TIL there was a briefly popular social movement in the early 1930s called the "Technocracy Movement." Technocrats proposed replacing politicians and businessmen with scientists and engineers who had the expertise to manage the economy.

ZenithTSF , Social Security Administration Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that In 2018, A hacker broke into people’s routers (100,000 of them) and patched their vulnerabilities up so that they couldn’t be abused by other hackers.

smoke-season , facts Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that Walmart tried and failed to establish itself in Germany in the early 2000s. One of the speculated reasons for its failure is that Germans found certain team-building activities and the forced greeting and smiling at customers unnerving.

ylenias , TaurusEmerald Report

POST

View more comments

TIL the earliest known name for a pet was Nedjem, a cat owned by Puimre high priest of Amun in the 15th Century BC. Nedjem translates to 'the sweet one', meaning the very first named pet was a Sweetie.

ZizZizZiz , 2nd Chance for Strays Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that STAR WARS released a Christmas music album in 1980 and the producers wanted a better lead singer for the track "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas" so they asked the 17 year old kid who was sweeping floors at the studio, and he nailed it. His name was Jon Bon Jovi.

Anadyne , 949whom Report

POST

View more comments

TIL of Ida & Isidor Straus, a couple aboard the Titanic the night it sank. Isidor had a chance to join his wife on a life boat, but stayed behind to give his place away to a child. Ida, refusing to leave her husband behind, too left the life boat. They died together arm in arm when the ship sank.

Unfair_Programmer_42 , wikimedia Report

POST

View more comments

TIL That Historians Believe Cats Domesticated Themselves

PlopCopTopPopMopStop , kieutruongphoto Report

POST

View more comments

TIL orcas cultural fads. In the 1980s one such fad was wearing dead salmon as hats. It spread to three separate Pacific pods before suddenly going out of style.

Milt_Torfelson , thestranger Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that while filming The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger went into a LA restaurant in battle-damaged Terminator makeup. He asked for a table in character and since no one knew who the Terminator was yet, the host and everyone in the restaurant started freaking out, screaming, and quickly left

SappyGilmore , elperiodico Report

POST

View more comments

TIL octopus have nine brains – one mini-brain in each arm and another in the center of their bodies. Each arm can independently taste, touch and perform basic movements, but all arms can work together when prompted by the central brain.

fiureddit , Ashley Christiano Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that in 2002, Chumbawamba accepted $100k from General Motors for the rights to use one of their songs in a Pontiac commercial. The band then donated it to a corporate watchdog group that used the money to launch an information campaign against GM.

archarbor , telegraph Report

POST

View more comments

TIL about John Smeaton, a former baggage handler at Glasgow Airport. He helped thwart the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack by kicking one of the attackers in the groin. He was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his actions.

WouldbeWanderer , thescottishsun Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that playing Tetris after a traumatic event can help prevent post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Blade_982 , Brandenads Report

POST

View more comments

TIL In 2013 a couple walking their dog in California found 8 coffee cans containing over 1,427 gold coins worth over $10 million. The original source of the hoard is still unknown.

Jd20001 , Kagin's Inc Report

POST

View more comments

TIL of the 1850 shipwreck of the Jenny Lind on a South Pacific coral reef. 28 people survived for 37 days on a tiny patch of sand because a passenger created a water distillation system from salvaged cookware capable of making 25 gallons a day of freshwater.

triviafrenzy , LittleT889 Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that the choir in the title sequence of Mr Bean is singing ‘Ecce homo qui est faba’, which translates to ‘Behold the man who is a bean.’ in Latin.

W1ngedSentinel , classicfm Report

POST

View more comments

TIL In Scotland, two students went to an art exhibition and left a pineapple on a table to see if it would become art. When they returned four days later, the pineapple was still there and had been covered with a glass display case

nerdy_subha , LloydJack16 Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that 'Nothing' was a Shakespearean nickname for the Vulva... 'Much ado about Nothing' could just as easily have been called 'A lot of fuss about Fannies'

ArcTan_Pete , Shakespeare Memes Report

POST

View more comments

TIL in the original German ending of the fairy tale Snow White, the evil queen is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes and dance until she drops dead.

Skeleton_Pilots , Landsbókasafn Íslands Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that Austrian actress Eva von Berne was presumed to be dead for 70+ years because a PR consultant at MGM accidentally reported her death in 1930. 96-year-old von Berne said in 2006: "It was fortunate that the world thought that I died. So I did not have to deal with autograph hunters."

ylenias , imdb Report

POST

View more comments

TIL of Chaser, a border collie whose tested memory was the highest of any non-human animal. She could identify and retrieve 1022 different toys based on name and category.

dragonoid296 Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that International Shooting Union barred women from shooting with men in 1993, after Zhang Shan won the gold medal in Skeet Shooting in 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Fan387 , Tasnim News Agency Report

POST

View more comments

TIL after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS West Virginia battleship was salvaged six months later. During the salvage operation, a calendar was discovered in an airtight room indicating three sailors survived for another 16 days after the event.

customlord , U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships Report

POST

View more comments

TIL about Empires of the Deep, an $130 million mermaid movie from 2011 that's never been released

JeffRyan1 , mubi Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that in the 17th century, when coffee had made its way to Europe, some people reacted to it with suspicion or fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.” In 1615, the clergy in Venice asked Pope Clement VIII to intervene. He found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.

LadyWarrior73 , chinoproduct Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that all clownfish are born as males. One female lives with a group of males but only mates with one of them. When she dies her mate will become female. This change is irreversible.

