Today I Learned (TIL)

Original Title: TIL Beavers can chew underwater without getting water in their lungs, thanks to a special flap at the back of their mouths. They have clear membranes over their eyes that help them to see underwater, like goggles. They can also hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.

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TIL an Albanian folk practice of annually sacrificing a white bull to the sky god Zojz at Mount Tomorr is believed to be a continuation of religious tradition ultimately stretching back to early I... (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/JaneOfKish on 2025-06-18 14:35:09+00:00.

Original Title: TIL an Albanian folk practice of annually sacrificing a white bull to the sky god Zojz at Mount Tomorr is believed to be a continuation of religious tradition ultimately stretching back to early Indo-European times

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TIL that despite more than 30,000 dying in the Battle of Waterloo and being buried in mass graves on the battleground, only two complete skeletons have ever been found there. (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/cfkanemercury on 2025-06-18 14:06:59+00:00.

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TIL that during World War 1, Belgian pilot Willy Coppens came under fire from an enemy observation balloon. In response, he landed his plane on top of the balloon and turned off his engine. When t... (wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/JackThaBongRipper on 2025-06-18 13:18:49+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that during World War 1, Belgian pilot Willy Coppens came under fire from an enemy observation balloon. In response, he landed his plane on top of the balloon and turned off his engine. When the balloon descended, he slid off and flew away.

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TIL the Greek Navy has a fully operational replica of an ancient galley (Trireme). It is in active duty, the only one of its kind in the world. (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Executioneer on 2025-06-18 13:01:40+00:00.

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TIL that marathons in the US from 1975-2004 caused 26 deaths of runners, but road closures for those marathons prevented an estimated 46 deaths from automobile accidents (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/clawsoon on 2025-06-18 10:29:47+00:00.

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TIL about Masanobu Tsuji, an Imperial Japanese WWII Army officer who helped plan enough campaigns that he was nicknamed the “God of Strategy”. A known cannibal, he evaded war crime trials, briefly... (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/UndyingCorn on 2025-06-18 10:18:40+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about Masanobu Tsuji, an Imperial Japanese WWII Army officer who helped plan enough campaigns that he was nicknamed the “God of Strategy”. A known cannibal, he evaded war crime trials, briefly became a politician, worked with the CIA, before finally mysteriously vanishing in Laos in 1961.

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TIL about the 2017 United Express passenger removal incident, where four paying customers were selected to be involuntarily deplaned. One passenger was injured when he was physically assaulted. It... (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/malarky-b on 2025-06-18 09:18:20+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about the 2017 United Express passenger removal incident, where four paying customers were selected to be involuntarily deplaned. One passenger was injured when he was physically assaulted. It led to USDOT rules that protect passengers from removal or denial of boarding after check-in.

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TIL that Australian convicted criminal, gang member and author Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read refused a liver transplant, saying, "I'm 55-years-old; I'm not going to put my name down against some 10-... (www.abc.net.au)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/mubukugrappa on 2025-06-18 08:08:21+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Australian convicted criminal, gang member and author Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read refused a liver transplant, saying, "I'm 55-years-old; I'm not going to put my name down against some 10-year-old kid."

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TIL Darryl McCauley was responsible for defrauding his half-brother, Dane Cook (Celebrity Comedian). Dane Cook hired Darryl as a business manager and he stole at least 12 million dollars from Dane. (gusto.com)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/_lexium on 2025-06-18 07:15:05+00:00.

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TIL of the Philly Taco; a food combination from Philadelphia where a cheesesteak is wrapped inside a slice of pizza (www.atlasobscura.com)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/MothersMiIk on 2025-06-18 03:18:51+00:00.

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TIL Tommy James and the Shondells declined to play at Woodstock in 1969 after their secretary called and said, "There's this pig farmer in upstate New York that wants you to play in his field." (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/strangelove4564 on 2025-06-18 02:39:45+00:00.

