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Whenever I learn something cool, I get this itching desire to tell someone about it. But as it turns out, I don't have to rush downstairs to interrupt whatever my flatmates are doing and bombard them with interesting yet random facts. I can do it on the Internet, too.

Today I Learned is the 11th most popular subreddit, with nearly 24 million members. All of them are ready to not only share interesting and specific things about something that they just found out but go through other people's discoveries as well. From the reason why cops like donuts to Stephen Hawking pranking an interview crew, the subreddit has amassed loads of incredible trivia since its creation on Dec 28, 2008. Here are some of the most popular ones within the community.

#1

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL of Syndrome K: a fake disease that Italian doctors made up to save Jews who had fled to their hospital seeking protection from the Nazis. Syndrome K "patients" were quarantined and the Nazis were told that it was a deadly, disfiguring, and highly contagious illness. They saved at least 20 lives

mentalfloss Report

Astrophysicist Mario Livio thinks that our willingness to learn is, in fact, what makes us human. "Other animals are curious, but only humans are worried and curious about reasons and causes for things. Only humans really ask the question, 'Why?'"

Livio says we're even born with it. "There are many studies that have shown that there is a strong genetic component to curiosity," he explained. "It is also the case that some people are more curious than others, in the same way, that some people have a talent for music and others don't or some people are smarter than others ... But all people are curious, with the possible exception of people who are very deeply depressed or have certain kinds of brain damage."

#2

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL a guide dog named Roselle led a group of people including her blind owner down 78 flights of stairs before the North Tower collapsed on 9/11. She only stopped to give kisses to a woman who was having a panic attack.

money.cnn Report

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But testing out a new idea can lead to disaster, too."Curiosity probably led to the vast majority of human populations going extinct," Agustín Fuentes, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University, told Live Science.

For example, the Inuit of the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska, and the Sámi people of Europe's northern reaches have "created incredible modes to deal with the challenges" of living in northern climates, but "what we forget about are the probably tens of thousands of populations that tried and failed to make it" in those challenging landscapes," he said. 

But even though not all curious humans lived to pass their penchant for exploration on to their descendants, many did. We can't help but think, "Huh, I wonder what would happen if ..." and the popularity of the subreddit Today I Learned proves it.

#3

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL of Dr. Donald Hopkins. He helped eradicate Smallpox, and is on the verge of killing another disease. He's taken Guinea Worm Disease down from 3.5 million cases a year to just 28 cases last year.

atlantamagazine Report

#4

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL During the American Revolution, an enslaved man was charged with treason and sentenced to hang. He argued that as a slave, he was not a citizen and could not commit treason against a government to which he owed no allegiance. He was subsequently pardoned.

wikipedia Report

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#5

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL In 1959, police were called to a segregated library in S. Carolina when a 9yr-old Black boy refused to leave. He later got a PhD in Physics from MIT, and died in 1986, one of the astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger. The library that refused to lend him books is now named after him.

wikipedia Report

#6

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL A Japanese company has awarded its non-smoking employees 6 extra vacation days to compensate for the smoker’s smoke breaks

cnbc Report

#7

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL hundreds of love letters between two gay World War II soldiers were found and are being made into a book. In one, one of them wrote, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our letters could be published in the future in a more enlightened time. Then all the world could see how in love we are."

mike_pants , U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Report

#8

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL that the firm Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees on 9/11. The CEO, who was taking his child to school that day, later distributed $180 million to the families and offered jobs to all children of the victims. 57 of those children were employed by Cantor Fitzgerald as of 2016.

theremarkableamoeba Report

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#9

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL that in 1916 there was a proposed Amendment to the US Constitution that would put all acts of war to a national vote, and anyone voting yes would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army

bpbucko614 Report

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Daria Z
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet there would have been fewer wars had the Amendment been adopted.

