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Tiny Facts, Huge Shockwaves: 50 Fascinating “Today I Learned” Facts To Shift Your Perspective (New Facts)
The human brain is nothing short of extraordinary. Its estimated storage capacity ranges from 10 to 100 terabytes, though some researchers believe it could reach up to 2.5 petabytes. That means we’ve got more than enough mental real estate to keep learning, storing, and sharing the most unexpected facts.
Which is exactly why you shouldn’t shy away from adding new things to the knowledge bank. The “Today I Learned” community delivers bite-sized brilliance daily, from quirky science to behind-the-scenes tidbits you won’t believe are real. This roundup is packed with the most intriguing, bizarre, and delightfully random facts the internet has to offer.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Today I learned that Danny Devito actually directed Matilda (1996) and how incredibly kind he was to the Matilda Actress Mara Wilson and even made sure that an unfunished cut was shown to her dying Mom.
DowntownStevieB 7 months ago
I recently rewatched it, having last seen it over 25 years ago, and learned he is also the narrator.
RELATED:
#2
TIL HBO didn't submit Alfie Allen (Theon), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), & Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) for Emmy consideration for their work in Game of Thrones' final season, so they each decided to pay the $225 entry fee to submit themselves. This resulted in all three receiving an acting nod.
ElfVibratorGlitter 7 months ago
I heard Gwendoline showed up to audition in armour and completely in character! And she got the role quickly because of that.
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April Pickett 7 months ago
Arrogant overseers. The popularity of that show should have had the stagehands up for Emmys.
#3
TIL in 1990 a truck driver jumped into a moat in an enclosure at the Detroit Zoo to save a chimpanzee from drowning when the chimp inexplicably jumped into the water. He said "Everyone in the whole place was just standing around watching this monkey drown", so he knew he had to do somethng about it.
Becky Samuel 7 months ago
Unbelievably stupid. If you don't know the kind of damage that a chimp can do, for the love of all things unholy don't Google it. Now add in the fact that the animal was panicking and also being attacked by another large male and he was lucky to come out of it in one piece. (Not so fun fact: an attacking chimp will attempt to bite off your extremities. They go for fingers, toes, face, and genítals.)
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When your brain is buzzing with random but brilliant facts, your first thought might be, “I could totally crush trivia night!” But let’s be honest, it’s not always that easy. Winning one takes more than just knowing a few fun facts. Trivia is equal parts memory, teamwork, and keeping your cool under pressure. It’s a game of brains, but also a bit of strategy.
The first step to getting good at trivia? Start expanding your knowledge in all directions. Don’t just stick to your favorite topics—branch out. Learn a little bit about everything: geography, music, sports, history, and pop culture. Every tidbit adds up.
#4
TIL the day after Robin Williams' s**cide was announced, the National S*****e Prevention Lifeline saw the highest number of calls in a single day in its history with 7,500 (twice the normal number).
Kitty 🥀 7 months ago (edited)
Thank you. It’s actually VERY IMPORTANT that this organization is talked about. And the emergency number is 988. Anyone can call or text to that 3-digit number, and like 911, it’ll put you through to someone who can help. But seriously, I’m actually furious at BP right now for covering this up. It should be bolded with a hyperlink. Bored Panda staff who run the censoring should be ashamed of themselves. Hey, BP, covering up the word suìcide only makes it harder to get help for people who are already suffering!!!
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P1 No-Name 7 months ago
Everything he did helped people, if even inadvertently. Such a good man.
DowntownStevieB 7 months ago
The current administration just cut the funding to the hotline btw.
Tamra 7 months ago (edited)
Yes and no. Trump is attempting to cut all funding for the 988 S*icide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services. Never in my life have I hated another human being, but I can say, with my whole heart, I absolutely hate that man. He is a vile sack of $hit, and I hope everything he's done to harm others is revisited upon him threefold.
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Justme 7 months ago (edited)
Death With Dignity / Assisted S*****e should be more widely available to those who wish to choose a more peaceful end to terminal or devastating disease.
April Pickett 7 months ago
He was a brilliant, talented man. I'm sorry he couldn't accept his situation.
JK 7 months ago
Yes. I cried so hard when he died. I can't imagine how difficult it was with lewy dementia and knowing that you are slowly losing your faculties. One of his more obscure movies is The Final Cut and it is really good.
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Holly Hobby 7 months ago
Called that helpline years ago. "I'm sorry, we can not offer solutions or opinions." Wth
#5
TIL a Catholic monk once wrote an angry letter to the cardinals during a 2 year papal election. Upon receiving it, they immediately chose to elect him; he tried fleeing his election but accepted under pressure. One of his only acts was to decree that popes could resign, and he did so 1 week later.
#6
TIL about Cher Ami, a WWI homing pigeon who was shot through the chest, blinded in one eye, and flying with a nearly severed leg—yet still delivered a message that saved 194 men, earned a Croix de Guerre, and now rests in the Smithsonian.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
No doubt soon to be branded a DEI hire and turfed out of the museum
To dive deeper, we spoke with Raghav Chadha, who runs Dobaraa, a popular restaurant known for its lively and competitive trivia nights. Raghav has seen both first-timers and seasoned players in action and shared some pro insights. “Trivia night is not just about knowledge,” he said with a smile. “It’s about how well you prepare and how you play as a team.”
#7
TIL Stephen King never cashed the $5,000 check that Frank Darabont paid him in 1987 for the rights to adapt his novella 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption'. Eventually, King had the check framed and returned it to Darabont with a note that read, "In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve."
Rhonda Espinosa 7 months ago
When we adopted our shelter dog my husband said to the volunteers "We're here to pay her bail money and spring her from the clink."
Justme 7 months ago
I’ve heard that King often (cheaply) sells the rights to his stories to up coming screenwriters and students.
Cuppa tea? 7 months ago
In fairness, up to that point previous screen adaptations of King novels were not hugely successful, at least commercially, if not even artistically.
AnSi Bae 7 months ago (edited)
C'mon, that's a joke right? Like a bad attempt at a joke? Like really really bad, that I feel insane but also unsure if you're joking or not?? Academy Award nominations, Academy Award winner, legendary directors, legendary and beloved actors/actresses but "not hugely sucessfull commercially, if not even artistically." 🤯 Shawshank was made 1994, 18 YEARS AFTER Oscar nominated Carrie, 14 YEARS AFTER Stanley Kubricks The Shining, 11 YEARS AFTER Cujo and Christine, 10 YEARS AFTER Firestarter and Children of the Corn, 8 YEARS AFTER Stand by Me, 5 YEARS AFTER Pet Sematary, 4 YEARS AFTER Misery with Kathy Bates winning best female actress at the Oscar/Academy awards, 4 YEARS AFTER televised IT. Several of them cult classic and not just popular movies at the time and I haven't even mentioned all of them.
Load More Replies... #8
TIL that Chief Seattle was kicked out of the city named after him because he was Native American
Austzn 7 months ago
Not all white people obviously, but definitely anyone with a c*******r mindset.
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Fire Singer 7 months ago
Right? Unfortunately that happened a lot. Kick the natives out and name the place after them.
Load More Replies... Cydney Golden 7 months ago
This is what we need to be teaching, not to make people feel guilty but to learn from. To understand why some peoples need extra help from the government. It's not a level playing field, it never was.
#9
TIL that on 8th May 1945 on "Victory in Europe Day", the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret secretly slipped out of Buckingham Palace to join London’s jubilant crowds. Queen Elizabeth later described this as “one of the most memorable nights of my life.”
Senjo Krane 7 months ago
They may have been with the princesses. It's not as though they were locked up in the palace.
Load More Replies... “Usually, we go with a theme, like ‘90s Movies’ or ‘World History,’ so players can get a head start,” Raghav explained. “If you know the theme, it becomes easier to brush up beforehand. Even a quick YouTube recap can help.” That makes preparation feel more like fun than studying.
“But when we do broad-topic trivia, it’s a different ball game,” he said. “That’s when the real work kicks in.” His advice? Add audiobooks and podcasts to your daily routine. “Whether you’re commuting, cooking, or just winding down, it’s a great way to learn without even trying.” Passive learning adds up fast and you barely notice it happening.
#10
TIL that jaywalking is not illegal in the UK, and that while pedestrian crossings are plentiful, they are not compulsory to use. Ultimately, it is seen as the personal responsibility of the individual to make a sound enough judgement to cross safely.
Ace 7 months ago
That's normal in most of the world, but with some notable exceptions. It's completely incomprehensible to a Brit visiting Germany for the first time to see Germans standing at a crossing with a red man showing when there is no traffic for miles round. Yes, I was one such Brit.
LauraDragonWench 7 months ago
When I was in the UK, I was at a zebra crossing waiting for a signal to let me know when to cross. I got it when a car stopped and then honked at me. I had no idea there wasn't a specific "car traffic stops, pedestrian traffic moves" signal. I was embarrassed for days. 😂
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Stuart Wilson 7 months ago
“Jaywalking” is a made-up ‘crime’ that Americans have allowed themselves to be gaslit into accepting as normal.
Rinso The Red 7 months ago
It was certainly used as a convenient excuse to stop anyone guilty of being the wrong color in the neighborhood
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Anna Drever 7 months ago
I’m fairly sure that jaywalking isn’t a crime in NZ but that said 9 times out of 10 I’m using the crossing because I don’t want to be run over any time soon.
Russell Bowman 7 months ago
And so many foreign visitors looking the wrong way prior to crossing the road ... and getting bollocked by a taxi
Rebecca McManus 7 months ago
My daughter hates the way I just wander across the road, but I have pointed out to her I only do it when I'm not likely to get squashed by oncoming traffic
April Pickett 7 months ago
Oh my, personal freedom to decide on your own about your life. How amazing.
#11
TIL after Post Malone found out that other patrons at the Houston bar he was in had covered his check, he asked the waitress to charge him for anything so he could leave a tip. The waitress then rang him up for a $1 bill, and in return, he tipped her $20,000, leaving a total of $20,001.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
Thereby setting a dangerous precedent. No doubt the option "2,000,000%" (as the default) was then added to the iPad
Lyone Fein 7 months ago
Expressing gratitude within your means is a fine precedent.
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The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
He is such an amazing human being. Not just wildly talented, but just a really good person too.
JK 7 months ago
If he had left her $10k she wouldn't have had to report it to the IRS. Its a gift. Anything over that = taxation.
Tim Douglass 7 months ago
All tips, of any amount, have to be reported as income. It would only be a gift it was given outside of the context of her work.
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H Word 7 months ago
So, why did he tip the waitress if the other patrons paid for him? Not trying to take away from the acts of kindness, just wondering.
Kris 7 months ago
Because the waitress was extremely nice and helpful and wanted to show his gratitude. Dude is a saint.
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#12
TIL that in 1997, 24.6% of US 12th graders smoked cigarettes every single day. By 2023, that number fell to 0.7%.
Vinny DaPooh 7 months ago
Depends on which study you look at roughly 7 to 10%. Definitely an improvement
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keyboardtek 7 months ago
I graduated in 1972. Quite a number of my classmates smoked. Many died of lung cancer at about 50.
Jennifer Gray 7 months ago
I might have guessed higher. At the hs I went to it was closer to 50%. I also graduated a little earlier in '93
Load More Replies... Sarah Pryde 7 months ago
and my older sister remembers there being a smoking lounge/area FOR THE STUDENTS
Ben 7 months ago
Vaping or Zyn. Obviously. Definitely doesn't mean teenagers have suddenly started making better decisions.
AlexJ 7 months ago
Their decision making seems irrelevant to this particular post. However, the percentage of high school students vaping in USA is approximately 8%. They do seem to be making better decisions regarding smoking/vaping
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“Another big tip?” he added. “Use your smart friends wisely.” Raghav recommends building a team with diverse strengths. “Someone’s great at music, another’s a science nerd, put them together and you’ve got a dream team.” Trivia is a team sport, and playing with the right people makes all the difference. Plus, it’s way more fun.
#13
TIL While filming episodes of 'The Mandalorian' the production crew realized they didn't have enough Imperial Stormtrooper uniforms so they reached out to the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, a fan cosplay group, to fill out the ranks.
El Cucuy 7 months ago
Now they they do charity work, but they didn't originally.
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El Cucuy 7 months ago
The 501st has a lot of involvement in the SW universe. One example of many: when Lucas stopped donating props, costumes etc. for display, photo ops, etc. to the Marin County Fair (he lives in Marin County and it is something he had done every year for decades) the 501st was tapped to step up. And they did.
WayoftheStarPrincess 7 months ago
I love the 501st, they work so hard and have standardised patterns for all sorts of character types (especially the Storm Troopers) so I understand wanting to call them in.
#14
TIL In 2003, the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (organizers of Wimbledon) began paying $2M annually for pandemic insurance, which it did for 17 years. In 2020, Wimbledon was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Club collected a $141M payout.
Slapdash1 7 months ago
After HIV, Hanta, Zika, Ebola, swine flu and bird flu happening in the last 40 years, who could've suspected another pandemic, amirite?
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WubiDubi 7 months ago
Amazed the insurance company didn't refuse. They try and get out of so many payouts.
Pittsburgh rare 7 months ago
They're the scum of earth. My friend just came back from an extravagant trip to Shanghai with the CEO and several executives (one of them entangled with my friend) where they'd spend an insane amount of money as a reward for all the money they "saved" by denying claims. I can't stand them
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#15
TIL in the 1990 film “Pretty Woman”, Richard Gere’s car was a Lotus Esprit after both Ferrari and Porsche had refused to allow their cars to be used in a film associated with p**********n. As a result of the product placement, Lotus sales had tripled.
Phantom Phoenix 7 months ago
If we pretend there's no such word, we can pretend there's no such thing
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Gavin Johnson 7 months ago
Sales tripled, weirdly the number of Lotuses found broken down on the side of the road increased too. Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 7 months ago
Why did I look at the picture and think it was Wayne's World?
Like anything else, practice makes perfect. “Try playing at home or with friends before going to the real thing,” he suggested. Apps, online quizzes, and flashcard games can sharpen your reflexes. Even watching trivia shows helps. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at spotting clues and patterns in questions.
#16
TIL that in February 2025 a group of 8 beavers constructed a dam in the exact location that the Czech government had planned to build one. The initial project had been in the planning stage since 2018 and would have cost over $1.2 million.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
Maybe they should replace Elon's mob with beavers then since they have a proven track record in saving taxpayer's money
Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
Ah you are speaking my love language...sarcasm.
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#17
TIL that in 1953, Ringo Starr developed tuberculosis and was admitted to a sanatorium, where he stayed for two years. While there, the medical staff attempted to alleviate boredom by encouraging patients to participate in the hospital band, resulting in his initial encounter with a drumset.
Marlene Ricker 7 months ago
I thank them for getting him started! The Beatles wouldn't have been the same without him!
#18
TIL that Americans work more hours a year than the Japanese
Abdullah Abd Rahman 7 months ago
Gross exploitation of employees in ultra-capitalistic US.Pity ordinary Americans....
Michael None 7 months ago
Probably because billionaires are paid 24 hours a day. It's the only way to pay them for their work since no one can figure out f**k all of what they do to earn money every day.
April Pickett 7 months ago
They have no life outside of "the job", and their supervisors make sure of it.
WubiDubi 7 months ago
Are you including the mandatory getting drunk after work with the boss in these hours?
Lost Panda 7 months ago
Probably not, and it is probably not including the "free overtime" either
Load More Replies... EJN 7 months ago
Over the past few decades, it has greatly changed due to the entitlement attitudes of business owners and corporations that often expect employees NOT to USE their PTO or vacation time. The Japanese, meanwhile, have been trying to break the habit of putting in unpaid overtime so that their family life will improve.
Rich Black 7 months ago
the average american works 38.7 hours a week. https://www.zippia.com/advice/average-work-hours-per-week/
And whatever you do, read the rules. “Every venue has different trivia formats and guidelines,” Raghav warned. “Some have penalties for wrong answers, others offer steals or bonuses.” Knowing the rules can seriously help your strategy. It also keeps things smooth on game night—no surprises, just solid gameplay.
“Play to your strengths,” he said. “If sports aren’t your thing, let someone else take the lead. Don’t waste time guessing, focus on where you shine.” A good team divides roles smartly. Confidence in your own zone helps the entire group. It’s about balance, not knowing everything.
#19
TIL in 2009 an orangutan in an Australian zoo aborted an "ingenious" escape plan. She short-circuited the electric fence around her enclosure by jamming a stick into the wires connected to it & then piled up debris to climb a wall. However she sat on the fence for 30 min before voluntarily returning
keyboardtek 7 months ago
She got a better view of humans and decided that life was not for her.
Load More Replies... Libstak 7 months ago
Guess she realised there was nowhere to go that guaranteed future food and shelter.
Sue User 7 months ago
My cat does this. Goes outside, cant find any mice ( she was a barn cat ) and then comes in an hour later and eats her food. Side note: why dont we have mice flavored cat food ?
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 7 months ago
She was establishing that she was there only because she wanted to be.
veirdbuttrue 7 months ago
Aw poor thing. Doesn't want to have to stay, doesn't want to have to go.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
My mare used to untie quick release knots and just stand there. She was letting me know that she preferred me to her former owner. A life of lots of drills and shows vs the occasional show and lots of leisurely trail rides.
Michael None 7 months ago
I know the feeling. You think there's a better life on the other side but there isn't. It's a s**t sandwich all the way through, best you can do is cut off the crust and chew through.
#20
TIL James Strang, leader of a Mormon splinter-group, crowned himself "king" of his church on Beaver Island, Michigan for 6 years. His "reign" was so hated by the locals that he was assassinated in 1856. His killers were kept in an unlocked jail cell and fined $1.25
Karen Bryan 7 months ago
Don't know if anyone has ever attempted to make a list, but there have been many Mormon splinter groups over the years--each weirder than the last.
#21
TIL Mary Tyler Moore insisted on wearing capri pants on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Network execs were uneasy about the fit, fearing the pants were “cupping under” and too revealing of her rear. Despite initial fears, “everyone thought it was great” and the show was a huge hit.
The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
It was actually D**k Van D**e that fought hardest for her to wear pants. He was a big supporter of women's rights and a true gentleman.
Arenite 7 months ago
Except for the way he kept grabbing her a s s on set
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Brian Droste 7 months ago
I read a long time ago that they only agree because she had to wear skirts or dresses for half of the episode. The other half capri pants. Can anyone confirm this?
Finally, don’t panic under pressure. “Sometimes the timer can rattle people,” Raghav shared. “Take a deep breath, talk it out with your team, and stay calm.” Most mistakes come from rushing. Slowing down just a little can make a big difference. After all, trivia’s as much about nerves as it is about knowledge.
#22
TIL The world’s largest tomato processor, The Morning Star Company, has no bosses—employees write their own job descriptions and negotiates responsibilities and compensation with peers.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
Sounds like some sort of anarcho-syndicalist commune, where people take it in turns to act as executive officer for the week.
David 7 months ago
Not true. There are no "supervisory management", but there is full management, but they provide employees with a lot of trust, and as long as they meet their goals, no one watches over them. They also don't write their own job descriptions, they "define job responsibilities" which means your position tells you what you need to accomplish, and you define how you are going to do that. They also do not have their compensation negotiated by their peers, their peer evaluations is how management decides how well you did your job and it affects pay rises and promotions, as well as bonuses. They also only have 550 employees, but employ thousands of "seasonal labor" who are paid min wage with poor conditions. And they are not the world's largest tomato processor, they are the US's largest
CatD 7 months ago
It's going to be difficult to get "seasonal labor" this year.
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Jaya 7 months ago
There are some companies (I think in a South American country) where all the employees together own the company. The idea is that it's more fair, and that they all profit financially from making the company more successful, so they'll all work well and take decisions that are in the best interest of the company. And those companies do surprisingly well. It's a very cool thing to read about.
Lyone Fein 7 months ago
There are many companies like this everywhere. My pharmacy here in Ohio is employee owned.
Load More Replies... Svenne O'Lotta 7 months ago
They negotiate responsibilities and compensation with peers. It's not a long text to get through.
Load More Replies... #23
TIL that While filming his scenes, Anakin's actor would sometimes make lightsaber noises from his mouth, which caused Lucas to stop filming and tell him "Hayden, that looks really great, but I can see your mouth moving. You don't have to do that, we add the sound effects in afterward"
Marvin HeartofGold (she/them) 7 months ago
To be fair I'm pressure almost everyone makes lightsaber sounds when holding a lightsaber. It's compulsory!
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Piwakawaka 7 months ago
Chris Pratt apparently did pew pew noises in the opening scene of Guardians of the Galaxy.
luci (he/fae) 7 months ago
everyone, man, woman, whatever; child, adult, senior; black, white, whatever-everyone does this. if you get your hands on a lightsaber, you make those wooshy noises without a second thought.
#24
TIL that Walt Disney, in 1947, gave permission to the University of Oregon to use Donald Duck's likeness as their mascot.
And the ultimate rule? “Have fun,” Raghav said. Whether you win or not, enjoy the game. Trivia night is about laughing at the ridiculous answers, bonding with your team, and learning something new. So grab a pen, grab a drink, and bring your best random facts. You might just walk away a trivia champ or at least with a great story.
#25
TIL Portugal fought a 13-year Colonial War to keep its African colonies long after the rest of Europe had given up theirs. Eventually the military got sick of dying in a pointless war, overthrew the dictatorship and installed a democracy
Victor Botha 7 months ago
Salazar was bad news for Portugal. Kept the country backwards and non productive compared to it's European counterparts. Took quite a bit of time to try to catch up.
Ace 7 months ago
When he was finally deposed the new government conspired with the national newspaper to make a single special edition for him, to fool him into thinking that he was still in power. For two years, until he eventually died.
Load More Replies... #26
TIL in December 2020, GoDaddy tricked employees into thinking they had earned a bonus of $650. Employees were then told they had failed a phishing test and were required to do social engineering training. After media criticism, the company apologized to its staff, but did not offer actual bonuses.
Kris 7 months ago
Getting the hopes up of minimum wage staff that they may have some extra money to help their day to day...… Don't be a garbage human being, Paul.
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Not-a-Clue (she/her) 7 months ago
Am I the only person who finds the name GoDaddy to be really creepy, with its associations of girls calling their boyfriends daddy?
Lost Panda 7 months ago
While yes it may suck, this is part of information security training. Now, how they went about it I don't know, but this is the industry norm for all IT departments.
AlexJ 7 months ago
I run tests like these and as you said it's now a norm running these (even required as you might fail an audit depending the industry). Your tests should look real: you want your employees failing your fake email instead of failing for a real hacker. Having said that, the way they went was all ways of wrong. They sent an email from an official account (the ones you're supposed to trust) instead of something fake looking like "G0daddy" (changing the letter O for a number zero for example ), having barely any other clues on the email that helped you identify the "fake email", and not telling them until days later that it was "just a test" and instead of money, they need to take an IT Security course. Imagine getting an email two weeks before Christmas from your boss telling you about a $650 bonus an the day the bonus is supposed to come you instead get an email basically saying "gotcha"?
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Jane Ellen 7 months ago
And I just cancelled my account with them since i didn't need it anymore. Didn't know they were that sllimy. ugh
DowntownStevieB 7 months ago
My company does this and I agree with it. Seems like a great tool for healthcare workers.
#27
TIL in 2019 research found that women buy 62% of all new cars sold in the US, and in addition, women influence more than 85% of all car purchases.
Andie Day 7 months ago
And most car salesmen are still a-holes who won't even look at a woman if she comes into a salesroom with a man.
Vinny DaPooh 7 months ago
Sadly true. Last time my wife bought a car I went just to go with her. Salesman kept talking to me and I had to keep telling him she was the one shopping for a car. We found a different dealership.
Load More Replies... FreeTheUnicorn 7 months ago
People at emore likely to buy a new car when they have young kids, and women are usually the ones driving the kids. Probably a good part of the bump.
LauraDragonWench 7 months ago (edited)
I bought my first car from an Enterprise dealership. (For non-USAians, Enterprise was [is?] a car rental agency that would sell its "gently used" cars.) I had wanted a Neon since I saw the concept car at a show, so that's what I'd researched. The salesman kept trying to push a red Neon on me and seemed to get annoyed that I told him no. I said I wanted the white one - it had fewer options than the red one, but was more firmly in my budget. It took an hour or so, but I got my white Neon despite that salesman.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
My wife bought a car. My name is second on the title. Guess who gets all the mail from the dealership?
Jane Ellen 7 months ago
Not with MY controlling husband. He 'asked' for my thoughts on getting the new car, then ignored all of them - color, seating, etc. Glad I left that POS
Well, we hope these “Today I Learned” facts give you a boost for your next trivia night (or just make you sound cool at dinner). Which one made you do a double take, laugh, or immediately want to share? Let us know your favorites in the comments below, we’re all ears!
#28
TIL that Auschwitz had a brothel (Block 24) where female prisoners were forced to have s*x with selected male inmates as part of a reward system.
WubiDubi 7 months ago
Imagine thinking you can use words like that on BP. Think of the advertisers.
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Bryn 7 months ago
Here is more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_camp_brothels_in_World_War_II (Auschwitz wasn't the only death camp with a Joy Division) and some photos of the block: https://www.auschwitz.org/en/gallery/memorial/former-auschwitz-i-site/camp-blocks-and-buildings,2.html
Marlene Ricker 7 months ago
Everything about Auschwitz is horrible. Every time I see pictures of the poor people locked up there, it just breaks my heart. We must never forget what happened there and make sure it never happens again.
Be_ Heard 7 months ago
True. But the real word is r a p e. They were r a p e d. Over and over again
Load More Replies... #29
TIL that in 2013, the first known Tinder match in Antarctica happened when two researchers—one at McMurdo Station and another camping in the Dry Valleys—swiped right on each other. They were about a 45-minute helicopter ride apart.
Vinny DaPooh 7 months ago
Probably not. Perhaps allowed to use it to conduct "research" together
Load More Replies... David Shaw 7 months ago
Strikes me more as a publicity stunt, but I'm prepared to be proved wrong.
#30
TIL in February 1936, Pope Pius XI recieved a mesage from Hitler congratulating him on the anniversary of his coronation. Pius' response critizied Hitler's regime with such force that Germany's foreign secretary tried to suppress the response, but Pius insisted that the message be given to Hitler.
FreeTheUnicorn 7 months ago
He wrote a nasty latter, but even as one of the richest monarchs in the world, clung to official neutrality, and refused to take any action beyond letters.
panther 7 months ago
And then the church helped a lot of German war criminals escape to South America.
Load More Replies... #31
TIL after the Titanic sank, the first ship sent to recover the dead bodies ran out of embalming supplies, so they decided to preserve only the bodies of first-class passengers by the need to visually identify wealthy men to resolve any disputes over large estates.
Kris 7 months ago
Im not one to defend the super rich but the rich men who died on the Titanic, most of them willingly encouraged people onto the boats to be saved. Charles Melville Hays helped his wife, daughter and maid into the lifeboats. My personal favourite one: Isidor was with his wife, Ida Straus. He refused to get on a lifeboat as children and women were still onboard the unsinkable ship. So, his wife Ida refused. Ida is quoted saying, I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die, together.
Load More Replies... #32
TIL that in 1912, a boy named Bobby Dunbar went missing. Eight months later, he was found with another family who claimed that he was their son, Bruce Anderson. The Andersons didn't have the money to fight in court, so they lost custody. In 2004, DNA testing confirmed that the boy wasn’t Bobby.
Ineke Pronk 7 months ago
Don't forget that the mother of Bobby claimed from the start that Bruce was not their Bobby, but no one believed her. And that Bruce's father was send to jail for kidnapping. Under the believe that Bruce is Bobby, so Anderson has kidnapped Bobby and calls him Bruce.
#33
TIL that the Burger King chain is not allowed to use the name Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois, because there is a restaurant there that already protected the name as a “state trademark” in 1959 and defended it in court against BK.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
Not allowed to use it in Australia either for the same reason. It is called Hungry Jacks here.
Lee Gilliland 7 months ago
There's also a 300-year-old pub in Edinburgh that MacDonald's tried to sue for copyright infringement. It did not work out well for MacDonald's.
#34
TIL James Brown's dying wish to fund scholarships for needy children was delayed for 15 years due to extensive infighting and legal battles over his ~$90 million estate, which was finally sold in 2021.
SouthernGal 7 months ago
His burial was delayed by two months. His body was kept in a casket in his house in a temperature controlled room and guarded by security officers.
#35
TIL in 2015, 18-year-old Julian Hernandez learned he was listed in a database for missing children when he met with his h**h school guidance counselor to apply for college. This would lead to him discovering that his dad had kidnapped him from his mom when he was 5. His dad was sentenced to 4 years.
Julia H 7 months ago
Looked it up. He did build a relationship with his mom while poppy was in jail
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#36
TIL the White Star Line sent grieving Titanic families a bill—demanding a £20 “deposit” (≈£2,100 today) to ship their loved one’s body home, and saying that if they couldn’t pay, the company would simply bury the corpse in Halifax and mail them a photo of the grave.
Kim Kermes 7 months ago
They also sent bills to the families of the orchestra for their uniforms, as they were only were only contractors.
Kris 7 months ago (edited)
White Star Line were the real villains. Everyone goes after Bruce Ismay but people dont seem to realise he stayed on Titanic as long as he could to help people to life boats and only got on the boat when there was no-one else arounds him to load and his area was abandoned. There was space and I dont know a single person who would have done anything different. White Star Line needed to shift blame and create a villain and they did just that with Ismay.
Kira Okah 7 months ago (edited)
Not seen this one, now I have. This was from a letter sent to Officer James Moody's brother. Maybe important to note - James Moody's body was never recovered, and this letter was sent three weeks after the sinking, so White Star would have known that his body hadn't been recovered. Interesting, I am going to nose around this now.
Baba Caine 7 months ago
Once the ship sunk they stopped everyone's wages as it was no longer a ship
Nona Jaynes 7 months ago
Hadn't heard of this before, going to nose around now. That being said, that's a terrible thing for WSL to have done.
#37
TIL the actor with the most on-screen kills is Samuel L. Jackson with 1,734. Completing the Top 5 are: Milla Jovovich (1,299), Jet Li (1,076), Dolph Lundgren (940), and Arnold Schwarzenegger (842).
Rick Seiden 7 months ago
This must be individual kills, because Mark Hamill blew up the Death Star, killing far more than 1700 people.
The Scout 7 months ago
Surley that must have been beaten by Josh Brolin as Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War"?
Erik Biesemeier 7 months ago
It does specify "on screen", and I think we can agree the vast majority were not.
Load More Replies... Svenne O'Lotta 7 months ago (edited)
I'm gonna assume that OP meant to add "in Hollywood". Those Bollywood action heroes do not fúck around when it comes to kíll count, and the actors very often have extremely productive careers.
#38
TIL fast food restaurants frequently use Columbus Ohio to test out new products because the demographics of the city closely resemble those of the country as a whole
JK 7 months ago
I live there for about 12 years and there isn't much that's normal about that town.
Load More Replies... #39
TIL in 2014 Anna Nicole Smith's estate failed in its final bid to obtain $44m from the estate of J. Howard Marshall whom Smith had married when he was 89 & she was 26. The oil tycoon died the next year & left his $1.6b estate to his son & nothing to Smith despite her claim he had promised her $300m.
Justme 7 months ago
If he were genuinely in love and of sound mind, I think he would have made a change to his will. If you’re really just a trophy wife like that - your payment is limited to “gifts”, basically what you can collect while he’s alive. No real judgement here unless you try to convince me that’s real love and not just an arrangement.
Svenne O'Lotta 7 months ago
They did seem to like each other a lot. They met at the strip club she was working at, so I'm sure a big part of his reasoning for marriage was that he wanted to save her and secure her future. Plus he didn't get along with any of his children and would rather his fortune went to this beautiful single mom who had been nothing but nice to him and who was always great company. That's what he said anyway.
Load More Replies... Svenne O'Lotta 7 months ago
Get over your wh0re/madonna complex, it's boring and trivial
Load More Replies... #40
TIL that Richard Nixon’s infamous “I am not a crook” line was not made in reference to the Watergate scandal, but rather to a separate allegation that he had committed tax fraud.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
Trump made Nixon sound like a good guy. And I never thought I'd use the name "Nixon" and the word "good" in the same sentence.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Or "Trump" and the word "good" in the same sentence.
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Nils Skirnir 7 months ago
And the tax fraud allegation was minuscule compared to the various frauds that major politicians commit on a regular basis today
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Tax-wise he was a cheap crook, but still a crook. When I was a tax auditor, I noticed that it wasn't a matter of money. It was about shameless entitlement.
Load More Replies... General Anaesthesia 7 months ago (edited)
And his wife wore "a good Republican cloth coat". "I really don't care. Do U?" - A Trump wife on her good Republican cloth coat.
keyboardtek 7 months ago
Zoom forward to modern times and Trump is found guilty of cooking the books of his companies with a ton of evidence in a court of law. He is a crook. But being rich kept him out of jail and stupid people still believe he is innocent of any crimes.
Brendon Nash 7 months ago
Never read about everything after this couldn't tell you if his alive..just living in the USA
#41
TIL Alfred Hitchcock was jailed at the age of 6 because his father sent him to a police station with a note attached to his clothes requesting the jailing after Alfred committed some childish misdeed.
#42
TIL that Buzz Aldrin was known among his fellow astronauts to be very difficult to work with, to the point that Neil Armstrong was offered the chance to replace Aldrin with someone else for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Armstrong thought it over for a day before choosing to stick with Aldrin.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
If I was Buzz I would have been worried that Neil would have taken off and left me on the moon
#43
TIL When musician Prince died, he left behind a vault containing nearly 8,000 unreleased songs but he had forgotten the combination. Measuring 6 1/2 feet tall, several feet wide, and weighing 6,000 pounds, the massive vault required a professional safecracker to break into it
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
Even if he remembered the combination he still wasn't in the position to tell you what it was
JP Doyle 7 months ago
Plus, those weren't notes or sheet music. They were 8,000 fully performed, engineered, and recorded songs. The Prince estate has enough material to release 4,000 brand new CDs of never released Prince music.
keyboardtek 7 months ago
Many of Prince's songs were not solely written. He collaborated with many friends on his tunes. He just never gave them credit.
#44
TIL that, after he killed Julius Caesar, Brutus issued coins to celebrate the assassination, which featured a bust of Brutus himself on one side and two daggers on the other
kzys59pcrp 7 months ago
I would buy coins like this if something like this happened to a certain leader today
#45
TIL voice actor Casey Kasem known for voicing Shaggy from Scooby Doo quit the Transformers cartoon project because it depicted a Saharan kingdom named "Carbombya"
️Rando Panda 7 months ago
Casey Kasem's parents were from Lebanon. Naming a Saharan kingdom "Carbombya" was directly insulting, and good on him for standing his ground.
Luke Branwen 7 months ago
That's an entertainer with a spine. Today actors accept a role in the new Henry Proper show and then have the nerve to tweet heartfelt posts about trans rights on the internet.
Kitty 🥀 7 months ago
He was also a vegetarian and petitioned the animators of Scooby Doo to not draw Shaggy eating meat. And it worked— it was just pizza and vague-looking sandwiches and stuff for a while.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 7 months ago
As Casey might have said to the producers "Keep your feet on the ground and your head out of your a*s."
FlamingZombies 7 months ago
You don't understand how naming a Saharan kingdom "Carbombya" (Car bomb ya) would cause someone to question their involvement with hat project?
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#46
TIL the world's longest-reigning current monarch is also an absolute monarch. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has been ruling Brunei for 57 years. He's also the country's Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Economy, Minister of Home Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Janelle Collard 7 months ago
Now *that's* a dictator! (Don't tell Cheeto - it'll give him more ideas.)
Ace 7 months ago
No, it's a king. A dictator is just some guy who tells everyone what to do. (paraphrasing Terry Pratchett here).
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 7 months ago
He also turns the letters on the local version of Wheel of Fortune.
General Anaesthesia 7 months ago
Say what? "Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo; the remainder of the island is divided between its multi-landmass neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia." - Wikipedia
Load More Replies... #47
TIL that when you sign a Starlink contract, you agree "that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities."
Kallen Kneeland 7 months ago
That doesn't sound suspicious at all. But it does pss a fact check. https://www.google.com/search?q=does+starlink+contract+contain+clause+about+governance+of+mars&rlz=1CAUBRP_enUS1045&oq=does+starlink+contract+contain+clause+about+governance+of+mars&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAtIBCTQ2NDE3ajBqN6gCCLACAfEFeP9VbUd9nIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Rich Black 7 months ago
when you buy a tesla, there's a similar clause "no earth based government has sovereignty over the vehicle's warranty or recalls"
#48
TIL the whistleblower of the Olympus Scandal, aka "one of the biggest and longest-running loss-hiding arrangements in Japanese corporate history", was Olympus' own CEO, Michael Christopher Woodford. He was fired after repeatedly questioning suspicious transactions and involving external auditors.
Erik Biesemeier 7 months ago (edited)
The Japanese company Olympus (known mostly for producing cameras, and lenses) for many years hid losses. The person who brought it to light was the CEO, who was fired after questioning suspicious transactions, and hiring external auditors to verify the accounting.
Load More Replies... #49
TIL that at the time of Pope Sisinnius' election, he was so weakened by gout that he was unable to feed himself with his hands. His papacy lasted just 20 days, from January 15 until his death on February 4 of 708.
Lee Gilliland 7 months ago
The only time popes really get into the news is when they're elected or die, so it's kinda in everyone's minds at the moment.
Load More Replies... #50
TIL that Pope Benedict IX was the only pope to be elected more than once. He allegedly participated in wild orgies involving sodomy and bestiality and even sold the Papacy.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
So despite his immorality and corruption he was elected again. Sounds like someone else we know
Janelle Collard 7 months ago
Old orange guy, tiny hands, lies all the time?
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Michael Largey 7 months ago (edited)
You can't trust popes. They're blowing smoke at their followers right from the start..
Cynthia Christie 7 months ago
Shīt, I thought Benedict meant the one from just a few years ago, the one before Francis.
#51
TIL Taxi drivers are less likely to die from Alzheimer's disease. Having to memorize routes is hypothesized to have beneficial effects on the hippocampus, a brain structure involved in learning and memory, which degenerates in Alzheimer's disease
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
And people who do crosswords/sudoku/wordsearches etc Anything that keeps the mind ticking is good.
Load More Replies... #52
TIL that in the US, Pringles used to call themselves “potato chips” until the FDA said they didn’t qualify as chips. In 2008, Pringles tried to argue in UK court that they were exempt from a tax on crisps (the British term for potato chips) because they weren’t crisps. They lost the case.
#53
TIL that Navajo language was used to carry top-secret messages during the Pacific campaign, WW2. Navajo, a native american language, is incredibly complex and obscure, it was thought to be impossible to decipher by the Japanese Army
Kira Okah 7 months ago (edited)
The Navajo Code Talkers delivered messages in coded Navajo, not plain Navajo. The Japanese Army quickly worked out that it was Navajo and used Navajo prisoners to try and translate it, but they didn't understand it either. Unless you knew the actual code, not just Navajo, then it was nonsense.
talliloo 7 months ago
during the mango mussolini's last term he 'honored' them with recognition which i think was appropriate. what wasn't appropriate was his throwing out the term pocohantas while he was doing the ceremony. one of the daughters of one of the code talkers told media that she was stunned to know this about her father as he had never mentioned it. when she questioned he just said he had taken an oath not to speak about it until he was told he could.
#54
TIL Anne Rice's birth name was Howard Allen. She became 'Anne' on her first day of school, when a nun asked her what her name was. She told the nun 'Anne' because she considered it a pretty name. Her mother, who was with her, let it go without correcting her and then legally changed her name in 1947
Spidercat 7 months ago
That would be Mr and Mrs Rice...as explained in the above post.
Load More Replies... #55
TIL that the teeth of the limpet, a type of sea snail, are the strongest biological material ever discovered,stronger than spider silk and able to withstand pressures of up to 5 gigapascals.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 7 months ago
But if you sneak up on a limpet and quickly grab it, it’s easy to detach from a rock. Thanks, Mum for teaching us that! I feel sorry the all the poor limpets that we detached as children.
Lulu Waters 7 months ago
What’s gigapascals for the Americans? Like how many giraffes is that?
#56
TIL the Linux man command used to print “gimme gimme gimme” at 00:30 as a joke referencing the ABBA song “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”. Added in 2011 as an Easter Egg, it went unnoticed until it broke automated tests, prompting its removal in 2017.
luci (he/fae) 7 months ago
taaaaaake me through the darkness, through the break of the dayyyyyyyy :3
#57
TIL that during a 1966 interview as a Vietnam War POW, U.S. Navy officer Jeremiah Denton blinked the word "TORTURE" in Morse code with his eyes, secretly confirming North Vietnamese abuse to American intelligence.
#58
TIL that Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime and the price was 400 francs ($2.000 in today's money).
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
I just looked this up. Some sources say one, others say several. I think part of the confusion, after reading some of these reports, are based on whether he, personally, sold the painting, or whether it was sold through an agent such as his brother Theo.
#59
TIL in 2009 a man hid a b*mb inside his a*us in an attempt to assassinate saudi prince Muhammad bin Nayef, which was described as "a novel technique". Even though he got within hand-shake distance from the prince, his body absorbed most of the blast, so Bin Nayef was only slightly injured
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
Only slightly injured but covered from head to toe in you know what
#60
TIL in 1983, an 18-year-old boy fell from Space Mountain, paralyzed from the waist down. Disneyland was found not at fault. Throughout the trial, the jury was taken to the park to experience Space Mountain, and multiple ride vehicles were brought to the courtroom to illustrate their functionality.
Kira Okah 7 months ago
An expert, who was brought in to testify that the lap bar was defective, stated on cross-examination that even if the bar were defective, gravity would still hold someone in place if they followed all given instructions. So that might have been a factor in the decision here.
Piwakawaka 7 months ago
I remember this, and I was only 8 at the time, and I don't live in the US. Word gets around!
#61
TIL the Secret Service was originally created in 1865 to combat counterfeiting. At that time, nearly 1/3 of currency in the U.S. was fake.
DeoManus Argentem 7 months ago
I had a friend in the secret service who said all his colleagues hated being tasked with "dignitary protection" details - they're dedicated professionals, despite potentionally having to protect both domestic and foreign dignitaries they may despise. But his background is in finance, and he said they all signed up to investigate financial crimes, not take a bullet for somebody. Weird, how most people just think of them as the president's bodyguards.
John Dilligaf 7 months ago
I would think that those would be two very different career paths in the Secret Service, with not a lot of overlap. "Dignitary protection" details sounds like a job you'd have to volunteer for and be rigorously screened and trained for, not something you'd just arbitrarily assign to someone.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 7 months ago
Their notes are still easy to counterfeit compared to many other countries, though recognising they are fake is also fairly easy.
#62
TIL that in 2013, a noodle shop owner in China protested a court fine by paying 10,000 yuan in 0.1 yuan coins, delivered in 8 giant bags 18 bank staff spent a whole day counting and only got through half.
Ahnjunwan 7 months ago
Why did they not weigh it, count to 1 percent of the weight and weigh it again?
Rachel Parker 7 months ago
Coin counting machines were invented in the 1950s. If the bank didn't have one, it was surely possible to get use of one.
Load More Replies... Fire Singer 7 months ago
Random thing, but I worked as a cashier for Walmart once and someone paid in change. It was like $20 something like that and all they had was change. So we sat and counted it out, not biggie I thought. Until I turned in my drawer and my manager was PISSED at me. She told me to never accept payments like that again. It was legal tender, so I didn't think it was an issue. I'm still irritated that she was so mad about it.
#63
TIL: Scientists are finding that problems with mitochondria contributes to autism.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
I also recently learned that abnormalities in brain wave patterns can be associated with autism. I was diagnosed as on the spectrum at age 69, which explained a lot about my life. I had 2 sleep studies in the 70s, both of which showed slight abnormalities in brain wave patterns. These findings are very interesting.
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/6/2479
Load More Replies... #64
TIL that the ‘Age of Piracy’ only lasted around 80 years. It started in 1648 after the Treaty of Westphalia pushed European powers to hire privateers, and declined between 1714 and 1723 when the War of Spanish succession ended, Nassau was retaken, and every famous pirate had been k****d or captured.
The Scout 7 months ago
The concept of a "golden age of piracy" is kind of arbitrarily, though. Piracy had been extremely widespread earlier and sometimes been shaping history. In the 14th century pirates like Stoertebecker became famous, and even back in ancient times the Roman Empire had to fight against pirates - Caesar had once been captured by some. The ancient Greek even saw it as an honorable profession. And as early as 14th century B.C. egyptian kings went to war with the "sea people" who essentially were pirates. Piracy still is a concern in some countries today. Defining a short episode as the "Age of Piracy" is more or less based in pop culture, which heavily influenced what we think of when we hear the word "pirate".
Becky Samuel 7 months ago
Piracy is like slávery; it never went away, it just modernised and became less known.
Trisec Tebeakesse 7 months ago
A letter of Marque is ensconsed in the US Constitution, and it has never been repealed. I want one.
#65
TIL The black death caused an inflation of dowries in medieval Florence which the government solved by establishing a public dowry fund: when a girl turned 5, families would deposit on the dowry bank on her behalf, which would accrue about 10% a year and would be withdrawn when she got married
#66
TIL that during World War II, JF Kennedy was originally rejected for military service because he suffered from Addison's disease and chronic back pain. He used his father's political influence to join the U.S. Navy.
#67
TIL The longest Papal Conclave in history lasted 3 years from 1268-1271 where magistrates resorted to removing the roof of the election building in an attempt to coerce the cardinals into reaching a decision
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
El Cheesy Poof is just following the Heritage Foundation's orders.
#68
TIL: Beach towels are designed to have one side for drying off and one softer, less absorbent side for sitting on. They’re also lighter weight so they dry faster than bath towels for multiple uses in a day
#69
TIL in 2005, Sony spent over a million dollars to drop 250,000 bouncy balls off one of the steepest streets in San Francisco, breaking windows and destroying cars in the process.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
The same year as the Sony rootkit issue. They really need to sack their PR department
Nicola Mawson 7 months ago
It's usually marketing that does that. PR has to pick up the pieces
Load More Replies... #70
TIL that the United States Department of Energy thought it necessary to post a list of things about the nuclear power plant in The Simpsons that doesn't reflect real life
#71
TIL that the famed painting “American Gothic” was entered into a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. It won third place. The museum only bought the painting at the urging of a patron, and has had it ever since.
