Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
50 Interesting “Today I Learned” Facts If You Are Sick And Tired Of The News (New Pics)
There’s an endless amount of curious and fascinating knowledge out there in the world, and discovering it is part of what makes life exciting. Sadly, we can’t learn it all, even if we devoted years and years to the task. What we can do, however, is take it in bite-sized pieces—something that’s both manageable and genuinely enjoyable.
A perfect place for that is the Today I Learned community on Reddit. There, as the name suggests, people share unexpected and memorable facts they’ve come across. Below, you’ll find a fresh collection of the most intriguing ones.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
TIL after singer George Michael passed it was revealed he had anonymously donated generous amounts of money to multiple charities large and small, and to needy individuals, and would secretly volunteer at a homeless shelters
glowworm2 4 days ago
This is the way you do it. No bells and whistles or fanfares. Just quietly being a good person.
Cee Cee 3 days ago
There was a George Michael programme last night on the BBC. He met a woman on a game show. She missed out on the money prize which she wanted for IVF treatment. George quietly paid. Woman had a girl. People only found out after he'd passed and the family asked permission to say what he'd done for them.
Load More Replies...
Multa Nocte 4 days ago (edited)
That's sweet. Do you think Elon might ever . . . Oh, sorry, wrong universe.
Nikole 4 days ago
So I watch the show "Loot" that stars Maya Rudolph as a billionaire who has her own foundation and uses her wealth to help people (it's funny and dear - recommend). Melinda Gates had a very brief cameo in the latest episode. SHE is how billionaires should be.
Load More Replies...
Colleen Glim 3 days ago
His tortured soul roams the earth from November first to December 31. I amuse myself by counting how many times I hear Last Christmas. There seems to be an unwritten law of the multiverse that says you are not a real musician unless you have covered this song
Julie S 3 days ago
Have you heard of Whamaggeddon? You have to try to go from 1st December till midnight Christmas eve without hearing Last Christmas, I lost on 1st of December.
Load More Replies...
G A 4 days ago
It's a shame he got a bad rep due to his s*x and d**g related antics during his life.
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 3 days ago
It really is. I allways liked him and can not understand how it is anybodies business who he is having s*x with and where as long as both are consent. As far as i know he did not m****t people, did not affect other people with taking some d***s, still the press made him look like he was the worst pervert who ever walked and nobody cared about all the good things he did. I think the man was just not very lucky in life ☹️
Load More Replies...
Sven Horlemann 1 day ago
No surprise. I never liked his music. But as a human being, I always considered him to be a good guy. I really mean it.
Natalia Girotti 2 days ago
He was such an amazing artist and person. Forever missed, RIP sweet George <3
RELATED:
#2
TIL The Netherlands has been closing prisons due to a significantly low prison population, which is a result of decreasing crime rates, shorter sentences, and a focus on rehabilitation. Around 19 prisons have been shut down since 2009.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
Why cannot other countries follow what the Netherlands are doing? It's obviously working?
Jaya 4 days ago
They closed too many, to save costs. And now the need for prisons has gone up again, and now there's a shortage. The Dutch government isn't very good at looking further ahead than 4 years. Same thing with Covid. "The amount of people who need hospital care is going down, we're gonna disassemble everything." Few months later: "Oh no, there's a new wave (like everyone predicted), now we have to deny people hospital care because it takes time to assemble everything again."
Riley Quinn 4 days ago
Well, I hope the US doesn't do something this reckless or we'll lose our place as #1 in the world - for incarceration. /s
Penelope Orange 3 days ago
The USA would never do that because our prisons are for profit, which I think should be illegal in itself. Rehabilitation in prison is a joke here. Most come out worse, not better.
Anne Roberts 3 days ago (edited)
Meanwhile, here in the U.S., prison populations are growing. An inmate should have the chance to better themselves through education, counselling, and job training. In this country it seems that prisons are solely for punishment..
#3
Today I learned that in the 2000's, the people in charge of Sesame Street's budget wanted the show to have 25 episodes per season, but the show's staff insisted upon doing 26 episodes per season so that each letter of the alphabet would be the letter of the day for one episode.
Rick Murray 3 days ago
I wonder how much work it took to explain the alphabet to the bean counters? ;)
Chewie Baron 3 days ago
Never took off in the UK, did Sesame Street. Four times they tried. The Muppets however, a massive success.
#4
TIL when Monty Python's Life of Brian was released in 1979, its religious satire subject matter was highly controversial. It was banned by 11 local councils in the UK, nationwide in Norway and Ireland. The film was marketed in Sweden with the tag line "So funny it was banned in Norway."
Dilly Millandry 4 days ago
The Bishop of Southwark, Mervyn Stockwood (who represented the Church of England), and Roman Catholic journalist Malcolm Muggeridge missed the first 10-15 minutes of the film when they viewed it privately before their famous 1979 debate with John Cleese and Michael Palin on the BBC show Friday Night, Saturday Morning. The opening minutes of the film are crucial because they clearly establish that Brian Cohen, the main character, is a separate individual born next door to Jesus, and not Jesus Christ himself. This distinction was the central point of the Pythons' defense against accusations of blasphemy. Yet The Meaning of Life (not critcised or targeted the same way at all) was far more "heretical" and explicitly targeted the core tenets of religion and the Church, while Life of Brian primarily satirised blind devotion, hypocrisy, and human behaviour within organised groups. So much for the religious bods!
G A 4 days ago (edited)
That Bishop was wearing a foot long crucifix during that interview like he was Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Load More Replies...
Multa Nocte 4 days ago
Went to see this with my mother at the movie theatre when it came out and we came very close to dying during the "Biggus Dickus" scene.
Upstaged75 4 days ago
In high school drama class we had to bring in a video clip from a movie that we thought was moving. One guy brought that scene. 😂
Load More Replies...
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 days ago
We must fight them! -The People's Front of Judea? - No, the Romans!
Load More Replies...
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
Very popular amongst Canadian university students in the 90s... *stoning scene*
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 days ago (edited)
Not the Nine o'Clock News (the 1980s sketch show with various comedians including Rowan Atkinson) did a take-off of the whole Life of Brian Thing. "The film is not about Python. The Xst figure just happens to have been born in the same place as John Cleese..." - "Come on, even the initials, JC!" - "No, no, the Xst figure is not Cleese! Have we forgotten how often he suffered for us? How often the sketches failed? As you know, when two or three Python fans are gathered together they shall perform the parrot sketch." - "It is an ex-parrot." - (All) "It has ceased to be." (Look it up; it is hilarious.)
Cuppa tea? 3 days ago
The movie was banned in Welsh town Aberystwyth for 30 years. The ban was lifted when Sue Jones-Davies became town councillor. She played Judith in the movie.
#5
TIL David Bowie declined the honor to be knighted twice: “I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”
Michael Largey 4 days ago
Many of prominent people have declined knighthoods (and damehoods). One explained "Being a knight will only mean my tailor charges me more."
Mari 3 days ago
I wonder if Colin Firth declined knightship. If not, why is he not knighted yet?
TonjaLasagne 3 days ago
He has a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), which is a rank below a full knighthood.
Load More Replies... James Twong 3 days ago
Big respect to Bowie for this. Honours are meaningless trinkets bestowed by a family of parasites in order to quieten the proles.
Auntriarch 3 days ago
It's a load of bollox is what it is. How else would David Attenborough be only a sir when Dickie was a lord
Norfolk and good 4 days ago (edited)
It just means he was offered a Knighthood twice and turned it down both times. A Knighthood/Damehood is the highest ranking Order of the British Empire level. Although, it is technically possible to be Knighted more than once as David Attenborough has been. He was awarded the Knight Grand Cross on top of his already existing Knighthood. Honours are announced twice a year- on New Year's Eve and the King's offical birthday in June (just to confuse matters, the King's actul birthday is in November and his mother's was in April but since George II, a monarch's birthday is celebrated in June to avoid the bitter UK winter weather). It's not just famous people who are given honours. They are awarded to anyone who has made a significant contribution in their field so teachers, nurses, charity workers etc.
