Today I Learned (TIL)

926

1

TIL that in 1998, NATO translated Dr. Seuss’ “Sneetches and Other Stories” into Serbo-Croatian and planned to distribute 500,000 copies in Bosnia to teach children about tolerance. The plans were... (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/GetYerHandOffMyPen15 on 2025-02-12 03:24:30.

Original Title: TIL that in 1998, NATO translated Dr. Seuss’ “Sneetches and Other Stories” into Serbo-Croatian and planned to distribute 500,000 copies in Bosnia to teach children about tolerance. The plans were later scaled back because they did not meet NATO standards.

927

1

TIL that despite being uninhabited, Swains Island is still guaranteed one representative in the legislature of American Samoa (www.rnz.co.nz)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Cowguypig2 on 2025-02-12 03:24:35.

928

1

TIL Hitler greatly admired the US ideology for territorial expansion (Manifest Destiny), and saw its destruction of Native American people and cultures as a template for German expansion (Lebensraum) (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/sb206 on 2025-02-12 02:23:51.

929

1

TIL that George Metesky (aka the Mad Bomber) terrorized NYC over a 16 year span by planting a total of 33 explosives throughout the city, many in buildings like Penn Station, Grand Central & R... (www.npr.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/BeefsteakChuckies on 2025-02-11 23:51:22.

Original Title: TIL that George Metesky (aka the Mad Bomber) terrorized NYC over a 16 year span by planting a total of 33 explosives throughout the city, many in buildings like Penn Station, Grand Central & Radio City. He was caught in 1957 after responding to a newspaper that demanded he turn himself in.

930

1

TIL that even though September is not the most common birth month in the U.S., 9 of the top 10 most common birthdays fall between Sept 9th - Sept 20th. This correlates to abnormally high conceptio... (www.rd.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/BeefsteakChuckies on 2025-02-11 23:36:22.

Original Title: TIL that even though September is not the most common birth month in the U.S., 9 of the top 10 most common birthdays fall between Sept 9th - Sept 20th. This correlates to abnormally high conception rates during the December holiday season aka “New Years Babies”

931

1

TIL Theodore Roosevelt was shot during a speech and kept talking for 84 minutes. He got shot in the chest, but because he had a thick speech manuscript in his pocket, the bullet was slowed. He ref... (www.c-span.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/ScienceAcrobatic2895 on 2025-02-11 23:11:13.

Original Title: TIL Theodore Roosevelt was shot during a speech and kept talking for 84 minutes. He got shot in the chest, but because he had a thick speech manuscript in his pocket, the bullet was slowed. He refused medical attention, continued his speech, and said, "It takes more than that to kill a bull moose."

932

2

TIL that only 48.5% of adults reported reading at least one book in the past year, down from 52.7% five years earlier and 54.6% ten years prior. (www.arts.gov)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Stauce52 on 2025-02-11 21:41:19.

933

1

TIL A city treasurer stole over $50 million over the course over over 20 years from a small rural town in Illinois, crippling the infrastructure due to budget shortages. (www.justice.gov)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/AngryBowlofPopcorn on 2025-02-11 21:28:40.

934

1

TIL that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had bad handwriting, and before his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was published, Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker had to puzzle out what was written on the scraps of pape... (blavity.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/bobstonite on 2025-02-11 21:13:53.

Original Title: TIL that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had bad handwriting, and before his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was published, Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker had to puzzle out what was written on the scraps of paper smuggling out of King's jail cell

935

1

TIL Peter Sellers inhaled poppers before having sex with his wife one night to get "the ultimate orgasm" but instead suffered 8 heart attacks over 3 hours (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Cranjis_McHockey on 2025-02-11 21:11:37.

936

1

TIL of the largest general strike in history in May 1968, when 11 million French citizens spent 2 weeks on strike to protest the heavy-handed police response to student protests earlier that year,... (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/jurornumber1 on 2025-02-11 18:34:22.

Original Title: TIL of the largest general strike in history in May 1968, when 11 million French citizens spent 2 weeks on strike to protest the heavy-handed police response to student protests earlier that year, resulting in an early election call

937

1

TIL that six weeks after the atomic bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki, American service members played a football game among the ruins of the city. The game was dubbed "The Atom Bowl". (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TCBear on 2025-02-11 20:04:41.

