r/todayilearned • u/TangerineDream92064 • 6h ago

TIL The Celtic custom of "handfasting" allowed couples to enter into a trial marriage lasting one year and a day. If the relationship didn't work out, the couple could separate without any further attachment. Successful couples would marry.

en.wikipedia.org

12.5k Upvotes

155 comments

r/todayilearned • u/kahlzun • 15h ago

TIL that no fatal accidents have ever occurred with Australian passenger jets; including all flights to/from Australia, as well as all Australian-run companies.

en.wikipedia.org

11.9k Upvotes

932 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Guitar-String • 2h ago

TIL Metal Gear Solid 4 (2008) holds the world record for the longest cutscene in any video game, with a single continuous cutscene of 71 minutes and a total of over 8 hours of cutscenes

guinnessworldrecords.com

9.6k Upvotes

777 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 21h ago

TIL that the Marvel comic "Secret Wars" got its name after focus groups found that children responded positively to the words "secret" and "wars".

en.wikipedia.org

9.3k Upvotes

279 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Sandstorm400 • 7h ago

TIL that in 2014, an elementary school in Oregon nixed its pay-to-pee policy for students after parents complained that students who had to pay "Super Pro" bucks to use the bathroom outside of scheduled breaks were incentivized to 'hold it in' so they could buy trinkets at the school store.

abcnews.com

7.5k Upvotes

521 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LillyLugabugs • 19h ago

TIL: Australian scorpion stings do not have any life threatening effects, even for kiddies

mydr.com.au

4.0k Upvotes

388 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ChiefStrongbones • 6h ago

TIL that the four oldest justices on the US Supreme Court, all in their 70s, each had a parent who lived into their 90s.

simple.wikipedia.org

2.6k Upvotes

79 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Oyster_- • 3h ago

TIL that silica gel packets are actually non-toxic and inert in the body, and swallowing one will most likely cause no symptoms. The "do not eat" label refers to a choking hazard.

poison.org

2.5k Upvotes

136 comments

r/todayilearned • u/diacewrb • 20h ago

TIL: 50 Casablanca-class escort carriers were built in less than 2 years during WW2.

en.wikipedia.org

2.4k Upvotes

175 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Scipion8Aveyron • 14h ago

TIL that in the 1600s, Sweden's largest coin was a 10-daler copper plate weighing nearly 20 kg (44 lb) — the heaviest coin ever circulated — which is why Sweden became the first European country to issue paper banknotes.

en.wikipedia.org

2.3k Upvotes

59 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Fun_Camel_2188 • 14h ago

TIL that in 1993, Congressman Bill Paxon got down on one knee on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and proposed to fellow Rep. Susan Molinari. She said, “Yes—but get up.” They married the following year.

psaparliaments.org

2.2k Upvotes

45 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Macrihanishautomatic • 10h ago

TIL that Hyraxes are mentioned in the bible as remarkable animals for being “small but exceedingly wise”.

en.wikipedia.org

1.5k Upvotes

109 comments

r/todayilearned • u/evrybodyknws • 6h ago

TIL David Bowie and Dennis Hopper smuggled cocaine into a mental hospital for Iggy Pop

faroutmagazine.co.uk

1.3k Upvotes

109 comments

r/todayilearned • u/altrightobserver • 11h ago

TIL that one of the first examples of emoticons in written text comes from Dante's "Purgatorio:" "Whoever in the face of men reads 'omo' / Might well in these have recognised the 'm.'" The two "o"s signify sunken eyes, while the letter "m" forms the angular outlines of emaciated facial features.

en.wikipedia.org

1.1k Upvotes

41 comments

r/todayilearned • u/1salt1pepper • 3h ago

TIL Napoleon accidentally shot Marshal André Masséna in the eye during a hunting trip. Masséna lost the eye, but instead of blaming Napoleon, he blamed Marshal Berthier, who hadn’t even fired.

napoleon.org

868 Upvotes

29 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Boring-Dig4583 • 19h ago

TIL NASA has an official TTRPG involving the Hubble Space Telescope. Also, dragons.

science.nasa.gov

622 Upvotes

35 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Brutal_Deluxe_ • 10h ago

TIL in 1972 Gyani Ji bought a moped to campaign for the Sikhs' right to wear a turban on a motorbike. He was stopped, arrested and fined by police multiple times. He refused to pay the fines and was twice sentenced to prison. In 1976 an amendment to exempt Sikhs was passed and Ji was credited for it

en.wikipedia.org

537 Upvotes

88 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 6h ago

TIL the culture and tradition of the Serer ethnoreligious group in West Africa prohibits slavery. In 1455 when a European slave trader sent his Wolof translator ashore in Serer territory to negotiate terms, the Serers murdered the translator on the spot and the slave trader fled, never to return.

en.wikipedia.org

397 Upvotes

15 comments

r/todayilearned • u/P_a_s_g_i_t_21 • 7h ago

TIL "Kalimanjaro" or "Monte Kali" is a spoil heap made of salt (sodium chloride; contaminated with potassium chloride ("potash"); not pure, edible table salt (NaCl). Located in Heringen (Hesse, Germany), the heap stands 1,710 feet tall, being dumped there first in 1976 by K+S chemical company.

en.wikipedia.org

369 Upvotes

32 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Valuable-Credit6167 • 2h ago

TIL that during WWII, Italy claimed one of its pilots had bombed and killed the Loch Ness Monster.

forcesnews.com

245 Upvotes

26 comments

r/todayilearned • u/RedHeadedSicilian52 • 1h ago

TIL: Section 10 of the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 (repealed in 1886) stipulated that a special election for the US presidency would be held before the regularly scheduled election should the offices of president and vice president fall simultaneously vacant. No such election ever occurred.

constitution.congress.gov

• Upvotes

16 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Idea_479 • 3h ago

TIL thаt іn 1923 Mussоlini bоmbarded аnd осcupied Cоrfu. Arоund 20 cіvilians wеre kіlled, mоst оf thеm bеing Armеnian gеnocide survіvors аnd rеfugees. Grеece appеaled tо thе Leaguе оf Nаtions, but Іtaly sіdelined іt аnd sеcured а 50 mіllion lirе indеmnity befоre wіthdrawing.

en.wikipedia.org

168 Upvotes

8 comments

r/todayilearned • u/koreanforrabbit • 15h ago

TIL the ridges in a cactus are actually pleats which expand as water is taken in. They contract to decrease exposed surface area during droughts, which reduces water loss.

youtu.be

131 Upvotes

9 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 7h ago

TIL the American husband and wife arachnologists George and Elizabeth Peckham named four genuses/genera of jumping spiders after characters in British author Rudyard Kipling's books.

en.wikipedia.org

99 Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/otadak • 1h ago

TIL that the human placenta evolved from an ancient virus

whyy.org

• Upvotes

13 comments

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