;)
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Riley Quinn 6 months ago
Can the train room simply be a solo experience bc I think it would be a peaceful way to spend the night.
Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero" 6 months ago
So... does someone get to dress up as Inspector Poirot? And if so, which one; Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Kenneth Branagh, or Alfred Molina's version?
#20
TIL that in 2003 Hideo Kojima designed a Game Boy Advance game with a light sensor built into the cartridge. The player's in-game weapon is charged by taking the game outside and playing it in natural sunlight, and game mechanics change when it's dark out in your area
Owen 6 months ago
It's called Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand. I had to Google that one, but I remember knowing of it when I was a kid and wanting it.
Virgil Blue 6 months ago
It was a great idea, but the sensor didn't work well in our less sunny climate, so that was a bummer.
ॐBoyGanesh 6 months ago
As I’m currently playing Death Stranding II, I keep thinking how much I’d hate to have this man’s nightmares. Or worse, sleep paralysis.
#21
TIL house cats are considered to be "semi-domesticated"
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Basically. We had an outdoor cat at one point that liked to be let out into the back yard. He realized that he could get our attention to open the door by playing with a Christmas decoration that we had hanging from the door, which would ring a bell. Christmas passes and we keep the bell up. My dad was so proud that he trained the cat to use the bell to let us know when he wanted outside. A friendly reminder that if they're the one ringing the bell, they're not the one undergoing classical conditioning.
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 6 months ago
Come on OP, did you really think that cats could be domesticated in the short span of 12,000 yrs???
Fluffyllama30 6 months ago
Mine can’t hunt worth anything brings back various critters unharmed…but don’t try eating turkey, noodles, or chicken nuggets
Edward Loopyderm 6 months ago
That's what they want you to think. It's the humans that are semi-domesticated by the cats.
#22
TIL blood lost during a cycle isn’t blood that’s been “stored” over the month long cycle, it’s blood coming from blood vessels in the uterus. As the uterine lining pulls away, ‘tiny’ ruptures/tears are caused in the blood vessels, and heavy cycles are caused by enlarged vessels & hormone imbalance
Agfox 6 months ago
Speaking of bleeding, TIL that we’re all born with haemorrhoids, but they typically don’t bother us. It’s only when they swell/enlarge that they produce irritating symptoms
BrunoVI 6 months ago
Colonic polyps. They are only hemorrhoids when they commonly fall outside of your butt.
Load More Replies... Debby Keir 6 months ago
Only 50% of menstrual fluid is actually 'blood' - the rest is vaginal secretions, mucous and uterine lining. No wonder it hurts.
Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero" 6 months ago
And this is why the "Creationist Vision & Intelligent Design over Evolutionary Development" people irritate me. Because, that means that they are okay with their version of God making women naturally suffer excruciating pain throughout their lives. Like this is something to be proud of.
Rebecca A. Corvello 6 months ago
Just curious... Where would we be storing this blood for an entire MONTH? I mean we'd need an entire other organ the size of our bladder to do this. Or, you know, every time you had s*x throughout the month you'd run the risk of gushing? Not sure how that made any logical sense to anyone in the first place?
Deep One 6 months ago
I read an article that stated the reason human woman bleed so much is that human embryos act more like a parasite, demanding far more resources than other animals. So the womb is thicker and involves much more tissue. (I don't remember if it is more complex or just more of everything in general.)
K Barnes 6 months ago (edited)
I just learned that super heavy periods aren't actually just the blood that's stored and meant to be lost, you're not spasming and clotting properly and losing normal blood. Sometimes excessively to the point that you need to take blood clotting d***s. Happy perimenopause, y'all!
ohjojo (you/your's) 6 months ago
wow. just glossed over the entire fact that women have to deal with every single month the uterine lining tearing rupturing and them having to bleed in order to hear these other stories. thank you daisy bee for staying on topic
TotallyNOTAFox 6 months ago
It`s also very rare for mammals - Aside from primates (us included) only some mice and bats have menstruation cycles
Mook The Mediocre 6 months ago
I tried a menstruation cycle once. It lacked gears, had poor suspension, and left an awkward stain behind it on the bike path.
Load More Replies... #23
TIL of the 85 known d***s that interact with grapefruit, 43 can have serious side-effects including sudden death, acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and bone marrow suppression in people with weakened immune systems.
Son of Philosoraptor 6 months ago
It's because it changes the liver's process of metabolization. Slows it down.
iseefractals 6 months ago
Grapefruit juice famously increases the conversion of codeine into morphine. This interaction is due to grapefruit's ability to inhibit certain enzymes, particularly CYP3A4, and transporters in the intestines that are involved in the metabolism and absorption of codeine
Load More Replies... Chuck 6 months ago
I had the exact same thought... or use a human to do it. AI is stupid.
Load More Replies... Virgil Blue 6 months ago
Grapefruit would nullify or warp the effects of 2 of my medications. It's a very scary fruit if you are at risk for it.
quentariel 6 months ago
One of mine too. Luckily I'm not a hig fan of grapefruit.
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Deta Rossiter 6 months ago
i read d*aths 6 times before i realised that it must be dr*gs. Just block the bl**dy vowels will you!
#24
TIL the first words ever spoken in a feature film were, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” — delivered by Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927).
#25
TIL that in 1906, a serial k**ler in Morocco was sentenced to death by immurement (being walled in).
Spidercat 6 months ago
This is fine. We used to be a proper planet where serial kìllers and rapïsts actually faced proper punishment.
Alewa 6 months ago
When in the history of this planet did rapi sts ever face proper punishment?
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GenericElder 6 months ago
The amount of cruelty among the comments on this one is terrifying. "Cruel and unusual" punishments are not necessary (as Roland C. puts it: "a bullet to the head does the job as well"). Seeking justice shouldn't be as cruel as the crimes committed.
RedMarbles 6 months ago
Yeah, agreed. Thankfully there are also some who seem to value incorporating ideals into a society.
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 6 months ago
I understand how people in the field of psychology are intrigued, but for the rest of us, do we really need to pay for their upkeep (i.e. prison cell).
RedMarbles 6 months ago
It's not just for their entertainment, though. The more we learn about why people do these things, the better chance of reducing the behavior. I'd rather live in that type of society than the kind where they're quick to k**l convicted people as a method to supposedly make society safer.
Load More Replies... Panda'sMom 6 months ago
Should do this more often. Let's re-learn to PUNISH criminals instead of making up excuses for their actions and coddling them!
Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero" 6 months ago
I am pretty liberal, but I can live with that type of punishment. Especially if it means that the killer will never harm or k**l another innocent person again. I have no problem with that whatsoever. Personally, I also think rapists should be put to death too. Serial Killers, Spree Killers, Rapists, and Pedophiles are not ever going to be rehabilitated. Anyone who thinks so, is really naive. And, I despise people who "follow" Serial Killers, like a band. My brother was m******d by two men in 2010, and one day, just the three of us are going to take a walk into the desert.
#26
TIL in 2014 Ben Affleck was banned for life from playing blackjack at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas after he was caught on camera counting cards at a high rollers table. He was told by security that he was "too good" and had been deemed an advantage blackjack player.
The Darkest Timeline 6 months ago (edited)
Why would you need to learn how to count cards for a movie role? There is literally no reason to do that when they can write, film, and edit the scene in a way that makes it looks as if he knows how to do it. That would be like if Cillian Murphy learned nuclear physics in order to play Oppenheimer. I mean, maybe he just wanted to learn how to do it but not knowing it wouldn’t effect the sense of authenticity in the final product.
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detective miller's hat 6 months ago
I had a maths professor at uni who taught us probability by teaching us how to count cards. I am absolutely horrendous at maths in general, but I can still do probability in my head.
ILoveMySon 6 months ago
The casinos don't approve, however, contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal. My friend is a brilliant card counter and has been banned in some establishments. He is an attorney who explained it is NOT illegal but patrons can, obviously, be banned.
Load More Replies... GenericElder 6 months ago
Yet another reason not to gamble. "If you're too good at this game, you're not allowed to play."
Roland C. 6 months ago
How do you get caught counting cards? Isn't it done in your head? Just admit he was winning too much and so they kicked him out.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Your pattern of betting reveals it. They know you're counting because they're counting too if you win a lot and recognize when you're taking advantage of a favorable count.
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John Mishasek 6 months ago
Threatened with being banned at craps tables for very long rolls. Had one roll that lasted one hour and 15 minutes. Rolled 7s on come out roll so often entire table of players hopped 7s on one of my come out rolls and I rolled a 7 getting everyone a nice payout on that roll.
