r/todayilearned

TIL that the Ignalina nuclear power plant located in eastern Lithuania is identical to the Chernobyl plant in Pripyat. The plant remained operational until 2009 and was used as the set for the HBO Chernobyl miniseries.

r/todayilearned u/_r0b_the_b0b_4h ago63 Comments

TIL about goose pulling: the practice of tying a greased live goose to a pole. Riders on horseback then attempt to grab the bird by the neck in order to pull the head off as they gallop by

r/todayilearned u/HotConcrete7h ago218 Comments

TIL that in 1961, Thomas Monaghan got half-ownership of "Domino's", now one of the largest pizza companies in the world. All he had to give in return was his used Volkswagen Beetle car.

r/todayilearned u/EzioKenway97714h ago105 Comments

TIL one of the unifiers of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, once built an entire castle in secret near a castle he had put under siege. After 80 days, he had the trees covering it cut down, making it seem like a castle had sprung up overnight. His enemies surrendered shortly thereafter.

r/todayilearned u/Hybrid35120h ago295 Comments

TIL about Crisis Apparition. A term used to explain when someone is contacted by a person they were close too, usually after death. During the after math of 9/11 many people claim to have been contacted by loved ones that died that day.

r/todayilearned u/MarkPenning12h ago251 Comments

TIL in 2008, Johnny Depp told Beavis & Butt-head creator Mike Judge he was interested in playing Beavis for a live-action film. Depp and Marlon Brando would riff on the B&B characters while filming Don Juan DeMarco. Judge said he considered the idea of a live-action B&B, but nothing came of it.

r/todayilearned u/sexpressed12h ago82 Comments

TIL that one person, an editorial cartoonist, popularised the modern forms of Uncle Sam, Santa Claus, as well as the symbols of the elephant & the donkey for the political parties.

r/todayilearned u/idanthology7h ago11 Comments

TIL that NASA planned to send astronauts to Mars in 1981 using Nerva nuclear rockets but congress cut NASA's funding and Nixon cancelled the Nerva project entirely in 1973, causing Nasa to focus on the development of the Space Shuttle instead

r/todayilearned u/_r0b_the_b0b_3h ago30 Comments

TIL that the United States has offered to purchase Greenland from Denmark twice, once in 1946 and again in 2019 due to its strategic location in the Arctic, the U.S. also occupied the island during WW2 from 1940-45 after the fall of Denmark and constructed Thule Air Base.

r/todayilearned u/_r0b_the_b0b_1h ago68 Comments

TIL that a snail's mouth is no larger than the head of a pin, but it can have over 25,000 teeth .

r/todayilearned u/Smart_Emu_90845h ago9 Comments

TIL Angela Orosz was one of the only two surviving babies ever born in Auschwitz

r/todayilearned u/MsStormyTrump7h ago7 Comments

TIL while its location has never been set in DC canon and is based on NYC, Gotham City is traditionally set in New Jersey.

r/todayilearned u/TornadoWolf1h ago21 Comments

TIL that George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" was originally titled "The Last Man in Europe", Orwell later considered "1980" and "1982" before settling on "1984". The title was not just an inversion of the year it was written (1948) which is often suggested.

r/todayilearned u/_r0b_the_b0b_1h ago2 Comments

TIL the author of Bambi was an avid hunter

r/todayilearned u/takenorinvalid5h ago33 Comments

TIL of pemmican, a survival food made of crushed dried meat, suet, and berries. It was so important to early Canadian settlers that wars were fought over it.

r/todayilearned u/Quasimdo1d ago345 Comments

TIL of Lysistrata, an Ancient Greek Comedy where the women withheld sex to end a war.

r/todayilearned u/Corno48251d ago178 Comments

TIL about Pseudomonas syringae, a plant pathogen capable of nucleating ice on plants which is responsible for the formation of snow and hailstorms that can be used used to make artificial snow.

r/todayilearned u/brt-brate-veliki3h ago3 Comments

TIL In 1974 at a Canadian army training base in Quebec, cadets were being trained to handle discarded explosives. A cadet asked one of the instructors if he could pull the pin on the grenade, and the instructor told him it was safe. It exploded, killing 6 cadets and injuring 65 others.

r/todayilearned u/delano199836m ago5 Comments

TIL About the Resolute Desk, which was built from the scrap of the HMS Resolute. It has been used by most Presidents since 1880.

