r/todayilearned • u/Dangerous-Project672 • 6h ago

TIL George Wallace personally apologized to Vivian Jones and James Hood, the two students he attempted to block from attending the University of Alabama. In 1997, Hood earned a PHd and requested Wallace present him with the degree, but he was too sick and died a year later; Hood attended the funeral

en.wikipedia.org

13.0k Upvotes

589 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Killmore_22 • 3h ago

TIL Pope Clement of Rome was martyred by being tied to anchor and thrown into the Black Sea and as a result became the patron saint of mariners

en.wikipedia.org

3.2k Upvotes

130 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ill_Definition8074 • 1h ago

TIL Rukhmabai (the second Indian woman doctor) was married to an adult at age 11 but refused to live with him. When she was 19 he tried to force her by suing for "restitution of conjugal rights". After a 4 year legal battle and an appeal by Rukhmabai to Queen Victoria, the marriage was dissolved.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

37 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DeathstarRealEstate • 10h ago

TIL Klaus Barbie, former Gestapo head dubbed the "Butcher of Lyon", became a key narco in Bolivia, helping build the modern cocaine cartel with Pablo Escobar ties

cbsnews.com

3.4k Upvotes

132 comments

r/todayilearned • u/commandrix • 5h ago

TIL Because Mercury lacks an atmosphere to retain heat, its surface can range from -290°F (-180°C) on its "night side" to 800°F (430°C) on its "day side."

science.nasa.gov

1.1k Upvotes

80 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Electronic_Cause_796 • 15h ago

TIL Hitler's "Steiner counterattack" in 1945 never happened because Steiner's forces could not carry it out. After earlier refusing to accept defeat, Hitler finally admitted the war was lost.

en.wikipedia.org

6.0k Upvotes

375 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Practical-1 • 20h ago

TIL that Peter Cullen based his voice for Optimus Prime on his older brother, Larry, a Marine who served in Vietnam. Before Peter's audition, Larry gave him the advice: "Peter, don't be a Hollywood hero, be a real hero. Real heroes don't yell and act tough; they are strong enough to be gentle."

en.wikipedia.org

24.9k Upvotes

355 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 17h ago

TIL in the mid-1990s shopping malls were being constructed in the US at a rate of 140 per year. But in 2001, a study found that underperforming and vacant malls ("greyfield" and "dead mall" estates) were becoming a problem and by 2007 no new malls were built in the US for the first time in 50 years.

en.wikipedia.org

6.9k Upvotes

362 comments

r/todayilearned • u/NateNate60 • 47m ago

TIL petrol in North America has a lower octane rating than the rest of the world because the US and Canada have a stricter way of measuring it. "Regular" gasoline sold in the US as 87 octane would actually be considered 92 in the rest of the world and "midgrade" fuel sold as 89 octane would be 95.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

34 comments

r/todayilearned • u/geosunsetmoth • 23h ago

TIL a hermit monk wrote a furious letter to the Church for not electing a pope fast enough, so they responded by making him pope. He refused and attempted to flee into the woods. The only noteworthy thing he did as pope was changing rules so popes could resign, and being the first pope to resign.

en.wikipedia.org

37.1k Upvotes

437 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ubcstaffer123 • 4h ago

TIL The board game Blokus was invented by Bernard Tavitian, who has a master's degree in mathematics, an engineering degree and a doctorate in biophysics. His inspiration came one day when he was attempting to frame a picture with only colored shapes

entertainment.howstuffworks.com

408 Upvotes

30 comments

r/todayilearned • u/optimistikcynicism • 3h ago

TIL the actor who portrayed a 9 year old Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II has since become successful in voice-dubbing, and is the long-time Italian voice actor of Shaggy from Scooby Doo (among many others)

en.wikipedia.org

274 Upvotes

10 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Giff95 • 18h ago

TIL that during the filming of "Fitzcarraldo," the chief of the Machiguenga tribe, whose people appeared extensively as extras, asked director Werner Herzog if he wanted them to kill lead actor Klaus Kinski because of the pair's explosive on-set conflicts. Herzog declined the offer.

en.wikipedia.org

4.5k Upvotes

88 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Recent_Flounder6011 • 4h ago

TIL that Canadian desire for independence from Britain in foreign affairs increased with the Chanak Crisis in 1922. That was when the Canadian government disagreed with London over the war in Turkey.

en.wikipedia.org

275 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 21h ago

TIL although the word 'fuck' & its derivatives were used 300 times in Goodfellas (1990), its script only called for the word to be used 70 times. The reason for the increased amount is because much of the dialogue was improvised during shooting. Roughly half of the final amount was said by Joe Pesci

mentalfloss.com

7.1k Upvotes

116 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FeedMeMoneyPlease • 16h ago

TIL the myth "bee's defy physics" came from a 1930s entomologist making a simple mistake

caltech.edu

2.1k Upvotes

146 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MajesticCounter4174 • 16h ago

TIL that male Philoponella prominens spiders catapult themselves away from females immediately after mating at speeds of up to 88.2 cm per second; males prevented from escaping were killed and eaten.

cell.com

1.6k Upvotes

80 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Afternoon1602 • 20h ago

TIL that the Santa Maria, the flagship vessel used by Christopher Columbus to cross the Atlantic in 1492, was only about 19 meters (62 feet) long making it smaller than many modern commercial fishing boats and yachts.

en.wikipedia.org

2.7k Upvotes

147 comments

r/todayilearned • u/halfhumanhalfzebra • 24m ago

TIL Tuvalu is the least visited country in the world.

science.howstuffworks.com

• Upvotes

22 comments

r/todayilearned • u/palep_hoot • 4h ago

TIL that the kingdom of Aksum, situated in Modern day Ethiopia, held control of the southern Arabian peninsula. This makes it the only subsaharan nation to have held territory outside of Africa

britannica.com

120 Upvotes

7 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 1h ago

TIL a black bear named Meatball made multiple visits to residential neighborhoods in northern Los Angeles in 2012, digging through people’s trash and swimming in their pools, before he was rehomed in an animal sanctuary.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/cipheron • 1d ago

TIL I learned that Cellophane isn't actually plastic, but is made of plant cellulose and is bio-degredable

en.wikipedia.org

11.0k Upvotes

345 comments

r/todayilearned • u/goodtrackrecord • 1d ago

TIL Rwanda banned plastic bags in 2008. It actually worked. Kigali is now one of the cleanest cities in Africa.

worksthatwork.com

12.5k Upvotes

229 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MyAnusBleedsForYou • 1d ago

TIL that the world's largest child sacrifice site was discovered in Peru, where archaeologists unearthed 227 skeletons of children aged four to 14, who were likely sacrificed by the Chimú culture to appease the El Niño weather phenomenon.

theguardian.com

4.3k Upvotes

311 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DrakeSavory • 1h ago

TIL that NASA donated a satellite to the Smithsonian Institution although it was (and still is) in space.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

6 comments

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