Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 15:49

TIL that the mechanical shark in Jaws (1975) was nicknamed Bruce (after Spielberg’s lawyer). It required 14 operators and frequently sank and jammed, earning the film crew's nickname for the production: "Flaws." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 12:49

TIL Charles Lightoller was sucked back into Titantic, “he was pinned against the grating for some time by the pressure of the incoming water, until a blast of hot air from the depths of the ship erupted out of the ventilator and blew him to the surface.” He later fought in WW1 and WW2. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 11:49

TIL that shaving your head doesn't make the hair grow back thicker and darker. Cutting the blunt tip just looks coarser; the follicle’s growth rate and color stay the same. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 09:49

TIL the 1979 Pink Floyd album "The Wall" was inspired by an altercation in Montreal in which Roger Waters spat at a rowdy group of fans near the stage. He was shocked at his own behavior and how fame had changed him, and he began speaking of building a wall between the band and the audience. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 06:49

TIL that Woodrow Wilson is the only former Confederate citizen to be elected President. Born in Virginia in 1856, and serving from 1913-1921, he is the last President to be born into a slave-owning household. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 04:49

TIL for the past 4 years, Americans have picked The Weather Channel as the news source they trust the most (49% for 2025) [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 02:49

TIL "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) was a box office disappointment, earning only $16 million against a $25 million budget during its initial theatrical run, resulting in a loss of $9 million. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 01:49

TIL that Hetty Green, also called the “witch of Wall Street,” was incredibly rich, yet she continued to live in inexpensive lodgings, avoiding any display of wealth and seeking medical treatment for herself at charity clinics. On her death in 1916, Green left an estate of more than $100,000,000. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 23:49

TIL the F*ck Tree is an oak tree in north London noted for its slender trunk which has been used for cruising since the 19th century. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 20:49

TIL that tornado alley is shifting east. Over the last 40 years or so, the frequency of tornado outbreaks in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska has declined by about 10%, while in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky it has increased by roughly the same amount [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 19:49

TIL that Waldo's dog Woof was originally owned by Waldo's first girlfriend Wilma, whom he dumped for her twin sister Wenda after only 2 books, and then kept her dog. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 17:49

TIL that the largest embassy in the world is the U.S embassy in Iraq. It cost $750 million to build and is larger than the Vatican City. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 16:49

TIL that during their campaigns leading up to the 1964 United States presidential election, supporters of Barry Goldwater and Lyndon B. Johnson separately created sodas for each candidate. Goldwater’s was called “Gold Water” and Johnson’s was called “Johnson Juice”. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 15:49

TIL A woman named Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the idea of Father's Day after being inspired by a Mother's Day sermon and appreciating her father, who raised her and her siblings by himself. On June 19, 1910, the first annual celebration was held. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 15:49

TIL that the current King of Cambodia is the only ruling monarch in the world who speaks Czech fluently. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 14:49

TIL that the USA had an opportunity to purchase Alaska because of Russia's catastrophic defeat in the Crimean War [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 12:49

TIL Frustrated with his generals inability to capture the town of Mirandola, Pope Julius II personally went there in January 1511, scolded his generals and personally assumed command of the siege. Two weeks later he took part in storming the walls, making sure to restrain his soldiers from looting [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 10:49

TIL that NASA once accidentally taped over the original Moon landing footage. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 07:49

TIL Despite being the sixth largest country, mainland Australia has no land antipodes (if you dug through the earth anywhere in Australia, you would reach open ocean) [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 05:49

TIL the lungs are the primary excretory organ for fat. In plain English, we lose most body fat through our breath when doing exercise. When your body burns fat (especially during exercise), the fat is converted into carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 03:49

TIL Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from the original Superman) had a manic breakdown after the laptop she was using to write her autobiography crashed. She disappeared for four days [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 01:49

TIL that there's a typo on the Lincoln memorial [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 00:49

TIL The Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and the United States are the only seven countries in the United Nations that do not require employers to provide paid time off for new parents. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 21:49

TIL a controlled 2002 trial studying the effects of placebo "sham" surgery vs real arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis showed no difference in pain relief or functioning between the placebo group and surgical intervention groups over a 24 month period. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 19:49

TIL Lorenzo Bernini's altarpiece "the ecstasy of Saint Teresa", in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, has been described by critics as "the most astounding peep show in art". In victorian times, critics wanted it destroyed, while others have argued that it doesn't contain anything sexual [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 18:49

TIL that the Stanley Cup has been pissed in multiple times, punted into a canal, dropped from a balcony, and left in two seperate pools. In terms of boyency, a player noted that "the Stanley Cup does not float." [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 17:49

TIL that French used to have and provide mobile military brothels to their soldiers between WW1 and as late as 2003. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 16:49

TIL at the luxurious French brothel One-Two-Two there were themed rooms. One of the rooms, the Orient Express was a replica of a train car. It had sound effects and shook and bounced like a real train in motion. You could even have an intrusive conductor barge into the room and join in. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 15:49

TIL Australian serial Killer Ivan Milat lost 25kg (55lbs) from a failed hunger strike in prison when he was denied a PlayStation [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

19 June 2025 14:49

TIL pilots and co-pilots never eat the same in-flight meal to protect against both of them getting struck down with food poisoning mid-flight. [Source]