#27
TIL 2055 brown recluse spiders were removed from a house in Kansas. The spiders had four human roommates who had lived in their house for many years and were never bitten, despite frequent encounters with the spiders.
Owen 6 months ago
I lived with a large spider in my bedroom for a few years. Sometimes I would feel her skitter across me when half-asleep. I never bothered her, she never bit me. I was just her roommate.
Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero" 6 months ago (edited)
Nope. Just burn the house down. Preferably from orbital bombardment.
Motivated sloth 6 months ago
I have one on my porch. I don’t like to k**l spiders so he’s probably still around but I do have scars where it has bitten me. I might k**l him next time I see him.
#28
TIL that after featuring as the "childlike empress" in The Neverending Story, the 11 year old actress began receiving marriage proposals from adult men resulting in her hiatus from acting until she was an adult.
GenericElder 6 months ago
It SHOULD be surprising - and dealt with immediately.
Load More Replies... SCP 4666 6 months ago
Her parents withdrew her from acting fearing she might face similar difficulties as other child actors. Today she works as a dance instructor
Load More Replies... GenericElder 6 months ago
It SHOULD be surprising. Why should that be "accepted as not surprising"?
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Blue Sky 6 months ago
Why is Hollywood s3xualiźing them. Taxi Driver, Blue Lagoon ....
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#29
TIL that in 2020, an Oregon man driving a stolen car crashed into a woman driving another stolen car
#30
TIL of the 1997Jarrell, Texas "Dead Man Walking" tornado, a slow-moving F5 twister that sat over a subdivision for three full minutes, subjecting it to 260+ mph winds. It erased everything, killed 27 people, plus hundreds of cattle, and blended their remains together unrecognizably.
Wild Cream 6 months ago
I just watched a video on this. The aftermath is terrifying….there’s NOTHING left. People reported having vehicles in their driveway before the tornado, and never finding even a single piece of that vehicle ever again. There was also a field of cows that was massacred - so many humans were ripped to shreds too that authorities were having a hard time separating cow and human remains :( they said that once the tornado passed, it was pure silence. No crying, no creaking of collapsing buildings, no voices calling for help. Just silence.
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
If you have a strong stomach, Wikipedia goes into gruesome detail, and explains how a photograph of the tornado caught the "legs" of the storm which looked like the Grim Reaper, hence the name Dead Man Walking.
Papa 6 months ago
It's a group of homes built around the same time, often with similar designs, and often on land that had been farm or ranch land previously.
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ROSESARERED 6 months ago
It didn't like their HOA rule. Seriously, super scary, and sad....blended their remains together 😪
GrowingThruConcrete 6 months ago
This failed to mention why it was called that... Check out the videos
Wild Cream 6 months ago
For those who are curious but don’t want to leave this article - the tornado had multiple vortexes (meaning several different funnels) and there’s a video/series of images online that makes the tornado look like it has legs and is walking
Load More Replies... #31
TIL Marottichal a village in India was rife with alcoholism and illicit gambling, but everything changed after one man taught the town to play chess. Miraculously, the game’s popularity flourished while drinking and gambling declined.
Basko 6 months ago
I mean there is drinking chess, you drink one shot for each oponent piece taken. It equlizes the game as the more you are winning, the less cognitive strength is left...
Load More Replies... Boredandsomea 6 months ago
want to play... gambling losses.... angst.... more drinking... money losses... more gambling to make up for losses... more angst... more drinking.... CHESS! =)
#32
TIL a human brain uses 12 watts to think while, if it could, an AI system doing the same processing could use 2.7 billion watts
Ben Cor 6 months ago
This is stupid. We don't know how an AI could think like us. How could we know how much power it would need? Pretty sure it would be something ridiculous like OP is saying, but there is no way to know.
Norm Gilmore 6 months ago
Sounds suspiciously like something an AI would say....
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 6 months ago
Based on the last US election and the absolutely hideous passing of The BBB that will negatively effect countless lives, I'm feel certain that many voters and members of Congress are using far less than 12 watts.
Rick Murray 6 months ago
We've have billions of years to evolve and optimise the algorithms for parallel processing and to offload a load of things to dedicated hardware (it's why we keep seeing faces in shadows, there's literally an autonomous unit inside that pulls images from our eyeballs and says "face here!"). AI, on the other hand, is a crapshoot that's barely a decade old thrown together to try to run before it can crawl.
Rich Black 4 months ago
which computer is actually using 2.7 billion watts? that's 3% of the total US generating capacity?
#33
TIL that there is a strategy for winning competitive debates called “spreading”, which involves making as many arguments as possible within a short time so that the opponent is unable to respond to them all. The technique has been described as unfair and as “sounding like a cattle auctioneer”.
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
At a d**n cattle auction. Jesus, it's right in the post. It's definitely not the go-to strategy of a semi-sentient shade of the color orange that was voted into office recently.
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Riley Quinn 6 months ago
This is definitely in the GOP playbook. By throwing all sorts of cr@p at us, we don't have time to verify all of it, and when we come up for air, there's another volley being thrown at us.
Erik Hedenskog 6 months ago
You are right,the Republicans throw out some could say too many solutions but the Democrats just want to form committees and have meetings that offer no solutions.
Load More Replies... veirdbuttrue 6 months ago
Well yes that is unfair. You are basically trying to bamboozle your opponent
Gerry Higgins 6 months ago
This is what Trump does. He makes so many crazy accusations and claims that the press don't know which ones to cover and cannot debunk them all. Also called Rapid Fire Governing - keep'em so busy they don't know what you're up to until it's too late.
Virgil Blue 6 months ago
This sounds like a Gish Gallop as well. And is indeed a totally dishonest tactic that paints you as a shady character unable to win a debate on evidence or reason. Creationists and young earthers love using it.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Careful. If all those arguments squeezed into a short time are all false, you may get sued for copyright infringement by Fox News.
David Paterson 6 months ago
The book "straight and crooked thinking" contains about thirty other unfair strategies used in debates.
#34
TIL at Animal Kingdom in Disney World balloons aren’t allowed so they created a “balloon daycare” where your balloon is stored and they’ll give you a report card about its day and its activities.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
Balloons should be banned due to their deleterious effect on wildlife.
amy lee 6 months ago (edited)
And use helium which we actually need for things like MRI and the large hadron collider.
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Jeannie Boudreau 6 months ago
There are 4 parks in Disney World, so someone could buy one at another park and then go to Animal Kingdom on the same day.
Load More Replies... #35
TIL that French used to have and provide mobile military brothels to their soldiers between WW1 and as late as 2003.
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
When Germany won the voting process to host the 2006 World Cup, a day later it was announced that plans had been submitted to the Berlin City Council to build the world’s biggest brothel!
David 6 months ago
I mean, given the rate of soldiers who don't have sexual release committing r*pes historically, brothels for soldiers was a way going back to the Ancient Romans at least, of ensuring soldiers wouldnt be preying on local women (Romans used to have wagons of women who chose to travel with the legions, and could become quite rich from their services). It is a smart way to both prevent attacks on local women, and also control STD's (in ww2, French military brothels the women were checked daily by doctors on hand for example.)
superfluous 6 months ago
Because sexual release is a necessity [büllshit]?? Because military discipline is not enough to keep men from committing crimes [büllshit]?? WTAF? Men can't control themselves [büllshit]? What's wrong with their hands? Self pleasuring not good enough, gotta råpe someone?? In war, men were ALLOWED to r**e women as a way of terrorizing.
Load More Replies... John Dilligaf 6 months ago
The Bordels militaires de campagne ("military field brothels") From the wiikipeadia entry : The last BMC in France, that of the Foreign Legion's 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment in Calvi, Corsica was closed in 1978. The last BMC on French territory, in Kourou, French Guiana closed in 1995, following a complaint by a Brazilian pimp for unfair competition. (That's hilarious BTW). The Foreign Legion still had a BMC in the Republic of Djibouti as late as 2003.
BrunoVI 6 months ago (edited)
Way back in the wars between England and France, a woman campaigned the French officers to end the practice of providing prostitutes for their troops. She claimed she was commanded to do in a vision of Jesus Christ. When they resisted, she personally led the troops into combat, and won a long series of military victories. Other military leaders attributed her victories to giving the soldiers a sense that their prayers would be answered now that they weren't so sinful. When the Dauphin refused to invade England, she was tormented by the fact that she was no longer receiving visions of Christ to guide her. (Maybe Christ didn't WANT her to invade England?) She lost, was captured by the British and burned at the stake for dressing in men's clothing. (They refused to give her women's clothing, yet demanded she appear before them.)
