Today I Learned 🎓

18 апреля 2025 02:49

TIL in 1895, Alva Vanderbilt shocked American society by divorcing William K. Vanderbilt after allegations of adultery. Alva secured millions, received several estates, and used her fortune to support women’s suffrage, efforts to uplift women of all races and champion social and prison reform. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

18 апреля 2025 00:49

TIL Bruce Springsteen's famous song, 'Born in the U.S.A.', is actually a critique of the government's treatment of Vietnam War veterans [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 20:49

TIL: Most outlet stores don’t sell leftovers from regular stores—they sell cheaper, lower-quality versions made just for outlets. The “compare at” prices and big discounts? Often fake. You think you’re getting a deal, but it’s not the same product. (California Department of Justice) [Source]

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17 апреля 2025 20:49

TIL that crows can hold grudges for up to 17 years and pass their beef down to their kids. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 19:49

TIL that the infamous Pac-Man kill screen is caused by an overflow error causing the game to try and draw 256 pieces of fruit. However, the code then starts drawing random garbled pieces of memory, causing half the screen to get covered in random graphics that the game interprets as fruit. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 17:49

TIL the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 drew crowds of up to 16,000 people—even though they lasted three hours, with a 1-hour opening speech, a 90-minute rebuttal, and a 30-minute closing.The debates were so popular that newspapers printed full transcripts. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 15:50

TIL Two candidates for the 1889 Paris Exhibition were a 300 meter high watering can - or guillotine. Instead the Eiffel Tower won out. [Source]

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17 апреля 2025 13:49

TIL that the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth’s oceans, descends nearly 11 kilometers (about 36,000 feet) into complete darkness. Down there, temperatures are near freezing, and the pressure is over 1,000 times greater than at sea level enough to crush most human-made submarines. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 09:49

TIL that most planes are painted white to save fuel and reflect sunlight keeping the plane cooler and reducing the need for air conditioning [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 07:49

TIL about endospores - bacteria that can lie dormant in permafrost for over 10,000 years [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 03:49

TIL there exists an Italian exclave within Switzerland named Campione d’Italia. It is only one square mile in area and it houses Europe’s largest and oldest casino [Source]

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16 апреля 2025 23:49

TIL that as far as 5,000 B.C., people believed the false notion that the unmistakable pain that we now recognize as a toothache was caused by a tiny tooth worm, which was thought to bore into its victims’ teeth. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 апреля 2025 22:49

TIL that the term "FOMO" (Fear of Missing Out) was coined by Harvard MBA student Patrick J. McGinnis in a 2004 article. FOMO is recognized in psychology as a phenomenon linked to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 апреля 2025 22:49

TIL in 2015, a 70 year old man in China spent 57 days in the hospital after a panda arrived at his farm and attacked him. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 апреля 2025 19:49

TIL the habit of sitting on the toilet too long, even if one isn't straining, significantly increases the risk of hemorrhoids [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

18 апреля 2025 02:49

TIL General James Wilkinson was a high-ranking U.S. officer during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. Years after his death, historians in Spain uncovered proof he had been a Spanish spy—prompting Teddy Roosevelt to say, “In all our history, there is no more despicable character.” [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 22:49

TIL after returning from WWII, Henry Ford II took control of Ford and hired 10 young army veterans known as “The Whiz Kids” to implement aggressive management control systems. This team took the 1949 Ford from concept to production in 19 months resulting in 100,000 car orders on day one. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 20:49

TIL that Rubies and Sapphires are all actually the same gemstone. Sapphires can come in all sorts of colors (even multiples at once), it's just that when it's red we call it a Ruby. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 20:49

TIL after Drew Barrymore posed nude for Playboy in 1995, her godfather Steven Spielberg sent her a note saying "cover yourself up", along with copies of her pictures altered to make it appear she was fully clothed [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 18:49

TIL about Walter Arnold, a British driver who became the first person to get charged for speeding on 28th January 1896. He was driving his car at 8 mph, four times the speed limit of 2 mph. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 16:49

TIL that the longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years. Charles Osborne, from the USA, hiccuped continuously from 1922 to 1990, totaling over 430 million hiccups. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 15:50

TIL Alan Turing was known for being eccentric. Each June he would wear a gas mask while cycling to work to block pollen. While cycling, his bike chain often slipped, but instead of fixing it, he would count the pedal turns it took before each slip and stop just in time to adjust the chain by hand [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 12:49

TIL height surgery is a thing— (mostly) men are enduring months of pain, bone-breaking procedures, and intense rehab just to get a few inches taller. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 08:49

TIL that the UAE enforces and moniters traffic laws using AI driven cameras. Any violations results in a SMS giving either a fine or a warning [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 05:49

TIL before the modern ambulance, funeral homes used hearses to bring patients to the hospital. This is because the hearse was often the only vehicle long enough to fit a stretcher inside. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 апреля 2025 00:49

TIL that the original iPhone that Steve Jobs presented on stage in January 9, 2007 was a buggy, barely functioning prototype and that the device was finalised just weeks before retail release. [Source]

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16 апреля 2025 23:49

TIL in 1903, Serbia’s unpopular King Alexander and Queen Draga Mašin were brutally assassinated in their bedroom. The autocratic king had suspended the constitution multiple times, and the couple was loathed by the public and military. Their bodies were tossed from a balcony in piles of manure. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 апреля 2025 22:49

TIL that the Nintendo DS was never meant to replace the Game Boy line of systems, but to act as a “third pillar” between the Game Boy Advance and the GameCube. This was so Nintendo could just continue releasing Game Boys if the DS flopped. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 апреля 2025 20:49

TIL that the original iPhone that Steve Jobs presented on stage in January 9, 2007 was a buggy, barely functioning prototype and that the device was finalised just weeks before retail release. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 апреля 2025 19:49

TIL North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un lived in Switzerland from 1992 until 2000, where he attended a private school, and was described as "well-integrated". [Source]