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“You live and you learn,” as a saying, remains undefeated. In fact, it’s hard not to, unless you really really enjoy living under rocks, and even there you might discover all sorts of new bugs. Fortunately, most of us actually enjoy discovering more about the world we live in. 

The “Today I Learned” internet group is a gold mine for anyone who enjoys bite-sized nuggets of knowledge. Historical trivia, little-known facts, and cool science details all feature, so get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorite new facts and be sure to comment your thoughts below. 

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#1

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that priest Father Damien worked in Hawaii for 16 years, providing comfort to the lepers. He built homes and he treated lepers with his medical expertise. He prayed and comforted the dying. He later contracted leprosy but continued to give to the people and helped improve an orphanage.

LandscapeKind4598 , William Brigham Report

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jmstein101 avatar
Jim Stein
Jim Stein
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Father Damien is a somewhat distant cousin of mine. Our extended families are in/from Belgium and Luxembourg. I visited Kualapapa and took time to meditate a bit at his empty grave.

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    #2

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL due to efficient recycling processes, 75% of all aluminium produced world wide is still in use today

    ikilledmypc , Chad Davis Report

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    James Doe
    James Doe
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This should NOT be misunderstood as a free-pass to waste aluminum! It's extremely energy intensive to produce aluminum, don't waste it e.g. to wrap your lunch daily that you can simply put in a reusable box instead!

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    #3

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Emma Gibson, frozen as an embryo in 1992, was born in 2017 to a mother born in 1991.

    sanandrios , Amina Filkins Report

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    Despite their ubiquity, most people never stop to ask what makes a fact fun. Most of the time, particularly in school, facts were everything but fun, obnoxious, confusing, and on the test, which never really makes anything enjoyable. Even now, most people only enjoy trivia related to topics they are interested in and even then, within limits. 

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    But the real, original fun facts come from chewing gum, where self-proclaimed tidbits of information would be printed inside the wrapper starting from the 1970s. How fun or not these facts were is a question each person has to answer themselves, but in the pre-smartphone era perhaps entertaining someone, even for a few seconds, was easier. Regardless, the idea, much like gum, stuck and spread to other industries. 
    #4

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL That the Pink Panther cartoon show was created due to the success of the character in the opening credits of the Pink Panther films

    gnome512 , Official Pink Panther Report

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    #5

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL the humming noise produced by electricity is a different tone in Europe than it is in the US. The American electrical hum is a B-flat whereas the European electrical hum is a G

    Gapplesauce37 , Pixabay Report

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    mohsie avatar
    Mohsie Supposie
    Mohsie Supposie
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    American electricity is 60Hz. European electricity is 50Hz.

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    #6

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Adolphe Sax, the son of instrument designers, was prone to accidents. As a kid, he fell from a 3-story height, drank acidic water he mistook for milk, swallowed a pin, fell into a frying pan, was burned in a gunpowder blast, and fell into a river. He grew up to invent the saxophone.

    RedditPrat , Unknown author Report

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    As with most things in the world, even the word trivia has some degree of trivia about it. The ancient Roman “triviae” described a place or intersection where a road split into two new roads. Naturally, such areas would get a lot of traffic and become “public spaces” which morphed into “commonplace,” as there were no doubt many “triviae” dotted across that road-building empire. 
    #7

    TIL Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon.

    Proper_Contest_4035 Report

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    danivoogd avatar
    [>.<]/
    [>.<]/
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    TIL that Buzz Aldrin's mother (named Marion Moon) shot herself before his lunar flight because she didn't know if she could cope with his impending fame. He then fell into depression and alcoholism after his flight.

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    #8

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that when Will Smith was 12 his grandmother found his notebook of rap lyrics with curse words and wrote a note in it telling Will that truly smart people do not have to curse when expressing themselves. As a result he resolved not to use profanity in his music.

    astarisaslave , Gage Skidmore Report

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    #9

    TIL Teófilo Stevenson, widely regarded as the greatest Olympic boxer of all time, was offered a million dollars to defect from Cuba and fight heavyweight world champion Muhammad Ali. Stevenson declined, asking "What is one million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans?"

