Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 23:50

TIL Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas. When he moved to Los Angeles, there was already an actor named Michael Douglas, so Keaton flipped through a phone book until he saw the name Keaton and decided to make it his stage name. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 22:49

TIL that in 1933, a man named A.L. Kahn caught a massive 20-foot, 5,000-pound manta ray off the coast of New Jersey. It took hours, the help of his crew, and even several dozen gunshots from the U.S. Coast Guard to finally reel in what was called a "devil fish." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 20:50

TIL 92% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have skull malformations that squish part of their brain into their spinal column. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 18:49

TIL that Saturn's sixth-largest moon Enceladus is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it the most reflective body in the Solar System. It shoots out water vapor, and other solid material totaling about 200 kilograms per second. Most of these materials supplies the making of Saturn's E ring. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 17:49

TIL about the Korean Axe Murder Incident, occurring in the North & South Korean DMZ in 1976. Incensed at US troops trimming a historical tree, North Korean troops attacked, killing two US Army officers. Retaliating with an overwhelming show of force, US troops returned and chopped down the tree. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 16:49

TIL Clifford the Big Red Dog is the mascot of the Scholastic publishing company [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 15:49

TIL the Indian state of Uttar Prades has 241 million inhabitants making it the most populous country subdivision in the world. It has 3% of the world's population and outranks all but 4 countries outside India in population [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 08:49

TIL In 2009, a Chinese man jumped into a panda enclosure to retrieve his son's toy. As the panda came rushing at him, he attempted to escape. However, bystanders urged him to stand his ground, thinking the panda was harmless. The panda bit the man on both legs, resulting in a lot of blood loss. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 06:49

TIL That in 1942 the United States military increased the draft to include men ages 45-64. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 02:49

TIL that Tommy Lee Jones hated working with Jim Carrey during the movie Batman Forever (1995). He told Carrey, “I hate you. I really don’t like you,” and when Carrey asked why, he said he cannot sanction Jim Carrey's buffoonery. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 00:49

TIL that Chuck Jones, one of the original Looney Tunes directors, hated Space Jam. In particular he took issue with the premise that Bugs Bunny would ask others for help in fighting the Monstars and believed Bugs would have fought them himself. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 22:49

TIL the second Mongol Khan, Ögedei Khan, was well known for his alcoholism. When his brother, Chagatai, entrusted an official to watch his habit, he vowed to reduce the number of cups he drank a day, only then having cups twice the size created for his personal use. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 20:50

TIL that minors who get married in the U.S. can't file for divorce without parental consent [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 19:49

TIL spotted female hyenas have a pseudo-penis and lack an external vaginal opening [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 18:49

TIL that the ancient Greeks used butter as a medicine and thought only barbarians ate it. In the Middle Ages, it was sometimes used as lamp oil but was mainly eaten by peasants. It only became popular among the wealthy when the church allowed its consumption during Lent. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 23:50

TIL Ryan Reynolds paid $10,000 of his own money for the right to wear a shirt with The Golden Girl’s Bea Arthur on it in Deadpool. The estate agreed for a donation in that amount to a charity of their choosing. Ryan paid it himself because he felt you couldn’t have Deadpool without Bea Arthur. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 21:49

TIL Billionaire Chuck Feeney donated over $8 Billion to different causes supporting health science and improving the human condition. He spent his last days in a rented apartment in San Francisco with remaining assets of $2 Million. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 19:49

TIL Before 2022, it was unknown how eels reproduced [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 18:49

TIL the Equal Rights Amendment met all constitutional requirements for ratification in 2020, and the American Bar Association recommended immediate publication in 2024 [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 17:49

TIL About 130 million adults in the U.S. — half of Americans between the ages of 16 and 74 — have low literacy skills [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 16:49

TIL: A site manager's failed attempt to free a stuck flatbed truck resulted in it rolling off a cliff, blocking a railway tunnel just as an express train was approaching, leading to a crash that killed 49 people. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 14:50

TIL in 1989, when Universal Studios found out that the Disney Co was suing 3 Florida daycares over using 5 foot tall likenesses of their trademarked characters illegally, they stepped in and offered the daycares permission to use their characters like Scooby-Doo, Flintstones, and Yogi Bear for free. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 07:49

TIL: In 1958, a nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped off the coast of Georgia, USA—and it’s still lost today. Known as the "Tybee Bomb," it was a 7,600-pound hydrogen bomb. Officials claim it's not dangerous unless disturbed, but its exact location remains a mystery. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 05:49

TIL that in 1841, when President William Henry Harrison died just 31 days into his term, it wasn’t clear if the Vice President should become President. Vice President John Tyler took matters into his own hands and arranged for a judge to administer the Oath of Office in his hotel room. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

22 ноября 2024 00:49

TIL that in the short story "Button, Button" (press button, get $ and someone you don't know dies) the husband dies because the wife didn't "really" know him and the author hated the Twilight Zone ending where the button was given to a stranger after being pressed [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 22:49

TIL that Great Britain and Finland were the only European countries to participate in WW2 that weren't fully occupied [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 22:49

TIL over 30 years ago, Paul McCartney agreed to be in an episode of the Simpsons in part if the producers met his demand that Lisa Simpson becoming a vegetarian would be a permanent part of the series moving forward. They agreed and Lisa met Paul and Linda on Apu’s rooftop garden, in the shade. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 19:49

TIL that Orangutans are the largest tree-dwelling animal on the planet. They are astonishingly intelligent, with high IQ and problem solving, and have been named the world’s most intelligent animal in a study that places them even above chimpanzees and dolphins. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 19:49

TIL on November 29th 2001, Mike Myers received the final letter George Harrison ever sent anybody. Being a fan of satire, George hand wrote the letter expressing his admiration for Mike’s Austin Powers movies. Mike received it on the set of Austin Powers 3 on the day George died. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 ноября 2024 17:49

TIL that water can boil and freeze at the same time under the right conditions, known as the triple point, where all three phases—solid, liquid, and gas—coexist in perfect equilibrium at 0.01°C and 611.657 pascals. [Source]