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#10

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL that a 13-year-old opened a hot dog stand in front of his home in Minnesota, causing a complaint to the health department. Instead of shutting him down, the inspectors helped him bring his stand up to code and paid the $87 fee for his permit out of their own pockets

ukriva13 Report

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Cats
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here’s the story, it’s lovely: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/instead-of-shutting-down-teens-hot-dog-stand-city-helps-him-get-a-permit-and-start-a-business/

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#11

TIL of Bob Fletcher, a man who took care of the farms of three Japanese American families while they were interned during World War 2. By keeping their farms running and paying their taxes and mortgages, he ensured the families didn't lose everything. He was even shot at for supporting them.

encyclopedia Report

#12

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Romans were known to create tombs for their dogs and gave them epitaphs to remember them by. One such inscription read, “I am in tears, while carrying you to your last resting place as much as I rejoiced when bringing you home with my own hands 15 years ago.”

unnaturalorder Report

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#13

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL that everyone in Singapore above the age of 21 is automatically registered as an organ donor. Opting out from this Act will result in you being put at the very bottom of the organ priority list, should you need an organ transplantation.

_crash182 , buffalonews Report

#14

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Dogs get sprayed by Skunks so often because Skunks lift their tails as a warning, Dogs see this as "Come smell my butt" which is the EXACT OPPOSITE MESSAGE from what the Skunk is trying to send.

discoverwildcare , Jon Gwinn Report

#15

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL that there was a rumor that Stephen Hawking would deliberately run over the toes of people he didn’t like. He denied this rumor by stating it was “A Malicious rumor” and “I’ll run over anyone who repeats it”.

RoundToZero Report

#16

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL a suicide bomber with explosives in his laptop boarded the Somali owned Daallo Airlines in 2016 intending to blow the whole aircraft. Twenty minutes after the takeoff, the bomb exploded, creating a hole in the plane, and the suicide bomber was sucked out of the plane. He was the only fatality.

cnn Report

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#17

TIL Carrie Fisher delivered a cow tongue inside a Tiffany box to a predatory producer who had assaulted her friend. She said, "The next delivery will be something of yours in a much smaller box!"

gmcl86 Report

#18

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Kate Winslet keeps her Oscar in the bathroom so her guests can hold it and make acceptance speeches in the mirror without feeling self conscious

DylaramaGladney , Kate Winslet Report

#19

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him

wikipedia , MrT Report

#20

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL actor Robert Pattinson dealt with an obsessed fan who had been camping outside his apartment by taking her out on a dinner date. "I just complained about everything in my life and she never came back."

today Report

#21

TIL when Lawrence Anthony, known as "The Elephant Whisperer", passed away. A herd of elephants arrived at his house in South Africa to mourn him. Although the elephants were not alerted to the event, they travelled to his house and stood around for two days, and then dispersed.

jaiga99 Report

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Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As if we needed more proof of how amazing elephants are.

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#22

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL After Col. Shaw died in battle, Confederates buried him in a mass grave as an insult for leading black soldiers. Union troops tried to recover his body, but his father sent a letter saying "We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers."

Tartantyco Report

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Lisa
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Robert Gould Shaw was a pretty interesting guy with such a short life. He was born into an prominent abolitionist Boston family, he attended Harvard and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club but he withdrew before graduation. He also led the NE first all black regiment, his family was good people also. Unlike the Confederate soldier who tried to insult his family by burying him with his fellow soldiers.

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#23

TIL in the 1880s, the Harvard Observatory director was frustrated with his staff, and would say "My Scottish maid could do better!" So, he hired his Scottish maid. Williamina Fleming ran a team for decades, classified tens of thousands of stars, & discovered white dwarfs and the Horsehead Nebula

wikipedia Report

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Lathari
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Computers a.k.a. Pickering's Harem.

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#24

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL: Some farmers in Bangladesh have switched to raising ducks instead of chickens, because during catastrophic floods, ducks float.

