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We believe it's fair to say that there's always something new to learn for every person here on earth. This is why communities like Reddit's 'Today I Learned' (TIL) offer a trove of astonishing revelations that might have escaped our attention.

For instance, were you aware of the local Indonesian mythology bit that suggests Orangutans possess the capacity to communicate in human languages? However, they consciously decide not to, in fear they would be captured and obligated to work (fair on them, to be honest).

Or how about the captivating fact that Brazil holds the record for the most frequent showers? Statistics indicate that an average Brazilian takes a shower roughly every 12 hours. Oh, and if you're considering an investment, it might surprise you to learn that unopened Lego sets typically yield better returns than gold (the more you know, right?). These snippets from 'Today I Learned' are just a fraction of what we have in store for you today, Pandas.

#1

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that in the 60's the Italian Ministry of Education broadcasted a TV show titled "It’s Never Too Late", aimed to teach older people how to read and write. An estimate of 1.5 million people got their elementary school diploma thanks to it

u/italossthnellada , Andre Moura Report

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#2

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL the Australian Navy formally enlisted a six-year-old girl in order to give her medical treatment onboard a navy ship; regulations did not allow for civilians to get medical treatment on navy ships. The girl's official rating was 'mascot', and she was 'discharged' after 8 days of 'service'.

Mafhac , navy.gov Report

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KitKat
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As Australia has free free health care, looked this up. The full story: www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2013/02/14/3690581.htm

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#3

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL-WW1 had Mercy Dogs. Mercy dogs were dogs that would locate wounded men in no man's land and bring medicine, food, water and/or stay with the dying so no they wouldn't die alone. Each army had them

mojobolt , W. E. Mason - Dogs of all Nations Report

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

I thought they were "putting you out of your misery" mercy dogs. Like trained to snap your neck in one swift bite or something.

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#4

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Mr. Rogers answered every fan letter, starting his day at 5 AM to respond to 50-100 daily, including those from children dealing with personal issues like family deaths.

tothewindsor , cbc Report

#5

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL DeForest Kelley, who played Dr McCoy in Star Trek, wanted to become a doctor, but couldn't afford medical school. He regularly received letters from fans who went into medicine because of him and said "to influence the youth of the country ... is an award that is not handed out by the industry"

haddock420 , NBC Television Report

#6

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL: Local Indonesian mythology says that Orangutans actually have the ability to speak human languages, but choose not to, fearing they would be forced to get jobs and work if were they ever caught.

SilentWalrus92 , David Gonzales Report

#7

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that the creator of Rocket Raccoon is institutionalized due to brain damage from a hit and run in 1992. When Marvel made "Guardians of the Galaxy," the compensation package they offered ensured care for the rest of his life.

BrickHerder , Comics calendar Report

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

Not is institutionalised, was. That compensation pulled him out of the institution and he now has full in-home care, living next door to his guardian.

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#8

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL in 1973, a Harvard astrophysicist suggested that we won't discover more advanced civilizations because they don't want us to find them and have the technology to ensure we never do. They have also set aside our planet as a zoo wherein they can observe us. He coined this idea the Zoo Hypothesis.

u/dustofoblivion123 , Olena Bohovyk Report

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#9

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL the United Nations declared drinking water as a human right...in July of 2010.

u/jhertz14 , Miriam Alonso Report

#10

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL The role of April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation was specifically created for Aubrey Plaza after the casting director met her and felt she was the weirdest girl she had ever met in her life.

TheQuietKid22 , David Shankbone Report

#11

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Unopened Lego sets have a higher return than gold.

Durtbag420 , Henry Burrows Report

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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My!
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unopened boxes aren't any fun. You all soft can-openers know you need us to bat the Lego pieces under the sofa. Come on, admit it.

