Today I Learned (TIL)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/PaleontologistRude74 on 2025-02-23 12:56:55.

Original Title: TIL weeks before Marlon Brando’s death, three newcomers gained control of his estate. They reclaimed assets promised to friends, sold his island, commercialized his image, and shut down fan run pages. Under their care his eldest son had even couldn’t afford the funeral.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Lordseriouspig on 2025-02-23 11:38:39.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/GDW312 on 2025-02-23 09:36:16.

Original Title: TIL that the French treasure hunt 'On The Trail Of The Golden Owl', launched in 1993 by Max Valentin, finally ended on October 3, 2024 when the golden owl was found—making it the second longest treasure hunt ever organized.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/NateNate60 on 2025-02-23 08:31:43.

Original Title: TIL that prior to the 20th century, scholars in Korea, China, and Vietnam could all easily communicate with each other in writing because everyone used Literary Chinese. However, they wouldn't have been able to talk to each other in person because each country pronounced the characters differently.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-02-23 05:57:02.

Original Title: TIL in 1745 Benjamin Franklin wrote a risqué letter, “Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress,” where he advised pursuing older women, arguing they were more grateful, better conversationalists, more experienced in bed, and that their “lower parts” aged better than their faces.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-02-23 04:41:20.

Original Title: TIL in the 52 BCE Battle of Alesia, Julius Caesar’s troops built 25 miles of earthen walls in a few weeks, including spiked trenches, hidden pits, water-filled moats, wooden walls, stakes with iron hooks, and hundreds of lookout towers. The Gauls lost 290,000 troops, to Caesar’s 12,800 casualties.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/FullOGreenPeaness on 2025-02-23 03:18:48.

Original Title: TIL that a purported 12th century prophecy claims to list all future Catholic popes until the end of the world; the current pope would be the last one on the list. Historians believe it is a 16th century forgery: the list appeared in 1595 and better describes pre-1590 popes than subsequent ones.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/AwitLodsGege on 2025-02-23 02:03:14.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/MrInexorable on 2025-02-23 01:44:27.

Original Title: TIL in 1974, scientists discovered a completely preserved 2,400-year-old human brain in York, UK. Known as the Heslington Brain, it survived due to unique soil conditions and remains the oldest preserved human brain ever found.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/joecer83 on 2025-02-23 01:22:26.

Original Title: TIL about the "spotlight effect," where people overestimate how much others notice their actions and appearance. We are naturally centered in our own world, leading us to overestimate our visibility in social situations. Understanding this can help reduce social anxiety and self-consciousness.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Flares117 on 2025-02-23 00:55:02.

Original Title: TIL: There is a study in the UK at the University of Nottingham that tested the pop culture theory the "hot-crazy matrix" made popular by HIMYM with bipolar women. Men were overwhelmingly willing to date BPD women in the short term as long as they were attractive, while women won't for men.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/allesandro_es on 2025-02-23 00:41:57.

Original Title: TIL that Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast, with over 30 medals at the Olympics and World Championships, multiple signature moves named after her, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts ever

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Minifig81 on 2025-02-22 23:52:26.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/OmegaLiquidX on 2025-02-22 23:13:48.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/MrInexorable on 2025-02-22 22:03:04.

Original Title: TIL Florence Foster Jenkins (1868–1944) believed she was a great opera singer despite being completely tone-deaf. She performed in extravagant costumes, including tinsel wings, and dismissed laughter as jealousy. Her famous quote: “People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing.”

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/SevenDigitSales on 2025-02-22 19:22:28.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Kanjikai on 2025-02-22 18:48:52.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/HR_Paperstacks_402 on 2025-02-22 18:33:46.

Original Title: TIL Nimrod is a biblical figure who is known as a mighty hunter. While most people think it means idiot or fool due to Bugs Bunny, he actually called Elmer Fudd this sarcastically because he is an awful hunter

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Flares117 on 2025-02-22 17:14:04.

Original Title: TIL: Sōhei warrior monks were influential for centuries in Japan with warring clans often enlisting these monks for warfare due to their fighting ability due to their isolation and fanaticism. However, disputes between monk temples were common which led to numerous fatal inter temple battles.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/BrumDawgMillionare on 2025-02-22 17:09:05.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/DatabaseWide7348 on 2025-02-22 16:58:40.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/pocketbutter on 2025-02-22 16:38:01.

Original Title: TIL in 1878, the Loretto Chapel was constructed with a wooden spiral staircase of unusually masterful craftsmanship. No builder was officially credited for the staircase, but legends say that a mysterious carpenter arrived and built it overnight, then left without collecting pay.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/DrivetoElysium on 2025-02-22 15:55:17.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/FullOGreenPeaness on 2025-02-22 15:50:23.

Original Title: TIL that the can-can was originally considered scandalous, and attempts were made to suppress it and arrest performers. The dance involves high kicks, and women’s underwear at the time had an open crotch.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/the_clustering on 2025-02-22 15:34:51.

Original Title: TIL the famous evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman married an already married man leading to massive controversy in early U.S. After their divorce 7 years later, she stated she actually wasn't married to him because she had fainted while saying her vows during the ceremony.