TIL that comic books from the 1960s and 1970s could have ads for squirrel monkeys and that kids could order them. In one instance, a boy ordered a squirrel monkey after seeing an ad in a Spider-Man co
TIL Video game developer Valve has been boss-free since 1996. They proclaime "Imagine working with super smart, super talented colleagues in a free-wheeling, innovative environment, no bosses, no midd
TIL Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, drew both their signature hand gestures after his hand gestures that he often did in his daily life
TIL that the actress Jodie Foster is fluent in French to the degree that she dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films. She attended the Lycée Français de Los Ange
TIL that before becoming a pro wrestling referee for WWE and AEW, Aubrey Edwards worked on the Scribblenauts games as a designer for 5th Cell, eventually becoming lead producer for Scribblenauts Unlim
TIL that because Icelandic people use patronymic names that change every generation, the most common hereditary surname in Iceland is actually the Vietnamese "Nguyen", which is carried by just 615 peo
TIL that geologists call a roughly billion-year interval in Earth's history the “Boring Billion” because several geological and biological records show comparatively limited change during that time.
TIL that walking after exercise activates the calf muscle pump, helping return blood to the heart and reducing the risk of a sudden drop in blood pressure.
TIL that cows do not have any upper front teeth. Instead, they have a thick, leathery layer of tissue called a "dental pad" which they press their lower incisors against to tear grass.
TIL In 2002 the pharmaceutical heiress Ruth Lilly gave $200 million to the publisher of Poetry magazine. The gift led to the establishment of the Poetry Foundation in 2003.
TIL that the two longest rivers located entirely within the Canadian province of Ontario (the Albany River and the Severn River) are exactly the same length. Both rivers are 982 km long, or 610 miles.
TIL that in 1943, a U.S. Navy destroyer accidentally fired a live torpedo at the battleship carrying President Roosevelt. The USS Iowa managed to evade the torpedo, and the destroyer's crew initially
TIL Boxing promoter Don King beat an employee to death in 1966 because he owed him 600 dollars. Decades later he tried to rename the street where he murdered him after himself “Don King Way”
TIL the oldest known physical flag in the world is the Derafsh-e-Shahdad (or Standard of Shahdad), it is a bronze flag with a simurgh (mythical bird) dating back to 2,400 B.C.
TIL that in 2003, MIT scientists unveiled a biological weapons detector funded by the U.S. military that hijacked living white blood cells, genetically engineering them to glow when they encountered d
TIL failed Operation Kiebitz, during WW2 Nazis planned to rescue 4 skilled U-Boat commanders held in Canada POWs camp with a U-Boat, canadians became aware of the plan and laid trap to capture the U-B
TIL in 1948, when Satchel Paige was finally signed to pitch in the Major Leagues, The Sporting News named him Rookie of the Year—at (at least) 42 years old.
TIL a finance worker at a multinational firm was tricked into transferring $25 million to scammers after joining a video conference call where every single other participant—including the company's CF
TIL in Medieval England, a form of football (also called mob football) was played between neighbouring villages/towns. Team sizes were unlimited. The teams had to move an item (for example an animal's
TIL that in 2022, a 7-year-old boy, his brother, and their cousin discovered a rare juvenile T. rex fossil in North Dakota. Dubbed "Teen Rex," it is one of only four juvenile T. rex fossils ever found
TIL that before the Black Death in Europe, there was the Plague of Justinian. The plague weakened the Byzantine Empire's economy and caused the empire's decline.
TIL that in 2020, Justin Montney lost his fiancée, Alexis-Athena Wyatt, in a car crash. When he attempted to get a refund from the photography company he had hired for their wedding, they not only ref
TIL that the ‘high’ from gambling isn’t connected to winning - the dopamine rush peaks at exactly 50:50 probability. Gamblers get a rush when the roulette wheel is spinning but their pleasure is large
TIL about the “blob” slime mould. It has almost 720 sexes, can heal itself, and has no brain, but is able to transmit knowledge if merged with another blob.
TIL Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a well-known game-day superstition where he wears the same pair of red underwear for every game of his NFL career.
TIL member of the Donner Party, Lewis Keseberg, was accused of killing and consuming multiple, including children, by the rescue party. He was found with the corpse of Tamsen Donner, and had hidden he
TIL that Checkers has been a solved game for almost 20 years. Optimal play is unbeatable, and two opponents playing optimally always reach a stalemate.
TIL an Australian library received a book roughly 150 years overdue after it was found sealed inside a chimney. Had the original borrower been identified, the potential fine would have been around 27.
TIL that Billy Joel never sells front row seats in order to see the real fans right in front of him. He gives them away to random people in the cheap seats so that front row isn't always just wealthy
TIL that in April 2012 Guiness World Records officially declared Cutthroat Island (1995) to be the biggest box-office failure of all time; this record would be broken one month later by John Carter (2
TIL that in July 1946, Hungary issued a 100-quintillion (10²⁰) pengő banknote — the highest-denomination note ever put into circulation — during the worst hyperinflation ever recorded, when prices dou
TIL that Louis XVIII of France enjoyed reading 'Le Nain Jaune' although the newspaper made fun of him and his government. The king read it both for information, and because he loved satire. Louis even
TIL that in 1978 a Finnish man hijacked a domestic flight after asking to visit the cockpit. He collected over $200k in ransom during the 17 hour, 4500 km journey via Helsinki and Amsterdam. His final
TIL that from 1939 to 1949, some US airmail planes collected mail without landing, by swooping low enough to hook mailbags suspended between two poles while dropping incoming mail from the aircraft.
TIL that the captain of the Wild Boars, the Thai soccer team rescued from an underground cave after being stuck for 9 days, died a few years later from suicide while studying in England
TIL that William Whipple, one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, freed his slave after signing it because he believed one cannot simultaneously fight for freedom and hold another pe
TIL that during the 1954 K2 expedition, Walter Bonatti and Amir Mehdi were left stranded at 8,100m while carrying oxygen for the summit team. They survived the night in the open as Lacedelli and Compa