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#12

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL elephants are the only wild animal that understands pointing without human training

u/blankblank , Carlos Salavert Report

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

This isn't exactly 100% true. It is the "training " part that makes it misleading. Many other animals point or understand it, but usually they have to be exposed to it, as in observe a human or their own species doing it. But all of them do not need, or are not "trained" to do it. It is a skill they pick up from observing and adapting to their environments. All primates have been observed point from infancy, without any specific training to do so. Dogs.and wolves understand pointing also without being trained to do so. There are also breeds of dogs that pont at game when hunting, which is an instinct. I can say that we bread dogs to have this particular instinct.

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#13

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL an Austrian man was held for 18 days without food or water (the world record for surviving) because the police forgot about him. He lost 53 lbs (24 kg.)

u/snowflake247 , RDNE Stock project Report

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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My!
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was arrested, I weighed 550 lbs. They put me in the suicide watch cell, as my mom thought I might try to kill myself. They gave me a mat and something that resembled a bullet proof vest. I sat on the toilet until it hurt too badly, then I sat on the mat. I could not get up. They brought food and drinks to the hole in the door. I couldn't get up to get it. I couldn't use the toilet I was leaning against. After a couple of days, the trustee serving meals begged the guards to let her come in and give the food trays to me. They said no. For four days, I had no access to food, water, or toileting. It took three big burley men to pull me to my feet the fourth day, when I was taken to the psychiatrist for evaluation. He asked me why I thought they were torturing me.

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#14

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL By the 1700s, aristocrats started eating tomatoes, but they were convinced the fruits were poisonous because people would die after eating them. In reality, the acidity from the tomatoes brought out the lead in their pewter plates, and they actually died of lead poisoning

TheQuietKid22 , Arjun Sreekumar Report

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Laugh or not
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The reason tomatoes were thought to be poisonous, as well as potatoes, is because they are solanaceae and members of that family in Europe are mostly poisonous - Belladonna, Mandragora, etc. And most of the tomato plant is poisonous. The fruits are not.

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#15

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL about "Terminal Lucidity." The unexpected return of mental clarity and memory shortly before the death of patients suffering from severe psychiatric and neurologic disorders

Psy-Demon , Anna Shvets Report

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

My Dad had Alzheimer's, it was unbelievably cruel & heartbreaking to witness.

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#16

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Great White Sharks have poison resistance that defies logic. Samples of shark blood showed levels of arsenic and mercury that should be harmful if not deadly but the sharks were unaffected. Additionally Great Whites' have impressive self-healing abilities

u/jamescookenotthatone , Terry Goss Report

#17

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that the Pythagorean theorem must have been known before Pythagoras, because it is used in a proof on a Babylonian clay tablet dated about 12 centuries before the birth of Pythagoras.

yoyo456 Report

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Stardust she/her
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In places like India, China and Egypt, people had been using the theorem centuries before Pythagoras was born

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#18

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Louis Braille faced resistance towards and doubts about his writing system for the blind, called Braille. His school burned books he and his classmates had transcribed into Braille, since the school thought that the effectiveness of Braille was a threat to their revenue.

u/RollingNightSky , Unknown Report

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

The school's revenue, btw, was selling crafts made by the students. Beng literate would mean that the students would become more independent and so the school could no longer take advantage of them.

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#19

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that instead of taking their usual salaries for ''Twins'', Schwarzenegger and DeVito both agreed with the studio to take 20% of the film's box office returns which resulted in them receiving the biggest paychecks of their film careers ( movie made $216 million worldwide)

cartstanza , universalpictures Report

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#20

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that If two pieces of similar metals touch in a vacuum, and if both pieces are perfectly flat and polished, they will indeed fuse to effectively make one new piece. This is called cold welding.

solvingproblem_ , Szalax Report

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

This is what happens to me when I sit down on a comfy couch and someone tosses a blanket over me

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#21

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that after large animals went extinct, such as the mammoth, avocados had no method of seed dispersal, which would have lead to their extinction without early human farmers.

anon , Lisa Fotios Report

#22

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL when US President Harding died unexpectedly in 1923, Vice President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office at 2:47 AM, and promptly returned to bed.

firstpc13 , Calvin Coolidge Report

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

A practical thing to do given he couldn't tweet about it. And if they did that a 3 in the morning then the staff were likely exhausted from the events / night that led up to that.

