Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 14:50

TIL: After the 2017 movie "It" there was a spike in coulrophiliacs, or people who are attracted to clowns, mainly among women. Vice interviewed Sugar Weasel, a clown escort who say women were typically clients. Props are a major part of the scene. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 11:49

TIL: between 1997 and 2007, 31 young people have died from digging holes in sand at the beach, after the hole collapsed sand on to them, suffocating them to death.
[Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 08:49

TIL that the 4th Earl of Sandwich, for whom the sandwich was named, served as Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty during the American Revolution. His poor leadership contributed to the American victory, and it was said that "Seldom has any man held so many offices and accomplished so little." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 05:49

TIL that after losing his Presidential reelection bid, John Quincy Adams briefly considered retirement but went on to win 9 Congressional elections and successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court for the freedom of the Amistad slaves. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 04:49

TIL The only known naturally occuring nuclear fission reactor was discovered in Oklo, Gabon and is thought to have been active 1.7 billion years ago. This discovery in 1972 was made after chemists noticed a significant reduction in fissionable U-235 within the ore coming from the Gabonese mine. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 02:49

TIL Bob Moore, founder of Bob’s Red Mill, refused to sell to corporations, citing the Bible: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Instead, he gave his $100M company to his 700 employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The company now sells in over 70 countries. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 00:49

TIL that the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to celebrate JFK's birthday was irreparably damaged after Kim Kardashian wore it in 2022, even though Kardashian lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks to fit into it. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 21:49

TIL about Patum Peperium, a Gentleman's Relish made and sold in Britain since 1828, which has a secret recipe, known to only one employee. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 19:50

TIL while on safari, Hemingway survived 2 plane crashes one day apart. The 2nd caught fire & he had to smash open the door with his head, causing extensive burns & skeletal injuries. He was presumed dead until he walked out of the jungle "in high spirits", carrying bananas and a bottle of gin. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 16:50

TIL that one of the most celebrated Bugs Bunny cartoons was thought up when the head of the cartoon studio randomly and inexplicably told the animators that they were not to make any cartoons about bullfighting [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 14:50

TIL "flotsam" pertains to goods (i.e. shipping containers) that are floating on the surface of the water as the result of a wreck or accident. One who discovers flotsam is allowed to claim it unless someone else establishes their ownership of it. Even then, items may still be claimable by the finder [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 12:49

TIL there is a rare condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, where soft tissues in the body gradually turn into bone. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 10:49

TIL a high-ranking dinosaur ant who challenges her queen but fails will be immobilized, publicly chastised for several days, join the working class and lose all hope of ever ruling or reproducing [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 05:49

TIL that the last words of Apache leader and prisoner of war Geronimo were: "I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 03:49

TIL that ants have domesticated some species of butterfly [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 12:49

TIL that the city of New Orleans - which is widely known for its culinary scene - has zero Michelin-starred restaurants. This is solely because Michelin currently limits its coverage in the U.S. to a few select regions: California, New York, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Illinois. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 10:49

TIL on average, women who are raised without a father experience puberty 3 months earlier. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 07:50

TIL: In 1518, the town of Strasbourg experienced a "dancing plague" where hundreds of people danced uncontrollably for days, and some even reportedly danced to death. Doctors at the time blamed "hot blood" and suggested more dancing as a cure. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 04:49

TIL Keanu Reeves only says 380 words in the entirety of John Wick: Chapter 4, which has a runtime of 169 minutes. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 03:49

TIL about Fregoli Delusion, which causes people to believe that different people they encounter are actually the same person in disguise. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 01:49

TIL the largest battle of the American Revolution was not fought in the American colonies or by American revolutionaries. It was the Great Siege of Gibraltar, in which Spain unsuccessfully tried to take advantage of the war overseas to reclaim Gibraltar from Britain. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 23:49

TIL when Polish javelin star Maria Andrejczyk found out about an 8 month old that needed life saving surgery, she auctioned off her Olympic silver medal to help raise some of the needed funds. A Polish store chain won it and instead of collecting the medal, they promptly announced she could keep it. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 20:50

TIL that a small percentage (1-2%) of honeybees in a given colony will specialize as undertakers; they function to prevent disease by removing corpses from the hive [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 17:50

TIL that every dog testicle examined in a study contained microplastics. So did human testicles [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 15:50

TIL an fMRI study mapping the female genitals onto the sensory portion of the brain found that nipple self-stimulation activates the genital sensory cortex, the same area as clitoral, vaginal, and cervical self-stimulation. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 13:49

TIL The guy who designed Big Ben in London went insane a few months after finishing the clock design and handing the design to the project boss who never credited him for it. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 11:49

TIL that Beethoven composed some of his greatest works, including his Ninth Symphony, while completely deaf. He relied on his understanding of musical theory, memory, and vibrations to create music. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 06:49

TIL that research on the Harry Potter book series found that it helps reduce readers’ prejudice toward minority groups. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 04:49

TIL the Rennaissance fair was formed by Hollywood actors who were blacklisted for accusations of communism during the red scare in the 1960s [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 ноября 2024 02:49

TIL that if Apollo 11 had failed to land on the Moon, Apollo 12 was prepared to launch just 2 months later. However, with the success of Apollo 11, the time between launches was extended to 4 months with Apollo 12 landing on the moon November 19, 1969. [Source]