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    These days, trivial is still used to describe things that really aren’t that complicated. The connection between “trivial” and “trivia” comes from Medieval higher education, where “common” subjects, grammar, rhetoric, and logic, were referred to as “the trivia.” Naturally, a student at the time would no doubt have to memorize all sorts of “trivia,” a label that seems to have stuck.  
    #10

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Ancient Romans added lead syrup to wine to improve color, flavor, and to prevent fermentation. The average Roman aristocrat consumed up to 250μg of lead daily. Some Roman texts implicate chronic lead poisoning in the mental deterioration of Nero, Caligula, and other Roman Emperors.

    breadlof , Commonists Report

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    Billy Harrelson
    Billy Harrelson
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, the word plumbing comes from the Latin plumbum meaning lead as the pipes were all made of lead.

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    #11

    TIL at least one of the victims of the Vesuvius Eruption in 79 C.E was found with a vitrified brain. In other words their brain was turned to glass due to the extreme heat.

    Dragonbutt45 Report

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    #12

    TIL In 1973, Keith Moon, the drummer for rock band The Who, passed out in the middle of a show. A random guy from the audience named Scot Halpin walked on stage and filled in on drums to finish the show.

    Capable-Site-301 Report

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    However, about seven hundred years would pass between Medieval students and trivia as we see it today. In 1902, British aphorist Logan Pearsall Smith wrote “I know too much; I have stuffed too many of the facts of History and Science into my intellectuals. My eyes have grown dim over books; believing in geological periods, cave dwellers, Chinese Dynasties, and the fixed stars has prematurely aged me,” reflecting the overwhelming amount of knowledge he had accumulated. 
    #13

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL toilet paper wasn’t “splinter free” until the 1930’s

    Chewbock , Vlada Karpovich Report

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    #14

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL the biohazard symbol didn't symbolize or refer to anything originally. It's simply a shape that was picked as being symmetrical, hard to mistake, and easy to remember

    JM1210 , atluxity Report

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    #15

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Brooke Greenberg, who died in 2013, had ‘Syndrome X’, which made her remain physically and cognitively similar to a 1 year old, despite being 20 years old at the time of her death.

    _c4rdinal , Marcin Jozwiak Report

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    But it wouldn’t be until the 1960s that this idea would really take off as a means of general entertainment. A game titled “Trivia” was published on February 5, 1965, by Ed Goodgold, who also started some of the first contests with the help of Dan Carlinsky. As it always happens, the year, their names, and general information about “trivia” have all become trivia and fun facts. 
    #16

    TIL that in 2005, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia nominated a fire hydrant to run for the Board of Governors (and even acted as its "translator"). The hydrant pulled in 900 votes, missing a seat by six ballots.

    TheLeagueOfOwls Report

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    mycroft1967 avatar
    Mycroft1967
    Mycroft1967
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I was in college, they put name signs on everyone's doors in the dorm. To make thing interesting some of my friends put the name "Turner Heaton" on the utility room. He got newsletters from the Resident Assistant the whole year. I also understand they signed him up for a couple things on campus.

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    #17

    TIL that the place Julius Caesar was murdered, “Torre Argentina,” is now a cat sanctuary.

    _c4rdinal Report

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    soapsvonsoaps avatar
    SoapsVonSoaps
    SoapsVonSoaps
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've been there. You can't go into the ruins but you can see the place where he was stabbed. The cats live there and we went to the sanctuary as well, this was 5 years ago.

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    #18

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Women’s shirt buttons are on the left-hand side because wealthy women used to be dressed by their maids and it was easier to access.

    DwightKSchrute007 , Liza Summer Report

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    GettingCereal
    GettingCereal
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In those circles where women were dressed by maids, weren't men also dressed by valets?

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    #19

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that the Soviet space probe Phobos-2, , designed to explore Mars' moons, failed because 2 of its 3 computers died, and since it used a system where the computers voted on any decision, the 1 healthy computer was unable to outvote 2 dead computers

    casualphilosopher1 , Perminov, The Difficult Road to Mars Report

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    #20

    TIL the meerkat is the world's most murderous mammal with 20% of all meerkats being violently killed by another meerkat, most commonly their mother, sister, or aunt

    cwood1973 Report

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    rogersmary523 avatar
    Boredest Disabled Panda
    Boredest Disabled Panda
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow. Frankly I would have thought humans might take the top spot. But there's always meerkats to make me feel better about mankind!