Load More Replies...
#6
TIL that a restaurant owner in Kentucky intentionally flooded his own restaurant with clean water to protect it from an incoming river flood.
jocax188723:
It’s like a positive pressure clean room.
Any water will be pushed out by the clean stuff and the mucky water has no way in.
All he has to worry about is water damage. No debris, no mud.
Really clever.
Nikki Sevven 4 days ago
I mean, it's not like they could count on their congressional reps and senators to help them.
LookASquirrel 3 days ago
There was text from the article in the Reddit link and it said they are in a flood plain near the Ohio River so they can't get insurance so this was a better idea. It's a brick building so it helped make it possible.
Verena 2 days ago
Family of friends live since generations near the river Mosel in Germany. The ground floor is tiled including walls, and filling cellars with clean water is a well known strategy. It also prevents damage to the walls and foundation, because preventing it from starting to float.
#7
TIL that when President McKinley was [hit] in 1901, the best surgeon around was knee-deep in a complex operation. When told he was needed elsewhere, he replied that he could not leave, not even for the President. Even after he was told who his new patient was, he remained put and finished his work.
geezeronthehill 4 days ago
"McKinley he hollered, McKinley he squalled. The doctor told McKinley, 'son, I cannot find that ball. You're bound to die, you're bound to die.'"
#8
TIL about Kotaku Wamura, who served as the mayor of the village of Fudai, Iwate between 1947 and 1987. During his tenure, he spent ¥3.56 billion on building a floodgate, which was derided as being a waste of funds. When the 2011 tsunami hit, the gate saved the village from the destruction.
Orysha 3 days ago
He died in 1997 unfortunately and did live not long enough for a well-deserved "I told you so! "
Load More Replies... Sven Horlemann 1 day ago
Whether he was prophetic or just lucky. It worked. That's all that counts.
Cat 1 day ago
For anyone who doesn't know about the exchange rate, $1 is ¥154 so ¥3.56 billion is a lot less than it looks. It's only worth around $23 million so it wasn't a huge amount of money for a large construction project. For @Marnie giving everyone ¥500k would only be equivalent to $3,230 so wouldn't go very far. Moving an entire village and building new houses and infrastructure would cost way more than $23 million unless it was really tiny, plus you'd lose all the village's history
#9
TIL Daniel Schorr, the journalist who read Nixon's infamous enemies list on TV live, discovered his own name was in the list while reading it.
Michael Largey 4 days ago
It was a badge of pride, of course. But people on the list were often subject to punitive tax audits and other forms of harassment.
Multa Nocte 4 days ago
It's a good thing that US presidents no longer have enemies lists. Well, YOU know . . . .
Mari 3 days ago
Trump prefers to show his enemies list rather than his friends list...
Load More Replies... 
Pferdchen 2 days ago
He was a pretty chill individual. I sat next to him at a luncheon once around the turn of the millennium. A stuck-up person wouldn't give me the time of day, but we had a pleasant lunch.
Load More Replies... #10
TIL that the Nuremberg Charter's definition of "crimes against humanity", which was used in the Nuremberg Trials, includes only acts committed during a war of aggression. This was partly because the US was concerned that Jim Crow segregation would otherwise be considered a crime against humanity.
Daisydaisy 4 days ago
As it was, of course. And the treatment of First Nations people around the world
Geoffrey Scott 3 days ago
Which is why I've gotten in trouble with those who demand reparations "You DO realize it is a long line, right? At the front are the Seminole, the Souix, the Chippewa...
Load More Replies...
Michael Largey 4 days ago
Today's GOP essentially renounced Nuremberg by denouncing Democrats who reminded members of the military that they had a duty to disobey an illegal order.
Sue User 4 days ago
USA is not a member of the ICC , partly because they feared their servicemen would be held accountable.
David 3 days ago
Only 125 of the 195 UN Nations are, the ICC is a private court, unlike the actual international court the ICJ. The ICC routinely violated their own rules and procedures, has been caught been violating actual international law, etc, for the purpose of serving the interests of the member nations that contribute the bulk of their budget (not to mention judges openly accepting gifts in the hundreds of thousands of Euro's, legally). Its why the US, as well India, Indonesia (actually most of Asia are not members), and several countries like Argentina are in the process of leaving citing rampant racism, corruption, and a***e of the legal process by the ICC. The ICC is a corrupt agency
Load More Replies...
Deborah B 3 days ago
"This behaviour is so bad that it would be considered a crime against humanity if done to an enemy in time of war. But as long as we're doing it to our own people in peacetime, it's fine." - The US.
amy lee 3 days ago
The mental gymnastics involved is staggering... Yet enough were in on it to make it happen.
Load More Replies...
#11
TIL that an AI company which raised $450M in investments from Microsoft and SoftBank, and was valued at $1.5B, turned out to be 700 Indians just manually coding with no AI whatsoever.
SistaChans: AI - actual indians
SixEightPee: Anonymous Indians.
JonatasA: All Indian.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
No! We cannot have people taking jobs away from AI. How will AI be able to pay its bills and feed its family?
Cuppa tea? 3 days ago
Think this is better outcome than software company with 5 employees while everything is done by AI.
#12
TIL of Nandy, a disabled Neanderthal skeleton found in Iraq who suffered blindness, major hearing loss, a missing arm, and other serious healed injuries that likely left him unable to care for himself. Despite this he lived into his 40s, suggesting he was supported and cared for by his community.
Dilly Millandry 4 days ago
There was enough to tell that he was blind from head trauma and was profoundly deaf due to blocked ear canals 🤷
Load More Replies...
Daisydaisy 4 days ago
Even the Neanderthals chipped in to care for their unwell community members!
Grm Moore 3 days ago
A Neanderthal skeleton which was named Nandy was recovered in Iraq. He suffered extensive injuries, including the loss of an arm early in his life, and was unlikely to have been able to care for himself. No mention of blindness or deafness which they would NOT have known from a skeleton. The way facts get twisted online and then spread around.
highwaycrossingfrog 2 days ago (edited)
He had a fracture of his left orbit due to a crushing blow to the head, which would have left him partially or totally blind in one eye. His left ear canal was partially blocked and his right totally blocked by bone spurs. Both the fracture and bone spurs were extant in the skeleton, so they absolutely had evidence of at least partial blindness and profound deafness.
Load More Replies... 
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
It's because of their name: if they been called "baccacomedenti" (berry eaters in Latin) they'd be much better off. Of course, if your name was Grok, you might still have problems.
Load More Replies... #13
TIL about the “Maze Procedure,” in which heart surgeons literally scarify a maze into heart tissue so abnormal rhythms get trapped while normal ones can pass through. The procedure has an 80%-90% success rate in curing atrial fibrillation.
#14
TIL that a dude in England stumbled on a buried Roman treasure worth $6,000,000 out metal-detectoring for a lost hammer.
Sue User 4 days ago
Fine. Take my upvote. But consider it your Christmas present.
Load More Replies... rustyscate 4 days ago
the man who found the Roman treasure while looking for a hammer, Eric Lawes, was paid a substantial reward of £1.75 million, which he split with the farmer, Peter Whatling, under UK Treasure Act laws, and he eventually found the hammer too, which is now displayed with the hoard at the British Museum.
Tyranamar Seuss 3 days ago
I live in a country where the earlier people did not use metal. So I'll never find anything like this. Unless it was from the 20's during the Great Depression when everyone buried their money.
Load More Replies... glowworm2 4 days ago (edited)
Actually, yes. When the team of archaeologists from the Suffolk Archaeological Unit came to carry out an emergency excavation of the site, they eventually found the missing hammer and donated it to the British Museum along with the treasure itself, known as the Hoxne Hoard.
Load More Replies...
highwaycrossingfrog 2 days ago
A detectorist's pet peeve! Metal detectors detect metal. Metal detectorists wield metal detectors when they are metal detectoring. (And if you have access in your country, watch the brilliant, poignant British sitcom Detectorists. You won't regret it.)
