Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 17:49

TIL that David Attenborough has more letters after his name than in it [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 15:49

TIL there is an Independence From Britain Day celebration almost EVERY WEEK from countries across the world! [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 13:49

TIL that Zohran Mamdani's Mother, Golden Lion winner & Oscar, BAFTA, & Golden Globe nominee, Mira Nair, was offered to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), and was convinced by Zohran to turn it down in favor of making The Namesake (2006) and to cast Kal Penn in it. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 11:49

TIL Billy Bob Thornton has a phobia of antique furniture and certain types of silverware. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 07:49

TIL Sisyphus, doomed to roll a boulder forever, wasn’t a victim - he was an evil manipulative king who killed guests and unhonourably cheated Death. His punishment was for his calculated cruelty, a way of saying, there you go, you beat death, enjoy your eternity. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 06:49

TIL the idea for Staples was born on July 4th, 1985 when its founder ran out of printer ribbon on the 4th of July and couldn’t find a single store open to buy any. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 05:49

TIL that loneliness has the same impact on early death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making it more dangerous than obesity. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 02:49

TIL that Peter Dinklage (135 cm) is closer in height to Danny DeVito (152 cm) than to Warwick Davis (107 cm) - but DeVito is 5 cm too tall to qualify for dwarfism. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 00:49

TIL about Gail Halvorsen, known as the "Candy Bomber" or "Uncle Wiggly Wings" who began dropping candy on little handkerchief parachutes to kids in West Berlin during the Soviet Blockade (1948-1949). His impromptu "Operation Little Vittles" eventually dropped 23 tons of candy. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 23:49

TIL that prohibition-era laws in Kansas that banned public bars remained in effect until as recently as 1987. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 20:49

TIL that Elizabeth I inadvertently ruined the marriage of two of her nobles, George Talbot and Bess of Hardwick, by making them host the deposed Mary, Queen of Scots. The financial burden from hosting Mary and rumors of an affair between George and Mary eventually led to the couple’s estrangement [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 18:49

TIL that on average, civilizations last 336 years [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 16:49

TIL People with depression use language differently. They use significantly more first person singular pronouns – such as “me”, “myself” and “I”. Researchers have reported that pronouns are actually more reliable in identifying depression than negative emotion words. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 14:50

TIL that between 2020 and 2023, there were over 500 orca attacks on boats around Spain, committed by as few as just 15 different orcas [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 10:49

TIL that in the 1952 Texas gubernatorial election, incumbent Allan Shivers ran on both the Democratic and Republican tickets, beating himself 73%-25%. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 16:49

TIL during the Vietnam War, pilot Bob Pardo used his F-4 Phantom II aircraft to physically push his wingman's heavily damaged Phantom through the air to friendly airspace to avoid them having to bail out over North Vietnamese territory, even when his own jet's engine caught fire [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 14:49

TIL A 'Tropical Night' in Europe is one where the nighttime temperature does not fall below 20 °C [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 12:49

TIL Japan has Professional Apologizers you can hire if you don’t to personally do it yourself [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 10:49

TIL A 2023 study found that Chinstrap penguins take over 10,000 micro-naps a day, each lasting 4 seconds. When combined, that totals more than 11 hours of sleep daily. They are also generally considered to be the most aggressive and ill-tempered species of penguin.[ [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 06:49

TIL that most people have no idea what their own voice really sounds like because the skull vibrates and makes it sound deeper in your head. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 05:49

TIL until 2012 in the UK, it was only legal to get married between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 04:49

TIL the world’s oldest country is San Marino. This small country covering just 62 square kilometres was founded in 301 AD. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

04 July 2025 01:49

TIL After The Who's legendary drummer Keith Moon died in '78 they began a search for a new drummer. Phil Collins was between bands at the time and was excited to ask the band to be Moon's replacement. However, Pete Townsend had just offered the job to Kenney Jones and so turned down Collins [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 23:49

TiL the critically endangered Kakapo bird has a strong, pleasant, musty odor which allows predators to easily locate it [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 21:49

TIL Hulk's comic book alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner, was changed to Dr. David Banner for “The Incredible Hulk” television series. This change was made because writer and producer Kenneth Johnson did not want the series to be perceived as a comic book series. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 18:49

TIL that Jayne Mansfield's father died of a heart attack while she was in the car with him. She was 3 years old. Her daughter, Mariska Hargitay, was in the car accident that killed Mansfield. Mariska was also 3 years old at the time. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 17:49

TIL about the Skoptsy, an 18th century Russian Christian sect. They were best known for practicing castration/mastectomies/FGM in accordance with their teachings against lust. The belief originated in a mistranslation of a biblical command as “castrate yourselves” rather than “be fruitful”. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 14:50

Til a parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is killing bees and untreated hives are typically dead within 2-3 years [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 10:49

TIL Nickelback was defended by Deadpool in the teaser trailer for 2018's "Once Upon a Deadpool." In response, Nickelback released a video in 2024 defending "Deadpool & Wolverine" from criticism. [Source]

Today I Learned 🎓

03 July 2025 09:49

TIL that the McDonald's #1 Store Museum, "officially" the first McDonald's, is actually a replica of the ninth restaurant location, which was torn down and rebuilt in 1985. The company refers to it as the original because it was the first opened after former CEO Ray Kroc joined the company. [Source]