Thebadmamajama Report

#25

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL During an interview with Stephen Hawking, the camera operator yanked a cable causing an alarm and Hawking to slump forward. Worried they had killed him, everyone rushed over to find Hawking giggling at his own joke. The alarm was from an office computer losing power.

biography Report

#26

TIL many doctors have stopped calling cancer treatment a "fight" or "battle". They argue these terms misrepresent how treatment works and if treatments fail, the patient is left with guilt and a false belief they didn't "fight" hard enough

scientificamerican Report

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Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree with this so much. "They lost their battle with cancer" has always felt wrong to me. No. They died of cancer.

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#27

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Keanu Reeves often foregoes some of his paycheck so that producers can bring on other notable actors. On The Devil's Advocate, he reduced his salary by a few million dollars so that they could afford Al Pacino, and he did the same thing on The Replacements to be able to work with Gene Hackman.

LanterneRougeOG , shutterstock Report

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Hubertus Touché
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of the coolest guys I 'know'. Mister Bezos might consider doing something similar. It wouldn't make the world a worse place...

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#28

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL when Robert Ballard (professor of oceanography) announced a mission to find the Titanic, it was a cover story for a classified mission to search for lost nuclear submarines. They finished before they were due back, so the team spent the extra time looking for the Titanic and actually found it.

Planet6EQUJ5 Report

#29

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL an actor in Nazi Germany lost his job for being Jewish. He went to the Alps, grew a beard, and dyed all his hair by bathing in diluted hydrogen. He returned to the stage claiming to be a self-taught peasant actor and was praised by the Nazis as "proof of the superiority of Aryan blood."

wikipedia Report

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Brendan Hills
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Diluted hydrogen? For it to be a liquid that he could bathe in, that would have been a very cold bath!

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#30

TIL that Willie, a parrot, alerted its owner, Megan Howard, when the toddler she was babysitting began to choke. Megan was in the bathroom, the parrot began screaming "mama, baby" while flapping its wings as the child turned blue. Megan rushed over and performed the Heimlich, saving the girls life

ChaseDonovan Report

#31

TIL : IN 2006, a man in Portland, Oregon hired a hitman to kill his 51-year-old wife. His wife ended up killing the hitman with her bare hands. When Susan Kuhnhausen had her hands on his neck she asked him, "TELL ME WHO SENT YOU HERE AND I WILL CALL YOU A FUCKING AMBULANCE!"

wweek Report

#32

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Max Planck was told by his professor to not go into Physics because "almost everything is already discovered". Planck said he didn't want to discover anything, just learn the fundamentals. He went on to originate quantum theory and win a Nobel Prize.

wikipedia Report

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Norma
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If QP hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet.

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#33

TIL - In 1836, a sewer worker accidentally discovered an old drain which ran directly into the Bank of England's gold vault. He wrote letters to the directors of the bank and requested a meeting inside the vault at an hour of their choosing - and popped out of the floor to greet them

bankofengland Report

#34

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't allowed to dub his own role in Terminator in German, as his accent is considered very rural by German/Austrian standards and it would be too ridiculous to have a death machine from the future come back in time and sound like a hillbilly.

blog.esl-languages Report

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Hubertus Touché
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In hindsight... that would have been very funny. "Well, hi diddly ho folks... I'll be back, y'all hear now!"

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#35

TIL Dr. Phil lost his license to practise psychology in 2006. Therefore, all guests on his TV show must sign a contract stating they are only there to receive "advice" from an individual, not a psychologist.

wikipedia Report

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Elsker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

make me wonder why he lost that license in the first place. Also, shouldn't they have changed the name to Phil Show, instead of still referring to him as a Dr. ? (maybe they did, i'm not sure. or baybe he had another doctorate..)

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#36

TIL that Eminem watched his daughter, Hailie, get crowned homecoming queen from an empty classroom in the school because he didn't want to take the attention away from her.

people Report

#37

TIL that after Beethoven went deaf, he found he could affix a metal rod to his piano and bite down on it while he played, enabling him to hear perfectly through vibrations in his jawbone. The process is called bone conduction.

cnn Report

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Elsker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

knew this already, but it's still amazing. how on earth did he go thinking: hey, how about i attach a rod to my piano and stick it in my mouth?!

