r/todayilearned • u/TriviaDuchess • 1d ago

TIL during mating season, clam worms transform. Their muscles grow for swimming, and their bodies engorge with sperm or eggs. When ready, they swim to the surface in a frenzy and explode, releasing their gametes into the sea. The adults don’t survive mating.

en.wikipedia.org

216 Upvotes

20 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CrashRiot • 1d ago

TIL that Bethesda bought the Fallout IP for just 5.75 million dollars.

gamedeveloper.com

646 Upvotes

59 comments

r/todayilearned • u/slurpdwnawienperhaps • 2d ago

TIL the oldest person to receive their doctorate is attributed to Ingeborg Rapoport. She was 102 years old when she received her medical doctorate from the University of Hamburg in 201 5. She was denied a medical degree 70+ years earlier because her mother was of Jewish descent.

wikipedia.org

940 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Starfire-Galaxy • 2h ago

TIL Moana was the best-selling movie of 2017; it sold 4.4 million units and made a revenue of $116.3 million from home video sales.

en.wikipedia.org

0 Upvotes

8 comments

r/todayilearned • u/rosstedfordkendall • 2d ago

TIL beaver dams saved a wetland in the Czech Republic. The government was planning to do the same thing, but the bureaucracy took too long. The dams saved $1.2 million.

en.wikipedia.org

5.2k Upvotes

48 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Spykryo • 2d ago

TIL that veteran astronaut John Young's heart rate when launching on top of the Saturn V was only 70 bpm, the normal resting heart rate; meanwhile, his rookie crewmate's heart rate was 144 bpm, more than double. Young later said his heart "was too old for it to go any faster".

spaceflightnow.com

2.8k Upvotes

17 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MrMojoFomo • 10h ago

TIL that in February of 1993, Kansas City, Missouri radio station KXXR changed its name to KISF (Kiss FM). As a publicity stunt to announce the change, it played Prince's 1986 song "Kiss" for 24 hours straight

en.wikipedia.org

1 Upvotes

23 comments

r/todayilearned • u/JEBV • 2d ago

TIL a snowy owl once flew from the Artic to Honolulu, and was seen flying around the international airport. It would be shot the same day by wildlife services.

civilbeat.org

527 Upvotes

101 comments

r/todayilearned • u/RaccoonDoor • 2d ago

TIL Thailand declared war on the United States in 1942. However, the Thai ambassador to the United States refused to deliver the war declaration. As a result, the US simply ignored Thailand's declaration of war.

en.wikipedia.org

24.4k Upvotes

254 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ok_Being_2003 • 1d ago

TIL New York State contributed about 465,000 soldiers to Union armed forces during the American civil war more than any other state. Over 50,000 of them died. The highest of any northern state

247wallst.com

178 Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CosmicMando • 1d ago

TIL that not all clumps of twigs and leaves in trees are bird nests — some are actually squirrel nests called "dreys."

en.wikipedia.org

170 Upvotes

24 comments

r/todayilearned • u/AhmedMostafa16 • 2d ago

TIL that in 18th century England, people would pay to attend Bedlam, a private lunatic asylum, to watch the mentally ill as entertainment

retrospectjournal.com

3.7k Upvotes

270 comments

r/todayilearned • u/GeoJono • 2d ago

TIL that the last U.S. President who was neither a Democrat nor a Republican was Millard Fillmore, the final Whig Party President, who served in the executive office from July 1850 to March 1853.

buffaloah.com

1.4k Upvotes

47 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Super_Goomba64 • 2d ago

TIL that in the United Kingdoms Parliament, there is a box of snuff (smokeless tobacco) that's been around since the 1600s, it is free for government officials to use, but the last time it was used was 1989. It is still kept to this day

en.wikipedia.org

431 Upvotes

58 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Capital_Tailor_7348 • 2d ago

Til that Nicholas Trist the amassador sent to negotiate the end to the Mexican American war was fired from his post by president Polk. Trist responded by ignoring Polk’s order to return to the US and continued to negotiate the end of the war with Mexico.

wikipedia.org

777 Upvotes

22 comments

r/todayilearned • u/InsertaGoodName • 2d ago

TIL that in Season of Glass, Yoko Ono’s first album after the murder of her husband John Lennon, the front cover features Lennon's bloodstained glasses which were worn on the day of his death.

en.wikipedia.org

771 Upvotes

102 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ainsley-Sorsby • 2d ago

TIL Part of N.Machiavelli's diplomatic mission to Cesare Borgia included sending intel back to his government, even down to Borgia's personal habits. He noticed that he had inhuman energy and could go several nights working sleepless but occasionaly would "fall to his bed" and refuse to see anyone

en.wikipedia.org

9.5k Upvotes

130 comments

r/todayilearned • u/WifeOfSpock • 2d ago

TIL that almond milk has been consumed and used as an ingredient in food since medieval times.

secondshistory.com

1.1k Upvotes

67 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tweedlebeetle • 1d ago

TIL that in 1960 more U.S. homes had TVs than indoor plumbing

brainly.com

88 Upvotes

27 comments

r/todayilearned • u/jacknunn • 2d ago

TIL Heard Island and McDonald Islands contain Australia's only two active volcanoes

en.wikipedia.org

200 Upvotes

23 comments

r/todayilearned • u/shiftctrlc_rosebud • 1d ago

TIL that shyness can be attributed to reduced daylength during gestation

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

39 Upvotes

7 comments

r/todayilearned • u/hot-java • 2d ago

TIL about the Great Stalactite Organ created over three years by Leland W. Sprinkle at the Luray Caverns in Virginia by finding and shaving certain stalactites to produce specific notes. Recordings were sold on vinyl and cassette and can be found online and through music streaming services.

en.wikipedia.org

111 Upvotes

19 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 3d ago

TIL with his dad totally against it, 19-yr-old Fabio Lanzoni moved to the US & within 48 hrs of arriving he walked into the Ford modeling agency without an appointment & walked out with a $150K contract. The next day he was hired for the launch of Gap Inc. Then began to pose for 15 book covers a day

en.wikipedia.org

43.4k Upvotes

1.0k comments

r/todayilearned • u/bellbros • 2d ago

TIL that static shocks can involve tens of thousands of volts, and even several amps of current, but don’t hurt you because they last only millionths of a second.

metroid.net.au

3.3k Upvotes

166 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Chocolatestarfish33 • 2d ago

TIL there is a land dwelling crayfish native to Wisconsin

apps.dnr.wi.gov

94 Upvotes

15 comments

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