Tall_Cow2299 , Nick Hobgood Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that every employee at the Hanford Engineer Works in Richland, WA donated one day's worth of their pay to purchase a B-17 bomber, as their contribution to the WW2 effort. The plane was christened 'Day's Pay' and flew over 60 missions in Germany

Geeledouche52 Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that a set of triplets found each other coincidentally after being separated at adoption for a pyschological experiment, when a college student mistook one of the triplets for his unknown brother. Once the two reunited, the unusual story made the paper catching the attention of the third brother

KiNikki7 Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that there is a German man named Marc Wubbenhorst who must drink 20 liters of water every day in order to not die from dehydration. He suffers an extreme case of diabetes insipidus.

JurassicPark9265 , tlc uk Report

POST

View more comments

TIL the world's oldest terrarium / sealed bottle ecosystem has been thriving since 1960. The 10-gallon bottle is like a mini Earth. It has only been opened once in 53 years to add a bit more water (in 1972). Otherwise it has been sealed without fresh water or air.

logicalconflict Report

POST

View more comments

TIL in 2013, Italian surgeons split new residents into two laparoscopic surgery training groups. They found that the group that was ordered to play the Nintendo Wii for 1 hour a day/5days a week performed better on test surgeries than their non-gaming counterparts.

Radient-Rabbit , Greyson Orlando Report

POST

View more comments

TIL of socialite Ida Wood: in 1907 she emptied her 1 million dollar bank account(21 million in today's money), declared she was “tired of everything" and shut herself in a hotel room along with her sisters. She stepped out of the room for the first time 24 years later

Ainsley-Sorsby , biblio Report

POST

View more comments

TIL about Grizzly 399. A female bear from the Grand Tetons that bucks the trend of living into her old age and giving birth to triplets instead of twins. She chooses to live in close proximity to humans for their protection and has become a social media celebrity and tourist attraction.

shaka_sulu Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that there's a species of wasp called the horse guard wasp. It is found in the eastern US and acts as a natural biological control by hanging around horses and killing horse flies. Despite their loud buzzing noises, horses are not disturbed by them.

ReturntoPleistocene Report

POST

View more comments

TIL The Ninja Turtles are a parody of Daredevil (Marvel). Daredevil and the turtles were both created in the same radioactive material accident, and Daredevil fights 'The Hand' while the turtles fight 'The Foot', and Daredevil's sensei is called 'Stick', while the turtles' is called 'Splinter'

firstpc13 , imdb Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that when the submarine ARA San Juan disappeared in 2017, initial search crews picked up a banging noise at the search site, like tools hitting metal. After analyzing the audio, it was determined the sound was not from the submarine and was probably from a biological source.

PabloTheUnicorn , Martin Otero Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that orcas have a culture that they pass down to their offspring and they also have variations in vocalizations similar to languages and dialects in humans

MudakMudakov Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City is so long with such tall towers that the top of the towers are 1 5/8 inches farther apart at their tops than at their bases. This is because the distance between the towers made it necessary to compensate for the earth’s curvature.

Selimsnek Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that they stopped putting missing children on milk cartons because the threat was largely overblown, was mostly ineffective, had no requirements for what missing meant, was emotionally disturbing to families, and was done mostly for the tax credits.

ProbablyABore , desmoinesregister Report

POST

View more comments

TIL Peppers evolved to prefer birds spread their seeds. Capsaicin and pepper colors attract birds. Seeds that pass through the digestive system of a bird germinate at a rate of 370% higher than seeds that pass through mammals who are normally repelled by Capsaicin.

pdentropy Report

POST

View more comments

TIL: Antilia is one of the most expensive private residences in the world, costing over $1 billion. The billionaire had his entire family live in the 27 story home which requires 600 servants and has 168 car garage, 9 elevators, a theatre, pool, ballroom, and snow room. It was built on an orphanage.

Flares117 , https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/antilia-b%C3%A2timent-mumbai-inde-4878391/ Report

POST

View more comments

In 2001, a New York couple got married on the deck of the Titanic, in a submarine. They faced criticism that their stunt was in "bad taste."

GarysCrispLettuce , hindustantimes Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that Sigourney Weaver only earned $35,000 for Alien (1979) but got $1,000,000 and a share of the profits for Aliens (1986)

Make_the_music_stop Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that Rüppell's griffon vulture has the highest documented altitude of any bird at 36k feet. Unfortunately this information was discovered after a Boeing 747 took the bird into the engine over western Africa.

TrackerDyl Report

POST

View more comments

TIL - The Onion submitted a 23-page Amicus Curiae brief to the US Supreme Court in 2022 for the case Novak v. City of Parma, Ohio, in support of the protection of parody as free-speech. In the text, The Onion openly parodies the Court and says it is "staffed entirely by total Latin dorks".

stdubbs Report

POST

View more comments

TIL game designer Will Wright (creator of The Sims) held the record for the illegal 'Cannonball Run' race to drive across the US in 1980, driving from New York to California in 33 hours 9 minutes

LotusCobra , nbc Report

POST

View more comments

TIL Paris has more than 44000 restaurants, with an approximate population of 2.14 million residents, that’s 48 people for every restaurant.

Moto_Rouge , Pierre Blaché Report

POST

View more comments

TIL that only $2 was budgeted toward safety training for the crew of MV Sewol, the South Korean passenger ferry which sank in 2014 killing 306 people. This was used to pay for a paper certificate.

rugrats1989 , gcaptain Report

POST

View more comments

TIL there are 20 mountains over 23,000 ft in the world that have never been climbed.

Babatikidido1212 , Sultanalipassu Report

POST

View more comments

TIL 200,000 to 600,000 pets were estimated to have been left behind in the evacuations from hurricane Katrina, as people were not allowed to take pets with them and pets were not allowed in sheltering places.

Moodfoo , buzzfeednews Report

POST

View more comments