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    #21

    TIL Song titles can't be copyrighted. You can legally title a song "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Stairway to Heaven", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or any other already used song title.

    TallEnoughJones Report

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    eyelessonex avatar
    Corvus
    Corvus
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How about mixing them up a little... e.g. "Smells Like Bohemian Heaven."

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    #22

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL; "Hello" came to prominence as a greeting with the invention of the telephone

    Technical-Split3642 , lensletter Report

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    #23

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that the least obese country in the world is Vietnam. Its obesity rates stands at only 2.1%, which is lower than Uganda (5.3%), and significantly lower than the U.S. (41.9%)

    VegemiteSucks , Richard Mortel Report

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    gerard julien
    gerard julien
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    USA : Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 73.6% (2017-2018) Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

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    #24

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL 98% of passengers involved in vehicle crashes in Dubai were not wearing seat belts

    Double-decker_trams , Mike Bird Report

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    aleksandarrobinson avatar
    PlatinumThe8-BitCat
    PlatinumThe8-BitCat
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don’t know much about Dubai but what I have learned is that it’s filled with idiot rich people

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    #25

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) Til Americans have accumulated $21 billion Worth of unused gift cards. Almost 2/3 of people have a card and half of those will likely lose the gift card before using it

    mankls3 , Mike Mozart Report

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    hawkmoon avatar
    Hawkmoon
    Hawkmoon
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That was the goal. That, or make you spend more than the gift card.

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    #26

    TIL that Bud Light's big marketing push in the 80s was Spuds Mackenzie, a dog presented as "a cool dude". Spuds was played by a female dog, named Honey Tree Evil Eye.

    AlwaysTheNoob Report

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    #27

    TIL Crows and other bird species will coat themselves in ants. Researchers aren’t sure why birds do this, but have called the process “anting”.

    Geek_Nan Report

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    PattyK
    PattyK
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Supposedly the ants’ formic acid kills things like bacteria, fungi, mites. Hasn’t been proven but hasn’t been disproven. Yet.

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    #28

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Charles Manson hypnotized Danny Trejo when they were in jail together.

    peezle69 , Gage Skidmore Report

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    #29

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Carrie Fisher’s ashes were placed inside a giant Prozac Pill

    NamelessMexican , IMDb Report

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    #30

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Edward Teller, the physicist who advocated for Oppenheimer to lose his security clearance suggested using nukes to create artifical harbours, fracking oil and preventing hurricanes

    RiseDarthVader , Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report

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    #31

    TIL The Goonies director Richard Donner was eager to return home to Hawaii after a hectic shoot with a cast of kids. He said "I love ’em to pieces, but I can’t stand it anymore!’ After shooting wrapped Steven Spielberg put the whole cast on a plane to Hawaii to surprise Donner before he got home.

    f_GOD Report

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    Verena
    Verena
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hate to be that person, especially with English not being my mother tongue ... but commas DO save lives, I guess. After shooting wrapped, Steven ... Or was he wrapped in a shooting?

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    #32

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Grizzly bears in Yellowstone help manufacturers to test if their products are really bear-resistant. If a bear were able to get in a container within that 60 minutes, then the manufacturer would have to go back to the drawing board.

    AccurateSource2 , Gregory Rogers Report

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    mathall avatar
    Mat Hall
    Mat Hall
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    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently it's hard to design a bear proof garbage can that people will use because there is significant overlap between the smartest bear and the dumbest human. (Also Tom Scott recently did a video about this, worth a watch.)

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    #33

    TIL; Flushing a toilet with the lid down could reduce airborne particles by as much as 50%.

    Technical-Split3642 Report

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    junkmayl avatar
    Feathered Dinosaur
    Feathered Dinosaur
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hope that's not news to most people. Folks, always close the toilet lid before flushing, you don't want your and other's poop particles to fly around

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    #34

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Arsenic was known to be dangerous and addictive in the Victorian Era, but small amounts in the form of edible wafers were thought to not only be safe but to help one achieve that sought-after pale complexion, giving the skin an "indescribable brilliancy" according to advertisements.