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#38

TIL when Mr Rogers heard his limo driver was going to be waiting outside while Rogers was in a meeting, he asked the driver to come in. On the way back they passed the driver's home and Rogers asked if they could stop and meet his family. Rogers kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life

szekeres81 Report

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Alien_cos
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mr. Rogers is absolutely one of the kindest souls on earth. RIP Mr. Rogers May you not be angry over the craptacular place we call earth.

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#39

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL The ashes of Stephen Hawking were buried between the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, in a section of Westminster Abbey known as the "Scientists Corner." As a final tribute, during the burial, the European Space Agency beamed recordings of Hawking's voice to the nearest black hole

nbcnews Report

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ML
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The actual voice before the disease or the computer voice?

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#40

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Gary Gygax's wife was convinced he was having an affair so she followed him to a dimly lit basement and burst into the room only to find him and his friends hunched over hand drawn maps. Gary would go on to invent the role playing game "Dungeons and Dragons"

wikipedia , wikipedia Report

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Norma
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

and founded the Gen Con gaming convention. At the time of his death in 2008, he was only worth $5 million. Think how much happiness he's brought people.

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#41

TIL that Billy Joel never sells front row seats in order to see the real fans right in front of him. He gives them away to random people in the cheap seats so that front row isn't always just wealthy people

billboard Report

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Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been to 3 Billy Joel concerts. He puts on an amazing show. I hope he is still performing when concerts are a thing here again.

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#42

TIL that millennial dads are spending 3 times as much times with their kids than their fathers spent with them. Back in 1982, 43% of fathers admitted they'd never changed a diaper. Today, that number is down to about 3%

mother.ly Report

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kasa alex
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I notice groups of men with prams drinking coffee and walking together at the parks these days

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#43

TIL a man falsely imprisoned for 10 years spent most of his time at the library to study law and prove his innocence, and then became a lawyer to help free other people who have been falsely convicted.

nbcnews Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow, what a way to make something out of a shitty situation. Hearing about Archie Williams story recently on AGT made me bawl my eyes out. I know it is probably complicated and I certainly don’t have an answer but there needs to be some way to stop innocent people from going to prison and losing part of their lives.

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#44

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL Canadian researchers watched 40 episodes of 'The Dr. Oz Show' and found that nearly 40% of the medical advice is not evidence-based, and 15% goes directly against evidence.

truehalf , doctoroz Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah I stopped watching him when he was contradicting so much genuine advice and he also promoted various brands of supplements, vitamins etc.

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#45

TIL Six Georgia inmates out on work detail saved a Deputy Sheriff who collapsed unconscious. They could have taken his gun & fled with the work van but used the Deputy's phone to call 911. The Sheriff's Office gave the men a pizza party with homemade dessert & recommended reduced sentences.

Miskatonica Report

#46

TIL in 1995, France found a man guilty of killing a teen girl, but he was able to avoid sentencing by hiding out in Germany. In 2009, the victim's father hired a team to kidnap the killer out of Germany and dump him in front of a French courthouse. It worked, and he is now serving 15 years.

latimes Report

#47

TIL: Nirvana played a concert in Beunos Aires where the crowd threw mud and trash at the all-girl opening act. Kurt Cobain was so upset that he sabotaged the show by playing mostly lesser known songs and teasing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' without ever playing it.

dangerousminds Report

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M O'Connell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The opening act was "Calamity Jane" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamity_Jane_(1990s_band)

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#48

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL that in the 1950's, donut shops were some of the first food businesses commonly open late at night. They became hot spots for police working the night shift since it gave them a place to grab a snack, fill out paper work, or even just take a break. This is why donuts became associated with cops.

smithsonianmag Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We don’t really have many donut shops where I live so we see more coppers at Maccas than anywhere else. We also see a lot of coppers jaywalking to get to the maccas. ALL the bloody time.

