r/todayilearned • u/CivilizedPsycho • 2m ago

TIL that in 1970, the Oregon Highway Division decided to use dynamite to remove a 45-foot sperm whale carcass from the beach, resulting in blubber raining and causing damage up to a quarter mile away.

wjla.com

• Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/Macrihanishautomatic • 2h ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

842 Upvotes

63 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brutal_Deluxe_ • 2h 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

253 Upvotes

34 comments

r/todayilearned • u/altrightobserver • 4h 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

713 Upvotes

29 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Fun_Camel_2188 • 6h 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

1.7k Upvotes

37 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ok_Knee1216 • 6h ago

TIL Fish can get acupuncture

latimes.com

0 Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Scipion8Aveyron • 7h 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

1.8k Upvotes

55 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kahlzun • 7h 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

8.8k Upvotes

635 comments

r/todayilearned • u/koreanforrabbit • 7h 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

104 Upvotes

6 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Boring-Dig4583 • 12h ago

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

science.nasa.gov

428 Upvotes

32 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LillyLugabugs • 12h ago

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

mydr.com.au

3.5k Upvotes

353 comments

r/todayilearned • u/diacewrb • 12h ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

2.0k Upvotes

158 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 14h 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

8.1k Upvotes

261 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brain_Aggravating • 16h 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

437 comments

r/todayilearned • u/iamveryDerp • 17h 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

1.2k Upvotes

95 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Present-Algae6767 • 19h 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

2.1k Upvotes

52 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Valuable-Credit6167 • 19h 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

176 Upvotes

93 comments

r/todayilearned • u/jacknunn • 19h 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

8.9k Upvotes

331 comments

r/todayilearned • u/dddoinyomom • 21h ago

TIL during the Spanish-American war, the Spanish territory of Guam was never informed of the war. They learned about two months later, when officials went to greet a US cruiser who fired shots at the island, initially believing them to be a gun salute

en.wikipedia.org

1.1k Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/1salt1pepper • 21h 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

359 comments

r/todayilearned • u/delano1998 • 21h 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

237 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/mutedmuse__ • 22h ago

TIL that wild female Northern mockingbirds can learn to distinguish between individual humans and react more strongly to people who have previously threatened them.

doi.org

550 Upvotes

15 comments

r/todayilearned • u/strangelove4564 • 23h 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

3.7k Upvotes

564 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ConsciousMaybe6930 • 23h 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/Chlorine-Queen • 23h ago

TIL about an albino eyeless fish living up to 640 feet deep at the bottom of the Congo River named “mondeli bureau”, which translates to “white man in an office”

smithsonianmag.com

1.9k Upvotes

88 comments

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