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TIL that a sunfish in a Japanese aquarium became so lonely after the aquarium closed to visitors for renovations that it stopped eating. Only after staff placed photos of people’s faces near its t... (www.bbc.com)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Prior-Student4664 on 2025-06-18 02:23:19+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that a sunfish in a Japanese aquarium became so lonely after the aquarium closed to visitors for renovations that it stopped eating. Only after staff placed photos of people’s faces near its tank did the sunfish perk up and start eating again

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TIL At age 23 philosopher and former child prodigy Pico Della Mirandola wrote 900 theses on religion, philosophy etc, and challenged everyone to a public debate in Rome. He died mysteriously at 31... (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Ainsley-Sorsby on 2025-06-18 00:17:25+00:00.

Original Title: TIL At age 23 philosopher and former child prodigy Pico Della Mirandola wrote 900 theses on religion, philosophy etc, and challenged everyone to a public debate in Rome. He died mysteriously at 31 after he decided to become a monk and renounced his former work, persuaded by his friend, Savonarola

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TIL that Judaism has a roughly 2500-year-old prayer for using the bathroom in which you thank God for giving you the right number of orifices and not sealing them or making new ones (netivyah.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Smaptimania on 2025-06-18 00:09:35+00:00.

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TIL that Greece and Cyprus have the same anthem. (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/DangerNoodle1993 on 2025-06-17 22:09:36+00:00.

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TIL about Ultrasonic cross-device tracking. Audio "beacons" can be embedded into television advertisements. In a similar manner to radio beacons, these can be picked up by smartphones, which allow... (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/aquilaPUR on 2025-06-17 21:34:37+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about Ultrasonic cross-device tracking. Audio "beacons" can be embedded into television advertisements. In a similar manner to radio beacons, these can be picked up by smartphones, which allows the behavior of users to be tracked. Humans can't hear these sounds at all.

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TIL that Dippin Dots, the popular ice cream snack commonly found in stadiums, arenas, and theme parks, was originally created as cryogenically frozen cow feed. (wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/JackThaBongRipper on 2025-06-17 21:10:47+00:00.

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TIL that Brad Pitt has a younger brother named Doug who is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Tanzania (en.wikipedia.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/0110110111 on 2025-06-17 20:51:37+00:00.

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TIL that it used to cost 4X as much to send a SMS than it did to send the data from the Hubble Telescope (boingboing.net)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/firedog7881 on 2025-06-17 20:41:31+00:00.

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TIL that on 25/2/1991, the Patriot missile system failed at an airbase in Saudi Arabia, allowing a Scud missile to hit the airbase, killing 28. A build up of small timing errors caused by errors i... (www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Beginning_Cap_1563 on 2025-06-17 20:10:10+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that on 25/2/1991, the Patriot missile system failed at an airbase in Saudi Arabia, allowing a Scud missile to hit the airbase, killing 28. A build up of small timing errors caused by errors in the internal clock led to the system failing to detect the missile on time. A patch was issued on 26/2

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TIL in 1899 the members of Barnam and Baileys Greatest Show on Earth "freak show" rebelled against being labelled as freaks and demanded a more appropriate name. This created major headlines and p... (www.historic-uk.com)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/maythesunalwaysshine on 2025-06-17 19:47:59+00:00.

Original Title: TIL in 1899 the members of Barnam and Baileys Greatest Show on Earth "freak show" rebelled against being labelled as freaks and demanded a more appropriate name. This created major headlines and public debate across Britain where they were performing at the time.

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TIL Rutherford B. Hayes is arguably more revered in Paraguay than in the United States. In 1878 the US president settled a land dispute between Paraguay and Argentina that gave the former 60% of t... (www.npr.org)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/cheesewombat on 2025-06-17 19:39:50+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Rutherford B. Hayes is arguably more revered in Paraguay than in the United States. In 1878 the US president settled a land dispute between Paraguay and Argentina that gave the former 60% of their current territory and effectively guaranteed their survival as a nation.