    TheQuietKid22 , Pacific Museum of Earth Report

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    #35

    TIL that humans have been wearing clothes for at least 40,000 years. We know this because human body lice can’t survive outside of clothes, and genetic evidence shows that they diverged from head lice 40,000-170,000 years ago.

    anon Report

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    junkmayl avatar
    Feathered Dinosaur
    Feathered Dinosaur
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If we'd all stayed in Africa where it's warm we wouldn't have needed these pesky clothes... Am I a nudist? Maybe

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    #36

    TIL health professionals are more likely than the public at large to buy generic painkillers, because they realize that they’re just as effective as name brands

    mankls3 Report

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    James016
    James016
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The advice regarding paracetamol etc in the uk is to just buy the cheapest as they are all the same. They have the same product licence number.

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    #37

    TIL a study on cocaine use challenged the belief that the drug induces weight loss by suppressing appetite. Cocaine users ate way more food than non-users yet this didn't increase their fat mass and they didn't gain weight. Researchers concluded that cocaine reduces the body’s ability to store fat.

    dustofoblivion123 Report

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    #38

    TIL just two of Dolly Parton’s songs (“Jolene” and “9 to 5”) gross about $6 million to $8 million per year in royalties

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    #39

    TIL Irish-American dancer and Michael Flatley's shows have grossed over a $1 Billion. He was forced to retire in '16 due to an irreparably damaged spine, injured left knee, a torn right calf, two ruptured Achilles tendons, a fractured rib, and a recurring broken bone in his foot.

    Bluest_waters Report

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    anubis1 avatar
    Hippopotamuses
    Hippopotamuses
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He paid a hell of a price. Even ballet dancers get off more lightly than that, and they really suffer for their art.

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    #40

    TIL that in 2019 the highest-paid public employee, in 40 out of the 50 United States, was a college football or basketball coach.

    shaka_sulu Report

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    danivoogd avatar
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Michael F. Bird @mbird12 Controversial thesis: If the highest paid person in your university or college is the basketball coach or the football coach, then it is not a university, it is a sporting franchise with a side hustle in tertiary education.

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    #41

    TIL that the town of Liberal Kansas was named after a local landowner who was called a liberal because he was very generous with his well water during droughts.

    NeutronicTachyon Report

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    #42

    TIL that bodies left in wet, cold conditions (often large bodies of water) go through a process of saponification, and fat deposits turn into soap.

    yaeba-chan Report

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    #43

    TIL that the xxx rating in america has never actually been recognised by the mpaa, and it was invented by adult movie studios to imply their films were more hardcore than normal x-rated films

    foulveins Report

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    #44

    TIL In 1978, a bolt got lodged in a bottlenose dolphin's (named Mr. Spock) throat during tank maintenance. With surgery ruled out as too dangerous, Northen CA theme park, Marine World, reached out to the Golden State Warriors 6'9" center, Clifford Ray, to use his long arm to retrieve the bolt.

    SFgiant55 Report

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    Pedantic Panda
    Pedantic Panda
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    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Took me a too long to realise this was his tank, not an army tank. Need coffee

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    #45

    TIL: Actor, and former WWE superstar Dave Bautista would hide inhalers under wrestling rings, to deal with his asthma, during matches.

    sova_77 Report

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    #46

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that “Pad kid poured curd pulled cod” has been dubbed the English language’s hardest tongue twister in 2018 by researchers at MIT, dethroning the previous champ “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.”

    pennylane_9 , Ron Lach Report

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    SkyBlueandBlack
    SkyBlueandBlack
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle, they call it a tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle.

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    #47

    TIL the most dangerous animal in australia is... horses! 7.7 deaths a year. Followed by cows then dogs

    bendi36 Report

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    #48

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that the Great Sphinx of Giza’s nose has been broken since at least the 1400s. A 15th century writer blamed the incident on the actions of a zealot in 1378. Archaeological evidence indicates the nose was broken off by rods or chisels.

    ProbablySomeBoomer , MusikAnimal Report

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    #49

    TIL that while the use of Lemons as a cure for Scurvy was published in 1753 the British Admiralty refused to use it until 1793, while the Merchant Navy ignored the discovery all the way up to 1867.

