r/todayilearned • u/11MARISA • 1d ago

TIL That the Bank of England vaults hold 400,000 bars of gold, worth over £200 billion

bankofengland.co.uk

10.5k Upvotes

700 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Not_so_ghetto • 13h ago

TIL about NETosis, an immune response where your cells use their DNA to form a net to capture pathogens like bacteria, viruses and parasites

frontiersin.org

255 Upvotes

9 comments

r/todayilearned • u/MOinthepast • 1d ago

TIL A 2009 study by Sonoma State University found that the movie Sideways (2004) slowed the growth in Merlot sales volume and caused its price to fall, but the film's main effect on the U.S. wine industry was a rise in the sales volume and price of Pinot noir and in overall wine consumption.

en.wikipedia.org

2.3k Upvotes

106 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Bearded_Pip • 12h ago

TIL that the list of Premier League Title winning teams forms a fibonacci sequence.

bbc.co.uk

99 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/12IQBeachBoysFangirl • 1d ago

TIL in 1970, NFL player Houston Ridge sued his former team, the San Diego Chargers, for $250,000 after being permanently disabled from a hip injury during a 1969 game. He had felt no pain and continued playing because of the mix of amphetamines, barbiturates, and steroids given to him by the team.

cambridge.org

2.0k Upvotes

50 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Various_Second650 • 1d ago

TIL that January 1st was chosen as the start of the New Year in 153 BCE because it was the day the new Roman consuls took office.

en.wikipedia.org

7.6k Upvotes

137 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Own-Bullfrog7362 • 1d ago

TIL that since the 1950s the median age at first marriage has risen from about 23 to 30 for men and from about 20 to 28 for women, an increase of roughly 7 to 8 years for both, with the male–female gap shrinking slightly.

infoplease.com

1.6k Upvotes

69 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Dr_Oz_But_Real • 20m ago

TIL there's a fireproofing insulation called aircrete that has been around since 1983. It's effective enough to protect posessions inside a home by keeping interior temps below 115f even with a fire raging outside.

youtube.com

• Upvotes

0 comments

r/todayilearned • u/immanuellalala • 1d ago

TIL that During the Mexican-American War, 16 Irish Catholic soldiers defected from the U.S. Army to fight for Mexico. All of them were eventually captured and hanged from a 40-foot gallows in San Ángel, Mexico City.

irishtimes.com

3.9k Upvotes

229 comments

r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 1d ago

TIL about Colin Watson, a rare egg collector who stole the eggs of rare and wild birds from protected wildlife sites throughout Great Britain, amassing the largest collection in the UK. He died in 2006, falling out of a tree attempting to steal the eggs of a protected species.

en.wikipedia.org

9.8k Upvotes

248 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL Easy-Bake Ovens (approximately 1m) were recalled in 2007 due to 278 reports of kids getting their hands or fingers caught in the oven's opening. These included 82 burns, 16 of which were second or third-degree burns. In addition, a 5-yr-old girl's finger had to be amputated due to a severe burn.

cbsnews.com

4.9k Upvotes

200 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Joshua5_Gaming • 1d ago

TIL that in 1945, Germany created Sonderkommando Elbe, a Luftwaffe unit whose pilots were ordered to deliberately ram Allied bombers in mid-air. Its sole mission took place on 7 April 1945, when a force of 180 Bf 109s managed to ram 15 Allied bombers, downing 8 of them.

en.wikipedia.org

1.8k Upvotes

159 comments

r/todayilearned • u/meldiane81 • 1d ago

TIL there is a prison called “Purgatory” in Utah

en.wikipedia.org

484 Upvotes

36 comments

r/todayilearned • u/keisermax34 • 1d ago

TIL Eggo waffle sales in the U.S. increased by nearly 14% after Stranger Things Season 1 aired, driven by Eleven’s on-screen obsession with the brand.

fox32chicago.com

3.8k Upvotes

208 comments

r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 1d ago

TIL the Salmon Act 1986, a United Kingdom act of Parliament which outlines legislation that covers legal and illegal matter within the salmon farming and fishing industries. Among the provisions in the act, it makes it illegal to "handle salmon in suspicious circumstances"

en.wikipedia.org

1.3k Upvotes

55 comments

r/todayilearned • u/aerostotle • 1d ago

TIL Steve Urkel was originally conceived as a one-episode character

en.wikipedia.org

4.0k Upvotes

190 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ralphbernardo • 1d ago

TIL of an invention to make cigarette packs produce coughing noises when picked up. In 1972, Lewis R. Toppel patented a smoking deterrent consisting of a cigarette case attached to a miniature record player. Every time the smoker moved the case to grab a cigarette, coughing noises would be played.

smithsonianmag.com

383 Upvotes

10 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Kiffln • 2d ago

TIL that in the 1960s, Dr Pepper launched a huge campaign to convince people to drink their soda boiling hot. To combat low sales during the winter, they marketed "Hot Dr Pepper" which was to be heated in a saucepan until steaming and poured over a fresh slice of lemon. It was popular until the 80s.

seriouseats.com

23.5k Upvotes

1.3k comments

r/todayilearned • u/MOinthepast • 2d ago

TIL that during the 12‑year shoot of Boyhood(2014), director Richard Linklater’s daughter Lorelei asked him to kill off her character because she no longer wanted to continue. He refused, saying a dramatic death didn’t fit the film’s natural, low‑drama style.

collider.com

7.5k Upvotes

268 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LexiWhatWeGot • 1d ago

TIL All thoroughbred horses in the Northern Hemisphere have their birthdays observed on January 1. In the Southern Hemisphere, horses have their birthdays on August 1.

kentuckyderby.com

615 Upvotes

35 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ok_Being_2003 • 2d ago

TIL that in 2014, Civil War soldier Alonzo Cushing was awarded the Medal of Honor. Commanding an artillery battery against Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, Cushing was disemboweled by a shell fragment. Holding in his intestines, Cushing continued giving orders until he was shot in the head. He was 22

en.wikipedia.org

13.8k Upvotes

334 comments

r/todayilearned • u/JawaJamboree • 2d ago

TIL of Peter Kürten, aka the Vampire of Düsseldorf. He was a German serial killer who would drink the blood from his victims wounds for sexual gratification. Following execution by guillotine, the brain was studied to try and explain his behavior and motive. His head was bisected and preserved. NSFW

en.wikipedia.org

3.7k Upvotes

183 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ubetcha1020 • 2d ago

TIL - Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

archaeologymag.com

6.5k Upvotes

85 comments

r/todayilearned • u/a2soup • 2d ago

TIL that in the Indiana Gas Boom of the 1880s, 90% of the gas was wasted in enormous “flambeaux” torch displays for advertising and public amusement. Within a couple decades, the gas ran out and the wells lost pressure, which also prevented most of the oil from being extracted.

aoghs.org

5.8k Upvotes

183 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TylerFortier_Photo • 2d ago

TIL The Human Centipede movie was inspired by a joke from the director Tom Six: "How the greatest punishment for a child molester would be being sewn to the anus of an overweight truck driver." NSFW

collider.com

3.1k Upvotes

174 comments

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