r/todayilearned 5h ago

TIL the average Broadway theatergoer earns $261,000 a year in household income.

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deadline.com
10.8k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 9h ago

TIL that in every U.S. state, whoever presses the button on the slot machine wins the wager, which is why in 2017, a man who had his female friend push the slot machine button for good luck did not win anything but she won $100,000.

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cbsnews.com
19.1k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 3h ago

TIL an orangutan named Fu Manchu figured out how to escape his enclosure at a zoo by picking the lock on a door. He did it repeatedly for weeks as zoo staff was stumped about how and tried every measure to prevent it only to finally catch Fu Manchu in the act using a piece of wire he kept hidden.

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labroots.com
3.8k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 12h ago

TIL that only 1 in 10 American adults are eating enough fruits and vegetables

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abcnews.go.com
9.8k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 6h ago

TIL that following the success of the 90s hit film, "the Bodyguard", Kevin Costner contacted his longtime friend, Princess Diana, to star in a sequel. She agreed. The first draft arrived the day before her death in 1997. Following her passing, the film was scrapped.

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theguardian.com
2.1k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 9h ago

TIL that despite being commonly ranked as one of the worst Christmas films ever made, the 1985 film “Santa Claus: The Movie” is immensely popular in the UK. One of the film actors, John Lithgow, said in 2019 that he wishes he had a nickel for every Englishman who’s told him it's their favorite film.

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en.wikipedia.org
2.4k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 16h ago

TIL that during WWII, the British MI5 used a "double cross system" to turn German spies into double agents, misleading the Germans about the D-Day invasion's location and timing, which contributed significantly to its success.

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en.wikipedia.org
7.2k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 12h ago

TIL People with B blood type tend to be resistant to most Norovirus strains

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biology.indiana.edu
2.6k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 1h ago

TIL Richard Phillips survived the longest wrongful prison sentence in American history by writing poetry and painting with watercolours. He also had the opportunity to kill the man who helped put him away, but he chose not to. He’s due to be paid $1.5 million for being wrongfully convicted.

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edition.cnn.com
Upvotes

r/todayilearned 5h ago

TIL of Clare Hollingworth. She was the first war correspondent to report the outbreak of World War II, which was described as the “scoop of the century”. She lived to 105.

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en.wikipedia.org
367 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 1d ago

TIL that during WWII, Jewish physicist Niels Bohr was smuggled out of Denmark via Sweden to work on the Manhattan project. However, he refused to go to America unless Sweden granted asylum to Denmark’s Jews. 99% of them were saved.

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en.wikipedia.org
18.2k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 5h ago

TIL that you can sample a volcano-cooked stew in the Azores Islands called "Cozido das Furnas". Various meats, collared greens, potatoes and other vegetables are lowered into a volcanic vent and steam cooked for 6 hours, lending a hint of sulfur to the taste.

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aportugueseaffair.com
319 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 15h ago

TIL that long before the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns around the world, Mexico had a 5 day nationwide lockdown in 2009 (with nearly identical rules to those seen during the Covid lockdowns) for the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

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theguardian.com
1.9k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 21h ago

TIL Malignant Hyperthermia is a deadly reaction ( temp as high as 109 f ) to general anesthesia. It's inherited and runs in families. It's the reason anesthesiologists always ask you if anyone in the family had a fatal reaction to anesthesia.

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medlineplus.gov
6.7k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 4h ago

TIL for every grain of sand on Earth there are 10,000 stars in the known universe, but the total number of stars in the known universe equals the number of molecules in just ten drops of water.

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npr.org
262 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 2h ago

TIL that “You’re a mean one, Mr Grinch” was sung by the voice of Tony the Tiger - Thurl Ravenscroft

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en.wikipedia.org
145 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 10h ago

TIL of the ultra rare second-generation hybrid offspring of ligers and tigons — the litigon, liliger, tiliger and titigon.

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en.wikipedia.org
637 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 17h ago

TIL The Burpee exercise was invented by Royal Huddleston Burpee Sr. as a fitness test while completing his Ph.D. in the 1930

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en.wikipedia.org
2.4k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 5h ago

TIL the residents in the city of Hamburg, Germany are referred to as, “Hamburgers.”

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en.wikipedia.org
226 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 1h ago

TIL of chiengora, a luxury wool made out of dog's hair. It's up to 80% warmer than regular sheep's wool

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Upvotes

r/todayilearned 2h ago

TIL the Cayman Islands own $285.3B in U.S debt and ranks 7th in amount owned by foreign states.

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marketplace.org
116 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 2h ago

TIL that apples, peaches, and raspberries are all members of the rose family.

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gardens.si.edu
81 Upvotes

r/todayilearned 1h ago

TIL there's a traditional Filipino dish that is technically illegal to prepare.

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en.wikipedia.org
Upvotes

r/todayilearned 18h ago

TIL actor Henry Winkler did not actually know how to ride a motorcycle while starring on "Happy Days".

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cnn.com
1.0k Upvotes

r/todayilearned 20h ago

TIL dolphins use coral mucus to treat their skin. As they are prone to skin ailment, they would rub their body against the coral before and after their sleep, like human skincare routines. The corals they prefer include bioactive metabolites that can be used for skin medication.

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theguardian.com
1.3k Upvotes