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
So the Japanese were not the only ones with 'Comfort Women'. Wonder if the French used French women of foreigners?
John Dilligaf 6 months ago
I don't know if it was typical, but the French field brothel at Dien Bien Phu had Vietnamese and Algerian prostitutes. So a mix of imported workers and "local talent". The women apparently doubled as orderlies and nursing assistants during the siege.
Load More Replies... #36
TIL The original Jungle Gym was originally designed to help children comprehend the 4th dimension as a tesseract by an eccentric British mathematician.
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
Oooh! Find and read 'A Wrinkle In Time', by Madeline L'Engel!
Load More Replies... Bill Swallow 6 months ago
There are some. They tend to be shunned by the community.
Load More Replies... Wild Cream 6 months ago
Well I didn’t comprehend the 4th dimension, but I sure had a chance to comprehend the 3rd pretty hard when I chipped a tooth on the monkey bars lmao
PrettyJoyBird 6 months ago
Oooo been there. Was 7. On our backyard metal fence!
Load More Replies... Bill Swallow 6 months ago
For some fun, read the humorous short story "And He Built A Crooked House", by Robert Heinlein.
#37
TIL Spanish entomologist Luis Méndez de Torres was the first to realize, in the late 1500s, the "king" bee was, in fact, a female. But he didn't call it "queen," but "mistress of the swarm."
Uncle Panda 6 months ago
Queen is a poor label when applied to bees because of the human connotations. She's the sole egg producer and she serves at the pleasure of the hive. If she gets old, slows down, or is otherwise dysfunctional, the hive begins growing 5-6 new queens, one of which will take over.
Wild Cream 6 months ago
To be honest, the term always reminded me of several queens in history and what they had to go through 😅 and how they were replaced when no longer “useful”
Load More Replies... The Darkest Timeline 6 months ago
No, it isn’t, although I can think of at least two reasons why you might jump to this conclusion: 1) “Mistress” is often used to denote the female with whom a married man is having an affair and, 2) English doesn’t typically use gendered verbs. However, “mistress” is the female equivalent of “master”. For example: in an orchestra, the first-chair violin is known as the “concertmaster” if they are male or “concertmistress” if they are female. Hope that explains why you’ve been given some downvotes.
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#38
TIL. Astronauts left mirrors on the moon for scientists on earth to bounce lasers off.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
There's an episode of The Big Bang Theory where they do this. Penny's ex is there and goes, "How do you know it won't blow up?" "The laser?" "The moon."
Wild Cream 6 months ago
Sharks with frickin’ laser beams strapped to their heads shooting at the moon? (Marjorie Taylor Greene’s next conspiracy theory)
Load More Replies... David Paterson 6 months ago
What is more interesting is that the mirrors on the Moon used by scientists for lunar laser ranging are those on the Russian Lunakhod. They lasted much longer than the American mirrors.
Forrest Hobbs 6 months ago
They're more like "cats eye" retroreflectors than just plain mirrors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_retroreflectors_on_the_Moon. A retroreflector sends light back in the direction it arrived in; mirrors don't.
#39
TIL Alleged spy Mata Hari was a famous exotic dancer who never appeared fully nude onstage. Although she would strip off most of her clothes, her jeweled breastplate would remain. This was because she was self-conscious about her small breasts.
Mook The Mediocre 6 months ago
Females don't understand that most men would never spurn a títty of any size, shape or colour.
Wild Cream 6 months ago
One thing I enjoy about being a lady with smaller b00bs is how appreciated they really are by some people 😊 there really are people out there who prefer a smaller b00b. They do exist. Growing up I felt so self conscious over my B cups too because I thought you needed at LEAST DDs to be considered attractive (thanks mainstream media). So many shirts/bikinis I didn’t wear until I was mid-20s because I thought my chest wasn’t big enough - now I couldn’t care less 😎 I love my lil tiddies. Love yours too!
Erik Hedenskog 6 months ago
I dated a French girl that used to say that if you couldn't fit one in a champagne glass they were too big.
Load More Replies... #40
TIL Studies show patients suffering from kidney stones often passed the stones while riding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Roland C. 6 months ago
Maybe NASA should rent out its astronaut centrifuge for medical purposes.
Forrest Hobbs 6 months ago
Rollercoasters do the job. This is real. "Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Roller Coaster" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27669068/
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Lauren K 6 months ago
I currently have about eight total in my kidneys. How many times do you think I need to ride to get them all out?
Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero" 6 months ago
Of all the pain from injuries, the pain from Kidney Stones was the worst pain I have ever experienced. It easily surpasses the pain that I have felt from; being beaten unconscious, being shot, being stabbed, and getting 2nd Degree Burns on about 70% of my body. It is the only pain that ever made me vomit.
AngelWolfe 6 months ago
I second that. I had kidney stones whilst I was pregnant, doctors were adamant I was in labour and wouldn't listen when I told them I wasn't but the pai was excruciating . . . Clearly they knew better! It wasn't until my dad stepped in (ex husband was beyond useless) that they actually stared to listen to me otherwise I would have had to endure a cesarian and possibly losing my son.
Load More Replies... #41
TIL Comet Hale-Bopp was independently discovered in 1995 by two people: astronomer Alan Hale and amateur stargazer Thomas Bopp. Both immediately alerted the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams to report their discovery. Hale sent an e-mail, while Bopp sent a Western Union telegram.
Roland C. 6 months ago
Did Alan Hale discover it while on a three-hour tour or after he got to the island?
Gerry Higgins 6 months ago
The Heaven's Gate comet. The Comet with the most deaths associated with it since the big one took out the dinosaurs.
Rich Black 4 months ago
Hale's aster email went straight to bureaus spam folder, denying him the sole award.
#42
TIL Galapagos tortoises have been known to k**l the finches that groom them for parasites. The tortoise will suddenly retract its limbs to lay flat, and purposely fall on the bird, k**ling it and consuming it for protein.
Nizumi 6 months ago
Horses have been known to snaffle up chicken chicks for a little protein snack. Mice eat nestling albatrosses alive. Sheep have also been known to eat just the heads of nestlings on remote islands of North Atlantic. Basically there are a LOT of "herbivores" that have a wee meat snack once in a while when their protein and calcium reserves are low.
G A 6 months ago
Horses have eaten PEOPLE. As did a zoo elephant on one occasion. One also used to save bread, throw it to tempt ducks into its pen, then stomped on them for fun. Animals can be ar seholes too.
Load More Replies... #43
TIL Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from the original Superman) had a manic breakdown after the laptop she was using to write her autobiography crashed. She disappeared for four days
JB 6 months ago
Anyone who has had a computer crash while writing a university paper understands perfectly
Melissa Harris 6 months ago
Yeah. Had that happen in Uni. Rewrote the entire paper in 2 days. Didn't sleep and nearly had a breakdown from exhaustion.
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Deta Rossiter 6 months ago
try adding an image to a word doc. you can agree that a manic breakdown is perfectly acceptable response.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
She returned to acting briefly after that in a couple of episodes of "Smallville", playing Dr Swann's assistant. Clark asks her if she and Dr Swann ever had a thing. She goes, "In another life." Smallville was full of little easter eggs like that.
Mook The Mediocre 6 months ago
Same thing happened to Agatha Christie in 1926. Believe it or not.
Rich Black 4 months ago
only a crazy person would invest this much importance in their autobiography as an actress.
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
I kept all my business records on my computer, so when it crashed, I had a mini-breakdown. Several times, since the next couple of PCs crashed, too. Now, if my PC crashes, I'll be extremely upset, but knowing everything is backed up offline is a reassurance (of sorts).
detective miller's hat 6 months ago
This is why I always write the first draft by hand. I will never trust a computer for that.
#44
TIL After British Airways Flight 9 flew through volcanic ash, the Captain announced "We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress."
Ace 6 months ago (edited)
Here's the pilot talking about it on a QI episode from a year or two back. When asked "how did you keep so calm" he replied "well what else could I do". Respect. Huge respect. Sadly he died aged 84 last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCnE5vymcqg
David Paterson 6 months ago (edited)
They managed to restart three of the four engines before the emergency landing.
Forrest Hobbs 6 months ago
It turns out he had to make an announcement over the PA because the usual system the pilot would use to communicate with the cabin crew was out of action.
Load More Replies... David Shaw 6 months ago
I remember reading that all he could think was "My God! I'm flying the world's largest glider!"
#45
TIL that Tom Selleck was almost cast as Indiana Jones instead of Harrison Ford. He only lost out because CBS wouldn't let him out of his contract for Magnum PI.