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#23

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL The firm who repaired seat covers on San Francisco's BART trains started paying people to slash the fabric, eventually accounting for 85% of vandalism reports

penguinopusredux , thechronicle Report

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

That is sad. I got to ride on BART when it was almost brand new and it was rather nice. Not 'fancy' nice - I mean everything was new / clean / in good shape.

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#24

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL there are no bridges across the Amazon River

u/COKEWHITESOLES , Jeff Stapleton Report

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

This has nothing to do with the width changes. The reason is much simpler : the river IS the main transport route. There is no road networks that need to be connected, only a few local roads. Everything is done on the Amazon by boats, why would you need a very expensive bridge at a specific location when you need and can cross the river everywhere.

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#25

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL space stations smell like “combinations of antiseptic, garbage, and body odor.”

EverbodyHatesHugo , NASA Report

#26

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Bed bugs were all but eradicated in the developed world in the 1950s but had a resurgence in the 1990s due to factors including increased international travel, lack of public awareness

u/ubcstaffer123 , Pixabay Report

#27

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that some pirate codes forbid the crew from seducing a woman, sneaking her on board the ship and taking her out to sea. This offense was punishable by death.

OldSailor74 , Pixabay Report

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Serial pacifist
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pirates founded the first contemporary democratic state in Nassau. They would elect and depose their leaders based on a majority vote of both men and women (not a case with many modern democracies until the 20th century). No one objected and all followed the rule. Not a single pirate ever tried to say the elections were rigged 🙄

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#28

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that our voice has a considerable influence on how we are perceived by other people. A single spoken word is enough to obtain personality ratings that are highly consistent across independent listeners. Based on voice samples, AI can predict how a speaker tends to be perceived by other people

u/VarunTossa5944 , George Milton Report

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

That explains a lot. Such as why I only keep the friends I almost exclusively communicate via text with...

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#29

TIL giraffes only sleep about 4 hours a day in 5-15 minute power nap sessions (because lions)

xanadukeeper Report

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E. S. Drendl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder if that's also true of giraffes in captivity since lions aren't preying on them.

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#30

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Brazil is, by far, the country that takes the most showers. On average, a Brazilian showers every 12 hours.

Thessiz , Andrea Piacquadio Report

#31

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL the US Navy sold 2 obsolete aircraft carriers to scrap dealers for a cent each because they were very expensive to dismantle and recycle.

Algrinder , Jaxon Matthew Willis Report

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

I can relate. I have an old RV I'm trying to decide what to do with.

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#32

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL in the United States, obesity rates decline the higher above sea level an area is.

Ethanlac , Andres Ayrton Report

#33

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Freshwater snails carry a parasitic disease, which infects nearly 250 million people and causes over 200,000 deaths a year. The parasites exit the snails into waters, they seek you, penetrate right through your skin, migrate through your body, end up in your blood and remain there for years.

Motor-Anteater-8965 , James St. John Report

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#34

TIL about Tim Friede, the Venom Man. Tim flatlined from two back to back cobra bites in 2001. He was revived and decided to become immune to snake venom in hope of creating a universal antivenom. He has taken 200+ fang bites and 500+ needle injections from lethal cobras, mambas, kraits and taipans.

nolmathi Report

#35

TIL wild blueberry farming in Maine traditionally involved burning the fields every year, a technique learned from the Passamaquoddy tribe, since most of the plant mass is underground

N8CCRG Report

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

Interesting. Was this to beat back other competing growth? I live in an area that grows a LOT of blueberries and they let the bushes grow. It actually takes a few years for the bushes to be full size. Not sure how long but like at least 2 or 3. I've watched a couple of fields near me get planted and then slowly grow to their 'normal' size.

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#36

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL: During the filming of 'Dexter,' actor Jimmy Smits accidentally grabbed a real knife and stabbed a stuntman in the chest; the stuntman survived unharmed due to the blade hitting a post-it note sized piece of plastic covering his heart.

