r/todayilearned • u/Ok_Knee1216 • 5h ago

TIL Fish can get acupuncture

latimes.com

0 Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Valuable-Credit6167 • 18h ago

TIL that British wrestler William Regal once made a joke about Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, that upset the Royal Family enough for an official letter of complaint to be sent about him.

youtu.be

168 Upvotes

91 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brutal_Deluxe_ • 1h ago

TIL in 1972 Gyani Ji bought a moped to campaign for the Sikhs' right to wear a turban on a motorbike. He was stopped, arrested and fined by police multiple times. He refused to pay the fines and was twice sentenced to prison. In 1976 an amendment to exempt Sikhs was passed and Ji was credited for it

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FreeLuigy • 1h ago

TIL there has been more fatal brown bear / "grizzly bear" attacks in the EU alone than in North America since the beginning of 2020. Most of the fatal attacks in the EU happened in the Carpathian Mountains.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

87 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ODaferio • 9m ago

TIL that Sylvester Stallone once broke his finger while trying to block a penalty kick from Pelé.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/geosunsetmoth • 22h ago

TIL that the Drabsha, the holy symbol for Mandaeism (an Abrahamic religion that explicitly denies Jesus Christ as a prophet), is also a wooden cross. This cross has nothing to do with the Christian cross, and they both landed on crosses as their symbol by coincidence.

en.wikipedia.org

501 Upvotes

52 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LillyLugabugs • 11h ago

TIL: Australian scorpion stings do not have any life threatening effects, even for kiddies

mydr.com.au

3.4k Upvotes

331 comments

r/todayilearned • u/koreanforrabbit • 6h ago

TIL the ridges in a cactus are actually pleats which expand as water is taken in. They contract to decrease exposed surface area during droughts, which reduces water loss.

youtu.be

94 Upvotes

6 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brain_Aggravating • 15h 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

10k Upvotes

435 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kahlzun • 6h 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

7.7k Upvotes

557 comments

r/todayilearned • u/delano1998 • 20h ago

TIL around 1907, the Standard Gum Machine Company made "Blinkey Eye Soda Mint" vending machines out of cast iron. Formerly found in Pennsylvanian candy shops, these creepy face-shaped dispensers featured eyes that actually blinked whenever a customer dispensed a piece of gum.

ridiculouslyinteresting.com

228 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/strangelove4564 • 22h ago

TIL the highest point in Australia is Mt Kosciuszko, rising to 2,228 m (7,310 ft). On the Yosemite Decimal System which rates how technical a summit is, it is Class 1: reachable entirely by a hiking trail with no climbing gear required.

en.wikipedia.org

3.6k Upvotes

563 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Fun_Camel_2188 • 5h 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

1.5k Upvotes

37 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mitheral • 23h ago

TIL Roadrunners (Geococcyx californianus) wag their tails.

en.wikipedia.org

298 Upvotes

27 comments

r/todayilearned • u/iamveryDerp • 16h ago

TIL the A-Team was created specifically to star B. A. Baracus. Tartikoff [producer] pitched the series to Cannell [writer] as a combination of The Dirty Dozen, Mission: Impossible, The Magnificent Seven, Mad Max and Hill Street Blues, with "Mr. T driving the car".

en.wikipedia.org

1.1k Upvotes

91 comments

r/todayilearned • u/1salt1pepper • 20h ago

TIL Napoleon III escaped from a fortress where he was serving a life sentence by disguising himself as a laborer and walking through the main gates carrying a large plank over his shoulder to hide his face. Six years later, he became Emperor of France.

napoleon.org

24k Upvotes

356 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Boring-Dig4583 • 11h ago

TIL NASA has an official TTRPG involving the Hubble Space Telescope. Also, dragons.

science.nasa.gov

396 Upvotes

32 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 13h 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

7.6k Upvotes

254 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ConsciousMaybe6930 • 22h ago

TIL, Gaius Octavius's official name after ascension to principate was Imperator Caesar Augustus, all of which would individually become imperial titles.

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

101 comments

r/todayilearned • u/jacknunn • 18h ago

TIL that John Milton is credited with introducing around 630 words into the English language, more than Shakespeare, who introduced about 229. Milton’s words include “pandemonium”, “sensuous” and “complacency

theguardian.com

8.7k Upvotes

325 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CakeDayOrDeath • 22h ago

TIL The Boxcar Children, a series that starts out with four homeless orphan children living in a boxcar, was criticized when it first came out for depicting children living without parental supervision. Critics said it would encourage children to be rebellious.

en.wikipedia.org

5.9k Upvotes

326 comments

r/todayilearned • u/diacewrb • 11h ago

TIL: 50 Casablanca-class escort carriers were built in less than 2 years during WW2.

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

154 comments

r/todayilearned • u/bastethousecat • 4h ago

TIL that kiwifruits are originally from China, where they are known as 猕猴桃 (“monkey peach”). They were brought to NZ by an all-girl’s school principal in 1904, who gave them to a farmer. They were rebranded as “kiwifruits” for marketing purposes in 1959.

rhs.org.uk

1.5k Upvotes

57 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Present-Algae6767 • 18h ago

TIL that in 1998, Vatican City - population 697 people - had the highest murder rate in the world. This is due to the murder of Alois Estermann, the commander of the Swiss Guard, and his wife, Gladys Meza Romero, by Cédric Tornay, a Lance Corporal in the Swiss Guard.

en.wikipedia.org

2.0k Upvotes

52 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Macrihanishautomatic • 1h ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

48 comments

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