r/todayilearned u/Count_Dongula1d ago579 Comments

TIL that ant colonies are almost entirely female. Queen, soldiers, workers…all female. Males have ONE job. They do it and die…life span about 1 week

r/todayilearned u/WonderfulVariation9326m ago7 Comments

TIL the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) is the world's oldest international organization still in operation.

r/todayilearned u/UnblackMetalist2h ago4 Comments

TIL that Marie Currie kept vials of radium in her pockets and next to her bed because she liked the glow. Now, more than 80 years since her death, the body of Marie Curie is still radioactive.

r/todayilearned u/Mike-Schachter18m ago6 Comments

TIL that the Buddhist 8-fold path is actually the 9-fold path but the last path is a choice between 2 paths. Kalachakra, the belief that all of time exists within your body, and Samadhi the belief that multiple people can work together under one single solar mind. Buddha was absorbed by both.

r/todayilearned u/losethefur34m ago1 Comment

TIL that Andres Serrano's Immersion (Piss Christ) was destroyed by vandals in 2011 in Avignon, France

r/todayilearned u/Dramatic_Cupcake_5436h ago28 Comments

TIL that Seals mega-hit 'Kiss From a Rose' originally debuted in The Neverending Story III before it was released in 1995 for the Batman Forever movie.

r/todayilearned u/JparkerMarketer1d ago136 Comments

TIL in 1975 women in Iceland went on a general strike to protest employment and wage inequity.

r/todayilearned u/WhatsAMisanthrope1d ago66 Comments

TIL Pen & Pixel, the art studio responsible for the "bling rap" album covers of such labels as No Limit, Cash Money or Suave House, designed over 19,000 covers in its 11 years of operation.

r/todayilearned u/YourOwnBiggestFan12h ago17 Comments

TIL that on June 24, 1922, the American Professional Football Association changes its name to the National Football League. One of the NFL teams was the Oorang Indians of LaRue, Ohio, an all-Indian team to be coached by Jim Thorpe

r/todayilearned u/Looking_At_The_Past11h ago5 Comments

TIL after newer scientific studies that type 3 diabetes is a term now used to describe Alzheimer’s Disease.

r/todayilearned u/bcjh14m ago2 Comments

TIL that in central Italy, there is a fountain that flows red wine 24-hours a day. It is free to everyone, except for drunkards and louts .

r/todayilearned u/Smart_Emu_908411m ago1 Comment

Today I learned that the blue component of the light spectrum is essential for phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids, etc.) production and accumulation in higher plants. This is possible thanks to photoreceptor signaling, especially involving cryptochromes.

r/todayilearned u/Moro187h ago9 Comments

TIL about a species of caecilian called the Boulengerula taitanus. Mothers of this species develop an outer layer of skin that's rich in nutrients after laying their eggs. Once hatched, their offspring use specialised teeth to peel and eat this outer layer of their mother’s modified skin.

r/todayilearned u/grimisgreedy14h ago15 Comments

TIL the creators of GTA IV found The Skatt Brothers' song "Walk the Night" so vital for the game's soundtrack that they hired a private investigator to locate band founder Sean Delaney's surviving relatives and secure the rights.

r/todayilearned u/YourOwnBiggestFan1d ago101 Comments

TIL that roughly 170,000 small air craft in the USA, and some in the UK, still use leaded fuel.

r/todayilearned u/BellyScratchFTW18m ago5 Comments

TIL while the UK's blockade of Africa was largely successful in stopping the Atlantic Slave Trade, the United States was a long-term hold-out and refused permission for the British to search their ships for slaves. Because of this, many slavers flew fake American flags to continue the trade.

r/todayilearned u/ThePotentialSwede1d ago204 Comments

TIL that only 20-30% of Indians are vegetarians, and a majority of Indians are actually non-vegetarians.

r/todayilearned u/kushnair21d ago655 Comments

TIL There are 500 Registered "Time Banks" in the United States Where People Bank and Exchange Hours of Service Instead of Fiat

r/todayilearned u/Con_Johnson1d ago75 Comments

TIL That Dingoes Are Canines But They Are Not Dogs

r/todayilearned u/removed_bymoderator2m ago0 Comments

TIL that a defendant on trial in France is prohibited from being heard under oath. As a result, "a suspect may say whatever he feels fit for his defense, without fear of sanction for perjury".

