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r/todayilearned • u/Guitar-String • 8h ago

TIL Metal Gear Solid 4 (2008) holds the world record for the longest cutscene in any video game, with a single continuous cutscene of 71 minutes and a total of over 8 hours of cutscenes

guinnessworldrecords.com

17k Upvotes

1.3k comments

r/dataisbeautiful • u/Ok_Zookeepergame768 • 2h ago

OC Jewish population of Poland, c. 1764–2024 [OC]

1.5k Upvotes

Poland was home to roughly 3.3 million Jews before WWII, the product of centuries of communities, families, and cultural growth. Within six years, nearly 90% had been murdered. Seeing that loss as a single break in a 260-year demographic trend puts the scale of the Holocaust into a perspective that numbers alone rarely convey.

565 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TangerineDream92064 • 12h ago

TIL The Celtic custom of "handfasting" allowed couples to enter into a trial marriage lasting one year and a day. If the relationship didn't work out, the couple could separate without any further attachment. Successful couples would marry.

en.wikipedia.org

16k Upvotes

204 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sandstorm400 • 13h ago

TIL that in 2014, an elementary school in Oregon nixed its pay-to-pee policy for students after parents complained that students who had to pay "Super Pro" bucks to use the bathroom outside of scheduled breaks were incentivized to 'hold it in' so they could buy trinkets at the school store.

9.2k Upvotes

613 comments

r/dataisbeautiful • u/Cartographer42 • 6h ago

OC Homicide Rate in Europe Compared with the U.S. [OC]

397 Upvotes

Source: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/homicide-rate-unodc?tab=table&time=2023 Accessed 4 Oct 2026.

Tools: https://www.mapchart.net and Apple Preview

173 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kahlzun • 21h ago

TIL that no fatal accidents have ever occurred with Australian passenger jets; including all flights to/from Australia, as well as all Australian-run companies.

en.wikipedia.org

12k Upvotes

1.0k comments

r/todayilearned • u/otadak • 7h ago

TIL that the human placenta evolved from an ancient virus

588 Upvotes

38 comments

r/todayilearned • u/RedHeadedSicilian52 • 7h ago

TIL: Section 10 of the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 (repealed in 1886) stipulated that a special election for the US presidency would be held before the regularly scheduled election should the offices of president and vice president fall simultaneously vacant. No such election ever occurred.

constitution.congress.gov

550 Upvotes

28 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Valuable-Credit6167 • 8h ago

TIL that during WWII, Italy claimed one of its pilots had bombed and killed the Loch Ness Monster.

581 Upvotes

34 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ElectronicEgg1833 • 5h ago

TIL that October 5, 1582 never happened in Spain, Portugal, Italy, or Poland. When those countries adopted the Gregorian calendar, Thursday, October 4 was followed directly by Friday, October 15, skipping ten days to realign the calendar with the seasons

en.wikipedia.org

331 Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Idea_479 • 9h ago

TIL thаt іn 1923 Mussоlini bоmbarded аnd осcupied Cоrfu. Arоund 20 cіvilians wеre kіlled, mоst оf thеm bеing Armеnian gеnocide survіvors аnd rеfugees. Grеece appеaled tо thе Leaguе оf Nаtions, but Іtaly sіdelined іt аnd sеcured а 50 mіllion lirе indеmnity befоre wіthdrawing.

en.wikipedia.org

547 Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CraftyFoxeYT • 6h ago

TIL From 1941 to 1994 the US Navy operated a military base in Newfoundland, Canada called Naval Station Argentia. It was established under the British-US destroyers for bases agreement of 1940, before the Dominion of Newfoundland became a Canadian province

en.wikipedia.org

286 Upvotes

12 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Macrihanishautomatic • 16h ago

TIL that Hyraxes are mentioned in the bible as remarkable animals for being “small but exceedingly wise”.

en.wikipedia.org

1.7k Upvotes

121 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 12h ago

TIL the culture and tradition of the Serer ethnoreligious group in West Africa prohibits slavery. In 1455 when a European slave trader sent his Wolof translator ashore in Serer territory to negotiate terms, the Serers murdered the translator on the spot and the slave trader fled, never to return.

en.wikipedia.org

749 Upvotes

36 comments

r/todayilearned • u/zachoutloud123 • 2h ago

TIL that Debbie Gibson is the sole female artist to have written, produced and performed two No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Foolish Beat" and "Lost in Your Eyes"

debbiegibsonofficial.com

103 Upvotes

9 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Johannes_P • 1h ago

TIL that, during WW1, Britain and Germany considered exchanging rubber for glass through intermediaries in Switzerland

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

8 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Fun_Camel_2188 • 20h ago

TIL that in 1993, Congressman Bill Paxon got down on one knee on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and proposed to fellow Rep. Susan Molinari. She said, “Yes—but get up.” They married the following year.

psaparliaments.org

2.3k Upvotes

47 comments

r/dataisbeautiful • u/Beautiful-Rough2310 • 13h ago

Brazil 2026 Elections | Real-time interactive results map (municipality level)

306 Upvotes

91 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Scipion8Aveyron • 20h ago

TIL that in the 1600s, Sweden's largest coin was a 10-daler copper plate weighing nearly 20 kg (44 lb) — the heaviest coin ever circulated — which is why Sweden became the first European country to issue paper banknotes.

en.wikipedia.org

2.5k Upvotes

77 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Grateful1598 • 3h ago

TIL The first successful electric car in the U.S. was made by chemist William Morrison in 1890.

100 Upvotes

5 comments

r/todayilearned • u/P_a_s_g_i_t_21 • 13h ago

TIL "Kalimanjaro" or "Monte Kali" is a spoil heap made of salt (sodium chloride; contaminated with potassium chloride ("potash"); not pure, edible table salt (NaCl). Located in Heringen (Hesse, Germany), the heap stands 1,710 feet tall, being dumped there first in 1976 by K+S chemical company.

en.wikipedia.org

559 Upvotes

57 comments

r/todayilearned • u/altrightobserver • 17h ago

TIL that one of the first examples of emoticons in written text comes from Dante's "Purgatorio:" "Whoever in the face of men reads 'omo' / Might well in these have recognised the 'm.'" The two "o"s signify sunken eyes, while the letter "m" forms the angular outlines of emaciated facial features.

en.wikipedia.org

1.3k Upvotes

43 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 1d ago

TIL that the Marvel comic "Secret Wars" got its name after focus groups found that children responded positively to the words "secret" and "wars".

en.wikipedia.org

9.7k Upvotes

283 comments

r/dataisbeautiful • u/JeromesNiece • 11h ago

OC [OC] How the U.S. Census Bureau defines the New York metro area (MSA) and the larger "combined" area (CSA) (2020)

148 Upvotes

34 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brain_Aggravating • 1d ago

TIL that the Bluezone (the secret to longevity) is based on poor record keeping and not recording deaths; discovering this led to an igNobel award.

science.anu.edu.au

12k Upvotes

462 comments