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TIL the founder of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, was responsible for the deaths of over 65 million people, making him the most prolific killer of the 20th century.

submitted by aThievingStableboy from heritage.org

TIL There is an inverse correlation between the amount of money spent on a wedding, and how long the marriage lasts. The more people spend on the ceremony, the more likely the couple will get divorced.

submitted by theFriendlyDoomer from insider.com

TIL that in English, swear words tend to have Germanic origins (fuck, shit, etc.) while euphemisms tend to have Latin origins (copulate, defecate, etc.)

submitted by aThievingStableboy from grin.com

TIL that all Native American dog breeds were wiped out by Eurasian dogs after the arrival of European settlers. Despite thriving on the continent for thousands of years, no pre-contact breeds survive today.

submitted by aThievingStableboy from smithsonianmag.com

TIL American chickens can be processed in China, shipped back, and legally sold in the U.S. as American products

submitted by Saturday from thefactsource.com

TIL about a murderer that couldn't be executed due to the innocence of his parasitic, conjoined twin

submitted by skunkwerx from en.wikipedia.org

TIL Cleopatra was ethnically Greek, not Egyptian. Her ancestor Ptolomy served in Alexander the Great's army. After Alexander's, death Ptolemy stole the body & used it to claim legitimacy as ruler of Egypt. His dynasty lasted 292 years until Augustus Cesar defeated Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

submitted by aThievingStableboy from en.wikipedia.org

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 Humans have a limited ability to care about people outside their social circle, and this is why there will always be what some consider social injustice.

submitted by NaughtyUnicorn from lundtan.lundaekonomerna.se

TIL that there exist many villages in France that "died for France" in WWI. They were never rebuilt and the land not incorporated in other administrative divisions. Instead the villages officially remain with zero inhabitants to commemorate their sacrifice.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.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 there are more payday loan stores in the US than there are Starbucks or McDonald’s.

submitted by theFriendlyDoomer from research.stlouisfed.org

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 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 our wood is weird

submitted by jet199 from imgur.com

TIL about the Falkland Islands wolf. It was the only native land mammal living on the islands, and it is not quite clear how it was able to get there from the mainland, 480 km away. It was hunted to extinction by sheep farmers in the 19th century.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that there are three islands in lakes on islands in lakes on islands, all in Canada. There used to be four, until the Taal Volcano Main Crater Lake in the Philippines was emptied after an eruption on January 12, 2020.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL Iraq 1971 poison grain disaster has left 459 dead and 100,000 brain damaged. Farmers consumed grain treated with mercury fungicide, because they didn't understand English/Spanish warnings or skull/crossbones sign

submitted by Saturday from thefactsource.com

TIL that the last sword duel in France took place in 1967, between the mayor of Marseille and the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party.

submitted by Jashfior from rarehistoricalphotos.com

TIL that the first rocket launched by the Indian space program in 1963 was transported to the launch site by bicycle. The space center from which the launch was performed was set up in a church.

submitted by Jashfior from indiatoday.in

TIL about the dancing plague of 1518 in Strasbourg where hundreds started to dance maniacally without any known reason, some even dancing to their death.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that in 2010 the stock market experienced a flash crash, when over a trillion dollars were lost and mostly regained, all in 36 minutes. The crash was caused by automatic trading, although the exact causes are not definitely determined.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL since it is forbidden for Jews to carry certain objects in public during Shabbat, many cities have installed lines in the air, enclosing the city, making the entire city count as private domain and thus making it allowed to carry among other things, house keys, tissues, medication, and babies.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that the great mathematician and logician Kurt Gödel, famous for his incompleteness theorems, refused to eat anything not cooked by his wife out of fear of poisoning and died of starvation when she was hospitalized and unable to cook for him.

submitted by Jashfior 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 the longest known sniper kill occurred in 2017. A member of the Canadian special forces smoked an ISIS fighter at 3,871 yards, which is over 2 miles.