Load More Replies...
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
I'm in Australia - about the best we can hope for is some random bushranger's hidden gold haul from robbing stagecoaches.
#15
TIL at a 1991 meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Andrew Lyne retracted groundbreaking results that he had recently released, which detected the first planet orbiting another star. He received "thunderous applause" from his peers for his integrity & the courage to admit his error publicly.
Michael Largey 4 days ago
Did they ever take back what they did to Pluto? I know the science involved, but I still think Pluto should have been grandplaneted in.
Meowzers! 3 days ago
The date is wrong. The Claim (July 1991): Lyne and his team detected tiny timing variations in radio pulses from the pulsar PSR B1829-10, interpreting them as the gravitational tug of a planet. The Error (January 1992): Lyne realized he'd failed to account for the Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun, a correction that, when applied, made the planetary signals disappear. The Retraction: At a January 1992 AAS meeting, Lyne publicly admitted the mistake, earning widespread respect for his integrity.
Chaos Pandas Unite 3 days ago
Thank you. That is pretty cool he figured it out and then shared the error. I mean that is how science works, the best theory that works until it gets disproved/updated.
Load More Replies... #16
TIL Philip Pullman was accused of being "the most dangerous author in Britain" because he said "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief" and wrote the "His Dark Materials" books as a rebuttal to the heavy christian message of "The Chronicles of Narnia".
amy lee 3 days ago
But sadly not this one. There are very unsavoury scandals around him that really took the sheen off a literary hero.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 4 days ago
Funny, despite my RC upbringing and having read the Chronicles in childhood, I never made the connection until I was an adult and learned more about C.S. Lewis.
Norm Gilmore 3 days ago
I was the same but it was probably because non religion was the thing in our family. I just enjoyed them for the stories. I was late teens when it was pointed out to me!! I still have them on my book shelf.
Load More Replies...
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 days ago
I have always loved the Narnia books and never made the so-called Christian message until a few years ago (I'm 45) Hated His Dark Materials.
UKGrandad 3 days ago
His little-known novel, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, is an excellent take on the Jesus story. Pullman has Jesus and Christ as identical twins separated at birth, with Jesus going around doing his goody-goody schtick and Christ following him around messing it all up again. Well worth a read.
Pferdchen 2 days ago
Wait! Are you telling me that it was an allegory of "Life of Brian?"
Load More Replies...
#17
TIL in 2014 an Indian news anchor was fired after refering xi jinping as "eleven" jinping on tv
LookASquirrel 3 days ago
😂This is funnier to me because we are watching King Kong v Godzilla and she's in it so she was my first thought!
Load More Replies...
Dirk Daring 2 days ago
This also created an awkward situation when he was talking to Steven Tyler's daughter, 54.
Eugenia 🇮🇹🤌 3 days ago
Should have been eleventh. Roman numerals become ordinals when referring to popes, monarchs and the like (Elizabeth II, Leo XIV). These are referred to as regnal numbers
#18
TIL Oscar voters now must watch every nominated film in a category before casting a vote, no more voting based on buzz or hype.
Norfolk and good 4 days ago
The Oscars have never been about talent and are awarded based on who did the best campaign and sucked up to the Academy the best. Shakespeare in Love, anyone?
BC_Animus 3 days ago
Just because it's a rule doesn't mean they have to follow it though. Do they get quizzed on the movie before the vote? What's to stop them from just playing the movie while napping? And honestly if they were voting based on buzz or hype before, probably means they are the type of people to be influenced by buzz or hype anyways so their votes would be biased.
#19
TIL scientists have been able to trace the start of HIV/AIDS to King Leopold’s Belgian Congo, originating as far back as 1909. The first person to be infected probably got the virus in the 1920s.
rustyscate 4 days ago
The first human HIV infection likely came from chimpanzees in West Africa, transferring through hunters' exposure to infected blood while butchering the animals (the "bushmeat theory"), possibly around 1908, with the virus spreading globally from central Africa (Kinshasa) by the 1920s, though pinpointing the single first carrier is impossible as it was a natural zoonotic leap, not a single event, and early cases went unrecognized until the 1980s.
Load More Replies... 
Michael MacKinnon 3 days ago
We also forget the extensive population disruptions in the region due to World War I. In addition to locally raised troops, every power dragooned thousands of people into service as porters and support for the unprecedented movements of armies. Many of those coerced into these roles died of unfamiliar diseases thousands of kilometres from their homes. This would have included exposure to s******y transmitted diseases. And, of course, the Belgian Congo was at the centre of a number of the military campaigns.
Boo 3 days ago
Why not try to do a little research before spouting off your asinine theories.
Load More Replies... #20
TIL that in 2016, a monkey fell onto an electrical transformer, shorting it and causing the entire country of Kenya to have no electricity for 4 hours. The monkey survived.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
The ENTIRE country? I doubt that. It is a big country, there will be several power plants and the like?
Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
Kenya’s grid at the time was heavily centralized, with major reliance on a few large hydroelectric plants. This monkey accident took place at the Gitaru power station an when it went offline, the loss of such a significant portion of generation capacity cascaded through the system, leaving the entire country without electricity. Link in comment.
Load More Replies... #21
TIL a 10-pound mini dachshund named Valerie survived alone for 529 days in the Australian bush after she ran away during a camping trip to Kangaroo Island (a remote island in southern Australia). She was eventually spotted and captured (after 2 months of trying) before being returned to her owners.
Cee Cee 3 days ago
Never underestimate dachshunds. They're not as daft as they look plus they are very stubborn and surprisingly good hunters. Souce? I own dachshunds.
Nils Skirnir 3 days ago
She actually gained weight while out there and was pretty healthy
Load More Replies...
AnnaB 3 days ago
I'm surpised that one of the 20 billion dangerous creatures living in Australia didn't get her.
Slapdash1 3 days ago
Obviously, she was meaner, badder and more dangerous
Load More Replies...
#22
TIL since 2023 there are more births in the US among women 40 and older than there are to teenage girls.
DarcyRose 2 days ago
Not so good when higher chance of down syndrome over 40. Pros and cons always
Load More Replies...
Norfolk and good 4 days ago (edited)
I'm nearly 40 and couldn't think of anything worse. No way am I still looking after children and teenagers into my 50s and 60s.
David Houde 3 days ago (edited)
My father and step mother had their last kid when my father was in his 50's (she was late in her 20's). The first thing I though was my dad will be 70 when his youngest son graduates high school.
Load More Replies...
Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
A Reddit commenter broke it down: Over 40s have 4.1% of the children and teenagers 4.0%. This down from almost 13% in 1990.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My fertility doctor told me the other day that in Australia, 30% of births are to women 30+, 10% of those are 40+
Siege Rook 3 days ago
This is ab-si-tively, pos-so-lutely, AGoodThing™. The human population is already plenty big enough - too big to be sustainable with the technology and society we have, without destroying the planet - and far better adults with life experience and financial means have fewer children they can do a good job of caring for, than the opposite.
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
Go forth and ."..." usually leads to the biblical command in Genesis 1:28: "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth". Reallyt unfortunate it didn't add words like 'responsibly', 'environmentally friendly', 'sustainably', and etc.
Load More Replies... #23
TIL that the designer of the first shopping malls had envisioned them as mixed-use facilities with libraries, apartments, green spaces, post offices and medical services being placed alongside commercial stores.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
That probably would have extended the longevity of many malls that now lie vacant and delapitated...
amy lee 3 days ago
With the internet British high streets are struggling. But the ones that are doing ok all have a library and banks and leisure centers in close proximity to each other
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My old local, the largest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere, does have apartments, a hotel, offices, a gym and childcare centre in it. Most shopping centres in Australia will have a post office included, and many have other mixed services.
Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
And as it turns out, that is still the most commercially viable option if you want to exploit one. And it definitely needs a supermarket.
Perfectly Cromulent 3 days ago
When I lived in Vancouver WA, the closest public library branch was in the mall. It was FANTASTIC.