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#49

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL BBC journalists requested an interview with Facebook because they weren't removing child abuse photos. Facebook asked to be sent the photos as proof. When journalists sent the photos, Facebook reported the them to the police because distributing child abuse imagery is illegal

BenChapmanOfficial Report

#50

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL a waitress was tipped a lottery ticket and won $10,000,000. She was then sued by her colleagues for their share. Then she was sued by the man who tipped her the ticket. Then she was kidnapped by her ex husband, and shot him in the chest. Then she went to court against the IRS

al Report

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Elsker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wowwww!! the poor woman... so first you're to cheap to give her a real tip, and then you go and sue her for winning?? how about just give them fair wages and skip the whole tipping-process...

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#51

TIL the crew of 'Return of the Jedi' mocked the character design of Admiral Ackbar, deeming it too ugly. Director Richard Marquand refused to alter it, saying, "I think it's good to tell kids that good people aren't necessarily good looking people and that bad people aren't necessarily ugly people."

wikipedia Report

#52

TIL a Georgia teacher who bought a $400 travel insurance policy was rewarded $10,000 because she read the fine print of the contract. After reading to page 7, she saw a “Pays to Read” bit that said the first to email and mention the fine print contest would win 10K.

tampabay Report

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#53

TIL a Harvard study found that hiring one highly productive ‘toxic worker’ does more damage to a company’s bottom line than employing several less productive, but more cooperative, workers.

tlnt Report

#54

TIL there was an early 1900s act named "Sober Sue", who's draw was she never smiled. A theater offered $1000 to any one who could make her laugh, attracting big comedians. Crowds came out to watch them try, and fail, giving them a free show. Later it came out that Sue suffered from facial paralysis.

wyrk Report

#55

TIL there's a restaurant in New York that doesn't employ chefs; they employ grandmas. Every day, a different grandma from around the world designs her own menu.

nytimes Report

#56

TIL planned obsolescence is illegal in France; it is a crime to intentionally shorten the lifespan of a product with the aim of making customers replace it. In early 2018, French authorities used this law to investigate reports that Apple deliberately slowed down older iPhones via software updates

chemdogkid Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Obsolescence is so common nowadays. Most new appliances never last, whereas you see things from say 1950s etc that are still working after so many decades. I have a tellus vacuum cleaner, already old when I got it from it's previous life as a shop vac(as in a metal and woodworking shop vac!). Outperforms and outlasts any other vacuum my friends and family have had. It still has the power to lift fitted carpet, it's brilliant :)

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#57

TIL the Japanese bullet train system is equipped with a network of sensitive seismometers. On March 11, 2011, one of the seismometers detected an 8.9 magnitude earthquake 12 seconds before it hit and sent a stop signal to 33 trains. As a result, only one bullet train derailed that day.

railway-technology Report

#58

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL a fan drove three hours to deliver rapper, Boozie Badazz, a much needed dosage of insulin. She refused to accept payment and instead asked for just a photo. On her way home she stopped at a store, bought a scratch off ticket, and won $10,000.

revolt.tv Report

#59

TIL that Persian King Agha Mohammad Khan ordered the execution of two servants for being too loud. Since it was a holy day, he postponed their execution by a day and made the servants return to their duties. They murdered the king in his sleep that night

wikipedia Report

#60

TIL an 86-year-old wrote an upbeat review for her local paper about a new Olive Garden. She was mercilessly mocked by the Internet. Anthony Bourdain thought she had a valuable POV on small town dining. So he published a book of her reviews.

eater Report

#61

TIL a woman was sentenced to life in prison for poisoning her child to death with antifreeze. She gave birth to a second child while in prison, who was given to foster care. But he became sick with the same symptoms, indicating a genetic metabolic disorder, not poisoning. She was later released.

people Report

#62

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL the FBI has struggled to hire hackers because of the FBI hiring rule that the applicant must not have used marijuana during the last 3 years.

nydailynews Report

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DC
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

... that's so outdated ... serves them right if they don't find any now...

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#63

TIL about Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman who began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn't stop until her death in 2012.. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive.

