Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 16:49

TIL North Korea abducted at least 17 Japanese citizens between 1977 and 1983 to train spies in language and culture, and only five (and some of their children) have ever been returned. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 13:49

TIL- That the world has 45+ nations in open military conflict, the most since WWII (70 Nations) [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 10:49

TIL that after wrestler Kerry Von Erich lost his right foot in a motorcycle accident, he continued wrestling using a hidden prosthetic foot until his suicide in 1992, with most fans never even knowing. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 09:49

TIL In 1985, a South Korean economist named Oh Kil-Nam defected to North Korea with his wife and two daughters. Less than one year later, he defected again, receiving asylum in Denmark. He left his family behind in North Korea, where (according to latest reports) they remain imprisoned today. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 07:49

TIL (from Injustice) that SHAZAM in DC is apparently an acronym. wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles, and speed of Mercury. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 05:49

TIL that the official name of Porto, Portugal is “The Ancient, Very Noble, Ever Loyal and Undefeated City of Porto” [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 03:49

TIL that Bob Anderson, the legendary swordmaster who trained Viggo Mortensen for his role as Aragorn, also stepped into the Darth Vader suit to perform the lightsaber duels in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 01:49

TIL a "Watchdog timer" is the name of a chip that allows a computer to reboot itself without human intervention if something fails. (e.g. a Mars rover in distress) [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 00:49

TIL about the Mexican Lapdog, an extinct dog breed that measured only 18 cm (7.1 in) from the snout to the base of the tail as an adult. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 23:49

TIL That More than 60% of U.S. smokers have unsuccessfully tried to stop smoking in the past year, a 2017 study found. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 20:49

TIL that in 1994, Pearl Jam canceled their summer tour after discovering Ticketmaster was adding unfair service charges. In protest, they began building their own venues in rural areas and sold tickets directly to fans to keep prices low and avoid corporate influence. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 18:49

TIL that pet cats form attachments with their human owners that are similar to the bonds formed by children and dogs with their caretakers. It's the first time that researchers have empirically demonstrated that cats display the same main attachment styles as babies and dogs [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 17:49

TIL Stephen King once threw away the manuscript for Carrie, believing it wasn’t good enough. He was living in a trailer with his wife, Tabitha, who found the pages in the trash, read them, and pushed him to finish and submit it. The novel launched his career. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 16:49

TIL the BBC broadcast coded messages to British secret agents behind enemy lines during WWII [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 14:49

TIL that in 1691, a man was called to testify as a witness to robbery and told the court that God turned him into a werewolf so he could raid Hell and fight the demons there. The judges took his claim seriously and banished him from Livonia for sorcery. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 14:49

TIL Pimps often wear large amounts of gold jewelry purchased from pawn shops because if they get arrested, cash is usually seized, but jewelry can be pawned again to raise bail money. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 12:49

TIL Apollo Quiboloy, a Filipino pastor who declared himself the 'Appointed Son of God' and 'Owner of the Universe', was wanted by the FBI for sex trafficking and human rights abuses. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 10:49

TIL: Women are 73% more likely to be seriously injured in a car accident, as crash test dummies are modeled after men. The first "female" dummy was made in 2011, and was only 4′ 11″ and weighed 108 lbs. - representing just 5% of women. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 08:49

TIL the CIA spent $20 million trying to turn a cat into a spy. It got hit by a taxi 5 seconds into its first mission. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 06:49

[TIL] There's an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air in which Carlton deliberately goes off-script, breaks the fourth wall, and runs screaming into the audience and through another set. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 04:49

TIL in 2021 a man died from multiple organ failure after he used epoxy adhesive (a strong waterproof glue) to "seal off" his penis while having sex because he forgot to carry a condom. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 02:49

TIL that west Berlin was NOT the capital of western germany. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 июля 2025 00:49

TIL Narender Yadav an Indian went to Everest where he claimed to have summitted the mountain but discrepancies were noticed which indicated he had faked the summit. He got a ban from the mountain for six years. He returned the day after his ban expired and reached the summit with ample proof. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 23:49

TIL in 1859, an aurora was so strong over the Rocky Mountains that gold miners were woken up in the middle of the night thinking it was morning and they made breakfast. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 21:49

TIL that 32 US States have a State Beverage, and 20 of them are milk. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 18:49

TIL $157K worth of stolen Magic: the Gathering and Dungeon & Dragons gaming cards were recovered after they were turned in by the party who bought them from the thieves for $4K. The cards had been stolen at Gen Con 2023 when 2 men simply walked out with a pallet that had 115 boxes of the cards on it [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 17:49

TIL the British colonial government in India had created state-sanctioned brothels for "entertaining" English soldiers, something the English feminists and abolitionists of the time noted with horror. The girls would often be abducted from villages and tended to be as young as fourteen. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 17:49

TIL in 2022 a chess-playing robot broke the finger of its 7-year-old opponent after the boy didn't give it enough time to respond & attempted to move again. The robot held his finger in place for 15 seconds before bystanders were able to pry it free. The boy then played with his finger in a cast. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 16:49

TIL MAD Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman has mysterious origins; his face has been used in advertisements since at least the 1890s. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 июля 2025 11:49

TIL gunshot wounds can cause lead poisoning years later from tiny lead fragments in the bone leaching into the body [Source]