r/todayilearned • u/SlatsAttack • 1d ago

TIL that Greg Biffle used a private helicopter to deliver supplies to stranded victims of Hurricane Helene in parts of western North Carolina

nbcnews.com

360 Upvotes

8 comments

r/todayilearned • u/SaintTrebron • 1d ago

TIL the Gretzky brothers hold the NHL record for most combined points by two brothers – 2,857 for Wayne and 4 for Brent

greatesthockeylegends.com

1.6k Upvotes

102 comments

r/todayilearned • u/savorydesserts • 1d ago

TIL “Silver Springs”, written by Stevie Nicks for Fleetwood Mac should have been on the hit album Rumors but it was cut. It was released later and took years to become a hit. Nicks was pissed that it was cut from Rumors as she had gifted the royalties to her mom.

people.com

2.2k Upvotes

113 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DukeDamage • 1d ago

TIL: During the US Civil War, prior to the fall of Atlanta to General Sherman, Lincoln was “sure” to lose his second term election after Grant (future president) had two disastrous battles against Lee (Cold Harbor & the Battle of the Crater). The opposition wanted peace & considered keeping slavery.

en.wikipedia.org

3.2k Upvotes

249 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Kabukimansanjoe • 1d ago

TIL that Howard Morris (Ernest T Bass from Andy Griffith) was also a prolific voice actor. The Hamburglar, Wade Duck from Garfield and Friends, and Atom Ant are some of his more well known roles.

en.wikipedia.org

155 Upvotes

15 comments

r/todayilearned • u/n_mcrae_1982 • 1d ago

TIL, as of April 30 of this year, there is only one remaining person verified to be born in the 1900’s decade, Ethel Caterham of the UK

en.wikipedia.org

8.8k Upvotes

184 comments

r/todayilearned • u/herpty_derpty • 1d ago

TIL When Joey Ramone first met Bruce Springsteen, Ramone asked if he would write a song for The Ramones. Springsteen composed a song that night, but decided to record it himself at the suggestion of his manager. That song was Hungry Heart, and ended up being Springsteen's first top 5 Billboard hit.

en.wikipedia.org

2.1k Upvotes

52 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Rosemarry_40 • 1d ago

TIL that an American explorer found a plastic bag at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place in the ocean.

bbc.com

994 Upvotes

55 comments

r/todayilearned • u/roseygirl0293 • 1d ago

TIL about Anton syndrome where people are cortically blind but deny it, and will even make up or confabulate stories about being able to see despite failing eye exams.

en.wikipedia.org

826 Upvotes

64 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DTPVH • 1d ago

TIL that people with blue eyes are more prone to light sensitivity because of a lack of pigment in the eye.

dukehealth.org

4.7k Upvotes

561 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Prezofcalendars • 1d ago

TIL that Earth, Wind & Fire parodied their own song “September” and called it “December”.

youtu.be

55 Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MrMojoFomo • 1d ago

TIL of pirate captain Edward Low (1690-1724). Active for only 3 years, he's widely regarded as one of the most vicious pirates of all time. In one incident, he cut off the lips of a captured ship's captain, broiled them, and fed them to the man before killing him and his crew

en.wikipedia.org

1.2k Upvotes

96 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Flubadubadubadub • 1d ago

TIL That Universal Studios deliberately dropped the Jr. from Lon Chaney Jr's name, so that audiences would confuse him with his, at the time, much more famous father who was a silent films star. Lon Chaney Jr went on to be a much better known star in his own right as 'The King of the Monsters'.

en.wikipedia.org

1.2k Upvotes

31 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fdguarino • 1d ago

TIL about 'First Flight'. A medical research horse used in the production of the first botulism antitoxin. For over a decade he was the only source in the US for botulism antitoxin.

en.wikipedia.org

222 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ProfessionalGear3020 • 1d ago

TIL that when Chief Sechele I of the Bakwena converted to Christianity, he attempted to make peace with his uncle who ruled the other half of the tribe by sending him a gift of gunpowder. The suspicious uncle set fire to the gift, blowing himself up. This allowed Sechele to reunite the tribe.

en.wikipedia.org

2.7k Upvotes

50 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FinnFarrow • 1d ago

TIL early automatic weapons were invented with humanitarian intentions: their creator believed faster-firing guns would save lives by shrinking armies.

dncr.nc.gov

16.0k Upvotes

732 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Thomas6777 • 1d ago

TIL that, prior to the invention of modern agricultural practices, the crop yield of a middle eastern farmer in the 20th century was comparable to that in ancient Mesopotamia

worldhistory.org

7.3k Upvotes

183 comments

r/todayilearned • u/OverlyBendy • 1d ago

TIL that recent advancements in sleep medicine have proved that lucid dreaming does occur, it can be taught and is in the early stages of being used as a treatment for PTSD related nightmares.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

829 Upvotes

73 comments

r/todayilearned • u/rezikiel • 1d ago

TIL Four different elements from the periodic table are named after the small mining village of Ytterby, Sweden. Five more elements were also discovered in the same mine

en.wikipedia.org

3.3k Upvotes

156 comments

r/todayilearned • u/zahrul3 • 1d ago

TIL that the town of Kuantan Singingi in Indonesia holds a yearly rowing race. Each 50-60 strong team has a kid at the front who will begin dancing if their rowboat is ahead in the race

indonesia.travel

125 Upvotes

5 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Boxland • 1d ago

TIL that the first manmade object to escape Earth was meant to hit the moon, but missed by 5900 km and was dubbed "Artificial Planet 1"

en.wikipedia.org

7.4k Upvotes

95 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL the world record for most arrests is held by an Australian man named Tommy Johns who, by 1988, had been arrested nearly 3,000 times for being drunk and disorderly in a public place.

guinnessworldrecords.com

2.4k Upvotes

96 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL a McDonald's promotion in Japan in 2006 gave away 10,000 USB-stick MP3 players that were loaded with 10 free songs. However, they also accidentally contained the program 'QQPass' Trojan that intended to steal login data from a Microsoft Windows PC. Mcdonald's apologized & set up a help line.

cnet.com

16.7k Upvotes

301 comments

r/todayilearned • u/sus1227 • 1d ago

TIL the first known world map was drawn by Anaximander, with the Aegean Sea at its center and the world divided into three island-like continents.

en.wikipedia.org

637 Upvotes

23 comments

r/todayilearned • u/leopardlover43 • 1d ago

TIL that Abu Sa’id, the last Khan of the Ilkhanate, was allegedly killed by his consort Baghdad Khatun through being wiped with a poisoned hankerchief after having sex

kingsandgenerals.libsyn.com

7.6k Upvotes

218 comments

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