PikesPique Report

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Saico Hipe
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I WONDERED why Archive.org was getting such a crazy influx of old VHS tapes. WOW YES ♥️

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#64

TIL a local folk remedy in Boho, Ireland was to place soil from the local church under a pillow while you slept to cure infections. In 2018 a microbiologist found the churchyard's soil contains a previously unknown strain of streptomyces which can be used to create antibiotics

bbc Report

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Kirsten Kerkhof
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And that, Ladies & Gentlemen, is why you should ask the local wisemen and wisewomen. They may not know why it works, but they do know that it works!

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#65

TIL when the Nazis burned Sigmund Freud's books he said, "What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now, they are content with burning my books."

wikipedia Report

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Some Cool Guy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Freud set psychotherapy back decades. "It was your mother here take some cocaine"

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#66

TIL a New Jersey man bought a $5 bottle of orange juice from Shoprite; his wife said it was too expensive and sent him back to return it, because it was on sale for $2.50 elsewhere. He then decided to buy 2 lottery tickets with the cash refunded from the OJ; he won $315.3 million.

abcnews Report

#67

TIL 29-yr-old Marine veteran Taylor Winston stole a truck to drive victims of the Las Vegas shooting to the hospital. He and his girlfriend made 2 trips having to pick only the most critically injured 10 - 15 people each time after helping boost others over a fence away from the shooter.

businessinsider Report

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M O'Connell
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a rare circumstance where 'commandeered' would be more appropriate.

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#68

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL The cast of FRIENDS each made $1M per episode in the final two seasons and now make $20M per year per cast member for reruns. The show still generates $1B/year for Warner Bros. All thanks to David Schwimmer encouraging the cast to negotiate as a team.

cheatsheets Report

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Laugh or not
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Union works to better your job conditions and salaries. That's how all the labor laws came to be: paid leave, sick leave, decent salary, limited work-hours.

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#69

TIL Michael Jordan once tipped a waitress a $5 chip for bringing him a drink. Wayne Gretzky stopped the waitress, removed the $5 chip, grabbed one of the many $100 chips on Jordan’s side of the table, and gave it to her. Then he said, "That's how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael."

sbnation Report

#70

TIL Dennis Ritchie who invented the C programming language, co-created the Unix operating system, and is largely regarded as influencing a part of effectively every software system we use on a daily basis died 1 week after Steve Jobs. Due to this, his death was largely overshadowed and ignored

wikipedia Report

#71

TIL that Angelina Jolie once tried to hire a hitman to kill her, because she felt that a murder would be easier on her family than her committing suicide. The would-be-hitman talked her out of it by asking her to wait a month.

heraldscotland Report

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Zoe's Mom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She was suffering from depression so who knows what goes on in the mind of someone with that disease. Be kind.

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#72

TIL that Mario Puzo, the author of the Godfather books who’d also adapted them to film, had no idea what he was doing as he’d never written a screenplay before. After winning two Oscars, he decided to buy a book on screenwriting to learn how. In the first chapter, it said “Study Godfather I”.

reddit Report

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Elsker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

when you're writing history and not even knowing about it:)

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#73

TIL Eminem's song "Lose Yourself" was the first rap song to win an Oscar for Best Original Song, but Eminem did not even watch the awards because he did not think he stood a chance at winning. Instead, he fell asleep watching cartoons with his daughter.

wikipedia Report

#74

TIL Carrie Fisher told her fans: "No matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.”

goodreads Report

#75

TIL that in ancient Rome, commoners would evacuate entire cities in acts of revolt called "Secessions of the Plebeians", leaving the elite in the cities to fend for themselves

wikipedia Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just curious about the word plebian? Does anyone know it's definition/meaning? (Just coz 'pleb' is a slang insult that I've never understood where it came from, wondering if this could be an origin)

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#76

50 Facts From An Online Group Where People Post The Most Interesting Things They Learn And That Has 23 Million Members TIL A man created a fake restaurant on TripAdvisor and asked around for good reviews. Eventually, the fake restaurant was the #1 restaurant in London, and was being called up 100s of times daily for bookings. For a day, the man set up a “cafe” in his backyard and served frozen food to rave reviews.

vice Report

#77

TIL After Martin Luther King was killed in 1968, his funeral was held at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and a small group of current students were chosen to be ushers for his funeral. One of those ushers was Samuel L. Jackson.

wikipedia Report

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lara
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of the saddest days in my life and in America. I still mourn his death but celebrate the man.