    Sebastianlim Report

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    PolymathNecromancer
    PolymathNecromancer
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And I recently learned that the first proofs of carbon dioxide trapping heat as "greenhouse gases" were published in 1857 and 1859; and as we know many folks in 2023 are still ignoring *that* discovery

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    #50

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL the U.S state of Rhode Island changed its name in 2020, and was the first state to ever do so

    beezinator , Kenneth C. Zirkel Report

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    PlatinumThe8-BitCat
    PlatinumThe8-BitCat
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wait, what part of the name was changed? Wasn’t it always Rhode Island?

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    #51

    TIL; There were no women special agents in the FBI from 1928 to 1972, as J Edgar Hoover banned the recruitment of women in 1924 and eased out the 3 women agents serving at that time

    watchful_tiger Report

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    #52

    TIL "The Bladerunner" is a medical crime story that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie Blade Runner. The movie is based on a novel called "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" The producers just liked the name "Blade Runner" and went with it.

    ColeBelthazorTurner Report

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    owenjarvis avatar
    Owen
    Owen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' is by Philip K D**k, and has very little similarity to the movie. Just a few things. But I think they're both awesome. Big cyberpunk fan.

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    #53

    TIL in the original sushi type dish, the rice was only to preserve the fish, and was discarded uneaten

    HyperHourGlass Report

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    #54

    TIL: Every year, about 30,000 people in the US lose a finger. The two most common causes: doors and power tools.

    YNot1989 Report

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    #55

    TIL that Marvin the Martian only made five appearances in the original run of Looney Tunes cartoons.

    TheKareemofWheat Report

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    #56

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that the original Apollo mission was concerned about losing the astronauts and capsule to quicksand on the Moon

    ParameciaAntic , Neil Armstrong Report

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    morel-joedee avatar
    More!
    More!
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’m very disappointed that there has been no quicksand anywhere I’ve ever been. I always thought it would be a major threat just like in the movies and tv shows I had watched when I was a kid.

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    #57

    TIL about the "resource curse", the phenomenon of countries with an abundance of natural resources having less economic growth, less democracy, and less development than countries with fewer resources.

    HappyHappyJoyJoy44 Report

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    censorshipsucks12 avatar
    censorshipsucks
    censorshipsucks
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    also known as aftermath of colonialism. Thanks, love from Africa.

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    #58

    TIL former US President John Tyler joined the Confederates in the American Civil War. Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederate States of America.

    firstpc13 Report

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    khawkes80 avatar
    KL Harrold
    KL Harrold
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Surely a much more interesting fact relating to John Tyler (born 1790) is that one of his grandsons is still alive (as of 8th August 2023) - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Ruffin_Tyler. John Tyler was 63 when his son Lyon was born in 1853, and Lyon was 75 when Harrison was born in 1928.

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    #59

    TIL the Eiffel Tower has been painted nearly twenty times. It’s been shades of red, yellow, brown, and grey, and has never been painted black.

    OccludedFug Report

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    #60

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading medical cause of death in college athletes, especially among males, African Americans, and basketball players

    mostly-sun , Wallace Chuck Report

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    #61

    TIL that Lake Superior holds 10% of the world's surface fresh water

    JoeyZasaa Report

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    Downunderdude
    Downunderdude
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    According to google, the largest lake by volume is Lake Baikal in Russia (23,610 cubic km) and Superior is 3rd (12,070 cubic km).

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    #62

    TIL that about a million traffic cones are stolen in the U.S. each year

    funcomfy Report

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    James016
    James016
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Somehow they end up with British university students 😛

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    #63

    TIL Lego almost went bankrupt in the 1990s but was saved in part by the unexpected success of Bionicle.

    sed_non_extra Report

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    #64

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL The Spanish Empire developed a long term plan to conquer China in the 16th century, a crucial part of the plan was to encourage mixed marriages between natives and settlers to turn China Hispanic and so easier to rule over.

    Dissidente-Perenne , Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz Report

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    #65

    TIL Blur's "Song 2" was intended to be a joke on their record company. To their surprise, the executives loved the song, released it as a single and it became one of their biggest hits.

