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

20 Upvotes

0 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

152 Upvotes

19 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/johntwit • 19h ago

TIL that Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder, was an early Libertarian and is considered one of the three "founding mothers of the American libertarian movement" along with Isabel Paterson and Ayn Rand

en.wikipedia.org

2.5k Upvotes

499 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

86 Upvotes

27 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brutal_Deluxe_ • 20h ago

TIL Sandy Balls is an estate near the New Forest in Hampshire, England. First mentioned during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509) as "Sandyballas", it is now run as a holiday camp

en.wikipedia.org

57 Upvotes

3 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

57 Upvotes

3 comments

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/ArminNikkhahShirazi • 21h ago

TIL the paranasal sinus epithelium contains an enzyme that continuously generates large amounts of nitric oxide (NO), which may inhibit pathogen growth and stimulate mucociliary activity. NO is also involved in regulating blood pressure.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

43 Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/real_picklejuice • 5h ago

TIL that the water inlet on a Bombardier CL-415 Super Scooper firefighting airplane is only about the size of your hand

tsb.gc.ca

89 Upvotes

12 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 17h ago

TIL that in 2018, a 14-year-old girl named Cindy Redmond had an air horn blasted into her ear by her friend's stepfather after she wouldn't get off her phone. This caused her to develop hyperacusis, a rare hearing disorder which makes any small noise cause her immense pain.

people.com

29.9k Upvotes

1.1k 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

800 Upvotes

76 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

498 Upvotes

46 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Coverlesss • 2h ago

TIL about the Münchhausen trilemma - The philosophical argument that all attempts to prove something true eventually rely on circular logic, endless regress, or an unsupported assumption.

en.wikipedia.org

835 Upvotes

241 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

119 Upvotes

6 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

838 Upvotes

130 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Redd1928 • 16h ago

TIL about the Great Hedge of India (or Indian Salt Hedge), which was a customs barrier built by the British colonial rulers of India to prevent smuggling of salt from coastal regions.

en.wikipedia.org

1.0k Upvotes

41 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mors_Acerba • 8h ago

TIL Elizabethan era theater was directly influenced by the then recent re-discovery of the roman era tragedies written by stoic philosopher Seneca. Despite that, Seneca's tragedies later felt into disrepute again because of their strong horror elements, especially the grotesque displays of violence

en.wikipedia.org

412 Upvotes

28 comments

r/todayilearned • u/UndyingCorn • 8h ago

TIL Because radio coverage was banned at the 1939 Academy awards, George Fischer from LA’s KHJ radio station locked himself in a booth and was able to broadcast for about 12 minutes before security guards broke down the door. Partial radio coverage was restored for the 1942 ceremony.

en.wikipedia.org

2.4k Upvotes

33 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Gnomeslikeprofit • 19h ago

TIL that traffic lights are called "robots" in South Africa and other African countries. Directions can be given such as "Turn right at the 2nd robot".

drivesouthafrica.com

1.2k Upvotes

139 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Zaptagious • 21h ago

TIL the robber Jeffrey "Roofman" Manchester who evaded custody by living inside stores, left a single fingerprint in his secret living quarters: A DVD of "Catch Me If You Can".

en.wikipedia.org

9.7k Upvotes

226 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sweet_Foundation_868 • 1h ago

TIL that Mark Cuban purchased the town of Mustang, Texas for 2 million dollars.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

38 comments

r/todayilearned • u/its-a-Luigi-time • 20h ago

TIL that Carl Sagan was an occasional user of cannabis, and wrote an essay under the pseudonym ‘Mr. X’ to try and help dispel common myths about the effects of cannabis.

organism.earth

1.2k Upvotes

44 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Dizzy-Cartoonist3011 • 2h ago

TIL one of the most popular actors in China is Mark Rowswell (stage name: Dashan), a Canadian comedian. He is often considered the most famous foreigner in the country. He is largely unknown in North America.

en.wikipedia.org

5.5k Upvotes

310 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fotogneric • 3h ago

TIL that English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) coined the words "international," "maximize," "minimize," "codify", "marginalize," "bicameral," and many others.

ucl.ac.uk

820 Upvotes

77 comments

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