Geoffrey Scott 3 days ago
My dream, if it is decided to tear down our 100 yr old middle school, is to refurbish it for community housing instead.
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
Perfectly logical - add services that attract people if you want them to spend money.
Andy Frobig 3 days ago
That may be how they end up, if they aren't demolished. The main reason I go to the closest mall is to visit the DMV
#24
TIL in 2013 a 9-yr-old boy got past 4 security check points at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport "without so much as a wink of suspicion" before boarding a flight to Las Vegas to go see an online friend. He didn't have an ID or a boarding pass & was alone with no parent or guardian with him
Jennifer Gray 4 days ago
Everyone assumed he was with whichever adult was closest to him at the time.
Riley Quinn 4 days ago
The only reason is that he wasn't carrying more than 3.4oz of fluids, otherwise he would've been busted.
Jeff Hood 3 days ago
How did a 9 year old get to the airport alone? None that I've visited are easily walkable
#25
TIL 75% of the world's tornados happen in the United States, approximately 1,200 annually.
glowworm2 4 days ago
Technically silver if you've read the book. MGM just wanted to showoff their new use of Technicolor.
Load More Replies...
Robin Roper 4 days ago
I live in the US in an area that is not known for having tornadoes and yet, at least 4 have caused damage very close to where I live. They are very dangerous and can be huge or small.
Joe Russo 3 days ago
I was accidentally way too close to a tornado twenty-five years ago. My advice: never be anywhere close to a tornado...
K Ma 3 days ago
Where I live, we had a tornado come through that had the highest wind speed ever recorded. IIRC, its still the record. Coming out of the cellar afterwards was mind boggling.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 4 days ago
Rather minor, compared to other destructive forces loose in my country.
Load More Replies...
April Pickett 4 days ago
Let's see; tornados and floods in the middle; earthquakes, mud slides, fires in the west; and hurricanes, flooding, and minor earthquakes in the east. You can't go south (hurricanes,flooding, fires) or north (10' of snow).
Bored Jellyfish 3 days ago
Another possible TIL: You’re no safer from tornadoes on mountains either. Last year, a tornado touched down at an elevation of 9120ft (2780m) on Pikes Peak in Colorado.
Philly Bob 2 days ago
I've endured tornadoes right in center city Philadelphia and also up here in the Pocono area. They're mean SOBs.
Load More Replies... Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
I imagine there are a lot that don't get reported - e.g. sparsely populated areas, and out at sea, probably not entirely accurate.
#26
TIL that during the filming of The Devil Wears Prada, most fashion industry designers and executives declined appearing as themselves in cameo roles due to fears of upsetting Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is widely believed to have been the inspiration for the character Miranda Priestly.
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 days ago
🎶You're so vain, I bet you think this film is about you, dont you?🎶
#27
TIL the phrase “well behaved women seldom make history” was coined by a historian who argued we should study the lives of normal people more.
Michael Largey 4 days ago
It's more like “well behaved women often make history but seldom receive the credit”.
sofacushionfort 3 days ago (edited)
From what I’ve seen of history, I wouldn’t be too eager for credit
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
Applies in many fields, e.g. how much money is spent studying why healthy people are healthy, why happy people are happy, why long-lived people are long-lived, and etc.
#28
TIL that a 2,000-year-old Chinese woman, Lady Dai (Xin Zhui), was found so well-preserved that her skin was still soft and her blood type could be determined.
Grm Moore 3 days ago
Skin had nothing to do with being able to tell her blood type. small amounts of Type A blood were found in her veins.
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
I bet her superannuation fund wasn't happy with her: 50 years of contributions and 1940 years of pension payments. Or maybe her kids looking after her; I doubt she was relying on government welfare.
#29
TIL coffee was first introduced to India in the 17th century by a Muslim saint who, while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, smuggled seven coffee beans by hiding them in his beard.
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
According to legend, around 313 AD, Indian Princess Hemamala and her husband, Prince Dantha, fled their kingdom during a war. To protect a sacred relic from being destroyed, she hid the Buddha's sacred tooth relic within her elaborate hair ornament and smuggled it to Sri Lanka. The relic is now enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Pferdchen 2 days ago
I recently heard that Vienna's first coffee house was created after sacks of strange beans were discovered in the camps of the Ottomans after the failed 1683 siege of Vienna. The boys who worked in the bakeries supposedly created the crescent shaped croissant in recognition of the victory, which was due to the arrival of Polish hussars; western Europe (and continental breakfasts) might look much different today if they hadn't arrived as the city walls were crumbling.
Eugenia 🇮🇹🤌 3 days ago
Silkworms were introduced in Europe by an italian jesuit who had been a missionary in China and had become a very important person, a good and trusted friend of the Emperor. Back then taking silkworms in other countries was punished with death. He smuggled a few in his hollow walking stick and never returned. Very trustworthy guest he was...
#30
TIL medieval alchemists associated the 7 known metals at the time (gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, iron, tin, and lead) with the 7 classical planets (the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, respectively). Because of this association, quicksilver is called "mercury" today.
#31
TIL of the Great Stink of 1858 London, caused by a combination of hot weather and untreated human waste, which led to the construction of a new sewer system that is still in use today.
UKGrandad 4 days ago (edited)
The London sewer system was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. His great-great-grandson, Sir Peter Bazalgette, was the man whose TV production company, Endemol, produced the reality TV show, Big Brother. So, Sir Joseph worked to pump the shít out of society only for his descendent to pump it back in.
TotallyNOTAFox 4 days ago
And the designer planned the sewers twice as big as they needed to be back then to make them future proof
G A 4 days ago
But no one spent any more money extending them as London expanded, and they are now struggling to keep pace with demand.
Load More Replies... Chich the witch 3 days ago
IIRC, it was ignored until the smell began to annoy the House of Commons. Can't have those privileged noses wrinkled now can we :p
#32
TIL when Galileo discovered Saturn’s rings, he sent letters to his fellow Astronomers announcing this, but in code. One of the people who got this letter was Johannes Kepler, who misinterpreted it as saying there were two moons of Mars. The two moons of Mars would not be discovered until 1877.
Stardust she/her 3 days ago
Phobos and Deimos. They say that Phobos, the larger moon is being pulled towards its planet and in a few million years will eventually cross the Röche limit and form a ring around the planet. Coincidentally Saturn will have lost a lot of its ring material by then
Pieter LeGrande 2 days ago
What is this painting meant to represent? Looking through a near horizontal telescope during the day with all the likely haze around. Nope, I reckon they were spying on the neighbours, seeing what they were getting up to.
#33
TIL that the kangaroo rat can survive its entire life without drinking any water.
Daniel Atkins 4 days ago
This is better stated as kangaroo rats don’t drink water but get it from the food they eat.
Jedi Panda 4 days ago
I mean, anyone can go their entire life without water, they just won't live very long...
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
This is not phrased very well. The fat could die from dehydration, it could have lived its entire life without drinking water.
Gillian Hogan 2 days ago
I believe that we all would 'survive' our entire lives without water..albeit..likely a short one...
#34
TIL Mithridatism is the practice of protecting oneself against a poison by gradually self-administering non-lethal amounts. The word is derived from Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus, who so feared being poisoned that he regularly ingested small doses, aiming to develop immunity.
Devin Schmitt 4 days ago
odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadly poisons known to man
Load More Replies...
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
Wasn't Mithridites stabbed to death of similar? Hard to develop an immunity to violent death.
ADHD 4 days ago
shoulda had his pals stab him wi tiny knives for a while to build up immunity,
Load More Replies...
#35
TIL that the United States government still sends $4,500 worth of cloth to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy every year, and has done so every November 11th for the past 230+ years in recognition of a still-standing treaty with them.
Oliver 3 days ago (edited)
I highly doubt the current administration has kept it. If they did the “error” will be corrected in the next three years. Back to violating 100% of the treaties with Native Americans. Ugh.
Load More Replies... Sam Trudeau 2 days ago
In Canada we do more than just this for the Indigenous people
Load More Replies...
