Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 22:49

TIL because US constitutional amendment ratification doesn't have a deadline, the amendment proposed in 1861 for making slavery constitutionally protected could in theory still be ratified [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 20:49

TIL car manufacturers sell spicy tape. It's a wiring tape that's coated with capsaicin to deter rodents from chewing on wires [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 18:49

TIL that Dogs are able to smell the difference between ground that has been recently stepped on vs undistributed ground, as foot steps release moisture from the soil and can damage vegetation which would release odors [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 15:49

TIL In South Korea the island of Yeouido, which contains Seoul’s main finance and media districts, is often used by South Korean media as a means of comparison for measuring an unfamiliar area. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 14:49

TIL that Abraham Lincoln is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. He fought in over 300 matches and lost only one, to a local tough named Hank Thompson during the Black Hawk War of 1832. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 12:49

TIL that in the internal data of Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow, there is data for Professor Oak as a Pokémon Trainer. His team includes the starter Pokémon that neither the player nor the rival chose, and his Pokémon have higher levels than those of the Champion and the final boss, the rival. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 07:49

TIL Gerald Ford is the only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president because of the the 25th Amendment. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 04:49

TIL that the UK's Violet Club nuclear device was so unstable that it required the core to be filled entirely with half a ton of ball bearings to prevent accidental detonation [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 03:49

TIL George Washington feared that partisanship would lead to a “spirit of revenge” in which party men would not govern for the good of the people, but only to obtain and maintain their grip on power. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 01:49

TIL movies that either Will Smith or Adam Sandler starred in or produced grossed $3.7 billion from 2000-2015, generating 20% of Sony Pictures’ domestic gross and 23% of its profits. No other studio was as reliant on just two actors during that period. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 22:49

TIL that US Election Day was chosen as a Tuesday in November in 1845 to making voting as easy as possible for the American 19th century farmer. After the Fall harvest, before the Winter snow, with enough time for travel to the polling place and back home without missing Sunday Church. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 20:49

TIL the Swiss constitution of 1848 modelled itself on the US constitution, adopted fundamental rights and the separation of powers, but opted for a seven-member council instead of a single president to balance power regionally. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 18:49

TIL records indicate at least 700 children were born in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 17:50

TIL that knocking on wood was a thing because people used to believe that spirits lived in trees and knocking would give you luck. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 16:50

TIL humans have a faint glow that’s visible to certain cameras. Humans emit a very low level of light due to metabolic processes, but it’s about 1,000 times weaker than what the human eye can detect. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 21:49

TIL that as of 2022, Mississippi, with a population of approximately 2.94 million, has the highest incarceration rate among U.S. states, with about 0.86% of its residents incarcerated. In contrast, Massachusetts, with a population of around 6.98 million, has the lowest rate, with about about 0.12%. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 18:49

TIL about the Japanese term Yaoyorozu No Kami (Eight Million Gods). The idea behind it is that there are countless gods, believed to be present in everything—weather, geography, landscapes, and even in things like tools, rice, kitchens and toilets. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 17:49

TIL that when the Luftwaffe were struggling against the Royal Air Force in WW2, Reichsmarschall Göring asked young flying ace Adolf Galland what was needed to defeat the British pilots. Galland said, "a squadron of Spitfires." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 15:49

TIL that in 1950, the Italian town of Colobraro declared itself “the town of the living dead” after a local curse and started wearing white sheets at night to protect themselves from misfortune. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 13:49

TIL whale oil was still in use, up until 1973, when an amendment to the Endangered Species Act was approved outlawing the practice. 30 million LB's of sperm oil were produced annually in the final years. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 11:49

TIL there was an Egyptian Pharaoh referred to as "Hudjefa" on ancient lists of pharaohs. Modern historians have realized this was not actually his name, and instead means "erased" in Ancient Egyptian. His real name was lost in ancient times. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 07:49

TIL that during the Vietnam War, the Battle of Hamburger Hill was named by American soldiers who felt the intense, grinding combat was like being “chewed up like hamburger meat.” Fought over Hill 937 in the A Shau Valley, the battle resulted in high casualties after ten days of fierce fighting. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 03:49

TIL that both George Washington and Ben Franklin disagreed with the Boston Tea Party, and Franklin even offered to pay the British back for the destruction of the tea [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 01:49

TIL in the 1970s Gerber attempted to market "adult baby food" to college students and other young adults. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

06 Nov 2024 00:49

TIL that the official residence of the Canadian Prime Minister has been unoccupied since 2015, while crews work to renovate the building and remove rodents, asbestos, and obsolete mechanical/electrical/heating systems. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 21:50

TIL that in 2012, a crucified Jesus statue in India started dripping water from it's feet. Hundreds of believers flocked to the dripping cross, collecting and consuming the “holy” water. It was later revealed that the source of the water was a clogged toilet from a nearby washroom. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 20:49

TIL It's a common practice in the Victorian Era to return or burn love letters when a relationship ends to prevent them from being used as blackmail or to compromise the honor of the parties involved [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 17:50

TIL that Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana defected to the US in the 1960s and was, for a time, involved in a cult headed by Frank Lloyd Wright's widow. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 16:50

TIL about Boltzmann Brains, the idea that any arrangement of atoms is as likely as any other meaning that a fully formed human brain, complete with memories, could spontaneously form in space. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

05 Nov 2024 15:50

TIL a group of engineering students from Purdue University built a licking machine to learn that it took 364 licks to get the the center of a tootsie pop. A conflicting mechanical licker built by a University of Michigan student took 411 licks. When licked manually, studies have taken 144-252 licks. [Source]