TIL that the small Pacific island nation of Nauru was once the richest country in the world thanks to phosphate mines, but as the phosphate was depleted it descended into poverty, reaching 90% unemployment.

submitted by Jashfior from (telegraph.co.uk)

TIL That, in addition to head-coverings, followers of Sikhism must always carry a Kirpan (ceremonial dagger) as a symbol of their "spirituality and the constant struggle of good and morality over the forces of evil and injustice."

submitted by aThievingStableboy from (sikhs.org)

TIL of Brandolini's Law, aka the "Bullshit Asymmetry Principle" which states, "The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it"

submitted by aThievingStableboy from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL of Transnistria - a European country that doesn't officially exist. Internationally, it's recognized as part of Moldova, but is largely self-governing and considers itself independent.

submitted by aThievingStableboy from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL that after the invention of lightning rods in the 18th century, it became popular in France to wear lightning rods e.g. in your hat or umbrella.

submitted by Jashfior from (en.wikipedia.org)

All Dutch PMs since 1982 have attended the Bilderberg.

submitted by Robin from (wikispooks.com)

Windshield phenomenon. Are insects disappearing?

submitted by Canbot from (en.wikipedia.org)

Copper's Surprising Reaction to Strong Magnets | Force Field Motion Dampening (7:45) ~ NightHawkInLight, 2018-01-26 [Did any of you know about this?]

submitted by JasonCarswell from (youtube.com)

What the heck Electrostatic Cleaning is

submitted by rubberbiscuit from (cleanlink.com)

Helicopter Tree Sawing In The MD 500 (7:26) ~ Helicopter Online Ground School, 2015-08-17

submitted by JasonCarswell from (youtube.com)

TIL that aspirin might have increased mortality during the spanish flu

submitted by [deleted] from (youtu.be)

TIL In 1933 Asbestos companies settled claims about the damage of asbestos, they then funded the research so they could control it.

submitted by [deleted] from (youtu.be)

Today I learned about New Rave.

submitted by JasonCarswell from (self.TIL)

TIL about the "Davy Crockett" M-29 portable nuclear warhead mortar gun, made in the 1950s

submitted by magnora7 from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL Scholars now think that human writing independently developed in at least five ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia/Sumer (between 3400 and 3100 BC), Egypt (around 3250 BC), China (2000 BC), Mesoamerica (by 650 BC), and Peru (by 200 CE)

submitted by magnora7 from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL: Dogs dont want to be alone when they die, they're just scared and confused

submitted by Tiwaking from (wagwalking.com)

An Alabama store sells your unclaimed luggage

submitted by mikipika from (unclaimedbaggage.com)

TIL: The 4 richest banks in the world are all based in the same country, which surprised me.

submitted by Robin from (en.wikipedia.org)

Patented in 1857, the phonautograph was the earliest known device to record sound, but had no means of playback. The recordings were first converted back into sound in 2008.

submitted by Robin from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL: At least two IMF directors have been convicted of financial crimes

submitted by Robin from (self.TIL)

Exclusive: Pentagon spent nearly $8 million to treat 1,500 transgender troops since 2016

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from (usatoday.com)

TIL an AI that tracks "hate speech" finds minorities to be the worst offenders.

submitted by Chipit from (youtube.com)

TIL: Sophia the AI robot was developed as a result of funding by Jeff Epstein. Wonder if he trained her?

submitted by Squizzel from (twitter.com)

TIL about the inspiration for "The green mile".

submitted by Mnemonic from (imgur.com)

TIL of the Great Male Renunciation

submitted by [deleted] from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL that the late Philip Marshall has _two_ amazon author pages:

submitted by Robin from (self.TIL)

TIL about the Soucouyant, or Loogaroo. (I'm pretty sure that HRC is a loogaroo)

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL that JFK Jr. died in a small plane crash in 1999.

submitted by Robin from (self.TIL)

TIL about the usage of the 'word' Texas.

submitted by Mnemonic from (i.imgur.com)

In February this year Wikipedia voted on whether to delete its entire article on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

submitted by Robin from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL that Donald Rumsfeld was the 3rd Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. This office was created to fight the "War on Poverty". Obviously, he didn't win the war.

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from (en.m.wikipedia.org)

TIL about the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act. This April the UK Govt. claimed the right to jail its citizens for up to for 10 years if they enter a "designated area" abroad.

submitted by Robin from (independent.co.uk)

TIL that the WHO declared Ebola a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) 2 Weeks ago.

submitted by Robin from (who.int)

TIL about Child beauty pageants in France

submitted by Mnemonic from (i.imgur.com)

TIL about the World's littlest skyscraper

submitted by Mnemonic from (en.m.wikipedia.org)

TIL: that Scatman John had a stutter

submitted by Mnemonic from (youtube.com)

TIL about the Pfeilstorch (German for "arrow stork")

submitted by Mnemonic from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL about Van Eck phreaking

submitted by Mnemonic from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL about: the Petroleum Warfare Department

submitted by Mnemonic from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL Hitler wanted to burn Paris to the ground but the order was disobeyed by General Dietrich von Choltitz who believed Hitler was mentally insane

submitted by useless_aether from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL that we dont have just 5 senses, we have at least 14 of them.

submitted by Greedeater from (science.howstuffworks.com)

TIL that, on average, Mercury is closer to Earth than our next door neighbors of Venus and Mars

submitted by Starlight_Fire from (physicstoday.scitation.org)

TIL Orlando, home of Walt Disney World, ranks #2 on the list of cities with the highest rates of registered sex offenders.

submitted by useless_aether from (i.imgur.com)

There is a law in France that forces all supermarkets to give unsold food to the poor

submitted by useless_aether from (i.redd.it)

TIL that in 1946 John Boyd Orr, a Scottish scientist, proposed the creation of a World Food Board to repel world hunger and protect global peace. The proposal was rejected as UK and USA refused to support it. As he resigned from his role in the UN, he warned that “food is more than a commodity."

submitted by Orangutan from (metode.org)

TIL George, the last known Hawaiian snail of his kind, has died at age 14

submitted by Nechama from (news.mongabay.com)

TIL Instagram Communities May Be Promoting Eating Disorders

submitted by Nechama from (hubpages.com)

How One Genius Little Fish Convinces Sharks Not To Eat Them

submitted by useless_aether from (thedodo.com)

TIL: Neopets was run by Scientologists

submitted by Mnemonic from (theoutline.com)

TIL 'Hell' was created +- on May 27, 1962 underneath the borough of Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States: The Centralia mine fire

submitted by Mnemonic from (en.wikipedia.org)

Here are some interesting photos of Webb Hubble and Chelsea Clinton? There could be a resemblance.

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from (duckduckgo.com)

TIL that after the Taliban blew up two giant 4th-century Buddha statues, a network of caves were discovered which held ancient Buddhist paintings and another giant Buddha statue. This previously undiscovered statue was 62 ft tall, bigger than the two that were destroyed.

submitted by Orangutan from (en.wikipedia.org)

TIL to never give up on your dreams, when people tell you to stop: You just push harder and change your boxers. YOU CAN DO IT!

submitted by Mnemonic from (instagram.com)

TIL about Weeaboos. I also learned that there is an 8-step prevention/rehab WikiHow article: "How to Avoid Becoming a Weeaboo".

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from (m.wikihow.com)

TIL that it was/is Natural and not Nurturing

submitted by Mnemonic from (youtube.com)

TIL the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" was created as a counter argument to oppose teaching "Intelligent Design". Stating argued that intelligent design and his belief that "the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster" were equally valid.

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from (en.wikipedia.org)