Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 22:50

TIL Malcolm X, while serving a prison sentence in his early 20s, spent his time reading the dictionary and copying its pages to improve his vocabulary. This practice not only expanded his knowledge but also transformed him into one of the most articulate civil rights leaders. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 21:49

TIL that on January 6th, 1853, a tragic train derailment killed the 11 year old son of Franklin Pierce, who was President-Elect of the United States at the time. His wife believed that the accident was God punishing them because Pierce ran for President against her wishes. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 20:49

TIL the McLaren F1 is so valuable now, that it is essentially impossible for one to be "written off" by an insurance company, since the repair costs will always be less than the value of the car. Furthermore, McLaren will fully repair a crashed F1, no matter how substantial the damage. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 18:49

TIL that during WWII a German catholic priest was arrested and executed for telling a joke about Hitler [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 16:49

TIL that when F1 driver Pedro Rodriguez won the 1967 South African Grand Prix, becoming the first ever Mexican driver to win an F1 race, the organizers didn't have the Mexican anthem, and instead played the Mexican hat dance. After that, Rodriguez always traveled with a record of the anthem with him [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 14:49

TIL a Boeing 747 uses ~4 litres (~1 gallon) of fuel every second [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 12:49

TIL about the Women's 1500m at the 2012 Summer Olympics, called "one of the dirtiest race in history", where six of the first nine finishers (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th) have been found to have been doping and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 9th finishers were disqualified as of now. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 08:49

TIL Magnús Scheving (Sportacus of Lazy Town) made a bet with his friend that either would master a sport of the other's choosing (that they knew nothing about) within three years. Both successfully became national champions of aerobics and snooker respectively. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 03:49

TIL in 2011 a Brazilian man rescued a starving Magellanic penguin that was drenched in oil on the beach near his house. It stayed with him for about 11 months before returning to the sea. Although for at least the next 5 years, the penguin returned to visit the man for a few months each year. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 02:49

TIL that nearly 0% of Indigenous Mexicans develop wisdom teeth, while practically 100% of Tasmanians do. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 01:49

TIL of Kurt Gerstein, a Nazi officer who tried to alert the world of the Holocaust while it was happening by sending detailed reports to Swedish, Swiss, Dutch and Catholic officials. These were largely ineffective and he died by suicide in 1945 [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 22:49

TIL: That Princess Diana was buried holding a set of rosary beads that were gifted to her by Mother Teresa, who died just 6 days after Diana at the age of 87. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 20:50

TIL that Dippin Dots, the popular ice cream snack commonly found in stadiums, arenas, and theme parks, were originally created as cryogenically frozen cow feed. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 20:50

TIL in 1714, a Native American guide in eastern North America showed a group of settlers a deep path worn in the streambank by herds of eastern elk crossing the river. By 1880, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern elk subspecies extinct. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 16:49

TIL: The federal government is by far the largest employer of veterans in the United States [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 22:50

TIL In 2018, a restaurant in Maine started sedating their lobsters with marijuana smoke, saying it gave them a humane death. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 21:49

TIL In the 1990's, the British Police tried to ban the Lotus Carlton and the government condemned advertising of the vehicle. It could reach 176mph and Police vehicles at the time could not keep up during a pursuit. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 19:49

TIL in 2006, Scott Stapp of Creed filed a lawsuit to block the release of a sex video involving himself, Kid Rock, and four women. The suit was settled with the defendant agreeing to pay Stapp an undisclosed sum and to refrain from distributing the video. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 17:49

TIL ecologists once thought Beaver dam-building was an amazing feat of planning, indicative of the high intellect. This was tested when a recording of running water was played in a field near a beaver pond. Although on dry land, the beaver covered the tape player with branches and mud. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 15:49

TIL during Michael Jackson’s worldwide HIStory tour of ‘96-‘97, he traveled for over a year and performed 82 concerts live for almost 4.5 million people, but despite selling out 98% of the available tickets, the tour would only break even due MJ’s notorious lavish spending on excesses. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 14:49

TIL That the world record for internet speed is 402 terabits per second which would enable you to download 12500 movies in 1 second. This is approximately 4.3m times faster than the global average of 93mbps. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 11:49

TIL the Earth's crust is thought to contain three times the amount of water as is present in the oceans, stored in a mineral called 'ringwoodite' [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 06:49

TIL that Sea Urchins are called Sea Urchins because Hedgehogs used to be called Urchins until about the 15th century. Sea Urchins are Ocean Hedgehogs. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 03:49

TIL there was a Japanese government review in 2010 which found that 82% of the people aged over 100 in Japan turned out to be dead. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 01:49

TIL that Cornell University has its own dairy farm with over 900 cows. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 ноября 2024 01:49

TIL in 2012, over 2,000 Koreans gathered to watch a single man pitch a tent (a 24-man army tent) after he claimed on an internet forum that he could do it in under two hours. The event grew so large it even attracted corporate sponsers. The man succeeded, taking about an hour to accomplish the task. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 21:50

TIL David Letterman once insulted Quentin Tarantino on his show, which made Tarantino call Letterman on the phone and threaten to come to NY to “kill” him. Letterman responded by offering to pay for his flight and have QT choose the method of battle. Tarantino agreed and chose “bats.” [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 20:50

TIL that Randy Weaver was awarded $3.1 million over the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 18:50

TIL the phrase "neither rhyme nor reason" is from Edmund Spenser. Elizabeth I told her treasurer to pay Spenser "what is reason." Edmund wasn't paid, and wrote "I was promis'd on a time,\To have a reason for my rhyme:\From that time unto this season,\I receiv'd nor rhyme nor reason." He got paid. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

15 ноября 2024 15:49

TIL the first woman to be on the ballot in all 50 states was in 1988: a black woman named Lenora Fulani. She is 74 years old now. [Source]