Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 16:49

TIL researchers discovered a 430,000-yr-old skull in a Spanish cave that bears evidence of deliberate, lethal blunt force trauma which represents the earliest case of murder in the hominin fossil record. The site where it was found is only accessible through a vertical chimney that extends 40ft down [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 12:49

TIL Pausanias, the Spartan general who defeated the Persians at Plataea, was later accused of colluding with the Persians. He sought sanctuary at a temple, where his mother visited him only to lay a brick at the entrance, implying that they should seal it and starve him to death, which they did [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 09:49

TIL Longinus, the man who is traditionally identified with stabbing Jesus in his side, is a saint. The lance he used to pierce Jesus with is usually called the Holy Lance. The act is also said to have made the last of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 06:49

TIL that Japan's rapid industrialization was driven by massive family-owned conglomerates called "zaibatsu," which were so powerful they were essentially dismantled by the Allies after WWII to democratize the nation. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 03:49

TIL Charles Joughin, the Titanic’s chief baker, survived the icy waters by staying calm and a bit drunk. After helping others, he sipped brandy, stepped off the sinking ship, and floated for hours in freezing water until rescued barely even cold. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 23:49

TIL Boys in the United States used to wear dresses until they had their first haircut, which was usually around age 6-7. Pictured is future President FDR in 1884 at age 2 and a half [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 22:49

TIL the Guinness World Record for most birthdays in one day belongs to a Pakistani family, with every member having been born on August 1st; including the mother and father. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 21:49

TIL of the 1997Jarrell, Texas "Dead Man Walking" tornado, a slow-moving F5 twister that sat over a subdivision for three full minutes, subjecting it to 260+ mph winds. It erased everything, killed 27 people, plus hundreds of cattle, and blended their remains together unrecognizably. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 20:49

TIL a study on professional slap fighting analyzed 333 slaps for visible signs of concussion & found that more than 50% of the slap sequences resulted in fighters showing visible signs of concussion, with nearly 80% of the fighters demonstrating at least 1 sign of concussion during their matches. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 18:49

TIL that in 2016, a GPS satellite decommissioning glitch caused 15 satellites to broadcast the wrong time by 13 microseconds. The tiny error triggered thousands of system faults and alarms in telecom networks worldwide for over 12 hours. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 16:49

TIL Fart is the Swedish word for Speed and speed limit signs can read as Fart Kontrol or Max Fart. [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 🎓

21 June 2025 15:49

TIL Peugeot, the French carmaker, began in the 1800s as a grain mill company that made coffee grinders, pepper mills, and steel corset frames before producing their first vehicle in 1889. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 10:49

TIL that the Han Dynasty used jade to plug all 9 holes of the deceased [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 08:49

TIL that Helen Keller was put on the FBI watchlist [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 05:49

TIL of Stubbins Ffirth. While in school he theorized yellow fever was not contagious, and was spread by heat and stress. He poured blood, vomit, and urine of the infected into his eyeballs and cuts and did not become sick, believing his theory to be true. It was later shown to be spread by mosquitos [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

21 June 2025 02:49

TIL there’s a philosophy that believes humans shouldn’t procreate and should eventually go extinct and it’s called antinatalism [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 23:49

TIL blood lost during a cycle isn’t blood that’s been “stored” over the month long cycle, it’s blood coming from blood vessels in the uterus. As the uterine lining pulls away, ‘tiny’ ruptures/tears are caused in the blood vessels, and heavy cycles are caused by enlarged vessels & hormone imbalance [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 21:49

TIL a study lured 290 participants under the false premise the study was on attractiveness. They were told their peers would be rating their photo & while “waiting” for the ratings, they played Tetris for 10 minutes. Researchers found that Tetris can put people into a state of “flow” & ease anxiety. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 20:49

TIL about Stigler's Law - which "states that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." Yes - apparently Stigler [intentionally] stole credit for this from a sociologist (Robert Merton). [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 19:49

TIL the planet Scarif in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" got its name when director Gareth Edwards ordered a drink at a Starbucks and a barista misspelled his name "Gareth" as "Scarif". [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

20 June 2025 17:49

TIL about the Idaho Beaver Drops, an effort to humanely relocate beavers to rural Idaho by parachuting them in the 1940s [Source]

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]