938

1

TIL people started using the term "dunce" to dunk on the followers of 13th-century Catholic priest, professor, and theologian John Duns Scotus. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/LegerDomain on 2025-02-11 19:52:32.

939

1

TIL There is a Disney super-fan that has ridden the Cars ride, Radiator Springs Racers, over 10,000 times. He will often ride it in excess of 20 times a day. (www.laughingplace.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/ercohn on 2025-02-11 18:30:53.

940

1

TIL In 2002 German actor Günther Kaufmann confessed that he had fallen on his accountant and accidentally suffocated the man to death with his 260-pound body. But in 2005 it was discovered that Ka... (www.dw.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Ill_Definition8074 on 2025-02-11 18:20:00.

Original Title: TIL In 2002 German actor Günther Kaufmann confessed that he had fallen on his accountant and accidentally suffocated the man to death with his 260-pound body. But in 2005 it was discovered that Kaufmann was innocent and had confessed to protect his dying wife who had murdered the man.

941

1

TIL Tom Hanks owns more than 300 typewriters. His fascination runs so deep that he even developed an app, Hanx Writer, designed to emulate the feel and sound of a classic typewriter on modern devi... (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Diligent_Mode7203 on 2025-02-11 16:43:19.

Original Title: TIL Tom Hanks owns more than 300 typewriters. His fascination runs so deep that he even developed an app, Hanx Writer, designed to emulate the feel and sound of a classic typewriter on modern devices.

942

1

TIL Spain is in the "wrong" timezone because Franco aligned it with Nazi Germany in 1940, and it was never changed back. (www.npr.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/AlphatierchenX on 2025-02-11 16:36:49.

943

1

TIL Nicéphore Niépce was the inventor of photography, and the first photographer. He also invented one of the world's first internal combustion engines, an early bicycle, and the concept for a mot... (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/justatheery on 2025-02-11 15:30:30.

Original Title: TIL Nicéphore Niépce was the inventor of photography, and the first photographer. He also invented one of the world's first internal combustion engines, an early bicycle, and the concept for a motor-cycle.

944

1

TIL King Edward I (known as Longshanks) had at least 14 children (4 sons, 9 daughters and 1 unknown) with his first wife Eleanor of Castile, but 8 of them died by age eleven including 7 by age six... (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2025-02-11 15:23:10.

Original Title: TIL King Edward I (known as Longshanks) had at least 14 children (4 sons, 9 daughters and 1 unknown) with his first wife Eleanor of Castile, but 8 of them died by age eleven including 7 by age six and 5 by age three. The only son to survive past age eleven was eventual King Edward II.

945

1

TIL A fully functioning solid 18-karat gold toilet titled "America" was stolen in 2019 while on exhibit in the UK. It has not been recovered (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/rezikiel on 2025-02-11 15:22:14.

946

1

TIL about the Puckle Gun, an early automatic weapon designed to fire round bullets at Christians and square bullets at Muslim Turks. Square bullets were believed to cause more severe wounds than r... (www.historic-uk.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Tracker-man on 2025-02-11 14:13:21.

Original Title: TIL about the Puckle Gun, an early automatic weapon designed to fire round bullets at Christians and square bullets at Muslim Turks. Square bullets were believed to cause more severe wounds than round ones.

947

1

TIL the Great Frost of 1709 is the coldest year of the last 500 with daily temperatures 7°C below 20th century averages. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/ApprehensiveBet6501 on 2025-02-11 13:19:35.

948

1

TIL about Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist, who falsely announced his death in 1999 to create publicity for a following "resurrection concert". He then died in 2000. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Space_Carmelo on 2025-02-11 12:28:10.

949

1

TIL Napoleon Bonaparte Owned a Watch from a Brand That Still Exists Today (blog.nationalmuseum.ch)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/OmegaCollector25 on 2025-02-11 11:38:30.

950

1

TIL 6 years after Martha Stewart started her own catering company in 1976, a publisher (impressed with her chef skills) got her to write a cookbook which launched her career. By 1999, she consolid... (people.com)

submitted 1 month ago by bOt@zerobytes.monster to c/todayilearned@zerobytes.monster

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The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2025-02-11 10:50:02.

Original Title: TIL 6 years after Martha Stewart started her own catering company in 1976, a publisher (impressed with her chef skills) got her to write a cookbook which launched her career. By 1999, she consolidated her "media empire" & took it public which made her the first female self-made billionaire in the US