TIL that ancient Assyrians used a “substitute king” ritual when an omen threatened the king. The real king went into hiding while a substitute took his place, and the substitute was later killed.
TIL that the Babylonians calculated the value of the square root of two to six decimal places more than 1500 years BC; this estimate was not bettered for nearly three thousand years, despite algorithm
TIL that since the inception of the NCAA women's tournament in 1982, current LSU coach Kim Mulkey has participated as a player or coach every year except 1985 and 2003.
Researchers identified a teenager with an exceptionally rare memory ability, capable of recalling details with accuracy that exceeds an estimated 99.9% of the population, offering new insights into hu
TIL there was a historical Daoist practice called "Huanjing bunao" (lit. returning the semen to replenish the brain), involving maintaining arousal for an extended plateau phase while avoiding orgasm.
TIL that the Menendez brothers are visible in the background of a 1990 Mark Jackson basketball card, having bought courtside tickets during a lavish spending spree following the murder of their parent
The reduced risk of heart disease seen in people who are overweight or have obesity taking the weight loss drug semaglutide may not be due to a drop in weight alone. Results suggest that semaglutide s
TIL a 1963 Barbie outfit "Barbie Baby-Sits" came with a bathroom scale set at 50 kg (110 pounds). To scale Barbie is 1.75 m (5'9"), so this is underweight. It also included a book titled How to Lose W
Ultra-processed food and mental health: In a 20-person preliminary study, reducing ultra-processed food intake by more than 85% was associated with moderate to large improvements across three measures
TIL that during WWII, the U.S. government outlawed pre-sliced bread. The ban was supposed to save packaging materials and keep bread prices down. Instead, it enraged consumers, caused a bread knife sh
A large study shows that patients taking Ozempic-like GLP-1 drugs face an 11 times higher risk of vomiting or inhaling stomach contents into their lungs under anesthesia, as the medication delays stom
Exercise rivals common pain meds. Researchers found that exercise can significantly reduce acute and chronic pain across a wide range of conditions including musculoskeletal, neurological, inflammator
TIL in Norway everyone's income, net wealth and tax paid are published online and anyone can search them. But you have to log in, the person you look up can see your name in their search history withi
TIL all five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, were tragically killed in action on November 13, 1942 while serving aboard USS Juneau (CL-52), marking the biggest blow to any one family in U.S. wa
TIL Elizabeth Holmes led investors to believe Theranos's blood-testing technology had been deployed by the U.S. military on the battlefield. It had never actually been deployed there.
TIL that after a plane crash in 2023, four children between the ages of 11 months old and 13 years old were left to fend for themselves in the Amazon rainforest. They were able to survive for 40 days
TIL when Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen went to the Kamestastin crater in eastern Canada for lunar geology training, he met with the Innu Nation indigenous to the area who gifted him their flag. He
TIL that in 1724 Peter the Great had Willem Mons — his wife Catherine's chamberlain and rumored lover — beheaded for corruption, then had his head preserved in alcohol for his Kunstkamera cabinet of c
TIL Nazi salute was made mandatory for the entirety of Wehrmacht as an oft overlooked consequence of July 20, 1944 assassination attempt - Hitler and Göring felt it was necessary to reinforce soldiers
TIL that after Lord Howe Island eradicated invasive rats, native insect populations boomed including a giant, wingless wood-eating cockroach found nowhere else on Earth.
TIL there are two separate stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the name Harrison Ford, one for the famous Harrison we all know, and one for the silent film star.
TIL Jeff Bezos deliberately chose a house with a garage when starting Amazon because he wanted the “garage-startup legitimacy” of companies like Apple and HP.
TIL that Harry S. Truman is that the “S” was not short for a name. His parents chose it to honor both grandfathers—Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young—so his full middle name was simply S.
TIL about former Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton, who cold case investigators recently tied to the 1979 hit on a witness helping the FBI investigate his "pardon selling" scandal—a scandal so severe his
TIL that between 27 BC and 476 AD — over 500 hundred years of history— Roman Emperors died at far higher rates than their Chinese counterparts in the Han Dynasty. Of the ninety-seven emperors who rule
TIL the Yugoslav President Josef Broz Tito followed the custom of Serbian kings and visited parents whenever they had a ninth child, congratulated them and gave them money. He also served as godfather
