r/todayilearned • u/FullOfSound • 20h ago

TIL hand grip strength (HGS) is a premier biomarker. HGS is known to be connected to mortality, longevity, neuromuscular, cognitive and chronic disease.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

970 Upvotes

110 comments

r/todayilearned • u/IgnoreTh1sName • 20h ago

TIL there is a theoretical type of matter called "Strange Matter" that contains particles known as Strange Quarks. It can only exist in states of extremely high energy and pressure and is thought to be "contagious", meaning normal matter that comes into contact will convert into more Strange Matter.

en.wikipedia.org

840 Upvotes

130 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Lotnik223 • 1d ago

TIL that the story of the Trojan Horse is not mentioned in the Illiad and is only briefly mentioned in the Odyssey. The account of the Fall of Troy that is known today was written by the Roman poet Virgil in 1st century BC.

en.wikipedia.org

12.4k Upvotes

396 comments

r/todayilearned • u/jacknunn • 11h ago

TIL cheetahs once roamed much of Africa and Eurasia. As well as Africa, they still exist in the wild in the Middle East

nationalzoo.si.edu

148 Upvotes

19 comments

r/todayilearned • u/gonejahman • 20h ago

TIL the Capital Records building in Los Angeles is the first circular office building in the world.

en.wikipedia.org

500 Upvotes

46 comments

r/todayilearned • u/UgliestDisability • 3h ago

TIL that country star Dwight Yoakam made an uncredited, brief appearance in the film An Officer and a Gentleman as the lead singer of the Navy prom band, singing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree".

youtube.com

22 Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/PeasantLich • 23h ago

TIL that despite often being portrayed as near apocalyptic event in media, evidence shows that only a fraction of Pompeii's population died in the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. Majority of city's 30000 inhabitants probably fled in time and survived.

pbs.org

807 Upvotes

76 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Giff95 • 1d ago

TIL Hasbro created the term "action figure" in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys, while competitors promoted similar toys simply as "boys' dolls."

en.wikipedia.org

2.1k Upvotes

74 comments

r/todayilearned • u/AevnNoram • 23h ago

TIL Alexander the Great had a son, Alexander Aegus, born 3 months after Alexander died. Aegus was assassinated at age 14

en.wikipedia.org

782 Upvotes

36 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DryShare3412 • 1d ago

TIL A major Chinese dairy producer was found to have sold milk and infant formula contaminated with melamine

en.wikipedia.org

1.1k Upvotes

286 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sweet_Foundation_868 • 21h ago

TIL about Chad Rowan, a Hawaiian born sumo wrestler. He was the first non-Japanese wrestler to achieve yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo. As a yokozuna, Rowan also won 8 more championships, and was a runner up 13 times.

en.wikipedia.org

435 Upvotes

57 comments

r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 10h ago

TIL about Yukigassen, a snowball fighting-competition. Played between two teams of seven players, the goal of the game is to either capture the other team's flags or to eliminate all of the other team's players by hitting them. The JYF has been lobbying to include it as a sport in the WinterOlympics

en.wikipedia.org

55 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/seekinghelp14461 • 1d ago

TIL that none of Warren Buffett’s three children ever completed college

observer.com

4.5k Upvotes

332 comments

r/todayilearned • u/3_2_1 • 7h ago

TIL that before French novelist Marc Levy's debut book, If Only It Were True, was published, Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks acquired the film rights, later adapting it into the movie Just Like Heaven

en.wikipedia.org

21 Upvotes

0 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mopman43 • 17h ago

TIL The first recorded international Ice Hockey game took place in Burlington VT in 1886 on the frozen Lake Champlain.

hmdb.org

102 Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Stone-Smasher • 1d ago

TIL: Intentionality bias is our automatic human tendency to interpret ambiguous actions/accidental events as being done on purpose. When an action results in a negative outcome, people are much quicker to assume the person planned it maliciously, rather than considering accidents, lack of awareness.

en.wikipedia.org

346 Upvotes

61 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ubcstaffer123 • 20h ago

TIL In 1897, Gilbert Loomis became the first person to purchase car insurance from the Ohio Automobile Insurance Company. . The policy, which cost $5, protected Loomis in the event that his car caused damage to property or injured or killed someone

automotivehistory.org

115 Upvotes

6 comments

r/todayilearned • u/holyhackzak • 1d ago

TIL that a 14th century siege may have changed world history when plague infected corpses were catapulted into Caffa by invading Mongols. People escaping the city likely carried the Black Death to Europe. Considered one of the earliest examples of biological warfare.

en.wikipedia.org

378 Upvotes

14 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Adventurous-Root • 1d ago

TIL the Eiffel Tower is 700 tons heavier today than when it was built, purely because of 130 years of layered paint.

galvanizingeurope.org

9.8k Upvotes

217 comments

r/todayilearned • u/UndyingCorn • 1d ago

TIL While directing the film Skippy (1931), Norman Taurog had trouble getting his nephew Jackie Cooper to cry on cue, and thus had a studio security guard pretend to shoot Cooper's dog behind a prop wall. Taurog would later win the Academy Award for Best Director for the movie.

en.wikipedia.org

977 Upvotes

65 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Electronic_Cause_796 • 1d ago

TIL that in 1820, the Cato Street Conspiracy involved a plan by British revolutionaries to kill the entire UK Cabinet during a dinner, believing it would trigger a nationwide uprising. The scheme failed after a government spy exposed it.

en.wikipedia.org

447 Upvotes

8 comments

r/todayilearned • u/madd74 • 1d ago

TIL on October 2024, Taylor Farms announced a recall after it was linked to the E. coli outbreak from raw onions consumed at McDonald's. 104 people were impacted, including one death, with a FDA inspection finding numerous violations in food safety procedures at the Taylor Farms facility.

en.wikipedia.org

16.5k Upvotes

336 comments

r/todayilearned • u/SteO153 • 1d ago

TIL that for almost 200 years there were no carnival celebrations in Venice. The festival was outlawed in 1797 by Emperor Francis II and only returned in 1979, when the Italian Government brought it back

en.wikipedia.org

196 Upvotes

5 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 1d ago

TIL that actress Michael Learned was credited as "Miss Michael Learned" early in her career because producers were worried that the audience would be confused about her gender.

en.wikipedia.org

4.0k Upvotes

280 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Front_Requirement598 • 22h ago

TIL that Alex Gard's caricature of Ted Healy (Founder of The 3 Stooges) was the very first drawing displayed at Sardi's restaurant in New York City's Theater District. At the time, Ted Healy was the highest paid performer in Vaudeville, making $9 thousand ($166 thousand today dollars) a week.

en.wikipedia.org

87 Upvotes

27 comments

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