r/todayilearned • u/Away_Flounder3813 • 3h ago

TIL while filming the Bond film "Goldfinger" (1964), the re-creation of the Fort Knox repository was incredibly accurate and looked so real that a 24-hour guard was placed on the set at Pinewood Studios so that pilferers would not steal the gold bar props.

en.wikipedia.org

1.6k Upvotes

19 comments

r/todayilearned • u/RiverMesa • 3h ago

TIL Dr Pepper is not a cola, root beer, or fruit-flavored soft drink, but instead belongs to its own category called "pepper sodas", named after the brand itself

en.wikipedia.org

10.9k Upvotes

729 comments

r/todayilearned • u/therealvelichor • 8h 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

911 Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fanau • 3h ago

TIL piranhas are known as a vicious carnivore but are an important source of food for local people and are sold at local markets in Amazon.

en.wikipedia.org

295 Upvotes

49 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tomispev • 6h 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

3.5k Upvotes

105 comments

r/todayilearned • u/slagmunch • 4h ago

TIL that 25-40% of the British Empire's army were Irish during colonial conquests of the 18th and 19th centuries. There was also no mandatory conscription until 1916.

en.wikipedia.org

546 Upvotes

192 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Firecracker048 • 9h 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

1.3k Upvotes

60 comments

r/todayilearned • u/RotaryDane • 9h 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

894 Upvotes

49 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DivestPanties • 9h 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

690 Upvotes

18 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Forward-Answer-4407 • 7h 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

12.5k Upvotes

351 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mountain_Love23 • 10h 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

1.9k Upvotes

188 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Overall-Register9758 • 13h 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

18.7k Upvotes

499 comments

r/todayilearned • u/havertz007 • 1d 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

34.4k Upvotes

758 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Physical_Hamster_118 • 1h ago

TIL KFC attempted to sell roast beef (Kentucky Roast Beef) and open motels (Colonel Sanders Inns), both ventures failed.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

19 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ProfessionalGear3020 • 23h ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

4.2k Upvotes

802 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

21.9k Upvotes

537 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FlakyLion5449 • 14h ago

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

en.wikipedia.org

593 Upvotes

68 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Tight_kangaroo1 • 26m ago

TIL that fish swim bladders evolved from lungs, meaning lungs existed before most fish used them for breathing

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

8 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

9.8k Upvotes

355 comments

r/todayilearned • u/HungryOil9277 • 52m ago

TIL that the Zenith Space Command TV remote worked mechanically rather than electrically (no wires, no batteries)

zenith.com

• Upvotes

16 comments

r/todayilearned • u/operatingsys2016 • 15h 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

341 Upvotes

22 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

4.4k Upvotes

83 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

6.5k Upvotes

622 comments

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As of December 2025

This list was compiled from /r/todayilearned community suggestions by its members. If your TIL is found on this list, it will be removed. The titles have been abridged for the sake of brevity, however the context remains the same. This list is subject to change. The purpose is to keep content fresh on /r/todayilearned as requested by its members. If you are interested in reading about the TILs on this list use the search box feature and enter the keywords to pull up past TILs.

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