Today I Learned (TIL)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-03-08 13:44:08.

Original Title: TIL that Marvin Hamlisch, who played the frustrated piano player in one of the final scenes of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, is one of the few musicians to receive an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards). He also won a Pulitzer Prize.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/BadenBaden1981 on 2025-03-08 13:35:18.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/ThereWas on 2025-03-08 08:45:04.

Original Title: TIL San Francisco Zoo & Gardens was once the site of the world’s largest swimming pool - so large that lifeguards used wooden row boats to make their way across — and was also used by the military for drills and exercises

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Oohoureli on 2025-03-08 08:28:17.

Original Title: TIL that authorities in the historic English town of Chester were so concerned about the erosion of the city’s Roman walls and monuments by public urination that they introduced a “walk of shame” for offenders, where they were taken on a tour to inspect the damage caused by public peeing.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Danielnrg on 2025-03-08 08:13:44.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Chai80085 on 2025-03-08 08:08:03.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/johnjmcmillion on 2025-03-08 07:55:38.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/marshmallow_metro on 2025-03-08 04:56:45.

Original Title: TIL that the world’s most successful pirate was a Chinese woman named Ching Shih. Estimated there were 80,000 pirates under her command, ~1,000 large junks (Traditional Chinese ships) and ~800 smaller junks

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-03-08 03:56:42.

Original Title: TIL that during the 1974 Academy Awards, a streaker ran nude across the stage. Actor David Niven quipped, “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/StylisticArchaism on 2025-03-08 03:38:50.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/AwarenessTop5825 on 2025-03-08 03:28:13.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-03-08 03:18:55.

Original Title: TIL after Galileo discovered the 4 largest moons of Jupiter, he sought the patronage of the Medici family and proposed naming the moons after their 4 sons. However, the names Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—based on the names of Zeus’ lovers—were later popularized by the astronomer Simon Marius.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/ICanStopTheRain on 2025-03-08 02:23:55.

Original Title: TIL that during SNL’s first season, it was just called “Saturday Night” because there was another show airing with the “Saturday Night Live” name. That’s why they say “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” at the beginning of every episode.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/fleabagasm on 2025-03-08 01:50:55.

Original Title: TIL that the terrifying velociraptor screeches in Jurassic Park were actually recordings of tortoises mating. Sound designer Gary Rydstrom revealed that the iconic raptor barks came from a tortoise making love, joking that if people knew the truth, Jurassic Park would have been rated R.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Current-Lobster-5063 on 2025-03-08 00:46:49.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/DaLuckyNoob on 2025-03-08 00:11:38.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/starrynight001 on 2025-03-07 22:45:38.

Original Title: TIL that on October 9, 2022, there was an explosion in space, called a gamma-ray burst, that was at least 549 QUINTILLION times brighter than our Sun! The explosion was so bright that it blinded telescopes, preventing a true measurement of its actual brightness!

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/silverdust29 on 2025-03-07 22:33:40.

Original Title: TIL of Prince Alemayehu, an Ethiopian prince who was taken by British soldiers back to England after they attacked Ethiopia in 1868. Queen Victoria ensured he received an excellent education in England, but he died of pleurisy at just 18.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Tall_Ant9568 on 2025-03-07 21:59:03.

Original Title: TIL that the Saturn brand of cars ceased manufacturing in 2010. GM attempted to sell the brand to Penske, but the deal failed when Penske wouldn’t use Saturn’s factories and no automotive manufacturers would agree to build Saturn brand cars.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/SavioursSamurai on 2025-03-07 21:51:55.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/No-Community- on 2025-03-07 19:08:00.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/the3b on 2025-03-07 18:30:10.

Original Title: TIL In 1894 Hart Massey left Massey Hall to all the people of Toronto, asking that tickets would remain accessible for the poor. "Ideally, once all expenses were paid, Massey wanted tickets for a season of lectures to sell for $1."

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Flubadubadubadub on 2025-03-07 16:39:07.

Original Title: TIL The anniversary edition of Monty Python and the Holy Grail film included a subtitle track called "Subtitles for people who do not like the film" and included snippets from Shakespeare's Henry IV pt 2.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/haddock420 on 2025-03-07 16:35:22.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/UsernameUnattainable on 2025-03-07 15:45:35.

Original Title: TIL of the Circumhorizon Arc, aka fire rainbow. This horizontal "rainbow" of colour occurs when the sun or moon is over 50 degrees above the horizon and an arc of light passes thru a very specific kind of cloud (Cirrus clouds made up of ice crystals parallel to the ground), at just the right angle.