20 Times The ‘Today I Learned’ Community Shared Incredible Facts
More info: Reddit
#1
“TIL The pika is a small rodent that collects plants and dries them out in the sun to store them for winter.”
#2
“TIL Christine Maggiore founded the HIV/AIDS denialism group Alive and Well. Maggiore herself then died of aids in 2008.”
#3
“TIL I learned that the the town of Boring (Oregon, US) established relationship with village of Dull (Scotland, UK) in 2012; the following year they were joined with the Shire of Bland (New South Wales, AU) to form the League of Extraordinary Communities.”
#4
“TIL after the fires that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many insurance companies tried to avoid covering the losses, except for Lloyd’s of London: “Pay all of our policyholders in full, irrespective of the terms of their policies.” This cemented Lloyd’s reputation in the U.S.”
#5
“TIL In 2000, when the cast of “Friends” wouldn’t come down from their $1,050,000/episode salary demands, NBC’s Garth Ancier produced promos saying “You’ve loved them for seven years, see how it all ends with the series finale of Friends this Thursday”. The cast agreed to lower salaries.”
#6
“TIL about a painkiller present in human saliva called Opiorphin which is stronger than Morphine.”
#7
“TIL about the Pizzly Bear, a Polar and Grizzly Bear hybrid. This hybrid species isn’t sterile and can actually procreate.”
#8
“TIL King Charles & Prince William always travel in separate planes in case there is a crash, one needs to survive.”
#9
“TIL during World War II, Papua New Guinean ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ carried 750 wounded up/down the Kokoda Trail. They prioritized feeding patients & built shelter with 4 sleeping on each side at night. No known injured soldier was ever abandoned by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, even during heavy combat.”
#10
“TIL of Solomon Islander Jacob C. Vouza. During WW2, he was captured by the Japanese during the Guadalcanal Campaign, tied to a tree, bayoneted, and left for dead. He then chewed through the ropes with his teeth and made his way to American lines warning them about an impending attack. He survived.”
#11
“TIL that while ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson peaked at #3 in Australia, ‘Eat It’ by Weird Al Yankovic peaked at #1”
#12
“TIL in 2018 a mom put out an ad to borrow an orange cat so her kids could have “a lasagna dinner with Garfield” and succeeded.”
#13
“TIL in the early 1930s, Cadillac’s policy was to not sell cars to black people. In 1933, Nicholas Dreystadt, a middle manager at General Motors, crashed a GM executive committee meeting and convinced them to drop the policy and instead market to black people. Sales increased by 70% within a year.”
#14
“TIL that ginkgo trees are a symbol of hope and tenacity in Japan, as they were one of the few living things to survive the nuclear bomb at Hiroshima.”
#15
“TIL that Wild European hamsters in Vienna, Austria have learned to survive harsh winters by feasting on the oily, protein-filled candles left by mourners in gravesites.”
#16
“TIL that the deepest scuba dive of all time was 1,090 feet, set by Ahmed Gabr in 2014. It took him nearly a decade to properly prepare for the dive. While the descent took only 15 minutes, the ascent back to the surface took over 13 hours.”
#17
“TIL in 1656 Boston, a ship’s captain was sentenced to sit in the stocks for two hours because he had engaged in “lewd and unseemly behavior” on the Sabbath. Upon arriving home on a Sunday after a three-year voyage at sea, Captain Kemble had kissed his wife.”
#18
#19
“TIL Anti-climb paint, a class of non-drying oil paint, was developed in the 1960s. It can take over 3 years to dry, It is used to prevent trespassing and mark trespassers as it is very difficult to remove.”
#20
“TIL the first U.S official coin in circulation, the Fugio Cent, had the motto “Mind Your Business” instead of “In God we Trust”.”
Saumya Ratan
Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.