#72
TIL a programming bug caused Mazda infotainment systems to brick whenever someone tried to play the podcast, 99% Invisible, because the software recognized "% I" as an instruction and not a string
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
99PI, Radiolab, and This American Life are my go-to podcasts.
Load More Replies... #73
TIL that a 2011 size 0 is larger than a 1970 size 6
SleepyVampire 7 months ago
True, however, size 6 was the smallest size available at the time, so it wasn't like there was a size 0 in 1970 that was smaller than anything made now.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
I have shirts in my closet with size labels from S to XL and they all fit fine. Sizes hardly mean anything anymore.
Vinny DaPooh 7 months ago
Especially when you order online. My wife's clothes are all roughly the same actual size but like you, have all sorts of labeled sizes
Load More Replies... Kim Kermes 7 months ago
And I needed a 4 in 73, which was only available in expensive lines. Neither girls or juniors fit right.
#74
TIL In the 2000's Linda Fiorentino(MIB, Dogma actress) began dating FBI agent Mark Rosini. Claiming she was researching for a role, she got him to access and give her files related to the felony case against a Holywood fixer, which she then gave to his lawyers, intending to help him
#75
TIL there's another Y2K in 2038, Y2K38, when systems using 32-bit integers in time-sensitive/measured processes will suffer fatal errors unless updated to 64-bit.
#76
TIL TV shows love hiring twins for newborn roles. Twins double the filming time (they swap them out) and, since they’re often born premature and smaller, they look more like fresh newborns on screen, even if they’re actually a few weeks old.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
No such word. I think you may mean sickening. If newborns and very young characters are needed, they are only allowed to be filmed for very brief periods of time, so hiring twins is the only practical way to get a project finished in any reasonable amount of time.
Load More Replies... #77
TIL that in 1975, after Gillette introduced a two-blade cartridge razor, Saturday Night Live aired a fake commercial for a three-blade razor. Gillette introduced one in 1998. In 2004, a satirical article in The Onion introduced a fictional five-blade razor. A real five-blade razor came out in 2006.
Stephanie Did It 7 months ago
I recently watched that SNL commercial which almost perfectly mirrored the actual 3-blade commercials. The only difference was that the SNL ad ended with the words, "because some people will believe anything."
#78
TIL the Spanish-America war ended with a mock battle in the Philippines to save Spanish honor - they didn't want to surrender to local forces who they regarded as inferior, but to white Americans
#79
TIL that Disney once tried to open a park that would allow guests to "feel what it was like to be a s***e." It was a disaster.
Maria Belle 7 months ago
I think it might be a word meaning a person who is made to work, against their will, and receives no wages. But I agree - what is the point of censoring words? Took me about 5 minutes to decipher the post!
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Nagisa11 7 months ago
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/inside-disneys-controversial-plan-to-open-a-theme-park-inspired-by-american-history-180985150/
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#80
TIL in 1982 ecological activist Chaïm Nissim fired five RPG-7 rockets into the Superphénix nuclear reactor in France as protest of its construction. He was never caught, only revealing his involvement 21 years later, calling the attack "non-violent" and "quite beautiful".
#81
TIL Canada made five $1,000,000 face value coins out of pure gold weighing 221lbs (100kg), one of which was stolen during a heist, never to be found
#82
TIL that Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who stood at 5' 2", would always travel with a pillow bearer. The bearer's job was to ensure the emperors feet would always rest on a pillow when he sat down in a chair, as they would otherwise dangle without touching the ground
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
I'm 4'10". Unless I sit perched on the edge of a chair, my feet don't usually reach the ground. Beating you to the punch, my feet reach the ground just fine when I'm standing.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
My mum & grandma did similar when they went to church, but their footrests were wooden. My grandma was maybe 5ft 3 and my mum 4ft 7.
#83
TIL Apple paid U2 $100m for the exclusive right to give its 500m iTunes customers U2's album "Songs of Innocence" for free by installing it on their devices without asking. A week after release, Apple gave customers a method to remove it, as just 6.7% of the 500m had listened to at least part of it.
Lulu Waters 7 months ago
I remember that. I saw it there and wondered how those turds got there
#84
TIL that the rap vocals in Evanescence's Bring Me To Life were added in by Wind-Up Records against lead singer Amy Lee's wishes due to the rising Nu-Metal scene.
Rachel Parker 7 months ago
They added male vocals are mostly sung, some lines spoken but precisely zero are rapped.
OneHappyPuppy 7 months ago (edited)
Yeah, I could have sworn that the first version of the song came without the male voice, I have a CD somewhere buried at my parents' place...
#85
TIL that the world record in bench press is 783lbs. However, when using a specialized shirt for bench pressing, the world record reaches to 1400lbs.
Allen Packard 7 months ago
I do "raw" powerlifting. People don't understand how much equipment can affect people's "strength".
#86
TIL that although American Samoa is a territory, those born there are US nationals, not citizens. They can hold a US passport and can freely enter or live anywhere in the United State, but cannot apply flr citizenship unless they are outside of American Samoa.
Andie Day 7 months ago
And the orange shitgibbon would have them deported in a heart beat because brown.
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
And I learned a new word! An excellent one it is, too.
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#87
TIL about Carlo Acutis. A 15-yo boy who died in 2006, and canonized in 2024 becoming the first, and currently only, "gamer saint".
#88
TIL that when invited to his Harvard class of 1962 reunion, Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) RSVP'ed, putting his occupation as "prisoner" and his 8 life sentences as "awards".
#89
TIL that out of 20,000 people the Khmer Rouge sent to Cambodia's notorious S-21 prison, only 12 survived
Ahnjunwan 7 months ago
If you ever visit cambodia, i would highly recommend not to visit tuol sleng unless you do not mind having nightmares for the next year. It is really highly disturbing
Wang Zhuang 7 months ago
I've been to the genocide museum, and it's truly depressing. I lived in Cambodia for a few months and my landlord was survivor of the Khmer Rouge. He told me about what happened to him during that time and how he survived. It's so disgusting, the things that human beings do to each other.
Load More Replies... #90
TIL in 1870, Italy completed its unification by defeating the Papal States, which contained Rome. Though his army was outnumbered, the Pope insisted on symbolic resistance before surrendering, resulting in ~68 deaths. Rome was captured, and the Pope’s territory was eventually reduced to Vatican City
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
So Stalin's facetious remark "How many divisions has the Pope?" really was a legitimate enquiry then
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
Stalin was born in 1878, but yes, sure!
Load More Replies... #91
TIL former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is the sixth oldest father in human recorded history, after he conceived a child at the age of 89 in 2020.
Kira Okah 7 months ago
Fabiana Flosi, his wife, is 46 years younger than him, so at the time his son was born in July 2020, 43.
Load More Replies... #92
TIL Eminem used actual information about Anthony Mackie's real life in his final rap battle versus Mackie's Papa Doc in 8 Mile (2002), making fun of his actual upbringing for the scene. Mackie said Em searched him online & learned about his nice childhood which Em then used against him in the scene.
Gavin Johnson 7 months ago
The outtakes / messing about in the club are proper. There were extras there who encouraged Eminem to show them what he could do, he and a couple of the other cast members performed for them, their rap battles didn’t make it into the film obviously but they certainly prove that he’s the real deal.
#93
TIL a 2023 survey of more than 1,000 hiring managers found that nearly 40% admitted to lying to candidates in job interviews. And in most cases, it worked: 92% of the managers that admitted lying said a candidate they had lied to accepted their job offer.
#94
TIL that for the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), director Tim Burton initially requested 25 gallons of artificial chocolate for the Chocolate river set. This amount gradually increased in scope, to 10,000 liters then 25,000 liters. The final amount used was 1.25 million liters.
