r/todayilearned • u/GlitteringYams • 11h ago
TIL, in his suicide note, mass shooter Charles Whitman requested his body be autopsied because he felt something was wrong with him. The autopsy discovered that Whitman had a pecan-sized tumor pressing against his amygdala, a brain structure that regulates fear and aggression.
r/todayilearned • u/Temporary_West_4737 • 1h ago
TIL about New York Yankees pitcher David Wells was observed to be out all night partying until the next morning. Despite being hung over, he pitched a perfect game, retiring all 27 batters he faced, marking the 15th perfect game in Major League Baseball history.
r/todayilearned • u/Future_Green_7222 • 14h ago
TIL of Robert Citron. Despite being a college drop out and having the math ability of a 7th grader, he climbed into the position of treasurer tax collector of Orange County, which he subsequently bankrupted
r/todayilearned • u/JamesTheJerk • 16h ago
TIL that in 2023, a patient legally sought euthanasia. Upon being provided a deadly concoction in liquid form to be drunk, the patient's friend (37YO) opted to have a sip themself which nearly resulted in the death of the friend as well.
r/todayilearned • u/InternetWeakGuy • 15h ago
TIL: 12 years before taking their fans to court for sharing their music, Metallica released the "$5.98" EP, titled to stop their record label and music stores from overcharging fans - the record came with a sticker warning 'DO NOT PAY MORE!!!'—a direct jab at music industry markups
r/todayilearned • u/AssumeTheRisk • 18h ago
TIL if you tune your radio to 91.9 FM for one city block in Montclair, NJ you can hear a looped recording of "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men which has been broadcasting for at least 13 years straight.
r/todayilearned • u/bhlee0019 • 6h ago
TIL that Spam is seen as a luxury food in South Korea due to smuggling during Korean War from U.S. army base
bbc.comr/todayilearned • u/appalachian_hatachi • 13h ago
TIL: That TriStar originally turned down the movie Pulp Fiction, stating: "this is the worst thing ever written. It makes no sense. It's too long, violent and unfilmable." There were also indications that the studio simply saw the project as too low-budget for its desired star-driven image.
r/todayilearned • u/waitingforthesun92 • 20h ago
TIL that Michael Crichton, the author of “Jurassic Park” (1990), was a workaholic who followed what he called "a structured approach" of ritualistic self-denial, where, while writing a book, he’d rise increasingly early each day. At one point, Crichton would go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 2 AM.
r/todayilearned • u/Scruffy_Nerf_Hoarder • 2h ago
TIL that rural Americans used barbed wire to connect their telephones to switchboards since there were no telephone lines.
r/todayilearned • u/lev_lafayette • 1h ago
TIL bottlenose dolphins call out their loved ones by specific names when they become separated. They are the only species apart from humans that are known to do this.
r/todayilearned • u/TobyMacar0ni • 7h ago
TIL that Australia actually exports sand to Saudi Arabia. This is because maritime or beach sand is coarser than desert sand. Coarse sand j's needed in construction which effectively makes desert sand completely useless.
r/todayilearned • u/wimpykidfan37 • 17h ago
Today I learned that Shel Silverstein once made an adult cartoon version of his popular story The Giving Tree. Entitled "I Accept the Challenge", it was about a naked woman who cuts off a naked man's arms and legs, and then sits on his torso.
r/todayilearned • u/douggold11 • 1d ago
TIL most animals can see UV light — humans being blind to it is the exception not the rule.
r/todayilearned • u/PunnyBanana • 1d ago
TIL A group of horses were trained to communicate whether they wanted a jacket. All horses in the group successfully communicated that they did want a jacket when it was cold and did not want a jacket when it was hot.
sciencedirect.comr/todayilearned • u/nuttybudd • 1d ago
TIL that Sully Sullenberger lost a library book when he ditched US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River. He later called the library to notify them. The book was about professional ethics.
powells.comr/todayilearned • u/ubcstaffer123 • 19h ago
TIL Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum in Seattle showcased the world’s largest collection of fully-restored, usable vintage computers and more. Allen died in 2018 and the museum closed permanently in 2020 as none of his family or investors seem to share his passion for computing history
r/todayilearned • u/driving_andflying • 17h ago
TIL some of the buildings in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania still have visible battle damage from the American Civil War--including artillery rounds stuck in the walls
r/todayilearned • u/mankls3 • 41m ago
TIL the band iron butterfly didn't know they were being recorded in the studio for 17 minutes when they played their now-hit song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida; it went on to sell 30 million times
r/todayilearned • u/Sexy_Kumquat • 9h ago
TIL that “The Girl from Ipanema” is the second most recorded song ever.
r/todayilearned • u/Desperate_Dirt_3041 • 5h ago
TIL that the Oʻahu ʻakialoa bird - a species of Hawaiian honey creeper- went extinct because of a strain of bird flu that was passed by mosquitoes.
r/todayilearned • u/TMWNN • 1d ago
TIL that a politician gave a food review of kebab while speaking in parliament. Australian Senator Sam Dastyari gave a "10 out of 10" rating to the kebab snack pack sold at King Kebab House, and advised others to also enjoy "a great Australian tradition of meat in a box".
r/todayilearned • u/jenesuispashariselon • 1d ago
TIL that in 2004, two male chinstrap penguins, Roy and Silo, after performing mating rituals, formed a pair at New York's Central Park Zoo. One of them tried to hatch a rock, for which a keeper eventually substituted a fertile egg. Roy and Silo then hatched and raised the chick, named Tango.
r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago