TIL In 1956, an airforce mechanic with 2 hours flying experience was cleared to perform a high speed taxi run in an F-86. He accidentally took off but was talked down for a landing with minor damage.
TIL that the iconic parade scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off was filmed partly during a real Chicago parade, with as many as 12 cameras and only one chance to get the live footage right!
TIL David Goggins went from a 297-lb exterminator to losing 106 lb in under 3 months, enduring Navy SEAL Hell Week 3 times, graduating Ranger School as Honor Man, and becoming the only U.S. servicemem
TIL Fred Dibnah was a UK steeplejack who became a TV celebrity after being filmed repairing Bolton Town Hall nearly 250 feet up. He demolished industrial chimneys without explosives by propping them w
TIL energy content of food are measured by burning a dehydrated food in an oxygen filled canister surrounded by water. The burning of the food item gives off energy that heats the surrounding water. T
TIL that, according to a nationwide cross-sectional study in the Netherlands, stool withholding was reported by 71.4% of high school students, mainly due to privacy, hygiene, and taboo. There were no
TIL, a man who drank 8 liters of Ruby Red Squirt every day for a few months developed skin lesions from bromine toxicity stemming from brominated vegetable oil used as an additive back then
TIL that before they had even settled on the name Nirvana, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic recorded 10 songs in about 6 hours for just $152.44, then played a show that night.
TIL Pink noise is a constant sound in the background but has a lower pitch than white noise. Examples include wind rustling through trees or waves on a beach. Brown noise makes a rumbling sound that’s
TIL that in 1936, a 10-year-old boy was one of the first people to review "The Hobbit". His father was Tolkien's publisher, and his favourable verdict was instrumental in getting the book published.
TIL The British Stevenson Plan (1922–1928) restricted natural rubber supply to raise prices. While initially successful, the artificial price hike motivated competitors—especially the Dutch—to boost t
TIL Dionysios the Philosopher revolted against Ottoman rule in 1611. Captured and reportedly flayed alive, his skin was stuffed with straw, dressed in his robes, and paraded through Ioannina. Ottoman
According to a recent study, regular weight-bearing and impact exercises, such as brisk walking, jogging, and jumping, are ranked as the most effective activities for increasing bone density and preve
TIL that in some places trains must possess a metal token to travel on the line. The conductor will grab a loop with the new token and drop off the old token while the train is moving. A token can be
TIL that diatoms generate about 20 to 50 percent of the oxygen produced on the planet each year, and take in over 6.7 billion tonnes of silicon each year from the waters in which they live.
TIL the final battle in Avengers: Endgame was originally much longer, with its own three-act structure. One planned scene had the battle stopping for about three minutes so 18 characters could discuss
TIL the Ritonavir crisis of 1998, an event where the life-saving HIV medication (Form I) became insoluble in water, happened when a more stable, insoluble form of the drug (Form II) was discovered. As
Brain scans suggest menopause may temporarily alter the brain's normal aging process, with researchers observing changes in brain structure, connectivity, and energy use that appear to stabilize after
TIL that production on Cast Away was halted for about a year so Tom Hanks could lose weight and grow his hair and beard. During the hiatus, director Robert Zemeckis made What Lies Beneath with most of
TIL that in ancient times, labdanum, the resin that is the main ingredient of the amber scent in perfumery, was collected by combing it from the beards and thighs of goats and sheep that had grazed on
TIL when Harambe was 2 years old, his mother, his 11-month-old brother, and his two-year-old half-sister died of chlorine gas poisoning after a container of chlorine solution left too close to a space
Chronic stress from people’s everyday lives may be causing lasting structural changes to the heart, harming health and reducing life expectancy, according to new study of almost half a million adults
A study of more than 5,500 people over the age of 50 has raised a red flag: it found that people with abdominal obesity and vitamin D deficiency have a 123% higher risk of death than those without the
New study links the spread of the internet to a global decline in religious identity. As internet access grows within a country, religious affiliation and religious self-identification tend to decreas
