/f/todayilearned

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TIL that humpback whales have powerful flippers covered in sharp barnacles which they use as weapons to defend their young and fight off predators such as orcas and sharks.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by Glittering-Disaster t3_znms87 on December 16, 2022 at 7:25 PM

11 comments

147

TIL intercontinental ballistic missiles use celestial navigation to check and correct their course (initially set using internal gyroscopes) while flying outside the Earth's atmosphere.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by Captainmanic t3_1246hno on March 28, 2023 at 12:25 AM

29 comments

146

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 the derby between LA Galaxy and LAFC is nicknamed 'El Tráfico' due to the large amount of traffic in LA while also serving as a pun on 'El Clásico'

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by AlshHS t3_yab3t3 on October 22, 2022 at 1:57 AM

24 comments

146

TIL John Paul Jones, famed captain of the U.S. navy in the American Revolution, later became a rear admiral in the Russian navy.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by Rufusisking t3_zt3ep0 on December 23, 2022 at 1:52 AM

15 comments

145

TIL that in 1950, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, synthesized a highly radioactive element by bombarding curium-242 with alpha particles. They named this new element "Californium" and its discovery was initially kept classified due to its potential military uses.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by theID10T t3_11u107i on March 17, 2023 at 7:24 PM

8 comments

144

TIL The Temple of Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple that was dismantled and rebuilt in the center of Madrid, Spain. It was moved due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the consequent threat posed by its reservoir.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by iboughtarock t3_yhtyaq on October 30, 2022 at 11:33 PM

10 comments

144

TIL about 'Quahog Day', when Doug the Quahog predicts how many days of sunshine Cape Cod will get over the summer

capecod.com

Submitted by SteO153 t3_11dj8e4 on February 27, 2023 at 6:40 PM

17 comments

143

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 that St. John's University's sports teams formerly being called the Redmen actually referred to the team wearing red uniforms and not Native Americans as often interpreted. Regardless, the mascot name was changed to the Red Storm in the 90s.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by J_S_M_K t3_10olrok on January 29, 2023 at 11:12 PM

17 comments

143

TIL that Beatrice Straight won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 1976's "Network," despite appearing on-screen for just five minutes and 40 seconds.

grunge.com

Submitted by Lagavulin16_neat t3_z4wfi9 on November 26, 2022 at 3:10 AM

9 comments

143

TIL: On the day of his audition to sing for ACDC, Brian Johnson also sang a Hoover vacuum commercial

ultimateclassicrock.com

Submitted by balaclavaloungeparty t3_yk7r2u on November 2, 2022 at 3:09 PM

16 comments

142

TIL Blondie's music video for the 1981 song Rapture featured Jean-Michel Basquiat as Grandmaster Flash did not show up for the video shoot and Basquiat was hired instead.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by trifletruffles t3_yiofhy on October 31, 2022 at 8:45 PM

6 comments

142

TIL the United States also gifted France with their own Statue of Liberty

atlasobscura.com

Submitted by Bigdstars187 t3_11waz22 on March 20, 2023 at 6:36 AM

17 comments

141

TIL The natural history museum in Dublin, Ireland is known as ‘The Dead Zoo’

dublin.ie

Submitted by trinerr t3_yf3z0b on October 27, 2022 at 9:29 PM

8 comments

141

TIL one of the proposed scientific names of Neanderthals was Homo Stupidus

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by Thylocine t3_z20rrk on November 22, 2022 at 6:21 PM

14 comments

139

TIL the Japanese United Red Army conducted an internal purge of its members in 1972, killing 12, including 1 member killed for asking for tissues.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by JakeyZhang t3_10hm6m0 on January 21, 2023 at 8:05 AM

23 comments

138

TIL about the Schienenzeppelin, a train powered by a rear-mounted propeller similar to a helicopter, capable of reaching 140 km/h (87 mph). Designed in 1930s Germany, it was intended to be a futuristic mode of transportation but never entered service due to technical issues and WWII

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by pooterpon t3_zzbddv on December 30, 2022 at 9:00 PM

13 comments

138

TIL The first mid-air refueling occurred in 1923 by the US Army Air Core between two bi-planes.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by muadeebpaul t3_y90j2t on October 20, 2022 at 2:59 PM

11 comments

138

TIL that The sex of birds is determined by the Z and W sex chromosomes, rather than by the X and Y chromosomes present in mammals. Male birds have two Z chromosomes (ZZ), and female birds have a W chromosome and a Z chromosome (WZ).

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by treeofliife t3_zpuqoq on December 19, 2022 at 3:35 PM

16 comments

137

TIL that the first colour frames in a film were used to be hand painted, by female artists.

goldenglobes.com

Submitted by Knight_TheRider t3_z3oyg2 on November 24, 2022 at 4:56 PM

14 comments

137

TIL It takes 20 years for clothing to be considered "vintage" and today’s most sought-after vintage styles are ‘90s and early ‘00s

refinery29.com

Submitted by Ok_Copy5217 t3_122w5v4 on March 26, 2023 at 7:09 PM

60 comments

136

TIL Pedestrianism was a 19th-century form of competitive walking, often professional and funded by wagering, from which the modern sport of racewalking developed.

bbc.com

Submitted by I-Skeleton t3_11a1woz on February 23, 2023 at 4:30 PM

11 comments

136

TIL that 3 of the 5 most recent U.S. presidents were all born within months of each other, 4/5 in the same decade

nps.gov

Submitted by wizeowlintp t3_115zb6g on February 19, 2023 at 2:35 AM

18 comments

136

TIL The longest word in the English language, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, which is a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine silica particles.

en.wikipedia.org

Submitted by mic3ttaa t3_zzn3vr on December 31, 2022 at 6:05 AM

31 comments

136