#36
TIL of a man who found $7.5 million in a "Storage Wars" unit he bought for $500. He had to negotiate with the original owners, who paid him $1.2 million to return their money.
Marno C. 4 days ago
1. I am sure the police would be very intersted to know the source of that money and why it was kept in a storage locker. 2. If I had (for some strange reason) millions of dollars sitting in a storage locker, I would be durn sure to pay the rental fees promptly and regularly. 3. The police would be interested yet again to find out why #2 didn't happen.
Gordon 3 days ago
I just would have kept the whole thing...if they had 7.5 million, you'd think they could've paid their storage fee !
BC_Animus 3 days ago
Would you REALLY wanna risk angering someone with that much money hidden?
Load More Replies... Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
I'd have wanted 1.2million plus the initial £500 I paid. Petty, I know.
Rebecca Joan 3 days ago
Why did he have to share? If you had that much $ and still din’t pay your storage fee, oh well!!
Brian Droste 3 days ago
If I had 7.5 million in a storage locker, I am not going to forget about it and pay my storage fee.
#37
TIL that between 1697 and 1698, Tsar Peter the Great of Russia travelled incognito to Western Europe under the alias "Peter Mikhailov" to gain knowledge of their advances in learning. At 6'8" he was likely the tallest man in Europe, and so his disguise was almost certainly laughably ineffective.
Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
As a Dutchie, I had to look this one up. The Dutch Republic had earlier produced Trijntje Keever (1616–1633), the tallest woman in recorded history at 2.60 m (8 ft 6.75 in). But she died decades before Peter’s arrival. Apparently the average Dutch person at the time was only about 5'6".
#38
TIL James Garfield is the only president of the United States to have made an original contribution to the field of mathematics. His proof of the Pythagorean theorem was published in the New England Journal of Education in 1876.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
I'd have thought President Trump might have contributed? Him being a real stable genius and everything.
Elmo 3 days ago (edited)
There's this Netflix miniseries on him (In the UK at least) called Death by Lightning, it's really good.
Daisydaisy 4 days ago
So a tad more intelligent than some more recent US presidents we can think of?
#39
TIL In 1653, Dutch sailor Hendrick Hamel and 35 crewmates shipwrecked off the coast of Joseon (modern-day Korea). Due to Joseon's isolationist policy, they were not permitted to leave. After 13 years, Hamel and 7 others escaped by boat to Japan. He then wrote the first Western account of Korea.
#40
TIL that while tonka beans are prized for their flavor, it's banned in the US since 1954. The beans have the taste of vanilla, licorice, caramel, and cloves. Restaurants in the US that have the ingredient have been subject to raids and chefs relied on smugglers for the beans.
michael Chock 4 days ago
Large doses can cause liver damage, but are always used in very small amounts. But alcohol us legal...
Nikole 4 days ago
Furthermore: "Many experts believe the ban was an overreaction, as it would take about 30 beans to cause harm, and coumarin exists in many other legal foods like cinnamon and strawberries. "
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 4 days ago
Yeah, and 2-3 teaspoons of nutmeg is toxic, but it's still legal. You'd be surprised at the number of toxic foods we consume everyday.
Bruce Mardle 4 days ago
Interesting. I've just read that they contain coumarin, which can be toxic. It's also commonly used as a fragrance.
#41
TIL that the non-profit that runs Wreaths Across America is owned by the same family that runs the Worcester Wreath Company, the for-profit supplier for Wreaths Across America, and the family’s non-profit use their donations to purchase wreaths from the family’s for-profit business.
Marno C. 4 days ago
This is actually a very common tax dodge amongst America's rich. Step 1: create a chartable foundation in your name. 2. Hire much of your family and friends.2. Make sure that many of the salaries are classified as 'exempt' business expenses that further reduce tax load. 3. Include many other perks as salary compensation or gifts-in-kind that can be counted as part of charitable giving. (These can include rent free apartments, personal loans for living expenses, free access to corporate jets, etc.). 4. Charitable 'events' then use the rich persons' other assets and are billed a pretty penny for it or issuing inflated 'donation' receipts to count against business taxes. (e.g. Trump Foundation holding events at Mar-a-lago or Trump Towers). Honestly, most famous people foundations are utter scams and the laws need to be improved to make sure that they have conflict-of-interest free relationships and are doing actual charity work, not tax workarounds.
Michael Largey 4 days ago (edited)
Disgusting and not uncommon. You can catch this by looking at the non-profit's IRS Form 990. I ran across non-profit A which was owned by for-profit B. 60% of non-profit A's income was paid to for-profit B - for "consulting and management services". A and B refuse to be more specific.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago (edited)
Figures... the almighty dollar that many Americans are add1ct3d to and keeps them aimlessly chasing the nebulous American Dream.
Boo 3 days ago
Honestly, I think the whole rotten system needs to be torn down and burnt to the ground!
Load More Replies... Tobias Reaper 2 days ago
so they use donations to buy wreaths from their other company they are basically pocketing them
Earthquake903 1 day ago
And it's heavily supported by many trucking companies including Walmart
#42
TIL Anthony Olson endured 9 years of chemotherapy (2011-2020) for cancer that he eventually learned he never had. He was told that without treatment, he'd be [gone] by the end of the year. When a second biopsy came back negative, he was told to ignore it because it meant the treatment was working.
Auntriarch 3 days ago
Carenza Lewis (TV archeologist) was diagnosed with breast cancer and didn't find out it was incorrect until after having a double mastectomy.
Grm Moore 3 days ago
in early 2011 an oncologist at St Peter’s, diagnosed him with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a blood disorder described as "pre-leukaemia." The more treatments and visits Weiner billed, the more money he made. Pre-illness. Biggest con ever.
Paul Khon 1 day ago
Him? Carenza is female. Watch a few Time Team episodes on YouTube.
Load More Replies...
#43
TIL that Daniel Fahrenheit (who invented the mercury thermometer) set 0°F to the coldest stable temperature he could maintain in his lab by dissolving salt in water.
Miki 3 days ago (edited)
To be fair, at a beginning, celsius F this up by setting this to be 100.
Load More Replies... David Houde 3 days ago
Couldn't disagree more. And I'm an American that doesn't use celsius (or the metric system). Thinking logically both the celsius temperature scale and the metric system make a lot more sense.
Load More Replies...
#44
TIL Mariah Carey makes $2.7-3.3M per year from All I Want For Christmas Is You.
Jeff Hunt 4 days ago
I can and will happily annoy the hell out of everyone one month a year for $3 million.
Mike F 3 days ago
One month? Only one? H3ll, that cursed song starts long about Halloween.
Load More Replies... UKGrandad 4 days ago
I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but this is one of the few Christmas songs that I actually like.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
This is, objectively, the worst song. Not just the worst Christmas song, but the very worst song ever. When she does that warbling singing I feel the need to carry out violent crime.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het: yes, but Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody annoys me just as much. And Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is much worse than either if you ask me.
Load More Replies... 
TonjaLasagne 3 days ago
I can’t watch that movie anymore and I love Colin Firth.
Load More Replies... NightOwlPanda 3 days ago
It's the only Christmas song I want to hear. But that has nothing to do with the Christmastime lyrics; it's just a good pop song. It would be fun to listen to even if it had other lyrics.
TonjaLasagne 3 days ago
Lucky you! Actually, it’s not a bad song, when you first hear it. But it has been overplayed during the holiday season ever since it was released in 1994 (over 30 freaking years ago!).
Load More Replies... #45
TIL the youngest mother in history, who gave birth at the age of 5, is still alive today at 92 years old.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Wikipedia says "Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado (born 23 September 1933) is a Peruvian woman who became the youngest confirmed mother in history when she gave birth to her son Gerardo on 14 May 1939 when she was five years, seven months, and 21 days of age. Based on the medical assessments of her pregnancy, she was four years old when she became pregnant, which was biologically possible due to precocious puberty." and "Gerardo grew up healthy, but died in 1979 at the age of 40 from bone marrow disease"
Owen 3 days ago (edited)
What sick f*ck got her pregnant? Actually, I don't want to know. Let him fade from history all together. He doesn't deserve to be remembered.
