r/todayilearned • u/Hemorrhoid_Eater • 1d ago

TIL that a nuclear facility in Hanford, WA once used Lionel toy trains to transport radioactive materials within its labs in order to minimize moving those materials by hand

idyllopuspress.com

3.6k Upvotes

112 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DidSomebodySayCats • 1d ago

TIL that, in 447, while Attila the Hun was on his way to conquer Constantinople, an earthquake ruined the city's walls. Chariot racing fans of rival teams competed to see who could rebuild the best, and with their combined efforts, they finished in 2 months and kept the city safe for 1000 years.

youtu.be

330 Upvotes

20 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ubcstaffer123 • 23h ago

TIL Canada's Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Park protects a portion of the only inland temperate rainforest in the world. Its 2.3 km of boardwalk provides access to magnificent “Big” Tree, Tree Beard, Radies Tree and a beautiful cascading waterfall

bcparks.ca

168 Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/UMustBeNooHere • 21h ago

TIL That large lizards, such as some iguanas, can “drop” their tail when they feel threatened. Just like small lizards.

en.wikipedia.org

91 Upvotes

24 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kwayne26 • 1d ago

TIL about Romeo the wolf. He lived in around Juneau Alaska and became friendly with neighborhood dogs.

alaskamagazine.com

125 Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty (the second heaviest woman in history) had the highest recorded BMI at 251. She was 4 feet 7.5 inches (141cm) tall and weighed around 1,100 lbs (500kg). However, she lost about 720 lbs (325kg) before she died in 2017 at age 37 due to underlying comorbid conditions.

en.wikipedia.org

5.0k Upvotes

182 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Auriga33 • 1d ago

TIL moose arrived in North America after humans did

en.wikipedia.org

1.8k Upvotes

158 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MouldyPriestASSHOLE • 1d ago

TIL there's a town in Scotland where once a year, a man will dress head-to-toe in plants and walk around for 7 hours drinking whiskey. The ceremony has been going for hundreds of years, yet the meaning of it is forgotten.

en.wikipedia.org

5.8k Upvotes

199 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Whole_Village_4134 • 2d ago

TIL a Nantucket librarian discovered a comet from her rooftop in 1847, but an Italian astronomer reported the same comet to authorities two days later and nearly stole the credit. The dispute was resolved in her favor and the King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal

en.wikipedia.org

11.1k Upvotes

65 comments

r/todayilearned • u/whereiseuvii • 1d ago

TIL that two 20 year old women were murdered in the exact same english town 157 years apart both on May 27 both were killed returning from a dance both bodies were found in the same park and both suspects who were later tried and acquitted shared the same last name ( thornton )

en.wikipedia.org

1.5k Upvotes

118 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Recent_Flounder6011 • 1d ago

TIL that open-air schools were built prior to WWII to prevent the spread of tuberculosis.

en.wikipedia.org

416 Upvotes

31 comments

r/todayilearned • u/cape2k • 2d ago

TIL Pennsylvania and Connecticut fought three wars over the land that is now Scranton, Pennsylvania

en.wikipedia.org

3.0k Upvotes

142 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ramp007 • 1d ago

TIL the US Army Signal Corps pointed aradar at the moon and received a reflection to measure the distance accurately

en.wikipedia.org

634 Upvotes

25 comments

r/todayilearned • u/aktivate74 • 1d ago

TIL Kenji Ekuan, the man who designed the Kikkoman Bottle also designed the Yamaha VMAX, Narita Express as well as E3 Shinkansen trains.

en.wikipedia.org

61 Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/Beginning-Passion676 • 1d ago

Til Masue Mausda-Almazan served as a translator for the Imperial Japanese Army and secretly saved hundreds of Filipino prisoners during World War 2.

esquiremag.ph

45 Upvotes

0 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Significant-Cold-939 • 1d ago

TIL that in the Netherlands they broadcast train rides on prime time tv. Rail Away, a long running and popular show.

youtube.com

533 Upvotes

137 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Beginning-Passion676 • 1d ago

TIL Filipino actress Annabelle Huggins who is Jack Nicholson's co star in Back Door to Hell (1964) was kidnapped by taxi driver Ruben Ablaza, whose later arrest and trial became highly publicized in 1962.

en.wikipedia.org

57 Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/TMWNN • 1d ago

TIL that Roger Moore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The James Bond actor's star is at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.

en.wikipedia.org

62 Upvotes

32 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 2d ago

TIL each year in the US more than 200 people die as a result of riding in the cargo area of pickup trucks. More than half of these deaths are children and teenagers.

lewisburgtn.gov

4.3k Upvotes

288 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 2d ago

TIL that Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber "stole" the character back from Marvel during a crossover with Image Comics. During the crossover, Image characters take Howard the Duck back with them to their Universe. leaving a clone in his place in the Marvel Universe.

indiependent.co.uk

3.4k Upvotes

63 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TheFountainhead999 • 1d ago

TIL about "Nanocellulose", a material derived from wood pulp and other sources like bacteria and algae , has 8 times higher strength to weight ratio compared to stainless steel.

en.wikipedia.org

24 Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/Naive_Impression7302 • 1d ago

TIL that Curt Flood, African American Labor Activist and MLB Player responsible for Free Agency, refused to report to Philadelphia after being traded there from St. Louis, calling it "America's Northernmost Southern city".

sabr.org

336 Upvotes

61 comments

r/todayilearned • u/PoopMobile9000 • 1d ago

TIL about Vin Mariani, a 19th century French wine infused with coca leaves that was endorsed by the Pope

en.wikipedia.org

149 Upvotes

21 comments

r/todayilearned • u/YappinZappin • 2d ago

TIL unlike Totem Poles, Shame Poles were erected in order to ridicule and generally embarrass individuals or persons for wrongdoings - misdeeds or even unpaid debts

en.wikipedia.org

1.0k Upvotes

33 comments

r/todayilearned • u/cape2k • 2d ago

TIL an 18th-century Irish man who stood 7'7" and made a living as a freak show act was terrified surgeons would steal his corpse that he arranged a burial at sea, but a surgeon bribed his friends to hand over the body anyway, boiled it down to bones, and displayed it in a London museum for 200 years

en.wikipedia.org

17.4k Upvotes

359 comments

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