Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 15:49

TIL that after his passing, Fred Rogers’ wife revealed that behind the scenes he had a raunchy sense of humor and one of his favorite and funniest ways to break up monotony during a bland event was to look right at her, lift a butt cheek signaling that he was secretly farting, and give her a smile. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 12:49

TIL that during World War II, a hippo named Belle survived the Siege of Leningrad thanks to her caretaker, Yevdokia Dashina. With the city’s water cut off, Belle’s pool dried up, and Dashina carried 40 liters of water daily from the Neva River to keep the hippo alive. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 10:49

TIL that Canadian wheat flour from Manitoba is prized in Italy, and is preferred for Neapolitan Pizza. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 06:49

TIL in Qigong theory, sexual excitement is believed to redirect energy from many pathways to the sexual organs, with ejaculation expelling it completely, leading to masturbation being seen as "energy suicide". A related Chinese proverb states, "a drop of semen equals ten drops of blood". [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 02:49

TIL: In Laos, as of last year, meth prices dropped to $0.25, making it cheaper than beer. Laos now joins Myanmar and Thailand as having the cheapest meth in the world. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 23:49

TIL: That The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim is the best selling single player (only) video game of all time at 60 million units sold. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 22:50

TIL In 2018, a restaurant in Maine started sedating their lobsters with marijuana smoke, saying it gave them a humane death. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 21:49

TIL In the 1990's, the British Police tried to ban the Lotus Carlton and the government condemned advertising of the vehicle. It could reach 176mph and Police vehicles at the time could not keep up during a pursuit. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 19:49

TIL in 2006, Scott Stapp of Creed filed a lawsuit to block the release of a sex video involving himself, Kid Rock, and four women. The suit was settled with the defendant agreeing to pay Stapp an undisclosed sum and to refrain from distributing the video. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 17:49

TIL ecologists once thought Beaver dam-building was an amazing feat of planning, indicative of the high intellect. This was tested when a recording of running water was played in a field near a beaver pond. Although on dry land, the beaver covered the tape player with branches and mud. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 15:49

TIL during Michael Jackson’s worldwide HIStory tour of ‘96-‘97, he traveled for over a year and performed 82 concerts live for almost 4.5 million people, but despite selling out 98% of the available tickets, the tour would only break even due MJ’s notorious lavish spending on excesses. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 14:49

TIL That the world record for internet speed is 402 terabits per second which would enable you to download 12500 movies in 1 second. This is approximately 4.3m times faster than the global average of 93mbps. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 11:49

TIL the Earth's crust is thought to contain three times the amount of water as is present in the oceans, stored in a mineral called 'ringwoodite' [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 06:49

TIL that Sea Urchins are called Sea Urchins because Hedgehogs used to be called Urchins until about the 15th century. Sea Urchins are Ocean Hedgehogs. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 03:49

TIL there was a Japanese government review in 2010 which found that 82% of the people aged over 100 in Japan turned out to be dead. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 14:49

TIL about Frederick Valentich, an Australian pilot who disappeared during a flight in 1978 after reporting an unidentified object following him and saying, 'It's not an aircraft.' [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 11:49

TIL according to an Interview with Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokemon, Rhydon was the first Pokemon ever created. It is also why Rhydon has a index number of #001. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 09:49

TIL that the number of US federal government employees has hovered between approx. 2.7Mil and 3Mil since 1967. Lowering the per capita ratio from 1.5 employees per 100 people to 0.9 employees per 100 people. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 04:49

TIL that when a moon has a moon, it's called a moonmoon. Theoretical candidates that could host a moonmoon are Earth's moon, Callisto, Titan, and Iapetus, though none have ever been detected [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

17 Nov 2024 01:49

TIL that during World War 1, Belgian pilot Willy Coppens came under fire from an enemy observation ballon during an attack run. In response he landed his plane on top of the ballon and turned off his engine. When the ballon descended he slid off and flew away. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 22:50

TIL Malcolm X, while serving a prison sentence in his early 20s, spent his time reading the dictionary and copying its pages to improve his vocabulary. This practice not only expanded his knowledge but also transformed him into one of the most articulate civil rights leaders. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 21:49

TIL that on January 6th, 1853, a tragic train derailment killed the 11 year old son of Franklin Pierce, who was President-Elect of the United States at the time. His wife believed that the accident was God punishing them because Pierce ran for President against her wishes. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 20:49

TIL the McLaren F1 is so valuable now, that it is essentially impossible for one to be "written off" by an insurance company, since the repair costs will always be less than the value of the car. Furthermore, McLaren will fully repair a crashed F1, no matter how substantial the damage. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 18:49

TIL that during WWII a German catholic priest was arrested and executed for telling a joke about Hitler [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 16:49

TIL that when F1 driver Pedro Rodriguez won the 1967 South African Grand Prix, becoming the first ever Mexican driver to win an F1 race, the organizers didn't have the Mexican anthem, and instead played the Mexican hat dance. After that, Rodriguez always traveled with a record of the anthem with him [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 14:49

TIL a Boeing 747 uses ~4 litres (~1 gallon) of fuel every second [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 12:49

TIL about the Women's 1500m at the 2012 Summer Olympics, called "one of the dirtiest race in history", where six of the first nine finishers (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th) have been found to have been doping and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 9th finishers were disqualified as of now. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 08:49

TIL Magnús Scheving (Sportacus of Lazy Town) made a bet with his friend that either would master a sport of the other's choosing (that they knew nothing about) within three years. Both successfully became national champions of aerobics and snooker respectively. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 03:49

TIL in 2011 a Brazilian man rescued a starving Magellanic penguin that was drenched in oil on the beach near his house. It stayed with him for about 11 months before returning to the sea. Although for at least the next 5 years, the penguin returned to visit the man for a few months each year. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

16 Nov 2024 02:49

TIL that nearly 0% of Indigenous Mexicans develop wisdom teeth, while practically 100% of Tasmanians do. [Source]