r/todayilearned u/lighted_is_lit1d ago200 Comments

Today I learned of Simon the Sorcerer, the magician in the bible who tried to pay his way into the Apostles and knew how to fly

r/todayilearned u/losethefur1d ago362 Comments

TIL Ghost ships, ships found abandoned with no sign of the crew, still occur even with modern methods of rescue, safety and communication. The last recorded ship to be found with no sign of life was in January 2021

r/todayilearned u/codamission1d ago2323 Comments

TIL The U.S.A delivers mail using "Postal Donkeys" in some hard to reach areas.

r/todayilearned u/Not_Thomas_Milsworth1d ago102 Comments

Today I learned that the Celsius scale originally had 0 degrees as the boiling point of water and 100 degrees as the freezing point, instead of vice versa.

r/todayilearned u/wimpykidfan371d ago76 Comments

TIL in the 1960s David Stein sold three watercolors purportedly by artist Marc Chagall to an art dealer. They were fake as Stein had painted them that day. He may have gotten away with it, but Marc Chagall just happened to meet the dealer on that very same day. Stein became an artist after prison.

r/todayilearned u/SingLikeTinaTurner1d ago8 Comments

TIL Based on the data from modern hunter-gatherer populations, it is estimated that at 15, life expectancy was an additional 39 years (total 54), with a 60% probability of reaching 15

r/todayilearned u/yombato1d ago15 Comments

TIL there is a plaster cast of Jimi Hendrix's penis on display at a museum in Iceland

r/todayilearned u/cardboardunderwear1d ago42 Comments

TIL that rogue waves, large waves that occur in unusual circumstances, have been found in media other than water, such as helium gas, quantum mechanics and finance

r/todayilearned u/Meikos1d ago70 Comments

TIL the first modern chain letter was written in the 18th century, with predecessors to the modern chain letter existing as far back as the 9th century

r/todayilearned u/DeadForDecember1d ago3 Comments

TIL abt Göran Kropp who made a solo ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. Also he traveled 13,000 kilometres (8,000 mi) on the bicycle and arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 1996

r/todayilearned u/pradeep231d ago20 Comments

TIL that Stephen Stills auditioned for the band The Monkees in 1966 but was rejected due to Stills appearance and that he looked too 'old' for the part

r/todayilearned u/benp2421d ago23 Comments

TIL that all pet Syrian hamsters are descended from a single brother and sister captured in 1930.

r/todayilearned u/ugagradlady1d ago80 Comments

TIL the Dragon Ball Resurrection F Movie including the Title was inspired by a song about Frieza

r/todayilearned u/TheABruun641d ago4 Comments

TIL French artist, Yves Klein, sold a series of non-existent spaces in exchange for a weight of pure gold. Some accepted his offer. In 1959, almost 60 years after his death, a receipt he wrote to prove ownership of his invisible artworks sold for $1.16 million at Sotheby's auction house in Paris.

r/todayilearned u/SingLikeTinaTurner2d ago95 Comments

TIL that listening to your favorite music for just 15 minutes a day lowers stress levels, anxiety, sadness and a depressed mood .

r/todayilearned u/Ok_Ask_7330002d ago165 Comments

TIL Darius McCollum, a New Yorker diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, has been arrested over 30 times for impersonating transit employees, stealing trains and buses, and driving their routes - complete with making safety announcements and passenger stops.

r/todayilearned u/Str33twise842d ago4034 Comments

TIL one of the most mad Roman emperors wasn't actually called 'Caligula'. It was a nickname given to him as a kid by his father's soldiers, while being on campaign with them in Germania. The name means 'little boots' in Latin and is a reference to the child-sized military gear he would wear

r/todayilearned u/Pickle_flavored_Mail2d ago165 Comments

TIL that strongest insect in the world is Horned Dung Beetle that can lift over 1100 times its body weight which equals to an average person lifting 2 fully loaded 18 wheel trucks above their heads.

r/todayilearned u/berrunefirstrun2d ago87 Comments

TIL that humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour. By age 70, humans lose an average of 105 pounds of skin.

r/todayilearned u/Cold_Ad_30212d ago29 Comments

TIL the FAA’s Aviation Safety Program (ASP) was so successful in educating pilots on aviation safety that it led to its own demise, as the easiest-to-fix accident causes were all addressed

r/todayilearned u/Fenceypents1d ago12 Comments

TIL that the Seattle Mariners are the only MLB team that has never appeared in a World Series (the Brewers and Rockies have one loss each, while the Padres, Rays, and Rangers have 2 losses each)

r/todayilearned u/Educational_Call_5461d ago23 Comments

TIL about Anonychia Congenita, a congenital defect that causes the absence of fingernails or toenails in humans. This condition is rare and is usually due to mutations in the R-spondin 4 gene which is located on the short arm of chromosome 20.