submitted by aThievingStableboy from nationalinterest.org

TIL that the national anthem of Estonia is the same as that of Finland, but with different lyrics.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL about the Vela incident, an unidentified double flash occurring in the south Atlantic on September 22, 1979. It is believed to be a secret nuclear test carried out by South Africa and Israel.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is one of the most profitable films of all time with a 6150% return on investment

submitted by skunkwerx from cnbc.com

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

submitted by Chipit from youtube.com

TIL that on pre-colonial Easter Island there existed a undeciphered system of writing or proto-writing, called Rongorongo, which would be one of few independent inventions of writing.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that in 1800 Alexander von Humboldt found a pet parrot in Amazonas that spoke an extinct language. He documented what it said, and his notes are the only trace of this language.

submitted by Jashfior from mentalfloss.com

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

Adolf Hitler, who had himself been a victim of mustard gas in 1918, indignantly refused to deploy poison gas during World War II.

submitted by iDontShift from self.TIL

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 the American Childhood Immunization Schedule I cludes up to 48 Vaccines by Age 16, Not Including COVID

submitted by [deleted] from my.clevelandclinic.org

French children used to be given wine daily

submitted by [deleted] from midi.moe

TIL on the Papuan Bougainville Island 41% of the men admitted to having coerced a non-partner into sex, and 59% to having sex with their partner when she was unwilling. 14.1% admitted having commited gang rape.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL about Child beauty pageants in France

submitted by Mnemonic from i.imgur.com

TIL that in 532, half of Constantinople was destroyed and tens of thousand died in riots between supporters of different chariot racing factions.

submitted by Jashfior 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 about the World's littlest skyscraper

submitted by Mnemonic from en.m.wikipedia.org

TIL about the Vespa anti-tank scooter

submitted by JerkChicken from en.m.wikipedia.org

TIL that the Madagascar Sign Language is derived from the Norwegian Sign Language, since the education for deaf in the country was established by Norwegian missionaries.

submitted by Jashfior from repository.tufs.ac.jp

TIL of the Great Male Renunciation

submitted by [deleted] from en.wikipedia.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

TIL black people think they invented mac and cheese, and can be triggered by white ppl making it.

submitted by American_Muskrat from hostux.pics

TIL that great apes go through a mid-life crisis. Their measured sense of well being bottoms out in their late 20's to the early 30's before rebounding later on. The finding that mid-life crises may not be uniquely human suggests they might have a biological, rather than a sociological, cause.

submitted by Orangutan from nature.com

Muslims wipe their butts with their bare hands

submitted by [deleted] from thehumanist.com

Marathon Runners Poop Themselves An Extraordinary Amount. This Is Why.

submitted by [deleted] from iflscience.com

TIL the term "conspiracy theory" was invented by the CIA to discredit critics and dissidents

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL that on the isolated Pacific Pitcairn Island, six men, out of a total population of just 47, were in 2004 found guilty of rape and sexual assault against children, including the mayor.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

TIL most men’s right testicle is slightly larger than the left, and tends to hang a little higher.

submitted by aThievingStableboy from healthline.com

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

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

submitted by Tiwaking from wagwalking.com

Steven Spielberg directed the first Columbo episode

submitted by [deleted] from self.TIL

r/TumblrInAction banned

submitted by ClintonKilldepstein from reddit.com

TIL chess was invented in India by king Rajamanavan of the 12th century vijaypatia dynasty

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL: The Pareto Principle also known as the 80/20 rule states that 80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of the causes

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL that all mammals of order Carnivora are divided into two groups: cat-like (Feliformia) and dog-like (Caniformia).

submitted by NorfolkTerrier from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that the library Biblioteca_Joanina in Coimbra, Portugal is home to a swarm of bats that feed on book-eating insects.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

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

submitted by Robin from self.TIL

TIL that actor Tom Arnold’s sister got married at age 14, with her mother’s permission, to a 23-year old. She later went on to run one of the largest meth operations in the Midwest until her arrest in 1989.

submitted by American_Muskrat from self.TIL

TIL there is Sexsomnia

submitted by [deleted] from midi.moe

Today I Learned that the 1930 movie "Soup To Nuts" was written by Rube Goldberg, the famous cartoonist, author, and inventor and featured the debut of the Three Stooges.