Load More Replies...
brittany 4 days ago
they never were able to verify who the father of the boy was. its speculated that it happened to her so young she didnt understand what was happening and couldnt answer their questions
Load More Replies... Faye Bosworth 3 days ago
And aside from the horrific child SA element of this, THIS is yet another reason why puberty blockers are sometimes NECESSARY. No 4 year old should have to deal with a d**n period.
Forrest Hobbs 2 days ago
Faye Bosworth: no sensible person ever suggested banning puberty blockers for evidence-based medical treatment. The current arguments - in sane circles - relate to using puberty blockers in cases where the evidence for their use is weak. That is, for treatment of gender dysphoria. The NHS here in the UK is current running a trial to collect more evidence. Medical treatment should only be given with informed consent, and you can't give informed consent unless the facts are known. Right now, they're not, at least in the case of gender dysphoria. I expect I'll get downvoted - by people who think they know better than the future results of the on-going triple-blind medical trials. 🤨
Load More Replies... 
#46
TIL that Jackson Pollock abandoned titles and started numbering his works. His wife, Lee Krasner, said, "He used to give his pictures conventional titles, but now he simply numbers them. Numbers are neutral. They make people look at a picture for what it is, pure painting."
Grumpy old man 3 days ago
Thats the point of abstraction. The entire 20th century was about rebelling against what you and Bougereau as leader of the French school of Belle Arts think art is. NOW, we're over it, returned to classical art, ateliers have popped up all over the world. Photography ended realism, AI brought it back. Lots of people say "My kid could do that" but somebody else did it. Like Pterry and Discworld, anyone could have done it, but he did
Load More Replies...
Nikki Sevven 4 days ago
Relatives of mine have a painting of his hanging on the wall of their two-story stairwell. Decades ago, I dubbed it "Vomit After Eating Paella."
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
What a load of Pollocks. One might say it they were to see a gallery of his work.
#47
TIL that in 2013, NBA player Brian Scalabrine, who only averaged 3 points per game in his entire career, challenged 4 volunteers who criticized him over his bench role and claimed that they would beat him 1-on-1 in an organized event. Scalabrine won every game with a combined score of 44–6
michael Chock 4 days ago
Defense and moving the ball are part of winning, just as much as making the actual points. Bad players forget this.
Michael Largey 4 days ago
It's not like he grabbed the bench with both arms and refused to go into the game.
#48
TIL in 2008 Chicago sold off all of its city parking meters to private investors for 75 years, and the private investors already made their money back and turned a profit.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
Of course they did... Privatisation only benefits the companies and their shareholders.
David 3 days ago
no true, it depends how it was done. Look at Bryant Park in NYC, Privatized in the 90s, and it one of the best parks in NYC, open to the public and very profitable. The park was a dump and the City in the 90s was going to bulldoze it over for public housing, a group of investors offered the city a 99 year lease, where the park would be open to the public, but they would make money off it. They make money off of concerts held there, renting space to food carts and trucks, and more. Meanwhile NYC gets an amazing public park with the best rated Public bathroom in NYC (and when they re-did it, the bathroom remodel cost them 600k, for the whole park, meanwhile the average 6 stall public park bathroom costst the NYC Parks department 3 million dollars. Public-Private partnerships can work well, if done right
Load More Replies... Marno C. 4 days ago
It is rather socialist of me, but 'business model' thinking does not belong in certain arenas: health care, education, policing/firefighting, and basic civic infrastructute. Those need to be run on a 'public good/civic model'. Otherwise, the people just get robbed by the rich.
Zephyr343 4 days ago
Didn't they get $1 billion for it, which the company made back in a year? I hate street parking in Chicago. I usually look for a garage. The one I sometimes use off Hubbard and N Orleans is like $7 for the first 29 minutes and $20 after that. Although I did just discover parking in a hospital garage is a lot cheaper 😅
Load More Replies... David 3 days ago
They were in debt and desperate for Cash and the govt of Abu Dhabi made them an offer (and created a company with Morgan Stanley for it) and the Democrat mayor at the time Richard M. Daley claimed this would be a good idea (his administration was notoriously corrupt and so many corrupt contracts and sales) witht the near unanimous support of a entire Democrat controlled Council (every Alderman was a Democrat), though the Illinois GOP at the time tried to sue to stop it claiming it was short sighted and would hurt in the long run. Chicago Corruption won
Julie Rogers 3 days ago
The city council members who voted against the deal were Democrats, and I can't find any suggestion that the Illinois GOP opposed it at the time. Could you point to the lawsuit?
Load More Replies...
#49
TIL that the CEOs of Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Adobe and Cobra Beer all attended the same public school in Hyderabad.
Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
Public as in 'open to anyone with skills, money and connections'.
Marno C. 4 days ago
I wonder if they all go to the Annual Bilderberg Conference? (N.b. To help recall the name, I typed 'big secret meeting in the forest' into Google and it was my top result!)
Load More Replies...
#50
TIL that in Japan during the Edo period, the gonin-gumi system held groups of five households collectively responsible for each other's crimes, so people were punished for things their neighbors did.
G A 4 days ago
The paranoia keeps neighbours spying upon neighbours and keeping them straight without involving police or authorities.
Space Invader 3 days ago
...or create vast group efforts to cover the crimes up.
Load More Replies... Norfolk and good 4 days ago
North Korea has something similar. If someone commits a political offence (which in North Korea is most things) then three generations of their family can be sent to a prison camp with them.
hardrad2009 3 days ago
Yep, system of “hundreds” which existed well into XIX century
Load More Replies...
#51
TIL that Egypt banned all of Marilyn Monroe’s films after she converted to Judaism in order to marry Arthur Miller — and later unbanned them once the couple divorced.
Michael Largey 4 days ago
The same thing happened to Elizabeth Taylor for converting to Judaism when she married Mike Todd. I don't know if they ever lifted the ban.
Laszlo Larthlanc 3 days ago
What would happen if you converted to Judyism in order to marry Judy Tenuta?
#52
TIL: In the US, performers don't get paid when their music gets played on the radio, only songwriters. If a recording artist doesn't have a writing credit on the song, they won't get paid when it is played on the radio.
Michael Largey 4 days ago
If the song is played as an instrumental, does the person who wrote the lyrics still get paid or does the melody writer get it all?
Grumpy old man 3 days ago
Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the Star Trek theme by Alexander Courage and Nichelle Nichols sang them, so yes, all 3 got paid. Courage was not pleased
Load More Replies... Marno C. 3 days ago
A lot of famous singers will often only agree to record a song if they can be listed as a co-writer. They may make a couple of minor changes to a song to act as their contribution.
Geoffrey Scott 3 days ago
Which is why, despite his personal rightward bent, Eric Clapton lists McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters), Howlin' Wolf and all the other artists he used songs from. They get a chunk as well.
#53
TIL China's Last Emperor worked as a Street Sweeper and Gardener in Beijing after serving 10 years in a re-education camp.
Marno C. 4 days ago
As a child, my parents were divorced and remarried to their new partners. For some reason, during a kid-exchange meet up, we all went to the movies together and this was the movie we saw. I have vivid memories of being deeply uncomfortable during the scene when the young emperor is bedding both his wives at the same time.....
Load More Replies... SkyBlueandBlack 3 days ago
🎼Now in the morning I sleep alone/Sweep the streets I used to own 🎶
Grumpy old man 3 days ago
And Chuckles isnt much better. If Wulls wants to be King, he'd better make lasting peace in the Mid East
#54
TIL: The difference between Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 / i9 chips often comes down to how many of the tiny circuits on a wafer survive manufacturing without defects. This is called product binning.
#55
TIL that one inch of rain falling on 1 acre of ground is equal to about 27,154 gallons and weighs about 113 tons.
