Today I Learned (TIL)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/hominoid_in_NGC4594 on 2025-08-07 22:37:23+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about a ~1,920 year-old letter written by a Roman cavalry decurion named Masculous to prefect Flavius Cerialis, inquiring about the instructions for his men for the following day, including a polite request for more beer to be sent to the fort (they had already consumed their entire stock).

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/saiyangrrrl on 2025-08-07 22:33:02+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Upstairs_Drive_5602 on 2025-08-07 22:13:55+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, was hunted to extinction after being blamed for killing livestock - though its jaw was so weak it likely couldn’t kill more than a possum. It had tiger-like stripes and could open its jaws 80°. The last known thylacine died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/FearMyCock on 2025-08-07 21:41:12+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about the "cangue" A brutal wooden collar used in ancient China for public humiliation and punishment. It was so heavy and restrictive that prisoners couldn't feed themselves and often died from exhaustion or starvation.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/EssexGuyUpNorth on 2025-08-07 21:32:29+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Big_Sea_5912 on 2025-08-07 19:59:35+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/WhatsMyUsername13 on 2025-08-07 19:44:49+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zahrul3 on 2025-08-07 18:16:34+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/IanRastall on 2025-08-07 18:04:10+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/WebEven620 on 2025-08-07 18:02:23+00:00.

Original Title: TIL In 2017 Oobah Butler who used to write fake restaurant reviews created a fake restaurant in his shed as a social experiment. Without serving a single real dish, "The Shed at Dulwich" became London's #1 resturant.When he finally invited guests and served pre-made meals, they still praised it.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/South_Gas626 on 2025-08-07 17:42:44+00:00.

Original Title: TIL of "The Final Experiment" - a 2024 Antarctica expedition where flat Earth YouTubers saw the 24 hour sun, which could not be explained by non-spherical models. This prompted at least one YouTuber to publicly admit they were wrong, and leave the flat Earth community.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/EyeOfOd1n on 2025-08-07 15:10:50+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/tisdue on 2025-08-07 14:13:15+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/OutrageousTerm7140 on 2025-08-07 11:51:11+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/RecoveredCitizen on 2025-08-07 11:32:25+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/twilightmoons on 2025-08-07 08:54:19+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-07 04:29:26+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Aurore Gagnon (1909–1920) was a Canadian girl who died of exhaustion and blood poisoning from about 52 wounds inflicted by her stepmother and father. Her tragic story, L’enfant martyre, sparked widespread media coverage and made her a lasting symbol in Quebec’s culture and social history.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Ill_Definition8074 on 2025-08-07 09:56:56+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about the Akodessawa Fetish Market in Lome, Togo, the world's largest voodoo market ("Fetish" refers to an object believed to possess spiritual or supernatural powers). Fetishes for sale include monkey heads, dead birds, and other dead animal products.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-07 05:49:11+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Fusako Sano is a Japanese woman who was kidnapped at age 9 and held captive for nine years and two months. Rescued at 19, she was frail and mentally affected by isolation, suffering from PTSD and physical weakness. In 2007, her father drowned in a pond while they were spending time together

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Mrk2d on 2025-08-07 08:55:17+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/OutrageousTerm7140 on 2025-08-07 02:54:53+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that in 1923, a man named Harry Grindell Matthews claimed he invented a “death ray” and demonstrated it to the British military - but the device never worked and he kept disappearing with the demonstration equipment.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-07 05:00:10+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/ledgendary on 2025-08-07 05:11:38+00:00.

Original Title: TIL : In 1990 Marion Barry the Mayor of DC, was videotaped during a FBI sting operation at a hotel party smoking crack cocaine. He was arrested and sentenced to federal prison. He was re-elected as mayor in 1994 after his release.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/South_Gas626 on 2025-08-07 04:36:30+00:00.

Original Title: TIL the reason Roger Moore decided to end his 7 film run as James Bond was because he was disgusted by the greatly increasing age gap between himself and the leading ladies. The final straw was when he discovered he was older than the mother of “A View to a Kill” star Tanya Roberts.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/WartimeHotTot on 2025-08-07 03:37:47+00:00.