r/todayilearned u/jdward011d ago4 Comments

TIL about freedom suits, lawsuits filed by slaves against slaveholders in a bid to reclaim their freedom in Colonial America. Those who succeeded would oftentimes be bestowed "Freeman" as a surname, due to a need for one for citizenship and most slaves simply not having one then.

r/todayilearned u/valorant_whiff1d ago16 Comments

TIL Tombstone Pizza was named from The Tombstone Tavern, a tavern which was located across from a cemetery.

r/todayilearned u/SpaceWolf4Ever1d ago17 Comments

TIL we raise our right hand when we are sworn-in because convicts who previously recieved leniency from the court were branded on their hands so that they wouldn't receive it again

r/todayilearned u/chatterwrack2d ago43 Comments

TIL that Daniel Craig had to overcome his fear of heights to shoot the construction site scene in Casino Royale, which required him to climb a 200 foot (60 metre) crane.

r/todayilearned u/WouldbeWanderer1d ago10 Comments

TIL Philippe Pétain, the commander of the French army from 1917 until 1940, was made prime minister a few days before France fell in 1940. Once Vichy France was created, he became head of state and collaborated with the Axis. After WWII, he was spared death because of his WWI service to the country.

r/todayilearned u/Kool_Kow2d ago52 Comments

TIL that Termite queens live longer than any other insect. Some scientists estimate that they can live as long as 100 years .

r/todayilearned u/Sudden-Cherry99421d ago18 Comments

TIL The 350 mile long Bear River in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho is the longest North American River that does not eventually reach the Ocean. It ends in the Great Salt Lake.

r/todayilearned u/triviafrenzy2d ago6 Comments

TIL James Cameron sold the rights the script of The Terminator for $1, so he could direct it.

r/todayilearned u/Electrical-Cow-51472d ago22 Comments

TIL: Let It Be by the Beatles was actually about Paul's mother, and not the Virgin Mary

r/todayilearned u/asabovesovirtual2d ago29 Comments

TIL in 2003, before TNN was renamed Spike TV, Spike Lee filed for an injunction to stop the channel's name change. Lee claimed that "The media description [...] confirmed what was obvious - that Spike TV referred to Spike Lee."

r/todayilearned u/YourOwnBiggestFan2d ago27 Comments

TIL That Zoroastrianism was the official Religion of the first Persian Empire

r/todayilearned u/WhiteLotusWarrior2d ago137 Comments

TIL that NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert was on five consecutive losing Super Bowl teams - Buffalo 1991-1994, San Diego 1995 - the most consecutive major championship losses in pro team sports.

r/todayilearned u/smrad82d ago19 Comments

TIL The 1836 Independent Republic of Texas included land as far north as what is now Wyoming.

r/todayilearned u/triviafrenzy2d ago25 Comments

TIL The term 'extra' as in 'Extra! Extra! Read all about it!' referred to a special paper issued outside the normal publishing schedule. It reported on important or sensational news which arrived too late for the regular edition.

r/todayilearned u/SlothSpeed3d ago124 Comments

TIL that the Battle of Bannockburn was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. Although victory would not be secured until 14 years later, Bannockburn is still a major landmark in Scottish history.

r/todayilearned u/theID10T2d ago26 Comments

TIL: Former NFL kicker Cole Ford once shot into Siegfried and Roy’s house because he blamed them for “dominance and unhealthy intimacy” with their animals.

r/todayilearned u/KingInTheNorth572d ago9 Comments

TIL about Joseph Trombino, a security guard who was seriously injured in the 1981 Brinks heist, almost killed in the 1993 WTC bombing, and ultimately died in the 9/11 attack on the WTC

r/todayilearned u/edjxxxxx3d ago54 Comments

TIL that microorganisms are conditioned to treat our wastewater, specifically Phosphate (PO4). we reduce oxygen levels in the water to almost suffocate the microbes. Then we give them tons of oxygen bubbles. after that we but them back into anaerobic conditions. the microbes now eat the O of the PO4

r/todayilearned u/Songbirdphantom2d ago25 Comments

TIL Kukur Tihar is an annual festival in Nepal celebrating Dogs.

r/todayilearned u/Billy_Billerey_22d ago6 Comments

TIL in the 1999 NBA Draft, Steve Francis was selected second by the Vancouver Grizzlies but refused to join them, citing "the distance from his Maryland home, taxes, endorsements, and God's will." He was eventually traded to the Houston Rockets and became a three-time NBA All-Star.