#56
TIL The existence of planets outside our solar system wasn't confirmed until 1992.
Stardust she/her 3 days ago
And the best part is the fact that we discovered the first exoplanets not orbiting around stars but rather around pulsars aka fast spinning neutron stars
Chich the witch 3 days ago
The existence of other galaxies wasn't confirmed until the late 1920s. We are quite new to a lot of knowledge.
Stardust she/her 3 days ago
To be fair, our galaxy resides in a sort of empty part of the universe. If it was in a denser pocket then we’d have discovered other galaxies centuries ago
Load More Replies... #57
TIL that Victoria Beckham's self-titled debut album cost £5 million to produce but only sold 54,000 copies in Britain.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago
Hard to believe she sold that many. Has David Beckham got a few thousand copies boxed up and stored in a warehouse?
Jaya 3 days ago
It's interesting to see how fast we forget that she made her fame as a singer first. It must have been so painful for her to come out of such a huge bestseller band and to hope to have some success solo too, but for it to flop that hard. Yeah, she wasn't a good singer, but n'either was Geri, and her album was a big hit. And the millions of Spice Girls fans didn't care that half of the band couldn't sing that well, so it never mattered before.
Sheena Leversedge Wood 1 day ago
while I was a fan of neither, Geris solo stuff was much better. Victorias solo stuff really was dire.
Load More Replies... Norfolk and good 3 days ago
I still remember the Out of Your Mind v Groovejet chart battle of 2000.
#58
TIL: During the Fall of Saigon, Vietnamese pilot Major Buang-Ly escaped with his family of 5 by flying a Cessna to the USS Midway, dropping a paper note on the flight deck. Captain Chambers ordered helicopters to be pushed off the deck to make room for Buang, who landed safely.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago (edited)
Mimi M: yeah, but shoving helicopters off the aircraft carrier flight deck had turned into standard procedure during that event. I've seen the film footage - the crew just shoved 'em overboard. Splash, there goes another one.. Make room for the fliers who are coming in to land, and never mind the excess choppers already landed - we're not going to need them.
Load More Replies...
Jared C 3 days ago
Could have had the helicopters take off, land the plane and then push that off, then land the helicopters
Forrest Hobbs 2 days ago
Jared C: they were shoving helicopters overboard to make room for more helicopters. I've seen the film footage. The whole situation was crazy and the idea was "Make room for the people and never mind the excess machinery".
Load More Replies... #59
TIL 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU)—almost pure U-235 was discovered in 1993 just sitting out in the open in Kazakhstan.
Grumpy old man 3 days ago
When the USSR disolved lots of mini nukes went missing.
Load More Replies... Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
That's about 12.4 inches cubed ( a standard ruler is 12") and enough for 20–40 nuclear weapons.
Yora Belle End 3 days ago
Around 12 Trillion. (20 Billion Callories per gram)
Load More Replies... #60
TIL that in 1978, the actor who plays Darth Vader publicly spoiled the “I am your father” twist in Empire Strikes Back two years before the movie debuted.
Bruce Mardle 4 days ago
David Prowse, that is, who you as Vader's body but not the voice or face.
UKGrandad 4 days ago
Brits of a certain age know him as the Green Cross Code Man.
Load More Replies...
Rob Walton 3 days ago
This is not true. It wasn't David Prowse. He got blamed for it but the journalist has confirmed it wasn't him.
Giraffe Sitter 3 days ago
I remember reading that Prose was never told that his voice would be replaced and didn’t know until the movie came out, so maybe he did this out of spite.
Norfolk and good 3 days ago
I thought it was a retcon because why else would Lucas have Luke and Leia kissing in A New Hope.
Wetbeard-the-Pirate (he/she) 3 days ago
It might be a retcon, but it still makes sense because they didn't know they were siblings at the time
Load More Replies... #61
TIL that there are no longer any people alive who were born in the 1800s. The final verified person from that century was Emma Morano of Italy, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 117.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 days ago (edited)
Is there anyone still alive who were born in the 1700s though?
Captain Kakapo 3 days ago (edited)
Shocking fact: the oldest person and the person been born the earliest - are one and the same!
#62
TIL that novelist Cormac McCarthy was very poor in his early career, despite wide critical acclaim. He and his girlfriend bathed in lakes, ate only beans, and refused offers of $2,000 ($16,700 today) to speak at universities about his work because “everything he had to say was there on the page.”
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
Well, he wasn't very clever then, was he? Sometimes it pays to put your principles aside and provide for your family...
Nikole 4 days ago
And he still could have given talks at universities. Rather arrogant to refuse, IMO.
Load More Replies... Marno C. 4 days ago
So, then, who was collecting them money being made off his books? (I rather suspect that his fortunes turned around not due to royalties, but due to film rights.)
Powerful Katrinka 3 days ago
His early books didn’t sell. Thar only changed with his Border Trilogy.
Load More Replies... #63
TIL that at the end of the Cold War the ‘Last Supper’ was held at the Pentagon. Over dinner, the heads of major defence contractors were told of coming budget cuts and the need to consolidate. The number of prime defence contractors declined from 51 to 5 in the aftermath.
#64
TIL that after the Maersk Alabama pirate hijacking in 2009, the $30,000 cash the pirates stole from the ship and stowed in the lifeboat was never found. 2 SEAL team members were investigated but no charges brought
#65
TIL that the biggest benefit of drinking pickle juice is its ability to quickly stop cramping. The drink has been found to stop cramping 40% faster than drinking water, which is why its favoured by athletes.
TheSubmissiveToe 4 days ago
It also contains sodium and potassium, so talk to your Dr first before consuming on a regular basis. Especially if you have high blood pressure.
Multa Nocte 4 days ago
Wonderful user name you have. Is there a story behind it?
Load More Replies... Mimi M 4 days ago (edited)
Save the juice, save the jar, put cut up fresh vegs into it, stick in fridge for a week or two. Yum, fresh veg pickles. PS: Can cut up salad vegs and put in as is, other types of vegs, steam lightly before putting in.
Nikki Sevven 4 days ago
Dill pickle brine also makes a fantastic marinade for chicken.
Load More Replies...
#66
TIL that most of Costco's profits comes from membership fees and not products sales. In 2024, 65.5% of company profits comes from membership fees.
️Rando Panda 4 days ago
My membership saves me a fortune on road trips. Gas, restrooms and affordable food court.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
I have a membership and I have made excellent returns on the small investment by fuelling up there regularly...
Captain Kakapo 3 days ago
Yup. Profits, not net income. If you know the difference, this fact barely surprises you.
Geoffrey Scott 3 days ago
Our nearest 'club store' is 45 minutes away. We will not renew our membership, makes no sense. We've been 3 times in the last year.
Laszlo Larthlanc 3 days ago
They deliver, and there's no delivery charge for orders over $75. Under $75 it's $3 per item. Our Costco is 32 miles away, and we only go there about twice a year.
Load More Replies...
#67
TIL that the most expensive video game ever made is Monopoly Go!, almost entirely due to its $1 billion marketing budget.
#68
TIL in 2002 Eminem settled a lawsuit by paying $100,000 (roughly £70,000) to a man named John Guerra after Em reportedly pulled out an unloaded gun and hit Guerra in the face in response to seeing Guerra kiss his then-wife in the parking lot of a nightclub in 2000.
#69
TIL that raccoon meat was once a staple at American Thanksgiving dinner tables and is still sold in places like St Louis. Raccoon reportedly tastes like "a combination of chicken and suckling pig" and is endorsed by Marvel actor Anthony Mackie who calls it "honestly the best meat you'll ever have."
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
Just, no... I personally don't believe in eating wild omnivores or mammalian predators of any kind.
Riley Quinn 4 days ago
Unfortunately, poverty and hunger are the reasons why many people hunt. Hunting is how my family put food on the table during lean times. Curious though, it's okay to eat cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys that are raised in hideous, inhumane conditions on factory farms, but not raccoons?? As the vegetarian saying goes, all meat is m****r.
