Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 14:49

TIL that in 2020, a teenage boy was playing video games with an online friend when he began having a seizure. Despite being over 5,000 miles away, his friend managed to alert the emergency services in his area, saving his life. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 07:49

TIL: astronauts eat steak and eggs the morning of a launch because it makes them feel full longer and generates minimal poop (and not just out of a tradition started by test pilots who liked that meal). [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 05:49

TIL that although the Gregorian Calendar is built around the fact that Jesus' birth was in 1 AD (AD stands for "Anno Domini" or "in the year of the Lord"), most historians agree that Jesus was actually born between 4 BC and 6 BC. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 03:49

TIL There was a naked man living in the crawl space of a 93 year old woman’s house for up to 6 months. He was discovered after the family kept hearing weird noises. He refused to come out for hours so the police finally had to use tear gas to get the man out from under the house. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 02:49

TIL In 1965, Jordan and Saudi Arabia peacefully swapped land, resulting in Jordan gaining 19 more kilometers of coastline and Saudi Arabia gaining more desert. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 00:49

TIL the word “hello” first appeared in writing in 1826, and was not used as a greeting until 1877, when it became the default when answering a phone call [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 22:49

TIL that there are multiple 3d-printers (including one for metal) on the International Space Station to reduce the need for resupply. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 20:49

TIL 12-14% of people are thought to have borderline intellectual function, somewhere between disabled and average. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 18:49

TIL: Saudia Flight 163 safely landed after a fire broke out onboard shortly after takeoff. But despite the successful landing, all 301 passengers and crew perished. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 14:49

TIL Executive Orders do not immediately become law; they are more of a written directive or statement and are not necessarily binding [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 13:49

TIL The SunChips compostable bag, introduced in 2010, was known for being exceptionally loud, reaching 95 decibels, which is comparable to a motorcycle or a subway train. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 09:49

TIL your belly button is a thriving "rainforest" of microbial diversity, and some people even have bacteria in there that have never been seen before by scientists. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 08:49

TIL the human gut has its own nervous system with over 100 million neurons, more than a cats brain, and it can function independently of the brain. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 06:49

TIL that Hitler's bodyguard, Rochus Misch, lived long enough to see the film Downfall depicting Hitler's final days in the bunker. He commented on the historical accuracy, stating that Hitler did far less yelling. He also noted that the scene where he contemplates suicide was different from reality. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 04:49

TIL that in 2010, 83% of Chinese people reported having trouble writing characters according to a survey done by China Youth Daily. In another survey 60% of teachers complained of declining writing ability. This phenomenon is known as "Character Amnesia/提笔忘字". [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 12:49

TIL about Veronica Seider, born with vision 20 times better than most, allowing her to identify people from over a mile (1.6 km) distance. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 06:49

TIL Japanese Unit 731 did human experimentation on Chinese victims [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 04:49

TIL that ravens in the wild play with wolf puppies. In the wholesome way, not the 'play with your food' way. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 03:49

TIL There have been 19 U.S. service members to receive two Medals of Honor, and five of them received the Medal of Honor for the same action. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

28 июня 2025 01:49

TIL that when an illiterate lottery winner named Abraham Shakespeare (!) mysteriously vanished, amateur web sleuths lured the woman eventually convicted of Shakespeare’s murder into their true crime forum. Link to that forum thread in the comments [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 23:49

TIL that when the representative from Canada signed the the Japanese Instrument of Surrender which ended the second World War, he signed in the spot assigned to France, causing the three countries behind Canada to have to sign in the wrong spot as well [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 21:49

TIL of Richard Jordan, who successfully appealed three death sentences, accepted a plea deal for life without parole, and then successfully appealed that deal, which resulted in him being re-sentenced to death. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 19:49

TIL a 2024 study found that on average a single cigarette takes about 20 minutes off a person’s life. This figure nearly doubles an estimate from a 2000 study of roughly 11 minutes per cigarette and means that a typical pack of 20 cigarettes can shorten a person’s life by nearly 7 hours. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 17:49

TIL that there is a sport called underwater ice hockey, where players, positioned upside down beneath the ice sheet, play with a large floating puck that glides along its underside. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 14:49

TIL that Norway, after gaining independence from Sweden in 1905, offered the throne to Prince Carl of Denmark - but he refused to accept unless the people voted for a monarchy over a republic. 79% said yes, and he became King Haakon VII, the only known king ever to be elected by popular vote. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 12:49

TIL in Germany, drivers stuck in traffic on the Autobahn must leave an emergency lane in the middle of the road at all times. (Also Austria & Switzerland). [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 09:49

TIL Pedro Pascal’s parents returned to Chile in 1995 after his father Dr. Jose P. Balmaceda was accused of stealing fertility patients' eggs and embryos and implanting them in other women without their knowledge and consent. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 07:49

TIL In 1987, an 18-month old girl, Jessica McClure, fell 22 feet into a well in her aunt’s property in Midland, Texas. The rescue took 58 hours and was televised on CNN, the first 24 hr news station. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 05:49

TIL There’s a pay phone in Takoma Park, MD, that only makes bird calls. If you pick up the handset, you’ll hear the call of the Mourning Dove instead of a dial tone. Press a key to hear another bird call along with its identification and info about it. The phone attracts a lot of children. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

27 июня 2025 04:49

TIL of the M*A*S*H* spinoff W*A*L*T*E*R*, about Radar O'Reilly after the war. He had lost his farm, had to evict his mother from her home, and his wife left him for his best friend during their honeymoon leaving him destitute and suicidal. It was a comedy… [Source]