FairchildIV , Showtime Report

#37

TIL 601 Lexington Avenue—once the 7th-tallest building in the world—was in danger of being toppled over by high winds due to a structural error. It was secretly fixed and the public had no idea anything was wrong until an article about it came out decades later.

u/GroundbreakingSea960 Report

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

No good would come from notifying every body about every single little problem.

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#38

TIL that Shattered was a British TV series where ten contestants were challenged with going without sleep for seven days. Due to sleep deprivation contestants became hostile and irrational and one believed himself to be the Prime Minister of Australia. The winner was awake for 178 hours

u/9oRo Report

#39

TIL in 1815 B.C. it took about a year for Sumerian scribes to learn how to multiply. They also signed and dated their homework.

u/Sentience-psn Report

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

Do Sumerian scribes multiply in a different way than other people? I mean it took me just few biology classes to figure that...

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#40

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL 1 out of every 8 Americans is Californian.

Nodebunny , Ketut Subiyanto Report

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#41

TIL the highest coefficient of inbreeding among the Habsburg dynasty was 0.3053 from Maria Antonia of Austria. Her coefficient was higher than that of a child born to a parent and child, or brother and sister.

GreenFlagMan Report

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

Was that Marie-Antoinette, ill-fated Queen of France? She was Maria-Antonia of Austria before her marriage.

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#42

TIL That Spanish noble women used to eat clay pots, the habit caused a paler complexion (due to anemia), which was considered attractive, It also served as contraceptive (Since the negative health effects caused a delay in menstrual cycles). Eating the clay pots caused death in some cases

u/RIU5758 Report

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

Tik-Tok challenges before there was a tik tok. "Aw c'mon Mary, eat some more. It's not like it's a Tide pod!"

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#43

TIL that the Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards has a pre-show ritual, where he must eat a shepherd’s pie. In 1989, when the band was set to perform in Toronto, Richards noticed that someone ate his pie. He refused to go on stage until a new pie was baked for him by the band’s culinary staff

waitingforthesun92 Report

#44

TIL that roughly 1/3 of Japan's population live in just the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

blllrrrrr Report

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Pedantic Panda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Monaco, an even larger portion of the population lives in the capital city.

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#45

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL Nissan Motors sued an individual, Uzi Nissan, over ownership of the "nissan.com" domain name. Uzi ultimately won the legal battle, but it took eight years and cost him $3 million.

instilledbee , Wiiii Report

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#46

TIL that when Thomas Jefferson was in the White House he kept a flock of sheep on the White House lawn and one of them took the life of a small child

u/m_faustus Report

#47

TIL In the 18th century, there was a practice in England known as "wife-selling." This unusual custom involved a man publicly auctioning off his wife to the highest bidder, often in a marketplace or a tavern. It was sometimes seen as a humorous way to escape an unhappy marriage

GDW31 Report

#48

TIL that 21 out of the last 31 U.S. elections, the tallest person was elected President

u/_MostlyHarmless Report

#49

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL the average's person's metabolism doesn't decline until their 60s

Oapish , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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

I can find that 'fact' on the internet but I can tell you from my own experience and most people I know my age that you will likely feel changes long before 60. For me it was about 43 I think. Obviously I have less energy now than I did 20 years ago- it is an ongoing thing. But stuff like easily losing a few pounds started getting harder in my 40s

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#50

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that the domain name "CarInsurance.com" holds the record for being the most expensive domain name ever sold, fetching a price of $49.7 million in 2010.

bringmeturtles , Markus Spiske Report

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Anyone-for-tea?
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s not, it’s cars.com which sold for $872 million. I was looking into domain flipping, but I don’t think it’s worth it these days.

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#51

40 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Might Save You At The Next Trivia Night (New Pics) TIL that in 2011 a court in the U.K. banned a man with a 48 IQ from having sex determining that he didn't have the mental capacity to understand the health risks associated with his actions.

tyrion2024 , EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA Report

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Kira Okah
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No no no! It was through the Court of Protection! The case was debating if he could GIVE INFORMED CONSENT to sex because HIS CARER WAS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIM!

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