submitted by Zapped from self.TIL

The Greenland shark takes 150 years to reach sexual maturity, with some sharks living up to 400 years. Due to this, the hunting of the Greenland shark is unsustainable and is slowly leading to the potential extinction of the species

submitted by [deleted] from self.TIL

TIL Steve Jobs died of an easily treatable form of pancreatic cancer because he though eating a fruit only diet would cure him

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL Medieval Eltz Castle has remained with the same family for 860 years (33 generations)

submitted by Saturday from thefactsource.com

TIL bone conduction was used to diagnose the source of deafness in patients as early as the sixteenth century (no, Beethoven did NOT invent bone conduction)

submitted by liz_ from blog.sentienhq.com

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

submitted by Tom_Bombadil from usatoday.com

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

submitted by Robin from self.TIL

TIL about Van Eck phreaking

submitted by Mnemonic from en.wikipedia.org

TIL Instagram Communities May Be Promoting Eating Disorders

submitted by Nechama from hubpages.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 in Medieval Sweden, the law prevented men from milking cows because it was associated with bestiality unless a woman did it

submitted by TheMagicFlute from citeseerx.ist.psu.edu

TIL Disney lost 196 billion dollars just in 2023

submitted by TheMagicFlute from youtube.com

A reverse exorcism is when the demon tells the priest to get out of the child's body

submitted by [deleted] from self.TIL

TIL: Depression and Anxiety may only be representatives and constant reminders for the pain that is required for real psychological growth.

submitted by [deleted] from self.TIL

TIL : Poisonous and venomous aren't the same thing. And toxic is something else also

submitted by [deleted] from self.TIL

TIL Statistically you are more likely to be a virgin if you have a higher iq and are less aggressive and violent.

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL that during World War II, Japan floated over 9,300 Fu-Go balloon bombs towards the United States mainland. While the bombs were largely ineffective, they were the first intercontinental weapons, with one reaching as far as Michigan.

submitted by NorfolkTerrier from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that the US's original nuclear war plan included bombing China. When asked if there was an option to spare China if it wasn't part of the war, Strategic Air Command leader Thomas Power said he hoped no one would think of that, "because it would really screw up the plan."

submitted by NorfolkTerrier from nsarchive2.gwu.edu

TIL that at a library in Anchorage, Alaska you can borrow taxidermy animals.

submitted by Jashfior from atlasobscura.com

TIL that "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", "The Mask", and "Dumb and Dumber" were all released in 1994.

submitted by skunkwerx from en.wikipedia.org

TIL that Madagascar was not inhabited from nearby Africa, but from Indonesia some time between 200 and 500 AD.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

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

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

submitted by Robin from who.int

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 you could light your house using pickles, if you wanted to.

submitted by yellowsnow2 from self.TIL

A group of squirrels is called a "dray" or a "scurry".

submitted by American_Muskrat from self.TIL

People from Nigeria are referred to as Nigerians and people from Niger are referred to as Nigeriens.

submitted by Zapped from self.TIL

Mastic is excreted by the resin glands of certain trees and dries into pieces of brittle, translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavor is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing flavor similar to pine and cedar.

submitted by [deleted] from en.wikipedia.org

TIL - The U.S. Invaded Canada 4 times, other than during The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

submitted by Zapped from mentalfloss.com

TIL most European and Japanese countries use bidets instead of toilet paper which is more environmentally friendly and cleans poop off your ass better

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL China has over 200 million leftover men due to its one child policy

submitted by yabbit from self.TIL

TIL about atomic gardening. People used radioactive cobalt to induce mutations in plants in order to create new plants.

submitted by Canbot from en.m.wikipedia.org

TIL a seven year old boy became heavyweight champion of the world for one day. ♥️

submitted by hfxB0oyA from imgur.com

TIL that two airplanes collided in Switzerland in 2002 due to bad air traffic control. A Russian man who lost his family in the accident murdered the air traffic controller who handled the traffic that night. After his release he became deputy minister of construction in North Ossetia-Alania.

submitted by Jashfior from en.wikipedia.org

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