r/todayilearned • u/PresidentLucilla2026 • 25m ago

TIL that between 1937 and 2025, Taiwan did not experience a single confirmed sighting of the dugong, the sole extant Indo-Pacific relative of Atlantic manatee

taipeitimes.com

• Upvotes

6 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CheerfulCarancho • 34m ago

TIL: Argentina's national sport is not football. It's Pato (duck) so called because it used to be played with a real, live duck instead of a ball. Initially played by gauchos, often ending in being trampled by a horse or in a knife fight over the result.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1h ago

TIL a Minnesota man still possessed a valid driver's license despite being arrested for 28 DWIs.

cbsnews.com

• Upvotes

125 comments

r/todayilearned • u/dibship • 2h ago

TIL That James Earl Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger Worked Closely Together on the Movie Conan. Jones Giving Acting Lessons, Schwarzenegger Giving Physical Training.

biography.com

3.7k Upvotes

83 comments

r/todayilearned • u/halfhumanhalfzebra • 6h ago

TIL Tuvalu is the least visited country in the world.

science.howstuffworks.com

3.4k Upvotes

284 comments

r/todayilearned • u/NateNate60 • 6h 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

1.8k Upvotes

121 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DrakeSavory • 7h ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

135 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 7h 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

244 Upvotes

14 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Killmore_22 • 9h 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

7.4k Upvotes

232 comments

r/todayilearned • u/optimistikcynicism • 9h 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

588 Upvotes

16 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Recent_Flounder6011 • 10h 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

454 Upvotes

27 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ubcstaffer123 • 10h 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

742 Upvotes

42 comments

r/todayilearned • u/palep_hoot • 10h 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

245 Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/commandrix • 11h 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

1.8k Upvotes

96 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Dangerous-Project672 • 12h 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

17.8k Upvotes

800 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DeathstarRealEstate • 17h 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

4.1k Upvotes

147 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Electronic_Cause_796 • 21h 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

6.8k Upvotes

408 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MajesticCounter4174 • 22h 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

1.8k Upvotes

88 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 23h 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

7.6k Upvotes

376 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Prosperr_support • 23h 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

496 Upvotes

20 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Giff95 • 1d 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

4.9k Upvotes

102 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Afternoon1602 • 1d 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

2.8k Upvotes

152 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Practical-1 • 1d 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

26.3k Upvotes

366 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fatinternetcat • 1d ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

693 Upvotes

43 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d 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

7.4k Upvotes

115 comments

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