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
And everyone is grateful. There likely wouldn't have been the successful franchise without Harrison Ford.
roddy 6 months ago
It's hard to imagine a different face for the franchise, but I bet if Tom had done it, we'd have a hard time imagining Harrison in it. There's always another way to do something successfully. We just can't picture it after the fact.
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TotallyNOTAFox 6 months ago (edited)
Well we also nearly had OJ Simpson as Terminator, though he was rejected because nobody would believe he could play an ice cold killer in a believable manner....
Melissa Harris 6 months ago
Selleck was cast. He was first choice but his Magnum P.I. obligation caused him to drop out and Spielberg to audition Harrison Ford at George Lucas' insistence.
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
And that's how he ended up selling snake oil, I mean reverse mortgages.
Janine Randall 6 months ago
Selleck did a similar movie "High Road to China". It was ok, but obviously an Indiana Jones duplicate.
#46
TIL that the demand for Ozempic is so great that it has boosted Denmark's entire economy
WindySwede 6 months ago
But less weight could mean better health and also not getting diabetes?
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Aileen Grist 6 months ago
I, and other diabetics, are told that we cannot have it as there isn'[t enough for those who actually need it
Rich Black 4 months ago
wait, now they'd have us believe that Denmark had obesity epidemic before that?
Rinso The Red 6 months ago
I have to self inject for RA, you'd be surprised how fast you get used to it.
Load More Replies... #47
TIL that Hetty Green, also called the “witch of Wall Street,” was incredibly rich, yet she continued to live in inexpensive lodgings, avoiding any display of wealth and seeking medical treatment for herself at charity clinics. On her death in 1916, Green left an estate of more than $100,000,000.
Panda McPandaface 6 months ago
I think that sort of person is more commonly known as a 'miser'.
Wild Cream 6 months ago
Yeah honestly what’s the point of having all that money if she’s not going to use it for anything 😂 might as well live in poverty at that point. At the very least she could have used it to do some good!
Load More Replies... Michelle C 6 months ago (edited)
Some of the claims about her, such as that she preferred to have her son’s leg amputated in order to save money when he had an illness, are false. Her Wikipedia page, for example, states that she was subject to a number of unjust accusations, simply for her wealth. “The harshest accusation, however, was that she neglected treating her son's injured leg, which eventually resulted in an amputation. The evidence cited was her refusal to pay for a visit to a single physician. However, there is substantial evidence that Green put great expense and effort to treat her son. This included visits to multiple specialists, as well as temporarily relocating her residence so that she could care for him.” The refutation draws on several contemporary sources of her day.
#48
TIL that Judaism has a roughly 2500-year-old prayer for using the bathroom in which you thank God for giving you the right number of orifices and not sealing them or making new ones
David 6 months ago (edited)
Not exactly what the prayer is, the person is giving wrong details about what it says, they probably heard about it, but never read it. It is called "Asher Yahtzar" and here is the translation; "Blessed are You, The Lord, our God, King of the universe, who formed mankind with wisdom and created within all manners of opening and and all matters of hollows. It is obvious and known before your Throne of Glory, that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand before you (even for one hour). Blessed are You, The Lord, who heals all flesh and acts wondrously". The Blessing is also said every morning as part of the introduction to the morning prayer service. It's purpose is to thank God for our health every day and to appreciate our health. And to remind us, to thank God for our health before we have medical issue, to thank when we are healthy and our bodies as normal
🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking 6 months ago (edited)
The requisite number of orifices is not a given. Some mouths do not connect to stomachs and children can be born without a rec-tum (hyphen to cope with censorship).
Virgil Blue 6 months ago
Removing ones exit orifice right before a poop sounds a lot like a trickster god thing.
#49
TIL that ancient Greek and Roman historians wrote about a species of headless humans with faces in their chest who supposedly populated Libya and Aethopia
JB 6 months ago
Little did they know it was just Agathocles playing with a coat hanger and a tunic.
Virgil Blue 6 months ago
The one footed people and the dog headed ones later came forward and said it had just been a prank.
#50
TIL Charles Lightoller was sucked back into Titantic, “he was pinned against the grating for some time by the pressure of the incoming water, until a blast of hot air from the depths of the ship erupted out of the ventilator and blew him to the surface.” He later fought in WW1 and WW2.
#51
TIL The US Air Force dropped several BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" bombs leftover from Vietnam during the Gulf War. A British SAS unit that witnessed the explosion reported "Sir, the blokes have just nuked Kuwait"
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 6 months ago
Makes a nice change they weren't dropping things on British troops. Highest individual loss of life in BOTH Gulf wars was to US "friendly fire". Biggest military budget in the world, but they fail to find competent pilots.
David 6 months ago
Friendly fire happens all the time, the Brits fired on each other in the Gulf War for example, as they did in the Iraq war. US has fired on US, etc. Friendly fire happens a lot in the fog of war and the stress of combat. Its not a competency issue, it is something that has been happeing for thousands of years and still happens (in Vietnam, in 1967, the US bombed a Soviet ship thinking it was North Vietnamese, despite it being 3x larger and a radical different profile. The joint US-USSR investigation concluded pilot stress, pilot fatigue, and fog of war for the accident. A few days later Israel accidentally bombed a US Ship thinking it was Egyptian, 7 US and 2 Israeli investigations concluded fog of war, pilot stress, and pilot fatigue was at fault. And these are but a mere tiny sample of all the errors in wars, especially with Air Strikes in modern times)
Load More Replies... Nicky 6 months ago
These Gulf Wars killed close to a million Iraqi civilians due to the destruction of the country's infrastructure and water treatment plants.
Karynne Williams 6 months ago
TIL that in 1982 the Air Force Thunderbirds Lead pilot lead 3 other pilots to their death because they had been trained to be laser focused on him and not the ground, so when he blacked out and quit inputting controls, he led them all straight into the ground.
#52
TIL that when the Britannic, which was the sister ship of the Titanic, struck a German mine and began to sink, two lifeboats full of passengers left the ship without permission and were pulled into the vessel’s rotating propellers.
Melissa Harris 6 months ago
That's why you listen to the crew to tell you when it's safe to evacuate.
#53
TIL that the 23 year reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius is considered the most peaceful in the history of the Roman Empire. There’s no record of Antoninus leading any military action, and it’s likely he likely never saw or commanded a Roman army or came within 500 miles of a legion during his reign.
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
... While their hot *what*? (I'll bet you write it "Romanes eunt domus"!)
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#54
TIL about Beatriz Flamini who spent 500 days alone in a cave without clocks, sunlight, or human contact as part of a scientific experiment on extreme isolation.
David Paterson 6 months ago
He managed to survive. He had multiple nervous breakdowns while there.
Wild Cream 6 months ago (edited)
STORY 1/4 (this is an AI overview fyi): Beatriz Flamini is a Spanish extreme athlete, mountaineer, and self-sufficiency coach whose astonishing “Timecave” experiment captured the world’s imagination. In November 2021, at age 48, she voluntarily retreated into a cave near Motril, Granada—70 meters below the surface—with no sunlight, no human contact, and absolutely no timekeeping devices. Trained as a sports instructor and aerobics teacher in Madrid, Flamini spent decades exploring caves as a photographer, mountain rescuer, and elite alpinist. In 2019, she abandoned an ambitious plan to walk across Mongolia, citing a lack of mental preparation for isolation. Instead, she resolved to tackle the ultimate solitude test underground—intent on surpassing the 463-day cave record held by Milutin Veljković.
Wild Cream 6 months ago (edited)
2/4: On November 21, 2021, she descended into the cave and plunged into complete isolation—no clocks, no screens to receive information, just an output-only connection for health checks. A volunteer team supplied her with food, water, lightbulbs, and batteries, and removed waste via a no-contact drop zone. To stay grounded, she exercised, read around 60 books, knitted, painted, and recorded a video diary. After about 65 days, Flamini lost all sense of time. “The time doesn’t pass, because it’s always four in the morning,” she said. She experienced auditory hallucinations and occasional emotional outbursts, crying without knowing why. Around day 300, a router glitch led her to spend eight days in a tent outside the cave, though still without communication—technically disqualifying her from a continuous world record, but she still clocked a total of 500 days underground. She also battled a brutal fly infestation and had trouble with balance and memory when she finally emerged.
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 6 months ago
500 days alone..... for some of us, that sounds almost pleasant. Not sure about the cave part though, I do like to take walks (by myself of course). Can't you just dump me on an uninhabited island in the middle of an ocean instead?
