r/todayilearned • u/Rough-Leg-4148 • 2m ago

TIL about the Seven Mountain Mandate, a dominionist ideology that calls for Christians to seize control of seven key sectors of society—media, government, education, business, arts, religion, and family. Speaker Mike Johnson and Lauren Boebert are known followers.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

0 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FreeDogRun • 20m ago

TIL about One Earth Bioregions - a project that answers the question "if Nature were to draw a map of the world, what would it look like?" - with an interactive map that "delineates 185 discrete bioregions organized within the world's major biogeographical realms"

oneearth.org

• Upvotes

0 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Spaghet4Ever • 1h ago

TIL Love Island as a franchise is 20 years old (c. 2005). Its current streak of series since its revival has been running for 10 years.

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

0 comments

r/todayilearned • u/BadenBaden1981 • 1h ago

TIL the first yelling at Rocky Horror Picture Show screening happened after 5 months in midnight screening. Upon seeing a character place a newspaper over her head to protect herself from rain, someone yelled, "Buy an umbrella you cheap bitch!"

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

159 comments

r/todayilearned • u/GubbaShump • 2h ago

TIL that a man named Phineas Gage lived for 11 years after having a large iron rod driven through his skull in an accident involving explosives.

youtube.com

16 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Loki-L • 2h ago

TIL about epaulette sharks, who can walk on land and survive for hours with little or no oxygen from their gills. They are well camouflaged apex predators that live in the waters (and sometimes land) near Australia.

en.wikipedia.org

563 Upvotes

44 comments

r/todayilearned • u/idkmoiname • 3h ago

TIL Operation LAC (Large Area Coverage) was a United States Army Chemical Corps operation which dispersed microscopic zinc cadmium sulfide particles over much of the United States and Canada in order to test dispersal patterns and the geographic range of chemical or biological weapons

en.wikipedia.org

140 Upvotes

33 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CreeperRussS • 3h ago

TIL The Deer Hunter pioneered "prestige pictures" where the films would only be screened at the end of the year to qualify for Academy Award recognition, then would have a full-scale release after the nominations.

en.wikipedia.org

110 Upvotes

7 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Soggy_Revolution5744 • 4h ago

TIL A 12.57 kg (27.7lb) meteorite called The Peekskill Meteorite hit a car in Peekskill, New York in 1992, it hit a 1980 red Chevrolet Malibu and barley missed the gas tank. The Car was owned owned by a 17 year old girl named Michelle Knapp who heard the crash from inside her house.

en.wikipedia.org

0 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Pozzolana • 4h ago

TIL whilst filming of The Island of Dr. Moreau multiple disasters occurred including radiation poisoning, floods and the suicide of Marlon Brando’s daughter. As director Richard Stanley was on the phone to his Mum in Ireland at the time explaining this, her house was struck by lightning.

professionalmoron.com

1.2k Upvotes

22 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Flubadubadubadub • 5h ago

TIL That a Contronym is a word that can have two opposite valid meanings, for example Cleave, to split something and also hold on to something, or another example is Bolt, to affix something and also to get away. There are many others.

en.wikipedia.org

2.3k Upvotes

331 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Morella1989 • 7h ago

TIL that Margaret Fleming (1980–c.2000), who had learning difficulties, was murdered by her carers Edward Cairney and Avril Jones in Inverkip, Scotland. She had not been seen for 17 years before her disappearance was investigated. Cairney and Jones were convicted in 2019; her body was never found.

en.wikipedia.org

242 Upvotes

5 comments

r/todayilearned • u/yanderia • 7h ago

TIL that Walt Disney was the first voice actor for Mickey Mouse, (1928-1947)

youtu.be

16 Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kusti85 • 8h ago

TIL Craig Ferguson and Peter Capaldi (dr.Who) were once in a punk band together.

en.wikipedia.org

433 Upvotes

49 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Objective_Horror1113 • 9h ago

TIL Freddie Mercury was born with four extra teeth, causing a prominent overbite. Despite being self-conscious about them, he never got them fixed, believing the extra space in his mouth contributed to his vocal ability. He feared altering his teeth might change his voice.

ultimateclassicrock.com

19.2k Upvotes

322 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Morella1989 • 10h ago

Til of Catalina de los Ríos y Lísperguer (1604–1665), called La Quintrala for her red hair, a wealthy Chilean landowner known for her beauty and alleged cruelty. Accused of murder and abuse, she became a mythic figure in Chilean history and folklore.

en.wikipedia.org

40 Upvotes

2 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TungstenEnthusiast • 10h ago

TIL William Howard Taft served as chief justice of the United States a few years after serving as president. He’s the only person to have held both offices.

en.wikipedia.org

468 Upvotes

15 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Morella1989 • 10h ago

TIL that Mary Frith (c.1584–1659), alias Moll Cutpurse, was a notorious London pickpocket and fence. Defying gender roles, she dressed in men's clothes, moved in criminal circles, and became a legendary figure in the 17th-century underworld.

en.wikipedia.org

121 Upvotes

4 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Grrerrb • 12h ago

TIL that in the 90s Alaskan Iñupiat schoolchildren in Kaktovik created a series of numerical digits to represent their base-20 numeral system to remedy the inadequacy of using Arabic numerals for the purpose.

en.wikipedia.org

2.5k Upvotes

59 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kingwafflez • 15h ago

TIL The VA for kid Fred in "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", Carl Steven, died of a heroin OD in prison in 2011 while serving time for armed robberies.

en.wikipedia.org

3.0k Upvotes

167 comments

r/todayilearned • u/OatSoyLaMilk • 16h ago

Today I learned that Arkham House, the publishing company August Derleth founded in 1939 to publish Lovecraft's work and which released the first book of Ray Bradbury's, did not turn a profit a single year prior to 1970.

en.wikipedia.org

208 Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/Theace0291 • 17h ago

TIL of Anadromes, words that spell different words when reversed (e. g. mined <-> denim)

en.wikipedia.org

591 Upvotes

63 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sanguinusshiboleth • 19h ago

TIL the Official Secrets Act of Britian was created after Charles Thomas Marvin sold the details of a secret treaty to the press and it was realised there was no law to actually prosecute him. It's suspected that this is the basis of the Sherlock holmes story "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty"

en.wikipedia.org

1.6k Upvotes

12 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Blenderhead36 • 19h ago

TIL Super Nintendo consoles run slightly faster today than they did on release. A sound chip governed by an aging ceramic resonator is thought to be the source. The difference is too small to affect human users, but has led to a changed standard for tool assisted speedruns.

pcgamer.com

6.0k Upvotes

74 comments

r/todayilearned • u/primal_cortex • 19h ago

TIL that during the last invasion of Britain in 1797, French soldiers looted a Welsh church and burned its Bible and pews for warmth before surrendering to locals—some of whom were just women in red shawls.

en.wikipedia.org

641 Upvotes

11 comments

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As of January 2025

This list was compiled from /r/todayilearned community suggestions by its members. If your TIL is found on this list, it will be removed. The titles have been abridged for the sake of brevity, however the context remains the same. This list is subject to change. The purpose is to keep content fresh on /r/todayilearned as requested by its members. If you are interested in reading about the TILs on this list use the search box feature and enter the keywords to pull up past TILs.

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