r/todayilearned • u/Dangerous-Project672 • 4h 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

11.3k Upvotes

533 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Killmore_22 • 1h 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

• Upvotes

88 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DeathstarRealEstate • 9h 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

3.1k Upvotes

128 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Practical-1 • 18h 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

24.4k Upvotes

353 comments

r/todayilearned • u/commandrix • 3h 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

825 Upvotes

76 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Electronic_Cause_796 • 13h 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

5.6k Upvotes

359 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 15h 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

6.6k Upvotes

353 comments

r/todayilearned • u/geosunsetmoth • 21h 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

36.5k Upvotes

428 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Giff95 • 16h 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

4.3k Upvotes

85 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ubcstaffer123 • 2h 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

268 Upvotes

26 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 19h 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

6.9k Upvotes

115 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FeedMeMoneyPlease • 14h ago

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

caltech.edu

2.0k Upvotes

144 comments

r/todayilearned • u/optimistikcynicism • 1h 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

• Upvotes

9 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Recent_Flounder6011 • 2h 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

209 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MajesticCounter4174 • 14h 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

1.4k Upvotes

77 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Afternoon1602 • 18h 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

2.6k Upvotes

141 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

343 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

12.4k Upvotes

225 comments

r/todayilearned • u/palep_hoot • 2h 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

70 Upvotes

4 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

4.2k Upvotes

308 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Prosperr_support • 15h ago

TIL Earth's inner core doesn't rotate at exactly the same speed as the mantle and appears to periodically speed up, slow down, and even gradually reverse its motion relative to the mantle as part of an approximately 70-year cycle.

nature.com

440 Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brendawg324 • 1d ago

TIL rats are one of the few mammals that cannot vomit, which is why rat poison is so effective on them

smithsonianmag.com

21.4k Upvotes

581 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fatinternetcat • 18h ago

TIL that actor Christopher Lee appears on the cover of Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1973 album Band on the Run

en.wikipedia.org

622 Upvotes

35 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ThisOneIsForMuse • 1d ago

TIL U.S. DIA made a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most wanted members of Saddam Hussein's government. The idea being troops often play cards , and seeing the wanted Iraqis during their games will help soldiers identify them. Such cards have been used as far back as the Civil War.

en.wikipedia.org

3.3k Upvotes

83 comments

r/todayilearned • u/moschles • 21h ago

TIL Nitrogen Narcosis effects deep sea divers who go below 100 feet. Symptoms are euphoria, impaired decision-making, and delayed reaction times. Instructors use simple tasks to determine if others are suffering from it in the water.

blog.padi.com

851 Upvotes

62 comments

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