#55
TIL the Guinness World Record for most birthdays in one day belongs to a Pakistani family, with every member having been born on August 1st; including the mother and father.
Michael Largey 6 months ago (edited)
They must have been feeling very randy every November 1st (nine months before). Staying up past midnight on Halloween will do that to some people.
Bryn 6 months ago (edited)
try the first or second week in october. Pregnancy is 40 weeks (10 months)
Load More Replies... #56
TIL of Lyodura, a brain surgery material that, unknown to the buyers, was tissue harvested by the seller from black market human corpses and carried fatal incurable prion disease. Over 150 people were infected before its ban in 1996
#57
TIL James Rothschild is a double heir, to both Rothschild and Guinness fortunes
Partypants 6 months ago
Can you imagine? I feel like I'll wind up with Tupperware, but that's ok too lol
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#58
TIL the deer around Nara, the ancient early capital of Japan, are sacred in Shintoism for being messengers of the gods. They have been tame for centuries from humans not hunting them. They are popular with guests who buy “deer cookies” to feed them.
Lost Panda 6 months ago
Due to the influx of tourism, they have recently started head butting people who don't have snacks for them XD
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
It's what happens when you don't tip your godly couriers.
Load More Replies... #59
TIL Pausanias, the Spartan general who defeated the Persians at Plataea, was later accused of colluding with the Persians. He sought sanctuary at a temple, where his mother visited him only to lay a brick at the entrance, implying that they should seal it and starve him to death, which they did
#60
TIL in 2024 the Canadian town of Drumheller attempted to set the world record for the largest gathering of people in inflatable dinosaur costumes. Their attempted was disqualified because more people than expected showed up and they lost count at 3000.
#61
TIL that aftershocks from the 1868 Hawaiʻi earthquake have continued until the present day -- after more than 150 years!
#62
TIL that George Washington died with a net worth of $594.2 million in today’s money, and drew a presidential salary of $25,000 (~$900k today) which was around 2% of the government’s budget at the time.
Son of Philosoraptor 6 months ago
He has this advantage... Cheap labor... No.. free labor! Not quite right.. slaves! That's it! He held chattel slaves to work like livestock. Except... Spoiler!... They were actually PEOPLE. Make it easy to be rich though.
iseefractals 6 months ago
Yup....just like every other country and culture in the world for all of human history. In fact, how exactly do you think ol' george got those slaves? Well....see the dirty little tidbit that no one likes to talk about is the fact that those slaves brought to europe and colonies weren't hunted down and kidnapped....they were purchased. Having been enslaved by their own leaders, and neighbors. Queen Nzinga sold off 200,000 of her own people during her reign. 12.5 million people were sold into slavery during the entire 400 year span of the transatlantic slave trade 388,000 of which ended up in what would be the U.S, and records show that around 4000 "free blacks" owned nearly 13,000 slaves themselves. Comparatively, today, right now there are roughly 50 million people living in slavery. Primarily in North Korea, the middle east, China, india....with the majority being in....Africa!
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Ann Kapoxeet 6 months ago
What a hero! Let's make sure we remove any reference to the enslaved people who earned all that money for him. Rewriting history is the American way!
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Much of that money was not actually his. He had married the widow of the richest man in the colonies, Daniel Custis. Custis left his huge estate not to her, but to his children, with Martha having the full use of it in her lifetime. When she married Washington, it came under his control but still was the property of the Custis children. Washington could not free most of the slaves on his plantation because he did not actually own most of them. (If he did free a Custis slave, he would have had to pay for a replacement out of his own money.) George and Martha did free the slaves they owned themselves after both of them were dead - in other words, only when the Washingtons had no possible further use for them.
🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking 6 months ago
The Queen Mother had an annual pension of £643,000 in 1990.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
How do you have a pension when you haven't retired?
Load More Replies... #63
TIL that Bruce Lee was only 32 years old when he died from a brain edema after not being able to be woken up from a nap.
Son of Philosoraptor 6 months ago
Current theory is heat stroke, brain swelled up. Tragedy. I recommend Bruce Lee Changed the World as a fascinating documentary
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
I thought it was a reaction to something in the headache pill he took? One theory was aspirin, but AFAIK that was ruled out eventually.
Load More Replies... #64
TIL Clarence King, discoverer of Mount Whitney and one of the USA's best-known scientists, revealed on his deathbed in 1901 that he had a second life, wife & five kids, living as a Black man named James Todd.
Panda McPandaface 6 months ago
Whoever he was, I supect there had been people aware of Mount Whitney for a year or two before he 'discovered' it.
Timbob 6 months ago
How do you “discover” a mountain ? Do you, like, turn a corner and bam, it’s there ?
Agfox 6 months ago
I read this post to my wife & that was her response, too
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Robert Benson 6 months ago
It was called Denali by the natives before (and after) he "discovered" it.
Ellen Samberg 6 months ago (edited)
Denali is the original name of Mount McKinley in Alaska, not Mount Whitney in California. Mount Whitney's native name is Tumanguya.
Load More Replies... #65
TIL that Helen Keller was put on the FBI watchlist
Melissa Childers 6 months ago
You might want to reevaluate that... she was a firm believer in eugenics
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Gerry Higgins 6 months ago
A woman with opinions! D**n right she should be investigated! Dang Liberals!
#66
TIL that when an escalator was first installed in a London department store "customers unnerved by the experience were revived by shopmen dispensing free smelling salts and cognac"
David Shaw 6 months ago
I can't remember his name, but they hired a man with a wooden leg to spend all day riding the escalator to reassure people that it was both safe and easy to use!
#67
TIL Sony Pictures failed to adapt Michael Lewis' best-selling book Flash Boys into a movie because of their apprehension with having an Asian lead actor, as revealed in private emails leaked in the 2014 Sony Pictures hack.
#68
TIL when actor Patrick Stewart starred with a young rookie called Tom Hardy in Star Trek : Nemesis (2002), he never expected to hear about Tom Hardy again. He now admits he was glad to be proved wrong.
DaisyBee 6 months ago
Just watched Frank Grillo do a podcast where he said similar about Tom Hardy. Apparently he did a film with Tom and Joel Edgerton but was told it was a risk to join the film because no one wanted these guys (Hardy & Edgerton) so it might not do well. Frank signed on anyway and it ended up a huge success, and made him some new lifelong friends anyway
#69
TIL of Hanns Scharff, a WWII German interrogator who never used torture, later moved to the US and designed the mosaic inside Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World.
Michelle C 6 months ago
Thankfully, he seems to have done something decent with his life! I hope he wasn’t a N**i, either! It wouldn’t surprise me if he was, though, which is disappointing.
#70
TIL the highest blood alcohol level reported in a child or adolescent who survived occurred in 1995 when a 15-year-old boy survived a BAC of 0.757%.
Elvira394 6 months ago (edited)
I’ve seen and adult with 0.880, personally. Had to intubate until he hit about 0.400, extubate, and give him 20 bucks for vodka so he wouldnt die of DT’s when ever he came by.
Wild Cream 6 months ago (edited)
Your comment reminds me of my home. My small remote town has a huge alcoholism/d**g problem, and a very tiny ER (like 4-5 beds) that are full every night with alcoholics with DTs, as well as individuals with d**g issues. We also have a large percentage of elderly folks in our population who frequently need hospital access. Our local health unit has found it cheaper and more effective to go around and hand out tiny airplane bottles of vodka once or twice a day to the local citizens who are homeless to any degree and can’t afford their habit, so they don’t get the DTs and take up all the beds in the ER, and other people with other emergencies can have access to them too. It’s caused a lot of controversy in my town. Some people see it as those folks getting a nice fancy free drink on taxpayer money (even though it’s given medically and is only one shot, which is nothing to an alcoholic haha, it’s enough to settle some tremors, but as a former alcoholic myself I wouldn’t even feel one shot when I was at my worst), and some see it as keeping people alive and out of the ER and giving them a chance to taper (most haven’t taken the opportunity, which again as a former alcoholic doesn’t surprise me because nothing other help was offered), and some see it as a bandaid on the problem rather than a true long-term solution (kind of my point of view too). It’s honestly a lot more complicated of a problem than I’m making it sound. Idk why I wrote you a whole novel about this 😂
Load More Replies... Renee Fiola-Homen 6 months ago
I too have seen BAC that should have killed these patients. As the RN assigned to him I had to administer very large iv doses of Ativan every hour to stop his seizures. I believe this one particilar patient came in to our hospital with a bac almost .700
#71
TIL Paper is the best option on the first throw in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors when playing against inexperienced players because they tend to lead with Rock. And Scissors is the best option on the first throw against experienced players because they won't lead with Rock as it'd be "too obvious"
#72
TIL about Hysterical Strength - situations, most often of extreme danger, when people who were not known for their strength display physical strength beyond their apparent ability
TotallyNOTAFox 6 months ago (edited)
Also the mental limiter to prevent muscle damage being ignored in an emergency situation
Load More Replies... T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
Just don't assume it was caused by gamma rays and irradiate yourself. People wouldn't like you when you're angry.
