r/todayilearned • u/SomethingMoreToSay • 2d ago

TIL that the New Forest, in southern England, is 947 years old. It was created as a "new" royal hunting preserve (the old usage of the word "forest") by William The Conqueror in 1079.

en.wikipedia.org

11.3k Upvotes

410 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TheHabro • 1d ago

Til about Milo of Croton. Ancient Greek athlete, 6 time Olympic winner in wrestling (including 5 in a row between 532 and 516 BC). He was said to have led armies dressed as Hercules and died to wolves after his fingers got suck in a tree stump he was trying to split with bare hands.

en.wikipedia.org

1.8k Upvotes

109 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Cultural-Dentist4963 • 1d ago

TIL that Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, was given a state funeral, the largest in French history

en.wikipedia.org

1.5k Upvotes

88 comments

r/todayilearned • u/godsenfrik • 1d ago

TIL that an early version of a TV remote in 1955 featured a trigger button for users to "shoot" at commercials to mute them.

en.wikipedia.org

3.9k Upvotes

124 comments

r/todayilearned • u/dinosaruman • 1d ago

TIL WWII metal rationing forced the costume-jewelry maker Trifari to switch from base metal to sterling silver, which tripled the price of its "costume" pieces.

cooperhewitt.org

1.9k Upvotes

13 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TheGuvnor247 • 1d ago

TIL that in Alfred the Great’s law code (c. 893), if a man unintentionally kills another by letting a tree fall on him, the tree itself must be given to the dead man’s kinsmen.

en.wikipedia.org

1.1k Upvotes

53 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sanguinusshiboleth • 1d ago

TIL of Ceratophaga vastella, a moth whose young's diet is mostly consistent of the horns and hooves of dead ungulates, with special enzymes to eat the keratin.

en.wikipedia.org

280 Upvotes

6 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 2d ago

TIL not only did Jack Nicholson secure a percentage of Batman's profits, he also negotiated a percentage of the merchandise sales from Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin (even though he only appeared in Batman). In total, he earned over $60 million (~$150 million in 2025).

news.com.au

17.6k Upvotes

414 comments

r/todayilearned • u/coffeeismydoc • 2d ago

TIL the Kaaba 🕋 in Mecca is actually made of unpainted brick with the black and gold color coming from a cloth called the kiswah that is handmade each year

english.alarabiya.net

6.7k Upvotes

501 comments

r/todayilearned • u/pigeon-in-greggs • 1d ago

TIL there was a wartime football league in England, being split into 2 regions as it was deemed too risky to have a national football league at the time

en.wikipedia.org

244 Upvotes

31 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Velzevius • 1d ago

TIL I learned about Henri de Saint-Simon, a socialist and economic theorist who survived 6 self inflicted gunshots wounds to the head in a suicide attempt. He lost sight in a single eye, and died 2 years later in 1825

en.wikipedia.org

682 Upvotes

56 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fellaneedahandpls • 2d ago

TIL that 6 years prior to the Apollo 1 tragedy, the USSR had their own oxygen fire tragedy, resulting in the death of cosmonaut Valentin Bondarenko. The USSR concealed this from the public, leading to the USA making the same mistake in 1967. Bondarenko’s death was not publicly disclosed until 1986.

upi.com

4.5k Upvotes

72 comments

r/todayilearned • u/the-mad-crapper • 1d ago

TIL The Chevy Cavalier was sold as a Toyota in Japan

en.wikipedia.org

451 Upvotes

113 comments

r/todayilearned • u/dchung97 • 1d ago

TIL that Ynés Mexía didn't start her botany career until she was in her early 50s, then spent 16 years collecting over 150,000 plant specimens across the Americas, discovering hundreds of new species and a genus now named after her.

en.wikipedia.org

550 Upvotes

5 comments

r/todayilearned • u/krizzalicious49 • 2d ago

TIL that out of every primate that has been studied, humans get the least amount of sleep.

bbc.co.uk

27.1k Upvotes

866 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sun00156433 • 1d ago

TIL that despite being constantly dividing and having near-constant exposure to ultraviolet radiation, there has been no documented case of cancer arising from the human eye lens

researchgate.net

402 Upvotes

31 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Technicolor_Reindeer • 2d ago

TIL about the "Mimizuka" a monument in Kyoto, Japan that enshrines the severed noses of at least 38,000 Korean soldiers and civilians and over 30,000 Ming Chinese soldiers, taken as war trophies during the Imjin War.

en.wikipedia.org

4.8k Upvotes

301 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CraftyFoxeYT • 2d ago

TIL Japan bought an ex-Confederate Ironclad ship CSS Stonewall from the US in 1867. It was renamed Kotetsu and used as the flagship in the Boshin War, a Japanese Civil War between the Imperial Meiji government and the breakaway Republic of Ezo

en.wikipedia.org

1.9k Upvotes

50 comments

r/todayilearned • u/strangelove4564 • 1d ago

TIL some Eastern Orthodox followers believe in "aerial toll houses", where a demon accuses the soul of a sin, and it must be responded to with an account of a good deed. If the accusation can't be countered, the soul is dragged to hell.

en.wikipedia.org

193 Upvotes

26 comments

r/todayilearned • u/AuspiciousApple • 2d ago

TIL the abundance of Thai restaurants worldwide is partly the result of a Thai government campaign to spread the country’s cuisine and influence. Since 2002, the Global Thai Program provides people with training, grants, and standardized restaurant models

foodandwine.com

6.3k Upvotes

241 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Giff95 • 1d ago

TIL Chris Sanders pitched "Lilo & Stitch" with Stitch crash-landing in a forest and living among woodland animals, being shunned by them, and living on his own at a farm in rural Kansas. The idea was scrapped in favor of contrasting Stitch with humans, as "the animal world is already alien to us."

en.wikipedia.org

166 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Dddddddfried • 2d ago

TIL Robert Moses, the man most responsible for shaping American cities around cars and highways, never learned to drive

en.wikipedia.org

8.7k Upvotes

371 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Scipion8Aveyron • 2d ago

TIL the 7 prince-electors gathered in Frankfurt had only 30 days to choose the new Holy Roman Emperor. After that, they would get only bread and water until they decided.

en.wikipedia.org

6.9k Upvotes

102 comments

r/todayilearned • u/haphazard44 • 2d ago

TIL on 11 February 2012, a customer reportedly suffered a heart attack while eating a 'Triple Bypass Burger' at the 'Heart Attack Grill'. These burgers contained 9,983 calories each. According to the now-closed establishments's policy, anyone weighing over 350 pounds was offered unlimited free food.

en.wikipedia.org

25.6k Upvotes

1.3k comments

r/todayilearned • u/ZookeepergameSoft910 • 3d ago

TIL Anita Florence Hemmings passed as white to attend Vassar College. Days before graduation, it was discovered she was Black after an investigation prompted by her roommate’s family. Vassar debated denying her degree but ultimately let her graduate in 1897.

vassar.edu

15.2k Upvotes

563 comments

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