Today I Learned (TIL)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-02-06 03:55:08.

Original Title: TIL that James Otis Jr. was a key figure in the early American Patriot movement, he influenced both John and Samuel Adams and is credited with the phrase, “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” He was born on February 5, 1725.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/SwordfishOk504 on 2025-02-06 03:43:51.

Original Title: TIL that since the 1920s, excessive pumping of groundwater at thousands of wells in California's San Joaquin Valley has caused land in sections of the valley to sink by as much as 28 feet (8.5 meters)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/GiveMeBackMySoup on 2025-02-06 02:40:05.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Deep-Bed-5607 on 2025-02-06 02:17:14.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-02-06 01:52:45.

Original Title: TIL that the luxurious Dakota Apartments on Manhattan’s Upper West Side has housed celebrities like John Lennon, Joe Namath, Judy Garland, and Paul Simon—while also rejecting Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Madonna, and Cher over privacy and lifestyle concerns.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Kate_Kitter on 2025-02-06 01:01:42.

Original Title: TIL that in 1975, Twentieth Century Music Corp sued a restaurant owner for copyright infringement for playing a radio broadcast of two of their songs in his establishment, arguing it constituted an unremunerated performance. It reached the Supreme Court, which sided with the restaurant owner.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Understated_Fireball on 2025-02-06 00:20:35.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Potatoe_expert on 2025-02-05 22:28:52.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Bigmarky58 on 2025-02-05 21:27:16.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/fabefab on 2025-02-05 21:24:29.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/edfitz83 on 2025-02-05 21:11:35.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Childoftheway on 2025-02-05 21:08:51.

Original Title: TIL of Captain Edward Preble of the USS Constitution, who in 1803 after he was told he was side by side with a ship of the line ordered his much smaller ship to open fire rather than yield to this pompous request. Story in the comments.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/holyfruits on 2025-02-05 20:55:54.

Original Title: TIL Dick Van Dyke was rescued by porpoises after he fell asleep while surfing. He woke up out of sight of land and tried paddling back, suddenly the sea creatures emerged and saved his life by helping push him back to the shore

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Ainsley-Sorsby on 2025-02-05 20:28:18.

Original Title: TIL After his lung cancer diagnosis, actor Yul Brynner wished to warn people against smoking. After his death, the american cancer society aired an ad with the actor saying: "Now that I'm gone, I tell you: just don't smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any cancer"

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/NoseAdministrative58 on 2025-02-05 20:02:08.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/britt_nicole on 2025-02-05 19:56:40.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Tall_Ant9568 on 2025-02-05 19:50:58.

Original Title: TIL that FL once produced nearly 100 percent of all citrus grown in the U.S, but following two deep freezes in the 1890s, Florida’s citrus industry never fully recovered and was replaced by California. CA now produces 79 percent of all citrus in the U.S, while Florida produces less than 17 percent.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/InmostJoy on 2025-02-05 19:12:20.

Original Title: TIL that, in 1847, the British chocolatier Joseph Fry pressed a moldable paste made of cocoa butter, sugar and chocolate liquor into a bar shape. In doing so, he invented the modern chocolate bar, and made chocolate more accessible to the general public and not just a luxury item for the elite.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/strangelove4564 on 2025-02-05 18:22:43.

Original Title: TIL the punk rocker on the San Francisco city bus blasting "I Hate You" in the 1986 movie "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" was actually a crew member, associate producer Kirk Thatcher. He convinced director Leonard Nimoy to let him write a punk music song and perform it.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/CrazyBat3914 on 2025-02-05 18:21:30.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/admiralturtleship on 2025-02-05 17:37:19.

Original Title: TIL ecologist Suzanne Simard wanted to know why the forest got sick every time the foresters killed the birch trees, thought to harm fir trees. She discovered that birch trees actually pass nutrients to fir trees underground via a complex fungal network and were maintaining balance in the ecosystem

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/NapalmBurns on 2025-02-05 16:56:26.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/waitingforthesun92 on 2025-02-05 16:14:08.

Original Title: TIL that Otis Redding considered Bob Dylan to be his favorite singer, calling him ‘the greatest.' At one point, Bob personally offered Otis a song to record, but the cover never happened. As Otis put it, 'I didn’t do it because I just didn’t feel it. Mind you, I dig his work like mad.'"

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/BrandyAid on 2025-02-05 16:05:01.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/MrMojoFomo on 2025-02-05 16:01:22.

Original Title: TIL that when the United States entered WWII, men 21-36 were eligible to be drafted, but 50% of those conscripted were rejected for health or illiteracy reasons. To expand the available pool of draftees, Congress lowered the minimum age to 18, where it still stands today