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
I've never been near gamma rays, and people still don't like me when I'm angry.
Load More Replies... B Jones 6 months ago
In reality you are always capable of that strength but will damage your own body. So your body starts giving you pain warning signals long before. Adrenaline just removes the warning signal and gives you a boost so you don't feel it. Like they say you could bite through your fingers as easily as a carrot right now and it's just pain preventing you.
#73
TIL a study on professional slap fighting analyzed 333 slaps for visible signs of concussion & found that more than 50% of the slap sequences resulted in fighters showing visible signs of concussion, with nearly 80% of the fighters demonstrating at least 1 sign of concussion during their matches.
Az Oz 6 months ago
Nah it's been going on for many years now. Some of the slaps the guys give/receive are brutal.
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Tim Fawcett 6 months ago
Gosh - hitting someone on the head causes concussion, well fancy that. Who would have thought it!
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Yes, but not if the professional shin-kicking results in a concussion.
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#74
TIL over 99% of Warren Buffett’s net worth was accumulated after he was 65 years old
Bartlet for world domination 6 months ago (edited)
Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. Warren Buffett has been over 65 for almost 30 years.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Over 99% of Keith Richard’s age was accumulated after he was 65 years old.
Leg less In Minneapolis 6 months ago
Please keep Warren’s statement before you criticize, “ More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many individuals give more to others every day”
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Al Capone gave free milk away to poor children. The victims of the St. Valentine's Day M******e were not impressed.
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#75
TIL sun exposure may cause skin cancer, but it also lowers overall mortality rates, including from cancer
David Paterson 6 months ago
A slight misuse of statistics here. Australia has low overall mortality rates, low overall cancer mortality rates, but the highest rate of mortality from skin cancer. It's not a case of cause and effect.
Orysha 6 months ago
We all know you are eaten alive by spiders, snakes, and psycho koalas before you can have cancer. ;-)
Load More Replies... Deta Rossiter 6 months ago
MODERATION. moderate Sun Exposure lowers overall mortality rates, including from cancer, Yes EXCESSIVE sun exposure may cause skin cancer. Title Fixed!
Shary Bobbings 6 months ago
That person just learned that sun exposure is related with skin cancer? Really?
#76
TIL that “blowing from a gun” was a brutal execution method where victims were tied to a cannon’s muzzle and fired upon. Beyond death, it denied burial rites, making it both a physical and spiritual punishment.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 6 months ago
I guess it kind of depends on your definition of "brutal". As a spectacle, sure, but as the victim it is, at least, instant.
#77
TIL of the 4 students who passed their final exams in Einstein's department, he got the lowest mark & was the only one who wasn't offered a job as an assistant teacher at their alma mater. After graduation, he struggled to find teaching work for 2 years. So a friend got him a job as a patent clerk.
David 6 months ago
This is incorrect, he did not have the lowest mark, he had trouble getting a academic job bc he was Jewish, so he took a job at the Patent office, as a scientific clerk to analyze the science in applications to make sure it was patentable. He used that time to work on his theories that would later make him famous
#78
TIL that Brazil was the only independent South American country to send combat troops overseas during the Second World War where they inflicted disproportionately high losses on enemy munitions, supplies, and infrastructure.
sofacushionfort 6 months ago
Except for the 201st Squadron of the Mexican Air Force in the Philippines
General Anaesthesia 6 months ago
Mexico is in North America, not South America.
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#79
TIL Australian serial K**ler Ivan Milat lost 25kg (55lbs) from a failed hunger strike in prison when he was denied a PlayStation
#80
TIL that a working nuclear bomb can be designed by three PhD level Physicists in about two years — and that experiment was done in the 60s with them having no specialised knowledge in nuclear physics
David Paterson 6 months ago (edited)
I know more about this. The design was based on declassified files from the Manhattan Project. After the PhD design, these declassified files were rapidly re-classified. So this design process could never be repeated. In addition, their PhD supervisor was a Manhattan Project scientist.
🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking 6 months ago
My friend's degree was in how to design a nuclear reactor. His university had a mini reactor 😄
#81
TIL Employees working for movie theaters in the US are exempted from federal law requiring overtime pay. The clause within the 'Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938' establishing "exemption for any employee employed by an establishment which is a motion picture theater" still remains in place today.
Elvira394 6 months ago
Buck v Bell still stands, almost 100 years today. The state still has the right to forcibly sterilize any living in its institutions (not just mental… that include prisons), if they deem you “unfit to procreate.”
#82
TIL the first female US senator was also the last slave-owning US senator
Agfox 6 months ago
Rebecca Latimer Felton from Georgia. Note in particular "She spoke vigorously in favor of lynching African Americans, stating the belief that such acts would protect the sexual purity of European-American women. Most often the African Americans whom she admonished were falsely accused of r**e" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Latimer_Felton
David 6 months ago
so one step forward for society with 2 steps backwards at the same time
Load More Replies... #83
TIL researchers discovered a 430,000-yr-old skull in a Spanish cave that bears evidence of deliberate, lethal blunt force trauma which represents the earliest case of murder in the hominin fossil record. The site where it was found is only accessible through a vertical chimney that extends 40ft down
#84
TIL that to join the Civilian Conservation Corps, candidates were required to have at least six teeth.
#85
TIL a study lured 290 participants under the false premise the study was on attractiveness. They were told their peers would be rating their photo & while “waiting” for the ratings, they played Tetris for 10 minutes. Researchers found that Tetris can put people into a state of “flow” & ease anxiety.
#86
TIL despite receiving criticism from some religious groups, the 1973 film “Jesus Christ Superstar” was beloved by Pope Paul VI. He told director Norman Jewison: “Not only do I appreciate your beautiful rock opera film, I believe it will bring more people to Christianity than anything ever has.”
#87
TIL about the 2017 United Express passenger removal incident, where four paying customers were selected to be involuntarily deplaned. One passenger was injured when he was physically assaulted. It led to USDOT rules that protect passengers from removal or denial of boarding after check-in.
BookFanatic 6 months ago
I know better, but I'm picturing them just opening the door at whatever-thousand feet and pushing people out.
Fire Singer 6 months ago
I used to work for an airline call center, so I do understand the thought process behind overselling a flight, but I ALWAYS hated it. Especially around the holidays. Don't overbook flights and you won't have to ask for volunteers to give up seats (you know, since a*****t is no longer allowed). Sheesh!
#88
TIL of The British pet massacre, where an estimated 750,000 cats and dogs, a quarter of England's pet population, were euthanized due to a government pamphlet suggesting the public do so, at the beginning of WW2.
Ace 6 months ago
The pamphlet only suggested that euthanasia might be an option if people were being evacuated and were unable to take their animals with them. Quite why so many people misinterpreted it and took action straight away is unclear.
Leg less In Minneapolis 6 months ago
Also, the government relayed this message because many people could not feed their pets on rationing
Load More Replies... David Paterson 6 months ago (edited)
There was a Chernobyl pet mass*cre too. Evacuated people were not allowed to take their pets with them.
#89
TIL that the reason mental health professionals have a legal duty to breach confidentiality and warn potential victims or law enforcement if a patient poses a credible threat- is due to the Tarasoff case.
Elvira394 6 months ago (edited)
Yes but not all states are "Tarrasoff states”. Only somewhere around half. In Iowa technically if your X tells me they have the gún in the car and are going to leave my office to kíll you, I can still lose my license if I call and tell you. But that's only because no case has ever been challenged in our courts. Most of us act like every state is a Tarasoff state, knowing that eventually one of us will be the unlucky guy who gets sued for it. But we also assume the state will likely rule in our favor and thus become a Tarasoff State. And second FYI: They have to name the target. If your ex tells me “I'm going to kíll my ex-wife”, there is no legal obligation to tell anyone. Only if he says “I’m going to kíll Judy Smith”. Although most of us will make an attempt to find out your name or look you up.
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
Which was? https://blog.lawline.com/tarasoff-vs-regents-university-california
#90
TIL Europe's 2003 heat wave killed 70,000+ people. In France, 15,000 died as morgues overflowed — forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated trucks
#91
TIL There's a statue in front of the HQ of the CIA with four encrypted messages and its fourth message remains undeciphered. It's, in fact, one of the biggest mysteries in the world of cryptography.
