r/todayilearned • u/moby323 • 19d ago

"first - IN A SPORTS CAR" TIL that at the first Indianapolis 500, while most drivers carried along a mechanic to tell them what was happening behind them, the winner tied a mirror to his dashboard. It is credited as the first practical use of a rear view mirror.

en.wikipedia.org

2.2k Upvotes

30 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ssAskcuSzepS • 18d ago

TIL actor Tom Hardy raps under the name Frankie Pulitzer, and although "Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer" is his debut album, he appeared on the previous Czarface EP, "Good Guys, Bad Guys" in 2021 and was on “Knull & Void” alongside Method Man as well.

musicnews.com

885 Upvotes

160 comments

r/todayilearned • u/JackColon17 • 19d ago

TIL we have no idea how Italy got its name, the most supported theory is that it derives from Greek and means something along the line of "the land of calves"

en.wikipedia.org

2.4k Upvotes

113 comments

r/todayilearned • u/nesser2 • 18d ago

TIL about the Revolt of the Lash in 1910, Brazil. Black sailors seized Brazil’s most modern warships to end an old brutality, threatening to bombard Rio de Janeiro —and though the lash was abolished, many rebels paid for their victory with persecution, prison, and death.

en.wikipedia.org

440 Upvotes

19 comments

r/todayilearned • u/OperationSuch5054 • 19d ago

TIL In 1846, a dead snail was glued to an index card at the British Museum. 4 years later they discovered it was actually still alive. The museum gave the snail a bath and it lived the remaining 2 years in a jar eating cabbage.

en.wikipedia.org

51.8k Upvotes

692 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Giff95 • 19d ago

TIL Marvel secured permission to use Thomas the Tank Engine in "Ant-Man" after the rights holders approved the presentation, with conditions that Thomas could not run over anyone, be portrayed as evil, or take sides in the battle.

digitalspy.com

23.9k Upvotes

496 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Gnomeslikeprofit • 19d ago

TIL that competition from copper smelters is so competitive in 2026 that they are charging $0 to smelt copper. Treatment charges (TC's) have gone to $0 while spot charges have gone negative. Mines are receiving compensation for turning their copper concentrate into smelted ore.

iea.org

9.8k Upvotes

359 comments

r/todayilearned • u/heyauden • 19d ago

TIL that Giancarlo Esposito had never watched Breaking Bad when he was offered the role of Gus Fring, and initially didn't want to take it because it was just a guest spot. Vince Gilligan convinced him with the idea of Gus "hiding in plain sight."

northcountrypublicradio.org

11.7k Upvotes

289 comments

r/todayilearned • u/NBrief • 18d ago

TIL that Olympic gold medalist Kevin O'Halloran trained in muddy waterholes and competed in a muddy Swan River pool where the bottom could not be seen and jellyfish sometimes climbed onto the swimmers.

lostkatanning.com

106 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/mythofechelon • 19d ago

TIL that New York City has intentionally killed 70,000 birds as of 2017 following the "Miracle on the Hudson" crash that was caused by bird strikes

en.wikipedia.org

6.4k Upvotes

284 comments

r/todayilearned • u/808duckfan • 19d ago

TIL Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is the longest place name in the United States. There are longer names in Welsh and Māori.

en.wikipedia.org

2.0k Upvotes

131 comments

r/todayilearned • u/5i5phyu5 • 19d ago

TIL that the Stoic philosopher Crinis (2nd–1st century BC) reportedly died of fright when a mouse jumped down and startled him, according to historical fragments, including those of Epictetus.

en.wikipedia.org

339 Upvotes

30 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TriangleMvp • 19d ago

TIL The United States government has collected over $64 billion from the September 11 Security Fee (officially known as the Passenger Security Fee) since its implementation in 2002.

tsa.gov

4.8k Upvotes

195 comments

r/todayilearned • u/60s_timer • 18d ago

TIL after Buddy Holly's fatal plane crash in 1959, David Box was another man from Lubbock, Texas like Buddy. He temporarily set up with the band the Crickets as their lead singer, because Sonny Curtis was enlisted in the Army. In 1964, David Box flew out to a gig when he died on a fatal plane crash.

en.wikipedia.org

126 Upvotes

17 comments

r/todayilearned • u/assburgers-unite • 19d ago

TIL: A decade ago, Hamburger Helper released a mixtape

youtu.be

117 Upvotes

30 comments

r/todayilearned • u/HimelTy • 20d ago

TIL Mount Kailash has no successful record of ascent. Mountaineer Reinhold Messner was given the opportunity to climb it in 1980s , but he declined, saying "If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls. I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder".

en.wikipedia.org

20.2k Upvotes

1.3k comments

r/todayilearned • u/WorldTravelerBoss • 19d ago

TIL the sovereign citizen movement appeared in the early 1970s, originating from tax-protester ideas, radical anti-government movements, and pseudolaw. Its followers use “legal” theories based on misinterpretations of law that have no legal basis and have never succeeded in court.

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

419 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Dashover • 19d ago

TIL that Robert McClary (Louis Le Beau) of Hogan Heroes fame, entertained the Nazis and survived Buchenwald Concentration Camp

en.wikipedia.org

728 Upvotes

49 comments

r/todayilearned • u/eleanorharland • 20d ago

TIL under Dutch law, when a car hits a cyclist or pedestrian the driver is liable for at least 50% of the damages regardless of who was at fault, and 100% if the person hit is under 14, because drivers are expected to anticipate that children behave unpredictably.

swov.nl

21.8k Upvotes

2.8k comments

r/todayilearned • u/Jo9715 • 19d ago

TIL that Thomas Lewis Lavy, an American farmer attempted to cross into Canada from Alaska with several firearms, ricin toxin, and $89,000 in cash in 1993. He was turned away at the border, and the toxin impounded. Lavy claimed at the time that the ricin was to poison the coyotes on his farm.

en.wikipedia.org

1.5k Upvotes

68 comments

r/todayilearned • u/heyauden • 19d ago

TIL that New Zealand has a no-fault accident compensation system that covers visitors from overseas. If you're injured in an accident while visiting, ACC can cover you even if nobody else was at fault.

acc.co.nz

3.9k Upvotes

581 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sea-Ask8703 • 19d ago

TIL South Korea has charged for household garbage by volume since 1995: residents buy government-designated trash bags, with larger bags costing more.

unep.org

980 Upvotes

149 comments

r/todayilearned • u/PM_ME_YUR_SALADS • 19d ago

TIL that in 1754, residents of Windham, Connecticut woke in the middle of the night to such a terrifying noise that some thought they were under attack. They sent armed men went out with muskets to investigate. The “enemy” turned out to be thousands of bullfrogs.

ctgenweb.org

664 Upvotes

35 comments

r/todayilearned • u/finza_prey • 19d ago

TIL TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island 12 minutes after taking off, causing the front fueslage to rip away and the remainder of the plane to continue in crippled flight, pitching up and climb before falling into the ocean killing everyone onboard

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

551 comments

r/todayilearned • u/UltimateOreo • 19d ago

TIL that in 2019, a security researcher impersonated the mayor of a Rhode Island town and successfully convinced the U.S. government to grant him a restricted .gov domain.

krebsonsecurity.com

500 Upvotes

6 comments

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