Load More Replies... SkyBlueandBlack 3 days ago
You've never actually met one, have you? Or cleaned up after them? I've heard bat guano is the worst smell ever, but it can't possibly smell worse than raccoon shît.
Load More Replies...
Michael Largey 4 days ago
That's what they want. That's why they wear masks.
Load More Replies... #70
TIL Napoleon's prowess in battle was so legendary, the Trachenberg Plan was drafted to specifically avoid facing Napoleon in battle while instead targeting his marshals and generals separately
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago (edited)
A bloke called Arthur Wellesley wasn't so bothered by Napoleon's reputation. Turns out, Arthur was right and Boney was - while far from incompetent - somewhat over-rated as a commander. Gebhard von Blücher wasn't overawed either. 18th June 1815 - you could look it up. 😉 (Euston? Paddington? St Pancras? D****d if I can recall the railway station they named after that business...)
#71
TIL "Dry Cleaning" isn't actually dry, it just washes with a solvent rather than water
Lotekguy 4 days ago
Really? Now are you going to tell me that nobody named Martin was ever involved in martinizing? What's left to believe in?
Adam Zad 2 days ago
But Vulcans are still involved in vulcanizing, right? RIGHT?!
Load More Replies...
Juls 4 days ago
Dry cleaning fluid is a harsh and dangerous liquid. It does, however, clean very quickly and doesn't shrink things like water and soap do. Most clothes get damaged by being in the washer so long, with a long agitation cycle. Dry cleaning is harsh but fast, causing less damage. Fun fact, dry cleaning fluid can cause big damage to certain things. It can strip the finish off buttons or metallic details off of fabric. Some things should not be dry cleaned.
Forrest Hobbs 3 days ago
Juls: common dry cleaning fluids are Tetrachloroethylene and Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane. Reading Wikipedia, I'm told that the former chemical was used as a oral de-worming medicine; the latter is still used in cosmetics and sunblocks - oh, and "silicone based personal lubricants". Modern domestic washing machines and detergents are designed to avoid damaging clothes - remember always use a non-biological detergent on wool and silk fabric (bio detergents contain enzymes that break down proteins; wool and silk are mostly protein). From personal observation, I can confirm the idea that ironing clothes can help them last longer. I've got plenty of shirts with fabric that's failed at the persistent creases they have because I just can't be bothered ironing, not unless it's a special occasion. Weddings and funerals and that.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I thought everyone knew this, but I guess most people weren't brought up with a mum who loudly protested most things 'chemical'
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Ahem. As it happens, water is a solvent. It dissolves more things than anything else. Dry cleaning is called "dry" because it uses liquid solvents that aren't water - normally "non polar" solvents, water being a "polar solvent". I had to look up the meaning of those terms too - isn't the Internet great?
Howl's sleeping castle 4 days ago
We used to joke as kids that for dry cleaning, they put the clothes in the washing machine and let it run without water
#72
TIL Some studies on drunk driving have found that a BAC of 0.01%-0.04% correlates with lower accident risk than being completely sober. This is called the Grand Rapids dip, and is a quirk of statistics.
Nikole 4 days ago
I used to drink while driving and am forever ashamed. Nothing ever happened (and no DUIs), but it certainly could have.
Load More Replies... Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
Or of life: it's the effect of one drink, so it tells us people who are responsible drinkers are responsible drivers as well.
Lotekguy 4 days ago
That makes sense, actually. Those who have been drinking, but not enough to impair judgment (tolerances with a given percentage in the blood vary widely from one person to another), probably stay more focused and alert to avoid an accident or DUI charge than if they hadn't been drinking at all.
Jaya 3 days ago
The consensus amongst scientists seems to be that this is because that study had not taken age into consideration: the group of people who hadn't been drinking at all contained way more people under 25 and over 55 than the groups who had been drinking. And people in those age groups cause accidents way more often than people 25-55. When they re-analyzed the data with this in mind, the study shows that 0 drinking is safer than drinking a little bit. And other studies have shown that the likelihood of an accident increases as soon as alcohol is measurable. So no, it's not that you drive better when you've been drinking a little bit, it was just bad science.
#73
TIL a 31-year-old Brazilian billionaire with no heirs allegedly left his entire $1 billion fortune to Neymar in a legally registered will because he admired the player’s humility and family values.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
Surely there are more deserving people and charities that could benefit from his legacy- other than a pro athlete who already has hundreds of millions of dollars?!?
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 3 days ago
Oh sure, give all your money to somebody who has a lot allready, why not?
#74
TIL that the hepatitis E virus was discovered by a Soviet physician when he ingested fecal samples from 22 soldiers during a presumed non-hepatitis A outbreak in Uzbekistan, developed hepatitis 36 days later and then had his stool examined under electron microscopy.
#75
TIL most heavyweight boxers clock in with a punching power of around 1200-1700 PSI, which is 10x stronger than an average person. Mike Tyson, renowned for his "ferocious knockout power", recorded a punching PSI of 1800. (The character Ivan Drago in Rocky IV had a punching power of over 2100 PSI)
#76
TIL Michael J. Fox's middle name is Andrew.
General Anaesthesia 3 days ago
Yes it does, but the J is both silent and invisible.
Load More Replies... Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
Named after Michael J. Pollard who played the reckless sidekick (the mechanic) in Bonnie and Clyde.
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 days ago
And was in the original series Star Trek episode "Miri".
Load More Replies... #77
TIL Lucy Lambert Hale, the fiancé of John Wilkes Booth, was considered one of the most beautiful socialites of her time. She began receiving poems from suitors when she was still a 12 year old child.
Jaya 3 days ago (edited)
Hey BP, copying posts like this without including the picture, makes them useless. The whole point of that post was that she looks like what we in this day and age would call ugly or average. (Click on the grey name underneath the post, that takes you to Reddit where you can see the pic)
JB 3 days ago
In all fairness, she didn’t age well but in her teens I think we in this day and age would describe her as beautiful. Check out AnnaB’s photo.
Load More Replies... ️Rando Panda 4 days ago
I just googled her to see what this beauty looked like. Her family must've been really, really wealthy.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
At 17 years old, apparently: 'she was described as having had "dark hair, blue eyes, a clear skin, and a stunning figure" '. Photos of her later in life don't necessarily tell you anything about her when young.
Load More Replies... Nikole 3 days ago
Right?? I think we made our comments at the same time, ha.
Load More Replies... #78
TIL Microsoft invested two years and about US$1 billion developing the Kin, a line of mobile phones that was briefly sold in 2010. After only 48 days on the market, Microsoft discontinued the Kin line in June 2010 due to poor sales, They blamed Verizon for not promoting the phones actively enough.
Bartlet for world domination 4 days ago
I'm glad they keep fumbling their phones because I loved my Lumia 1020 and now I at least get to spread my data across Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Meta and OpenAI.
#79
TIL that the A-10 'Warthog' close-air-support plane, infamous for being "a gun with a plane", has to return the spent shell casings from it's massive forward mounted autocannon to the plane to maintain it's center-of-gravity.
Rob D 3 days ago
My favorite military plane. Parts can be swapped left to right and right to left. They've returned from missions missing substantial parts like wings and rudders. The hydraulic redundancies are really well worked. The pilot sits in a titanium tub. They've tried to retire it many times, but it's just too good at its job.
Sofia 20 hours ago
I heard that desert storm is what they changed their mind to retire it
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 3 days ago
Had one fly over the house in Michigan. Wife: "That is one UGLY plane"..."It's called a Warthog".."I can see why!"
#80
TIL that Blizzard was tricked into making StarCraft a AAA game: it was to be a modest project but after an impressive demo of Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3 outshone it at E3 1996, it was decided to overhaul it completely. It later turned out that Dominion's demo was a pre-animated fake.
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
You May Like 46 People Share Mildly Disturbing Facts You May Have Never Heard Before 60 Interesting Facts That Are Better Than Watching The News 44 Truly Random Facts That Are Still Better Than The News
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Dominyka Proškėnaitė
Related on Bored Panda
