Today I Learned (TIL)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/JohnBrownsBobbleHead on 2024-10-06 17:02:18.

Original Title: TIL that Washington Irving the American creator of Sleepy Hollow was integral to popularizing our current understanding of not only Halloween, but also Christmas. His stories of a British manor at Christmas time would go on to inspire Charles Dickens.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/barelydazed on 2024-10-06 15:56:05.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/RelaxRelapse on 2024-10-06 15:43:43.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/UndyingCorn on 2024-10-06 15:00:00.

Original Title: TIL The invention of the Philly Cheesesteak is credited to brothers Pat & Harry Olivieri in the early 1930s. It was originally a snack made for themselves until they shared it with a cab driver that was a regular customer at their hot dog stand, who suggested they sell the sandwich instead.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/AllColoursSam on 2024-10-06 14:38:52.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2024-10-06 13:55:42.

Original Title: TIL when JRR Tolkien attempted to change the entire tone of The Hobbit to fit the more serious Lord of the Rings trilogy, he gave up after the third chapter because it "just wasn't The Hobbit" any longer without its playful tone and quick pace.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/rezikiel on 2024-10-06 13:44:40.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/PnPineappleApplePn on 2024-10-06 12:07:12.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/candlebo on 2024-10-06 11:18:11.

Original Title: TIL that in 1958, Burma-Shave offered a "free trip to Mars" for sending in 900 empty jars. A grocery store manager, Arliss French, took it literally and collected all 900. To save face, Burma-Shave sent him, fully dressed as an astronaut, to Moers, Germany (of which they felt was pronounced Mars).

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/GDW312 on 2024-10-06 10:19:58.

Original Title: TIL about Ken McElroy an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. He was known as "the town bully", and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. Brad Wesley, in the 1989 action movie Road House, is based on him.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/KowakianDonkeyWizard on 2024-10-06 08:38:18.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/pur__0_0__ on 2024-10-06 07:19:01.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/RNHood51 on 2024-10-06 06:39:25.

Original Title: TIL that US Navy sailors in World War II drank torpedo juice, a blend of 180-proof grain alcohol fuel from a torpedo and pineapple juice. Despite the Navy's attempts to render the alcohol undrinkable, sailors still found ways around this to varying degrees of effectiveness.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/cuspofgreatness on 2024-10-06 02:24:30.

Original Title: TIL the world’s tallest skyscraper designed by a woman is The St. Regis, Chicago. Standing at 1,198 ft tall, the 101-story tower was created by architect Jeanne Gang in 2020. The tower consists of three interconnected towers of different heights but all possess the same unique curvilinear design.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Flares117 on 2024-10-06 08:26:06.

Original Title: TIL: Pascha is the largest brothel in Europe, having over 120 workers and serves 1000 daily customers. The workers rent a room for 180 Euros/day and negotiate in the halls. Each floor is themed with one for cheap services and another for Trans. It offers a money back guarantee for bad service.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2024-10-06 07:56:50.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/1000LiveEels on 2024-10-06 01:52:44.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Retrospectrenet on 2024-10-06 01:48:56.

Original Title: TIL police radio codes like 10-4 for affirmative all start with 10 to allow time for the radio to power up. The first syllable spoken of a transmission was often not understood due to early technology quirks. Officers were trained to wait after pressing the receiver but forgot when rushed.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/frumpi on 2024-10-06 01:43:24.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/johnnykatz on 2024-10-06 00:30:39.

Original Title: TIL The Amazing Jonathan, late comedian and magician, was married to, and managed by, Anastasia Synn, a transhumanist, biohacker, and cyborg rights activist. She holds the Guinness World Record for most technological implants in the female body and has the largest magnet ever implanted in a person.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/_icarcus on 2024-10-06 00:20:57.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/inland-taipan on 2024-10-05 19:42:47.

Original Title: TIL Between 1873 and 1880, the idea of transfusing milk into the body as a substitute for blood, in cases of emergency bleeding was tested across the United States. The results (some successful) were published in medical journals but eventually the practice was seen as too risky and was stopped.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/thisCantBeBad on 2024-10-05 23:31:28.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Admirable_Animal8025 on 2024-10-05 23:11:14.

Original Title: TIL that the creator of Space Invaders, Tomohiro Nishikado, developed the entire game on his own. He took on the roles of designer, programmer, artist, and sound engineer, and even built the game’s microcomputer from the ground up.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/nucifera-noten on 2024-10-05 21:16:41.

Original Title: TIL that in 1979, Steve Jobs visited Xerox PARC and was inspired by their uncommercialized GUI and mouse, leading to the creation of the Apple Macintosh; Xerox started to focus on marketing their copy machines, skeptical about the profitability of computers.