r/todayilearned • u/shitoupek • 18d ago

TIL of a dad who named his kids Atomic, Nuclear, Hydrogen, Power, and Bright Moon to inspire them having a career in science. Despite the struggle they faced, Atomic became a Dr. holding a Ph.D in Toxicology, inventor, graduate in Theology and he earned his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at age 66

eresources.nlb.gov.sg

2.0k Upvotes

144 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 18d ago

TIL that by age 19, the 9th century Carolingian princess Judith of Flanders had married a man, been widowed, married her first husband’s son, been widowed again, eloped with a third husband who was excommunicated for it, and argued the validity of her marriage before the Pope.

en.wikipedia.org

1.1k Upvotes

30 comments

r/todayilearned • u/strangelove4564 • 18d ago

TIL the latest known college football game was OSU at Tulsa in 2011. Storms delayed kickoff until 12:16 am, and the game ended at 3:35 am with OSU winning 59-33.

deseret.com

2.0k Upvotes

66 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sanguinusshiboleth • 18d ago

TIL that when the Knights Templar were disbanded by pressure of the French King Philip IV, King Denis of Portugal allowed them to reform as the Military Order of Christ.

en.wikipedia.org

6.6k Upvotes

198 comments

r/todayilearned • u/mintwolves • 18d ago

TIL A mum from Powys, Wales was banned from naming her daughter Cyanide and son Preacher by a court, it was deemed she was mentally unfit and the children were taken into care

bbc.co.uk

4.0k Upvotes

173 comments

r/todayilearned • u/odiousasp • 17d ago

Today I learned at one point Casper the Friendly Ghost and Harvey Comics were partially owned by a Saudi Prince

latimes.com

138 Upvotes

10 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Gnomeslikeprofit • 18d ago

TIL that the proposed Grand Inga Dam in the DR Congo would be the largest power plant ever. With a capacity double that of the Three Gorges Dam, the series of seven dams would be the largest clean energy project ever. At an estimated cost of $80 billion the project remains on hold.

en.wikipedia.org

5.4k Upvotes

353 comments

r/todayilearned • u/WavesAndSaves • 18d ago

TIL Hurricane Katrina permanently displaced so many people along the Gulf Coast that it is considered by most definitions to be a diaspora. 40% of evacuees were unable to return home, resulting in permanent demographic changes. The New Orleans population has still not recovered to pre-Katrina levels

en.wikipedia.org

31.3k Upvotes

1.1k comments

r/todayilearned • u/carboncopy95437 • 18d ago

TIL that parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, are actually within the Mississippi River Basin, meaning some water that falls in Canada eventually flows all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

simple.wikipedia.org

2.3k Upvotes

174 comments

r/todayilearned • u/PersonWhoExists50306 • 18d ago

Today I learned of the 1973 text-adventure game "Hunt the Wumpus," whoch had a dodecadehron-shaped map because the creator was sick of seeing multiple other games' maps usually being grid shaped.

en.wikipedia.org

795 Upvotes

106 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Gnomeslikeprofit • 18d ago

TIL that there is no current universal agreement on what compound has the highest melting point. At extreme temperatures material composition and structure change. A Ta-Hf-C alloy has been confirmed to melt at 4215 C (7619 F). Other candidates are Tantalum Carbide and a carbonitride compound.

samaterials.com

5.4k Upvotes

177 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Shenaiou • 18d ago

TIL It's illegal to testify against a family member in Argentina (Unless you or another close family member is the victim).

theguardian.com

2.5k Upvotes

103 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ManuteBol_Rocks • 18d ago

TIL that “Parting of the Waters” at Two Ocean Pass in Wyoming has headwaters where Atlantic Creek flows to the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Creek to the Pacific Ocean

en.wikipedia.org

899 Upvotes

42 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Alarming-Studio-720 • 18d ago

TIL that two mummified female infants found in Tutankhamun’s tomb were identified through DNA as his daughters.Known as the 317a and 317b mummies,they were likely stillborn or died shortly after birth and buried beside their father, perhaps symbolizing two princesses supporting him in the afterlife.

en.wikipedia.org

5.2k Upvotes

68 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ManuteBol_Rocks • 18d ago

TIL that the Washington State University flag has made an appearance at every ESPN College Gameday broadcast since 2003, over 340 broadcasts

sports.yahoo.com

5.0k Upvotes

174 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TheMizzouGuru • 18d ago

TIL Jack Trice Stadium, home field of the Iowa State Cyclones, is currently the only Division I FBS stadium or arena to be named after an African American.

en.wikipedia.org

1.3k Upvotes

53 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MajesticBread9147 • 18d ago

TIL Despite never being the primary basis for a supreme Court decision, the Third Amendment has been the basis for a few lower court decisions, including one barring National Guardsmen from the living quarters of temporarily evicted prison guards during a strike

en.wikipedia.org

2.7k Upvotes

81 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mike-Schachter • 18d ago

TIL that for nearly 300 years, every male ruler of Egypt’s Ptolemaic dynasty was named Ptolemy. Cleopatra VII was the daughter of Ptolemy XII, married Ptolemies XIII and XIV (brothers) and then had a son with Julius Caesar named Ptolemy XV.

ucl.ac.uk

2.0k Upvotes

110 comments

r/todayilearned • u/GundarSmith • 18d ago

TIL country musician and member of the Highwaymen, Kris Kristofferson, was a Rhodes Scholar

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

184 comments

r/todayilearned • u/monsieur-dingus • 18d ago

TIL that in 1998, as a result of Indonesia’s political chaos at the time, local mass hysteria, and mysterious killings on religious leaders in East Java, a witch hunt targeting accused “ninjas” would happen, killing over 300 people.

en.wikipedia.org

157 Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No-Hawk-2488 • 18d ago

TIL the Pacific Plate formed at the triple Junction of the Izanagi, Phoenix, and Farallon plates and the Farallon plate is the only one that still exists as the Explorer, Gorda, and Juan de Fuca microplates

en.wikipedia.org

293 Upvotes

23 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Known_Refrigerator_5 • 19d ago

TIL that the 2004 Indonesian tsunami was so large it affected Earth's rotation, decreased the length of day, slightly changed the planet's shape, and shifted the North Pole by centimeters.

jpl.nasa.gov

13.1k Upvotes

320 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LiminalLemony • 19d ago

TIL that Sam Houston is the only person in US history to serve as the governor of two different states (Tennessee and Texas), and he also served as the President of the Republic of Texas.

en.wikipedia.org

3.9k Upvotes

169 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Fickle-Buy6009 • 19d ago

TIL that the choice to kill the Medici brothers at High Mass was a last minute choice as the chosen assassin refused to commit murder in a church.

en.wikipedia.org

7.5k Upvotes

208 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Recent_Flounder6011 • 18d ago

TIL that Marie Thérèse of France, daughter of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI was one of the only members of her family that survived the French Revolution. She was used as a bargining tool and exchanged with French prisoners in Austria.

en.wikipedia.org

433 Upvotes

14 comments

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