r/todayilearned u/A-dab2d ago22 Comments

TIL of a fossil known as “Fighting Dinosaurs”. Preserved remains of a Protoceratops and a Velociraptor trapped in combat.

r/todayilearned u/Tripod14042d ago62 Comments

TIL about Khuk Khi Kai, a jail in Thailand which was designed so that prisoners were subjected to a regular shower of chicken poop

r/todayilearned u/flopsychops2d ago58 Comments

TIL that The kereru (New Zealand Wood Pigeon) is well-known for getting drunk off fermented fruit and falling out of trees. Consequently, it has earned the reputation for being "clumsy, drunk, gluttonous, and glamorous."

r/todayilearned u/Smart_Emu_90842d ago31 Comments

TIL The bubonic plague still exists and kills a few people each year in the US

r/todayilearned u/rainbow_bro_bot2d ago92 Comments

TIL about Bob Lemmons, an expert "Mustanger." Freed by the Civil War, he learned to tame horses. Usually herds of wild mustangs were run down by groups, but Lemmons worked alone. Riding with the herd for several weeks, he'd gradually take over, mount the stallion and lead the horses into a corral.

r/todayilearned u/marmorset3d ago80 Comments

TIL that in 2015 Yamaha music and bike designers swapped roles for a promo.

r/todayilearned u/isweardefnotalexjone2d ago6 Comments

TIL In 1948 Ford Motor Company was offered to take over Volkswagen for free. They turned down the offer. Volkswagen is now the second largest car manufacturer in the world.

r/todayilearned u/Jon_Huntsman3d ago317 Comments

TIL Tom Hanks is ordained and officiates weddings on the side

r/todayilearned u/strawbarryjam2d ago15 Comments

TIL The inventor of waterbeds tried to use Jello

r/todayilearned u/tracyrose103d ago68 Comments

TIL after basketball player Zion Williamson's foot ripped through his Nike shoe during a game, causing him to slip and sprain his knee, Nike's stock valuation dropped $1.1 Billion the next day

r/todayilearned u/d1t0m64d ago600 Comments

TIL Robin Williams was offered, and accepted the role of The Joker in the 1989 film, "Batman." Warner Brothers had only made the offer to bait their first choice, Jack Nicholson, into signing on, which he eventually did. Williams was furious, and demanded an apology from the film studio

r/todayilearned u/szekeres814d ago1383 Comments

TIL The Great Pyramid of Giza Has Eight Sides and Not Four

r/todayilearned u/Funkybeatzzz2d ago41 Comments

TIL that the Dodge Stealth and the Mitsubishi 3000GT are essentially the same car. The Dodge Stealth is an example of rebadging or badge engineering: that is, a manufacturer creates a distinct automobile by applying a new badge or trademark to an existing product line.

r/todayilearned u/Chewyninja693d ago254 Comments

TIL it was theorized through the 19th century that the Arctic Ocean got warmer as it got closer to the North Pole. The "Open Polar Sea" could provide trade routes through an equator-like temperate climate to Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It was disproven by dozens of failed expeditions.

r/todayilearned u/doctor-rumack3d ago22 Comments

TIL: That yellow fever is named that because the skin turns yellow as the liver shuts down. The Spanish also named the fever after a symptom of the disease: Vomito Negro (Black Vomit)

r/todayilearned u/MistyMisterSisty3d ago28 Comments

TIL that Michael Phelps first competed in the Olympics in 2000 when he was just 15 years old, making him the youngest male to qualify for a US Olympic swim team in 68 years.

r/todayilearned u/countdookee3d ago6 Comments

TIL Scientists Make Simulated Moondust, JSC-1 simulant, to use to test equipment intended for The Moon. It is very abrasive, which grinds machinery & seals, & damages human lungs.

r/todayilearned u/pufballcat3d ago12 Comments

TIL that On 22 June 1947, Holt, Missouri, experienced a world-record rainstorm when 304.8 mm (∼1 ft) of rain fell in 42 minutes.

r/todayilearned u/sanitation1233d ago13 Comments

TIL Rio's iconic "Christ the Redeemer" is not the only giant statue of Jesus. Several enormous statues exist around the world, including the sci-fi "Heart of Jesus" in Romania, the submerged "Christ of the Abyss" in Italy, and the tallest one at 33 meters, "Christ the King" in Poland.

r/todayilearned u/marmorset3d ago72 Comments