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#78

TIL that Pink Floyd's The Wall is implied to be an endless loop. The final song, Outside the Wall, ends with the words "Isn't this where...", and the album begins with the words "... we came in?" with a continuation of the melody of the last song, hinting at the cyclical nature of Water's theme

wikipedia Report

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Corey Smith
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have The Wall on vinyl that my dad gave me years ago. The last song is "Hey You," which is apparently fairly rare.

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#79

TIL that in “Forrest Gump,” when his microphone is cut off at the rally, what you don’t hear him say is “Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don’t go home at all. That’s a bad thing. That’s all I have to say about that.”

mentalfloss Report

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Bacony Cakes
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There goes America and the Soviet Union, making another country fight itself!

#80

TIL that the Mythbusters once tested a combination of common materials that made an extremely powerful explosive. They deleted the tapes and swore to never release the information, then contacted DARPA and warned them about the possibility of misuse from the combination.

nerdist Report

#81

TIL Garden Veggie Straws, which shows fresh vegetables on the bag, and are promoted as a healthy alternative to chips, are actually made of salt, starch, and tomato paste. They have less nutrition than actual potato chips and the manufacturer, which has a history of false claims, is now being sued

nypost Report

#82

TIL that in 1998 Sony had the chance to buy the rights to almost every Marvel character for 25 million. They opted to only buy the rights to Spider-Man for just 7 million, stating, "Nobody gives a shit about the other Marvel characters."

cinemablend Report

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#83

TIL Seth Putnam, lead singer of the grindcore band Anal Cunt, wrote a song making fun of comatose people called ‘You’re in a Coma’. Putnam himself was in a coma years later, and after waking remarked that “being in a coma was just as fuckin’ stupid as I wrote it was”.

wikipedia Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It really is weird. I thought I was skiing, invented several movie scripts and a video game, was part of several drink driving commercials, and so so much more (tunnels, special rooms of damaged ornaments...) It was only a few weeks I was in the deep coma, but I lived for several months. Got a new flat. Spent time with my friend who had died suddenly several months before my coma. Just before I came out of it she was going on a cruise (according to my coma) but I knew she was gna die and begged her to stay, or let me come with her. She said I couldn't, but she would be ok. It was weird

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#84

TIL that a depressed Manchester teen used several fake online personas to convince his best friend to murder him, and after surviving the attack, he became the first person in UK history to be charged with inciting their own murder

vanityfair Report

#85

TIL that an outlaw isn't any mere criminal, but rather a criminal who has been sentenced to be "outside of the protection of the law". He has no right to trial, and can be killed or persecuted by anybody.

wikipedia Report

#86

TIL that a Polish environmental charity put a SIM card in a GPS tracker to follow the migratory pattern of a white stork. They lost track of the stork and later received a phone bill for $2,700; someone in Sudan had taken the SIM from the tracker and made over 20 hours of calls.

theregister.co.uk Report

#87

TIL Martin Short, Steve Martin and Tom Hanks have regular ‘colonoscopy parties’ where they prep together overnight and share one car on the ride to get their colonoscopies the next day

today Report

#88

TIL the creators of "Parks and Recreation" did research for the show by interviewing actual government officials. One said, "Well, I’m a libertarian, so I don’t really believe in the mission of my job. Yes, I’m aware of the irony." The character of Ron Swanson was born.

latimesblogs.latimes Report

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

None of the government officials really believe in the mission of their job, as we have witnessed in the last year.