    ColeBelthazorTurner Report

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    owenjarvis avatar
    Owen
    Owen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I got my head checked... by a jumbo jet... it wasn't easy

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    #66

    TIL the name "Great Sphinx" was given roughly 2,000 years post-construction. The original name given by its creators remains a mystery, as no inscriptions detailing its construction or purpose have been found.

    zz0cccc Report

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    #67

    TIL that the band Len was given $100k to film the music video for “Steal My Sunshine.” They flew two dozen friends to Florida and broke their hotel elevator loading all their alcohol into it. Then they just filmed themselves relaxing and riding around in the afternoons when the hangovers wore off.

    ProbablySomeBoomer Report

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    #68

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL playing just one day in the MLB gives players lifetime healthcare coverage while 43 days secures them an annual $34,000 pension.

    GoodSamaritan_ , Mandie Inman Report

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    mohsie avatar
    Mohsie Supposie
    Mohsie Supposie
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Giving more money and free healthcare to those who DON'T need it!

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    #69

    TIL that Japanese great tits have a unique alarm call for crows, martens and snakes

    Ardesten Report

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    #70

    Today I learned that, after Phil Hartman's death, the Simpsons staff considered casting Harry Shearer as the replacement voice actor for the character Lionel Hutz, but decided to retire Lionel Hutz instead.

    wimpykidfan37 Report

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    Wale Raji
    Wale Raji
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one hurts. Lost the guy who was in my 2 favorite shows, Simpsons and Newsradio.

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    #71

    TIL Of Xenophon, who was described as the greatest general that preceded Alexander the Great. Xenophon was the father of retreating and successfully led his 10,000 men out of Persia following betrayal and constant attacks by the Persians.

    jamescookenotthatone Report

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    Chris H
    Chris H
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    His men were mercenaries employed to fight on one side of a civil war only to find their employer had lost. They then executed a fighting retreat across half of persia. However, his account includes a lot of exaggeration as was common in military autobiographies, eg conflating the entire population of a region with the enemy army in the region. There was probably more negotiation and local assistance than he records but the feat remains impressive- good generalship includes maintaining discipline and cohesion in the face of adversity every bit as much as and perhaps more so than winning battles with ease.

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    #72

    TIL the T.V. show "The Simpsons" was originally meant to be set in Springfield, Oregon. The show's creator Matt Groening decided he liked the idea of a town that is ambiguous about its state, so he didn't keep that aspect of the lore.

    sed_non_extra Report

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    Upstaged75
    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's likely there's a Springfield in almost all of the US states. There's one in mine too!

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    #73

    TIL that in 1942, Manhattan Project needed 5000 tons of copper, which was in short supply; to avoid delays, it borrowed 430 million troy ounces of silver from US Treasury to be used in magnets. The silver was fully returned by 1970 as the equipment was decommisioned.

    SamsonFox_returned Report

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    foams_sequins-0x avatar
    Not-a-Clue (she/her)
    Not-a-Clue (she/her)
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't understand how borrowing silver helped with the short supply of copper - they are two different metals.

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    #74

    TIL The United States came to the aid of North Korea to fend off a pirate attack in 2007 off the coast of Mogadishu

    MidnightMass26 Report

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    #75

    TIL during WWII, German pilot Walter Nowotny managed to shoot down ten planes in one day twice and five planes in one day 17 times.

    fearlessphosgene Report

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    Mr. Cinder
    Mr. Cinder
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's just 19 days, the war lasted 6 years, what did he do on his day off?

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    #76

    30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL with the exception of three Canadian cities, Elvis Presley never performed outside the United States

    UrbanStray , Rossano aka Bud Care Report

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    #77

    TIL Canada developed the Ross Rifle because the British wouldn't give them Lee-Enfields during the 1899–1902 South African War. After the war the British urged Canada to switch to the Lee-Enfield but Canada refused. Ross Rifle proved ineffective in WW1 and Canada switched to the Lee-Enfield in 1916.

    jamescookenotthatone Report

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    JB
    JB
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Canadian soldiers would scavenge Lee-Enfields from the dead British. Also, you can still find active service WW1-era Lee-Enfields among the Inuit Canadian Rangers in the North.

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