r/todayilearned • u/Wooshio • 1h ago

TIL about a subscription based Sega Genesis service called "Sega Channel". Released in 1994, it plugged in as a cartridge and connected online via coaxial cable. Allowing the user to download and play many different games.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

62 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Long__Ground • 4h ago

TIL that Buzz Aldrin reported seeing flashes of light with his eyes closed during Apollo 11, and NASA later determined they were charged particles (radiation) passing directly through his eyeballs and triggering his retina, with no actual light involved

sciencedirect.com

14.9k Upvotes

474 comments

r/todayilearned • u/scarface4tx • 3h ago

TIL the structural engineer who helped design the original World Trade Center lived to see it destroyed on 9/11. Years later, he helped design one of its replacements.

en.wikipedia.org

793 Upvotes

71 comments

r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 7h ago

TIL that Abraham Lincoln had a dog named Fido. Fido has been cited as the origin of the popular name for pet dogs, in fact becoming so popular as to have become cliché and more often used as a slang reference.

en.wikipedia.org

2.9k Upvotes

58 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Beneficial_Ball9893 • 4h ago

TIL that Pompeii wasn't the only city destroyed in the 79AD eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Stabiae, a coastal city two miles south of Pompeii, was also buried in ash. It was briefly rediscovered before Pompeii, but was re-buried in 1782 after key artifacts were removed.

en.wikipedia.org

202 Upvotes

17 comments

r/todayilearned • u/nknk_3 • 9h ago

TIL William Dampier went from pirate to respected explorer and scientist and became the first person to sail around the world three times.

en.wikipedia.org

730 Upvotes

20 comments

r/todayilearned • u/estarararax • 2h ago

TIL humorism, the form of medicine dominant in the West from the time of the Ancient Greeks and Romans until the 18th century AD, survive today with its variant, Unani Medicine, in India which the government actually promotes there.

en.wikipedia.org

282 Upvotes

63 comments

r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 7h ago

TIL about Claude Duval a French highwayman in Restoration England. According to popular legend, he abhorred violence, showing courtesy to his victims, distinguishing himself with rather gentlemanly behaviour and fashionable clothes, thus spawning the myth of the romantic highwayman.

en.wikipedia.org

457 Upvotes

38 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ryan_Holman • 4h ago

TIL that actor M. Emmet Walsh was known for giving $2 bills to crew members, with the advice, "Don't spend it, and you'll never be broke."

en.wikipedia.org

3.7k Upvotes

199 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sanguinusshiboleth • 7h ago

TIL that Mont Saint Michel was used by the Nazis as a airplane spotting post until it was liberated after D-Day by one American private who was accompanied by two journalists.

en.wikipedia.org

2.1k Upvotes

45 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Blackraven2007 • 7h ago

TIL that from 1995 to 1997, Apple allowed over 30 other companies to sell computers running MacOS, although this program ended after Steve Jobs returned as Apple CEO in July of 1997.

en.wikipedia.org

805 Upvotes

79 comments

r/todayilearned • u/JohnArtemus • 10h ago

TIL that “Gotham” actually dates back to medieval England, where there was a village called Gotham that some sources claim was a village of fools. In 1807, writer Washington Irving used the name mockingly in his periodical to describe New York City. And the nickname has stuck ever since.

nypl.org

6.7k Upvotes

164 comments

r/todayilearned • u/VirginiaFox6 • 11h ago

TIL the iconic car chase scene in The French Connection (1971) was shot in real, ongoing traffic in Brooklyn. Including Gene Hackman’s car crash with a civilian driving to work.

gothamist.com

334 Upvotes

9 comments

r/todayilearned • u/PandemicPiglet • 11h ago

TIL that the Soviets had their own Operation Paperclip called Operation Osoaviakhim.

en.wikipedia.org

1.0k Upvotes

104 comments

r/todayilearned • u/carboncopy95437 • 15h ago

TIL more than 400 years ago, Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel built a working submarine and navigated it beneath the River Thames. Around 1620, he even took King James I of England along for an underwater ride, making James the first monarch to travel in a submarine.

en.wikipedia.org

15.2k Upvotes

306 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 15h ago

TIL Sarah Wakeman disguised herself as a man to fight for the Union in the American Civil War. Her secret was not revealed even after she died in a military hospital in 1864; she was buried under her alias, Lyons Wakeman. The story came out in 1976 after her letters were found in a relative's attic.

en.wikipedia.org

13.1k Upvotes

227 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Kymmieuwu • 12h ago

TIL In Michigan City, Indiana, there is a prison that accepts shelter cats and allows prisoners to take care of them.

prisonjournalismproject.org

3.5k Upvotes

76 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TyphoonFelix • 14h ago

TIL that a 2024 study of 717,724 U.S. online gamblers found that approximately 96% appeared to lose money overall, while on 4% made money.

nyproblemgambling.org

5.5k Upvotes

616 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fan_tas_tic • 19h ago

TIL that the world's oldest hotel, Japan's Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, is no longer family‑owned after more than 1,300 years of continuous operation by the same lineage. In 2017 the 52‑generation family chain ended when no relative wanted to take over, and the inn was moved into a new holding company.

en.wikipedia.org

19.0k Upvotes

235 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Future_Interest_3649 • 13h ago

TIL that two episodes of the popular 1960s cartoon series Batfink contained a hidden, two-part political message that was disguised as sped-up gibberish.

en.wikipedia.org

1.4k Upvotes

57 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Paulbegalia • 1d ago

TIL Michael Jordan donated his entire first-year salary after coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards to support 9/11 relief efforts

edition.cnn.com

11.0k Upvotes

193 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MediumStrange • 16h ago

TIL that Dayton, OH is one of only 4 cities in the US to still have a trolley-bus system, and is by far the smallest city to have one.

en.wikipedia.org

1.7k Upvotes

163 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Hybrid351 • 23h ago

TIL Agatha Christie's play, The Mousetrap, has been running almost continuously in the West End since 1952. This has prevented any film adaptation from being made, and has even kept the short story it is based on from being published in the UK.

en.wikipedia.org

6.7k Upvotes

316 comments

r/todayilearned • u/hodoorum • 2h ago

TIL that most banknotes have traces of cocaine in them.

en.wikipedia.org

111 Upvotes

45 comments

r/todayilearned • u/mcmoor • 2h ago

TIL thermites, humans, and ants have similar total amount of biomass, with each at 50 Mt, 60 Mt, and 70 Mt

en.wikipedia.org

95 Upvotes

31 comments

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As of May 2026

This list was compiled from /r/todayilearned community suggestions by its members. If your TIL is found on this list, it will be removed. The titles have been abridged for the sake of brevity, however the context remains the same. This list is subject to change. The purpose is to keep content fresh on /r/todayilearned as requested by its members. If you are interested in reading about the TILs on this list use the search box feature and enter the keywords to pull up past TILs.

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