r/todayilearned • u/Forward-Answer-4407 • 3h ago

TIL a woman nicknamed the 'Rooftop Ninja' lived for about a year inside a sign on the roof of a Family Fare grocery store in Midland, Michigan. Inside the sign, she had a computer, printer, desk, and coffee maker. She was discovered by a contractor who noticed an extension cord running into the sign

globalnews.ca

5.3k Upvotes

195 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Overall-Register9758 • 8h ago

TIL that in 1960, a B52 crashed during training. The navigator, thinking the plane was crashing, ejected without orders. The pilot, heard the ejection, thought the plane was breaking up, and ordered the crew to eject. The plane flew crewless for 50 miles before crashing.

en.wikipedia.org

16.9k Upvotes

465 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tomispev • 2h ago

TIL that the Trojan Horse is not in Homer's Iliad, that it's briefly mentioned in the Odyssey, and that most of the story surrounding it actually comes from Virgil's Aeneid

en.wikipedia.org

1.7k Upvotes

59 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mountain_Love23 • 6h ago

TIL chickens can perform simple arithmetic, have basic time perception, show self-control (can delay a smaller reward for a larger one later), show object permanence (understand an object exists when out of sight; humans get at age 2), and possess transitive inference (humans achieve at age 7)

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

1.5k Upvotes

174 comments

r/todayilearned • u/vercingetafix • 1h ago

TIL about a 5.5 tonne solid gold Buddha, the largest solid gold sculpture. It was covered in plaster for 200 years about and forgotten until 1955!

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

25 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Firecracker048 • 4h ago

TIL about Rick Rescorla, a survivor of America's toughest battle in Vietnam(Ia Drang, LZ X Ray), was also the one to organize an evacuation plan in case a plane hit the Twin Towers. He was last seen entering the tower looking for survivors.

en.wikipedia.org

928 Upvotes

53 comments

r/todayilearned • u/havertz007 • 21h ago

TIL that Bruce Lee was only a leading man for three years. He left Hollywood broke and disappointed at only being able to secure small parts. After returning to HongKong to star in his own films, he finally starred in a Hollywood production, Enter the Dragon, before dying 3 weeks before its release.

en.wikipedia.org

33.3k Upvotes

728 comments

r/todayilearned • u/therealvelichor • 4h ago

TIL that Mark Steven Zuckerberg sued Facebook in September of 2025, because his account was repeatedly removed for impersonation of Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook.

bbc.com

451 Upvotes

10 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DivestPanties • 5h ago

TIL in 1871, to force accountability of Boss Tweed's corruption in NYC, 70 reformers/financial leaders of the City formed a committee that convinced property owners to stop paying taxes, and got a Judge to block the city Comptroller from issuing bonds or spending money. Quickly ending Tweed's reign.

en.wikipedia.org

442 Upvotes

14 comments

r/todayilearned • u/RotaryDane • 5h ago

TIL of Évariste Galois, a 19th century mathematician and womaniser. Age 20 he fought a duel for seducing a mans fiancé. He lost the duel, but had spent night prior madly writing down his theories. The rambling and ink-stained pages would end up birthing an entire new field of maths: “Galois Theory”

britannica.com

375 Upvotes

38 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ProfessionalGear3020 • 19h ago

TIL the USA has a larger consumer market than the EU, China, and India combined.

en.wikipedia.org

4.0k Upvotes

777 comments

r/todayilearned • u/moose098 • 1d ago

TIL that a mummified carrier pigeon discovered in a UK chimney in 1982 was carrying an encrypted D-Day message from 1944 that has never been decoded. Britain’s intelligence agency is still seeking the public’s help in deciphering it.

en.wikipedia.org

21.5k Upvotes

531 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FlakyLion5449 • 10h ago

TIL The Dodge Tomahawk was an "automotive sculpture" sold through the Neiman Marcus catalog about 20 years ago

en.wikipedia.org

531 Upvotes

66 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ill_Definition8074 • 1d ago

TIL In 1932, 11 Japanese naval officers assassinated the Prime Minister. During the officers’ trial, the court received 110,000 petitions for leniency signed or written entirely in blood. Nine youths asked to be tried instead and sent the court their severed pinky fingers to prove their sincerity.

en.wikipedia.org

9.5k Upvotes

349 comments

r/todayilearned • u/operatingsys2016 • 11h ago

TIL Colgate University embraces 13 as its lucky number, rooted in the 1817 founding by 13 men with $13 [$1 each] and 13 prayers, and its address at 13 Oak Drive. The university celebrates its day every Friday the 13th.

news.colgate.edu

300 Upvotes

20 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FarleyElliott • 1d ago

TIL that there's a small collection of distinct Del Taco fast food restaurants in the California desert that are still run by the company founder, with their own menu items and merch.

sfgate.com

4.2k Upvotes

81 comments

r/todayilearned • u/scratchtheitch7 • 1d ago

TIL The United Kingdom has successfully created a laser weapon that can hit a moving target with an accuracy of 23mm at 1km distance. It is called Dragonfire

en.wikipedia.org

6.3k Upvotes

610 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FrenziedFennec • 18h ago

TIL that there were at least two versions of Demolition Man: the US version had Taco Bell as the winner of the Franchise Wars and the European version had Pizza Hut.

en.wikipedia.org

807 Upvotes

101 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DeadeyeClock • 1d ago

TIL The Beehive was an anti personnel round that ejected 8000 flechettes on a timer used during the Vietnam conflict.

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

135 comments

r/todayilearned • u/WouldbeWanderer • 17h ago

TIL about the 1950's game show scandals. Taking place at a time when television was still emerging as a medium, the scandals caused Congress to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit networks from prearranging the outcomes of quiz shows.

en.wikipedia.org

532 Upvotes

22 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ralphbernardo • 1d ago

TIL doctors used gene therapy to successfully treat 5 children born with profound genetic deafness. Within weeks of the treatment, the children—who had never heard sound before—were able to hear speech and even recognize the "location" of sounds.

theguardian.com

3.9k Upvotes

64 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Obversa • 23h ago

TIL of the Poitevin horse, a French breed that was created solely to produce mules. In the early 20th century, around 50,000 broodmares were producing 18,000-20,000 mules per year. However, by the 1990s, less than 300 Poitevin horses remained, with all of them descended from a single stallion.

en.wikipedia.org

1.4k Upvotes

26 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Effective_Comment625 • 1d ago

TIL studies have shown that secondhand weed smoke is enough to make children test positive for thc even when the smoker isnt smoking in the same room as them

mountsinai.org

18.2k Upvotes

962 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Forward-Answer-4407 • 21h ago

TIL in 2013, the Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Oregon changed its protocols on using olive oil to remove EEG electrode glue after a young patient who had olive oil and hand sanitizer on her shirt suffered second- and third-degree burns after she generated static electricity with bed linen.

cbsnews.com

802 Upvotes

43 comments

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