General Anaesthesia 7 months ago
So it started at 95 liters (25 US gallons) or 114 liters (25 UK gallons).
#95
TIL that in 1976 the argentinian dictatorship kidnapped two french nuns who where helping families of dissappeared dissidents. They were held captive and thrown to the sea by plane. The dictators joke about them as being "the flying nuns" making reference to the american sitcom starring Sally Field
AutumnGirl 7 months ago
Just like Pinochet here in Chile and many others dictators in South America.
Load More Replies... #96
TIL that people living near river valleys, especially the Mississippi River Valley, are often infected by a soil fungus known as Histoplasma capsalatum. Most infections are 'subclinical' and go unnoticed. Researchers found that 90% of the population of Kansas City had been infected at one time.
#97
TIL that the federal death sentence for treason in the United States has been used only twice. The first time was during the Taos Revolt of 1847. The second was during the Civil War, when William Bruce Mumford was executed for taking down the American Flag flying over the New Orleans Mint
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago (edited)
15 insurgents from the Taos Revolt were executed for treason in 1847.
Trisec Tebeakesse 7 months ago
The third should be for the current occupant of the executive mansion.
#98
TIL that Pro Wrestler Kevin Sullivan once wrote a storyline, or "Kayfabe", about his wife Nancy (ring name "Woman") leaving him for fellow wrestler Chris Benoit. The storyline would lead to a real-life affair between Chris and Nancy. The resulting marriage tragically ended in murder-suicide in 2007.
#99
TIL Emilia Clarke read the words that revealed her character Daenerys Targaryen's fate 7 times in a row thinking "What, what, what, WHAT!?" because it "comes out of f*cking nowhere." She also cried & went on a 5-hr walk that put blisters on her feet. Eventually, she stands by Dany's "Mad Queen" turn
Ahnjunwan 7 months ago
That was the worst butchering of a character i have ever seen in any series. It ruined game of thrones for me that bad, i can not watch it again. My son is 11 years old and still loves it, think you have to be a kid to oversee how badly it was ruined in the last season. He still thinks bran is a food choice for a king......REALLY??? BRAN???? A ZOMBIE???? Guess i have to leave him in the woods....
OneHappyPuppy 7 months ago
Not to be judgy Judy, but no 11yo should be near GoT let alone be watching it...
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Ace 7 months ago
I'm more bemused, by the apparent assumption that readers will know wtf they're talking about.
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Maim 7 months ago
I felt it came out of nowhere too, but my husband defended it by saying she was a descendent of many "mad" people so her crazy was always there.
OneHappyPuppy 7 months ago
I never watched the final season. But I did hear of it - her madness was foreshadowed many times during the show. We just missed it. My opinion? They didn't do a good job of foreshadowing...
Load More Replies... #100
TIL the US Air Force had delays awarding John Chapman a Medal of Honor in part due to US Navy SEALs blocking it. They would have to admit they left a soldier behind. When the award became inevitable, the SEALs nominated the soldier who left Chapman for the same award for the same battle.
#101
TIL that M*thamphetamine is legally prescribed to people in the USA. It's called Desoxyn.
#102
TIL that in 2002 orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Arndt left a patient on the table mid-surgery (anesthetized and with an open incision) for 35 minutes while he left the hospital to deposit his paycheck at a nearby bank in Harvard Square.
#103
TIL as of 2014, there were ~250 corpses that had been cryonically preserved. Only one cryonically preserved corpse pre-dates 1974
#104
TIL that 3-5 cups of coffee a day is associated with the lowest overall cardiovascular disease risk after controlling for other factors
#105
TIL When the 2007 APEC summit began, a prank show launched a prank to have an actor dressed as Bin Laden arrive in a fake motorcade. Despite having explicitly fake IDs and vehicle stickers, the prank had to be called off after they reached the front door of Bush's hotel without being stopped.
Tucker Cahooter 7 months ago
They were people from the (Australian) ABC Television show "The Chaser's War on Everything", well known for pulling stunts like this
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
This stunt was one of the reasons I refused to watch anything they do (except war on waste)
Load More Replies... #106
TIL The U.S. Supreme Court once ruled that the government could sterilize citizens who were deemed mentally unfit to procreate
Kira Okah 7 months ago
Ah, eugenics. This was the Buck vs Bell case, where Carrie Buck's adopted mother had her locked in an institution for "promiscuity and feeblemindedness" (aka family embarrassment for her being räped by the adopted mother's nephew and becoming pregnant), and a doctor obsessed with eugenics moved to legitimise a eugenics law in Virginia by court case to sterilise her for her "feeblemindedness" (which she wasn't), in a court of witnesses who openly lied about her, and her own lawyer ended up providing no real counter or defence. It was appealed to the Supreme Court, which had prominent eugenicists involved.
The_Nicest_Misanthrope 7 months ago
I'm actually OK with this, but not for people with mental illness. Anyone with previous child abuse charges though....
#107
TIL that veggie straws are actually worse for you than most potato chips on the market.
Lee Gilliland 7 months ago
Most veggies absorb oil better than potatoes can.
Load More Replies... #109
TIL that the Bible contains a second list of laws also referred to as the Ten Commandments. Scholars call it the “Ritual Decalogue” and it includes a law saying that you shouldn’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Anonymouse 7 months ago
Although, to be fair, in the New Testament, there is a case of someone sleeping with his father's wife (1 Cor 5:1), and Paul advised to not allow them to come to church, and after repenting, welcome them back (2 Cor 2:6-8). There is a strong dichotomy between Old Testament Law and New Testament Grace.
Bryn 7 months ago
Through out Leviticus and Deuteronomy, for example Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11 (wearing two different types of cloth), Leviticus 11:7-8, Deuteronomy 14:8 (not touching the skin of a dead pig); Leviticus 19:19 (not eating aquatic creatures with fins and scales, aka foods like shrimp); Leviticus 11:6-8 (can't touch rabbits cause they're unclean). I could go on cause I love throwing these back at people who say being gay is against the bible (no specific verse). If you're going to use the bible to condemn people, you gotta use all the laws, not cherry pick them
Load More Replies... Piwakawaka 7 months ago
There are various theories as to what this verse actually means - mostly non-literal.
#110
TIL that to date no woman has run a 4 minute mile
Ellen Samberg 7 months ago
It's almost as if the fastest man is faster than the fastest woman. Who would have thought.
UKGrandad 7 months ago
The fasted recorded mile (actually 1500 metres, 100 metres short of a mile) by a woman is 4:07.64, set by Faith Kipyegon of Kenya on July 21, 2023. For comparison, the men's record is. 3:43.13, held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco.
Load More Replies... #111
Today I learned 56% of Americans prioritize finances when finding a partner over love
whiterabbit 7 months ago
As they should, finances are one of the biggest reasons behind divorce. Have you ever had a partner who is on a completely different page when it comes to finances? To say it's difficult is an understatement.
#112
TIL there's a part of Florida that's only one hour ahead of a part of Oregon
Wang Zhuang 7 months ago
This is because the eastern part of Oregon is in the Mountain Time Zone and the western part of the Florida panhandle stretching past Alabama is in the Central Time Zone
#113
TIL $5.60 of each plane ticket funds the TSA
#114
TIL that the teeth of the sea snail is the strongest biological material discovered to date
Lulu Waters 7 months ago
Reading your comment made it worth it to make it to the end!
Load More Replies... Blue Bunny of Happiness 7 months ago (edited)
Would that be a limpet, I wonder? I’m sure I only learnt that really, really recently!
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Nona Jaynes 7 months ago
TIL that Bored Panda censors so much shît that it's barely worth it anymore. I also learned BP apparently has no idea what context actually is.
Nona Jaynes 7 months ago
TIL that Bored Panda censors so much shît that it's barely worth it anymore. I also learned BP apparently has no idea what context actually is.
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