#92
TIL: the Vestal Virgins held unique and extraordinary rights and privileges in Roman society, including some that no other had, male or female. They were sovereign and sacrosanct, answerable only to the emperor.
Ace 6 months ago
The Vestal Virgin tradition goes all the way back to the founding of Rome. They were supervised only by the highest priest, the 'pontifex maximus' That office was one of many that Julius Caesar held before he became Dictator and was then handed down by him to the line of Emperors who followed.
Phil 5 months ago
The 'pontifex maximus' would also morph into the position of pope.
Load More Replies... #93
TIL that Japan's rapid industrialization was driven by massive family-owned conglomerates called "zaibatsu," which were so powerful they were essentially dismantled by the Allies after WWII to democratize the nation.
Michael Largey 6 months ago (edited)
Unfortunately the Allies declined to do the same to similar conglomerates in their own countries. And for the same reason - it would have led to democracy.
#94
TIL that atomic clocks are so precise that the most accurate ones won't lose a second for over 30 billion years — longer than the age of the universe.
Jill Jones 6 months ago
My atomic clock is always 3 mins slow within a week of changing batteries or resetting it.
Agfox 6 months ago
I would suggest that you were misled & sold sub-atomic clock
Load More Replies... David Paterson 6 months ago
Again a misinterpretation. Atomic clocks struggle to keep accurate time for more than a few weeks.
v10011011 6 months ago
No, they don’t. They keep accurate time, just don’t mesh with our standard of timekeeping.
Load More Replies... MagicJacket 6 months ago
Pretty interesting considering time is a human construct. It might not even be Monday today. Maybe a long time ago when calendars were first invented, someone messed up and skipped a day or two of recording and it is really Wednesday today.
#95
TIL that on Emma Watson's 18th birthday, paparazzi attempted to take pictures under her skirt by laying down on the pavement in front of her house and then published them. If they were taken 24 hours earlier, it would have been illegal.
Caffeinated Ape 6 months ago
How was it not still illegal!? (Oh, good. I checked and it has since been made so. You'd think at bare minimum it would have qualified as harassment even before the law change.)
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
The now defunct newspaper News of the World had a countdown calendar for when Charlotte Church turned 18 years old. That’s the level of a Murdoch newspaper.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Murdoch newpapers aren't printed with ink. They use slime.
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roddy 6 months ago
Surely someone should have spotted the problem and let her know not to wear a skirt that day. People are sick.
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
One would think you just wouldn't walk over the guy lying on the ground, or better yet, walk on top of him and his expensive camera. Maybe jump a little bit for that extra oomph when you go to step on the camera.
Load More Replies... #96
TIL in 2016 a man inadvertently recreated a "Seinfeld" plot: Attempting to return 10,000 aluminum cans in Michigan (10c return rate per) from Kentucky (5c return rate). He was later arrested for one count of beverage return of nonrefundable bottles.
#97
TIL that cracking your knuckles doesn’t cause arthritis. The sound comes from harmless gas bubbles popping.
Missy Moo Moo 6 months ago
Me too, I literally can’t be friends with someone who does it constantly
Load More Replies... Fire Singer 6 months ago
I do this almost every night, it's so relaxing to pop that big toe knuckle! LOL!
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#98
TIL Frustrated with his generals inability to capture the town of Mirandola, Pope Julius II personally went there in January 1511, scolded his generals and personally assumed command of the siege. Two weeks later he took part in storming the walls, making sure to restrain his soldiers from looting
Rosecrucian Roeth 6 months ago
Love the way the way the church has adhered to Jesus' teachings about peace through the centuries. Sorta like the orange menace ALWAYS tells the truth and KNOWS everything.
#99
TIL that Roman ladies would pay to have the sweat and muck of Gladiator's bodies scraped off, so that they could use it as a moisturiser.
#100
TIL there is an 85 mile stretch of land on the Mississippi River called "Cancer Alley" due to the concentration of petrochemical and refinery plants there.
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Not even the least bit surprised. The one thing you learn living next to the Mississippi is that you don't swim in the Mississippi.
Panda'sMom 6 months ago
The catfish that live there will suck you down like the whale did Jonah!
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 6 months ago
Before my friend was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and ALS, she would tell us of harvesting oysters along the Mississippi. Now I wonder if those tainted oysters were partially the reason for my friend's rapid health decline and eventual death.
#101
TIL the process of making meat Kosher involves specifically the removal of the sciatic nerve due to the belief that Jacob had his sciatic nerve injured by an angel.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
They may have believed there was a health reason to remove the sciatic nerve and devised the Jacob story to give it a religious basis. A lot of religious teachings are something else disguised as faith-based.
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Steven Stowell 6 months ago
That being said, why would any butcher leave the sciatic nerve in place? I'm pretty sure that's not a prime cut.
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Mind you, the rituals behind Kosher food don't just stop at the food being eaten. It's an entire set of rituals for killing and handling the animal during slaughter. I don't know the specific steps/requirements, but removal of the nerve even if it's not going to be in the cut eaten isn't out of the question.
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#102
TIL about Dorothy Molter who lived alone in the Northern Minnesota wilderness from 1948 until her death in 1986. Despite once being called "The Loneliest Woman in America" her remote cabin received upwards of 7,000 visitors a year with many stopping by to sample her homemade root beer.
Remi (He/Him) 6 months ago (edited)
That's way too many visitors! Would moving somewhere more remote have helped
Charlie the Cat 6 months ago
That's an average of 19 people every day! I'm bothered if I get more than 1 visitor a week.
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
She didn't have a man, so of course people thought she was lonely instead of being independent.
#103
TIL that the first women in America to earn a PhD in computer science was a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Keller
Michael Largey 6 months ago (edited)
And if the programs made any errors, she rapped them on the knuckles with a ruler.
#104
TIL frogs will in fact try to escape a slowly boiling pot. The myth is based on 19th century experiments in which the frogs have had their brains removed before boiling.
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Animals that have had their brain removed no longer react to stimuli. Yeah, that fact checks out.
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
So, you're saying this research is still perfectly applicable to the current political situation in the United States.
Bored Seagull 6 months ago
On the other hand, if you (hypothetically!) throw a frog into boiling water, it won't try to escape, as it will die immediately.
OldButNewButBroken 6 months ago
I read this comment and thought no way. But it checks out. Frogs die immediately. But kittens can actually survive it and get out. Unless you use a big pot. Now I'm wondering about puppies. I will keep you updated on my findings
Load More Replies... #105
TIL that standing underneath a tree during a storm is the second leading cause of lightning strike deaths
Michael Largey 6 months ago (edited)
But does not standing underneath a tree during a storm happen to be the first leading cause of lightning strike deaths?
Panda'sMom 6 months ago
Nope. Standing upright in an open field during a lightening storm has first place.
Load More Replies... David Paterson 6 months ago
And not standing under a tree during a storm is the second leading cause of pneumonia deaths?
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
It's rain. If you're getting pneumonia from it it, you were already underdressed.
Load More Replies... #106
TIL that British WW2 rationing did not end until 1958.
Ian Webling 6 months ago
Several years after it ended in West Germany. (They effectively ended in 1950.)
Kiss Army 6 months ago
When did rationing end? It took years for Britain to recover, even after the conflict ended in September 1945. Rationing was kept in place until 1948 and was then gradually phased out so that there weren’t sudden food shortages. It was May 1950 before the majority of foods came off the rationing list, including mincemeat, dried and tinned fruit, jelly, chocolate biscuits, treacle and syrup. Soap rationing ended in September 1950, but tea was rationed until October 1952. Among the last items to come off the rationing list were sugar and sweets in February 1953. Food rationing did not officially end until 4th July 1954 – nine years after the war was over.
Aileen Grist 6 months ago
My brother - born in 1952 had a ration card, but I - born in 1954 - didn't
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
I found this out watching an episode of "Torchwood"! Who says TV isn't educational!
#107
TIL in Sept 2023 MGM Resorts International & Caesars Entertainment were both hit by ransomware attacks from the same group. Caesars paid a $15m ransom instead of the $30m the attackers had demanded, however MGM refused to pay & had its operations shut down for several days which led to a $100m loss.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
Caesar's could deduct the $15 million blackmail expense from profits received. For MGM, it was automatic - they paid taxes on $100 million less than the would have because they earned $100 million less.
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#108
TIL Boys in the United States used to wear dresses until they had their first haircut, which was usually around age 6-7.
