/f/todayilearned

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TIL that snooker was invented by a British army officer named Neville Chamberlain. He was a distant cousin of Neville Chamberlain, who would become famous for being Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

irelandseye.ie

Submitted by Mr_BeardedBread t3_10meq6r on January 27, 2023 at 7:02 AM

11 comments

119

Today I learned about Bazoul in Burkina Faso, where crocodiles are revered and played with by local children

news18.com

Submitted by fender8421 t3_10o1bhg on January 29, 2023 at 6:50 AM

19 comments

175

TIL that Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 crashed due to an explosion that has yet to be solved after 57 years. All 52 passengers and crew members died.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by icantthinkofaname940 t3_10nvyml on January 29, 2023 at 1:57 AM

7 comments

175

TIL Pinky and the Brain was inspired by the peculiar personalities of two WB producers, Eddie Fitzgerald and Tom Minton with interesting mannerisms that were incorporated into the characters

marketresearchtelecast.com

Submitted by QueenBee299 t3_10fwpqx on January 19, 2023 at 8:38 AM

66 comments

775

TIL that Microsoft's first operating system was Unix-based

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by GriffinFTW t3_10j43bk on January 23, 2023 at 4:46 AM

37 comments

TIL Yanjin is the narrowest city in the world

france24.com

Submitted by Spudcommando t3_10obp5t on January 29, 2023 at 4:30 PM

6 comments

TIL of the Medieval candle time clock, before electricity, a nail was placed at certain places on the lengths of the candle and people would hear the nail hit the ground when lit, letting them know a certain amount of time had passed.

mymodernmet.com

Submitted by FlashyBehind t3_10nfr8t on January 28, 2023 at 2:00 PM

24 comments

1,014

TIL that Albert Severin Roche, who was initially rejected by the French Army for being "too puny", was publicly called "the first soldier of France" by General Foch in 1918 for his heroism in WWI

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by AnselaJonla t3_10nmpcf on January 28, 2023 at 7:04 PM

15 comments

236

TIL that World War II Spitfires only had about 20 seconds of 'gun time' before running out of ammo, making most movie depictions wildly inaccurate

flightjournal.com

Submitted by TimmyIsBaller t3_10lwt2v on January 26, 2023 at 5:07 PM

89 comments

526

TIL in Japan you can rent a Super Mario go kart and drive through the streets of Tokyo, whilst dressed as Super Mario characters.

tokyocheapo.com

Submitted by exporterofgold t3_10mpy96 on January 27, 2023 at 5:03 PM

22 comments

315

TIL the "empty London" scenes in 28 Days Later were achieved by filming at dawn and simply asking people to stop walking through shots, as there was no room in the $8m budget to actually shut down any parts of the city.

screenrant.com

Submitted by jerryleebee t3_10o423k on January 29, 2023 at 9:45 AM

No comments

TIL Jonny Greenwood pretended to play keyboards for months when he joined Radiohead. He was told "I can’t quite hear what you’re doing, but I think you’re adding a really interesting texture"

nme.com

Submitted by btb331 t3_10kvi6f on January 25, 2023 at 10:19 AM

78 comments

1,828

TIL to decide what measurement system America should use, John Quincy Adams took 3 1/2 years to produce a 268 page Report on Weights and Measures that ultimately concluded changing to the French metric system would be too difficult for the young nation. Congress took no action on the report.

shannonselin.com

Submitted by iamveryDerp t3_10m91c7 on January 27, 2023 at 1:56 AM

116 comments

516

TIL Robert De Niro paid a dentist $5,000 to have this teeth ground down to look more menacing for Cape Fear. He later paid $20,000 to have his teeth restored once production was complete

faroutmagazine.co.uk

Submitted by TheFrederalGovt t3_10nzpb7 on January 29, 2023 at 5:16 AM

No comments

TIL the Eiffel Tower is over twice the height of the Tallest Pyramid of Giza

kevinmuldoon.com

Submitted by t0rden-X t3_10mmtuq on January 27, 2023 at 2:57 PM

20 comments

TIL Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt once during a White House event, commandeered an airplane, and went on a joyride to Baltimore.

amightygirl.com

Submitted by No_Visit8945 t3_10kslzn on January 25, 2023 at 6:59 AM

84 comments

1,915

TIL in 1947, the Canadian town of Snag, Yukon, saw a temperature of -83F (-64C). It was so cold, you could hear people speaking 4 miles away, along with other phenomena such as people's breath turning to powder and falling straight to the ground and river ice booming like gu shots.

canadashistory.ca

Submitted by accidentaldeity t3_10nwods on January 29, 2023 at 2:33 AM

No comments

TIL that in 1930 astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto and in 2007 his ashes were aboard the first spacecraft sent to explore it.

hopesandfears.com

Submitted by Emu_Enough t3_10n7h75 on January 28, 2023 at 5:44 AM

24 comments

600

TIL that in 2017 former NBA star Kevin Garnett showed up at the sentencing of his accountant Charles Banks to provide him with moral support upon his conviction for defrauding NBA star Tim Duncan of $7.5 million. Garnett later learned that Banks have also defrauded him of $77 million.

mysanantonio.com

Submitted by HCMXero t3_10nudhn on January 29, 2023 at 12:38 AM

No comments

TIL The Indian dish Vindaloo originates from the Portuguese dish "Carne de Vinha D’alhos" which was brought to India by Vasco da Gama who also introduced chilli peppers to India.

wearenotfoodies.com

Submitted by memboww t3_10khnym on January 24, 2023 at 10:03 PM

29 comments

484

TIL that Haiti and Lichtenstein showed up to the 1936 Olympics with the exact same flag, which they had both been using for decades without knowledge of the similarity

worldatlas.com

Submitted by Rickerpool t3_10mt7us on January 27, 2023 at 7:12 PM

43 comments

635

TIL that pink "peppercorns" are actually the berries of a plant in the cashew family, and can be dangerous to people with tree nut allergies.

yummymummyclub.ca

Submitted by dorkphoenyx t3_10m4glx on January 26, 2023 at 10:26 PM

7 comments

143

TIL John Byner was originally cast as Mork from Ork on Happy Days, but found the premise ridiculous and quit days before filming, leading Robin Williams to be called in last minute

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by LoneRangersBand t3_10lzl7z on January 26, 2023 at 7:04 PM

67 comments

475

TIL about medically unexplained symptoms, almost 1/4 of all people who visit a GP in the UK have phsyical conditions that cannot be explained

nhs.uk

Submitted by gorge_orwoll t3_10kkoa1 on January 25, 2023 at 12:09 AM

132 comments

146

TIL Monty Python reunited for Monty Python Live (Mostly) (2014) because they suddenly owed £800,000 pounds to Mark Forstater over Spamalot royalties. The ten shows were their first live ensemble performances in 34 years.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by jamescookenotthatone t3_10ngvmm on January 28, 2023 at 2:53 PM

No comments