#89

TIL that Jimmy Carter is the longest-lived president, the longest-retired president, the first president to live forty years after their inauguration, and the first to reach the age of 95.

wikipedia Report

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Dippin Dot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Scooby-Doo can doo-doo, but Jimmy Carter is smarter!" ~Homer J Simpson

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#90

TIL Costco's hot dog has remained $1.50 since it was first introduced in 1984. After the company president complained they were losing money on it, CEO Jim Sinegal put his foot down. "If you raise [the price of] the effing hot dog, I will kill you," Sinegal said.

mentalfloss Report

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Michael Taylor
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are a treat both for your stomach and for your weary wallet!

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#91

TIL “Military Grade” is just a marketing ploy. In the actual military, “military grade” means “meeting the bare-minimum requirements of durability, while also costing the least.”

melmagazine Report

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Bill
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless it is electronics then it has a 1% tolerance. The components on most electronics are 20-30% tolerance

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#92

TIL United Airlines had assured a blind woman that they would help her off the plane but only after the other passengers had gotten off, before forgetting about her and locking the plane up with her in it after everybody else had left

cbc Report

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#93

TIL after writing the main riff of Seven Nation Army, Jack White planned to save it in case he was ever asked to write a James Bond theme. Deciding this was unlikely to happen, he recorded the song anyways. Five years later, he was asked to write the theme song for the Bond film Quantum of Solace.

nme Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's like the song version of keeping a cord for years, finally chucking it then finding the thing it went to not long after *facepalm*

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#94

TIL: This year, the official Yu Gi Oh tournament hosted by Konami instituted a hygiene clause to rulebook. This allows judges to penalize players with dirty clothing or terrible odor by giving them a loss. Super Smash Bros tournament have also started implementing similar rules.

Kingflares Report

#95

TIL That while filming Tokyo Drift, they couldn't get a permit to film a scene. They filmed it anyway, and the studio hired a fall guy to claim to be the director and spend a night in jail.

JDDJS Report

#96

TIL only three people in the nation were qualified to hand-pack the parachutes for Apollo 15. Their expertise was so vital, they were not allowed to ride in the same car together for fear that a single auto accident could cripple the space program.

history Report

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Zoe's Mom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is done with CEO's of major companies. None of them fly together for the same fear.

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#97

TIL: Teddy Roosevelt was chosen as Vice President due to his support of anti-trust reform, and conservatives knew the VP had little power. Six months into the term, President McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became President, ushering in an unprecedented era of anti-trust and labor reforms.

senate.gov Report

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Dippin Dot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this is why in 2016 I didn't vote for president-elect, I voted for who I thought would make the better president after the president-elect would be assassinated. I'm shocked and amazed there hasn't been a hit on him yet (and I was equally convinced had Hillary won there would be a hit out on her too).

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#98

TIL That the Cuban Missile Crisis began when a CIA operative noticed soccer fields on a Cuban Military Base. “Cubans play baseball, Russians play soccer”

cnn Report

#99

TIL in Lord of War starring Nicholas Cage, they bought 3000 real guns for the filming because it was cheaper to buy real guns and resell later than buying props. They also rented 50 tanks which were only available for a short period because the source had to sell them to Libya later

cinemablend Report

#100

TIL Jim Carrey was the first actor to have three films go straight to number one in the same year. The year was 1994, and the films were The Mask, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Dumb and Dumber.

literally12sofus Report

#101

TIL apes don't ask questions. While apes can learn sign language and communicate using it, they have never attempted to learn new knowledge by asking humans or other apes. They don't seem to realize that other entities can know things they don't. It's a concept that separates mankind from apes.

wikipedia Report

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Katrina B.
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can attest having worked with chimps who know how to sign, this isn't true. Tatu would ask for colors, masks, and play dress up. The chimps I worked with did ask these questions but because it wasn't being "studied" it wasn't published.

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#102

TIL Washington Redskins' owner Dan Snyder once cut down trees along the Potomac River so that he could see it from his house. The trees were located in a national park, and a ranger who raised concern about the issue was raided by US Marshals

deadspin Report

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