Batwench 6 months ago
Common in the UK as well. When the boys got trousers it was known as breaching.
Melissa Harris 6 months ago
It was common for young children to wear gowns, for obvious reasons, for centuries. Boys were often "breached" or put into shorts or breeches around the age of 5-7 as a marker of their entry into "adult" life. It was traditionally around this time boys would begin attending formal education in a schoolroom or from a tutor.
#109
TIL the 2021 Astroworld Festival crowd crush event was not a random tragedy, but a result of several logistical decisions made by LiveNation including overselling the festival, security breaches at admissions, and poor crowd flow management
#110
TIL of Torpedo Juice which was drunk by sailors in WW2 by combining 180-proof ethyl alcohol with pineapple juice.
Ace 6 months ago (edited)
TIL that American "Proof" is not the same as British. I saw 180 and immediately thought that was not possible so looked it up. I was right, the British unit only goes up to 175, which is pure alcohol, but the American measure goes up to 200, so 180 is actually 90% Alcohol By Volume rather than 100%. Was always a stupid unit of measurement and this shows why all drinks nowadays are labelled with the ABV value instead of degrees proof.
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Right? Why did we even need proof. I could at least understand the British system if since it's not like, completely "just double the percentage and that's the proof", I would assume there was some use behind the conversion, but our system is JUST double the percentage, like why would you even need another unit.
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Senjo Krane 6 months ago
Sounds like Covid lockdown. Our local Spar store had a special on yeast and pineapples.
#111
TIL that the Saudi dinasty, which unified Arabia and named the country after them, had to fight two other major dinasties over the control of Arabia, the Rashidis and the Hashemites, the Rashidis do not exist anymore but the Hashemites are kings of modern day Jordan
David Paterson 6 months ago
There was a time in history when the only survivors in what is now Saudi Arabia lived in the middle of the desert, probably because all the coasts had been plundered for slaves. This was a very long time ago.
Michael Largey 6 months ago
It was the Hashemites that got the area its freedom from the Ottomans during WWI.
#112
TIL that Woodrow Wilson is the only former Confederate citizen to be elected President. Born in Virginia in 1856, and serving from 1913-1921, he is the last President to be born into a slave-owning household.
Riley Quinn 6 months ago
And his wife, Edith Wilson, was the "first woman president" since she surreptitiously took over many of his duties while he was ill.
#113
TIL that Blue Öyster Cult were forced to ban cowbells from their concerts after the SNL sketch, and never featured the instrument live until after it aired
Billo66 6 months ago
When I hear Nazareth - Hair of the Dog I shout MORE COWBELL!!
Load More Replies... #114
TIL on November 11, 1918, the US Navy's 14-inch railway guns were last fired at 10:57:30 to ensure that the shells would impact just before the 11am armistice
#115
TIL about Masanobu Tsuji, an Imperial Japanese WWII Army officer who helped plan enough campaigns that he was nicknamed the “God of Strategy”. A known cannibal, he evaded war crime trials, briefly became a politician, worked with the CIA, before finally mysteriously vanishing in Laos in 1961.
Panda'sMom 6 months ago
A lot of people have mysteriously in Laos in the last several decades.
#116
TIL about John Doe No. 24, an black teen who was found wandering the streets in 1945. As he was deaf, and seemingly incapable of otherwise communicating, police were unable to identify him, and sent him various mental institutions until his death in 1993.
#117
TIL that from the 1940s through the 1970s, all Ivy League colleges and Seven Sisters colleges (as well as Swarthmore) required all incoming freshmen to pose nude ostensibly to gauge the rate and severity of rickets, scoliosis, and lordosis in the population.
#118
Today I learned that the Library of Congress added, “Spy Kids” (2001) into their national film registry as a, “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” movie.
#119
TIL that all the royalties for The Animals's version of The House of The Rising Sun went only to one person in the band because there was insufficient room to name all five band members on the record label.
#120
TIL that the population density of Manhattan is 40% lower now than it was back in 1910, when it reached its peak population of 2.2M, compared to its now-present population of 1.6M.
Arthur Waite 6 months ago
Question: Does 'population density' include those unfortunate souls living in encampments or on the street?
#121
TIL Warren Buffett’s investment prowess led to Berkshire Hathaway generating a 19.8% annualized return from 1965-2023, nearly doubling the 10.2% return the S&P 500 had over that time. In 2024, Berkshire Hathaway became the first nontechnology company to top a $1 trillion market capitalization.
#122
TIL Alaska and Hawaii are tied for having the lowest record high temp among the 50 US states. They each have a record high of just 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Ace 6 months ago
I always thought Hawaii was semi tropical. Then again, now I convert to standard units, I see it's 39C, which is pretty damned hot, so maybe it's the Alaska one that's more surprising.
Fellfromthemoon 6 months ago
Hawaii is a volcanic mountain, its peak is above 4000 m/13800 feet.
Load More Replies... #123
TIL: GPS satellites don't ever actually interact with GPS devices at all. 31 US satellites simply broadcast their position non-stop and GPS devices triangulate their own position using the location of 3 "nearby" satellites.
Ace 6 months ago
Err what? How else could it work? Satellites broadcast signals, GPS devices read them. Or did you really think your phone was somehow sending a signal to the satellite(s)?
Anthony Elmore 6 months ago
Imagine how inefficient it would be to have the satellite doing the calculations of location.
Load More Replies... Bored Seagull 6 months ago
Four satellites. Although mathematically, three satellites are sufficient to determine a position via satnav, the clocks on the satellites and the receiving device must be synchronized in order to do so. In most cases they aren't, and in most cases, the clock in the receiving device is too inaccurate to allow relying on it at all. In order to overcome this problem, a fourth satellite is needed to determine the time bias between satellite clock and receiver clock, which then allows to determine the position.
TotallyNOTAFox 6 months ago (edited)
Also fun fact: The GPS system has to "predict" the future as there is a small time differencial between surface and orbit - 200 milisecond delays can lead to inaccuracies of up to 300 meters. (Read an article about that years ago, couldn't explain the technology behind that now)
#124
TIL in 1977, Stu Ungar was bet $100,000 by Bob Stupak (a casino owner) that he could not count down half of a six-deck shoe and then successfully determine what the last 156 cards are. Ungar won the bet.
#125
TIL about Mats Järlström, a man who was fined for engineering in Oregon when he challenged the traffic light timing. He eventually won against Oregon’s 'Title Laws' and was proven right about the traffic light timing being too short for safety.
#126
TIL Jared Leto sent used condoms and a dead pig to his Suicide Squad co-stars while preparing for his Joker role. As part of his method acting, he mailed disturbing items—like a live rat, bullets, and adult objects. Many co-stars found it unsettling and called the experience disturbing.
Owen 6 months ago
He is such a creepy weirdo. Despite his 'method acting', he was the worst Joker ever.
OldButNewButBroken 6 months ago
1000 % agree. The best was, IMHO, a tie between heath ledger and Mark hamill
Load More Replies... Remi (He/Him) 6 months ago
I hate that they hired him for the next Tron movie. I just know he's gonna eff it up
BrownEyedGrrl 6 months ago
Why is he still getting roles after all the accusations against him?
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#127
TIL producer Christopher Nolan initially opposed & tried to change director Zack Snyder & writer David Goyer's idea to have Superman k**l Zod at the end of Man of Steel. He told them "There's no way you can do this". However, Goyer convinced him with a scene where Superman k**ling Zod saves a family
#128
TIL an endocrinologist irradiated the testicles of Oregon and Washington prisoners. He gave them $5/mo, and $100 when they had to receive a vasectomy upon conclusion of the trial. The surgeon said it was necessary to "keep from contaminating the general population with radiation-induced mutants"
#129
TIL chewing gum influences appetite and leads to a decrease in the feeling of hunger, desire to eat, and desire to eat a sweet snack
🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking 6 months ago
I agree. It actually makes me seek out more sugar as soon as the gum's peak sweetness has waned!
Load More Replies... #130
TIL Longinus, the man who is traditionally identified with stabbing Jesus in his side, is a saint. The lance he used to pierce Jesus with is usually called the Holy Lance. The act is also said to have made the last of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ.
Bill Swallow 6 months ago
Yup. A lot of loopy 'folklore' ascribes great mystical power to the Spear of Longinus, also sometimes known as the Spear of Destiny.
#131
TIL that the “He Who Has No Life” character that terrorizes the South Park children in the episode “Make Love, Not Warcraft” was based on video game project manager Joey Ray Hall
#132
TIL that there is no evidence that Marie-Antoinette ever said the phrase “let them eat cake.” during the French Revolution
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