Today I Learned (TIL)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/SphericalManInVacuum on 2025-08-07 02:14:57+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-07 00:55:26+00:00.

Original Title: Til Mr Cruel is an unidentified offender active in late 80s and early 90s Melbourne. He abducted three girls. Two victims described the house where they were held and heard planes nearby, suggesting it was near Melbourne Airport. He is the prime suspect in the 1991 murder of Karmein Chan.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/o0Sarah0o on 2025-08-07 00:05:59+00:00.

Original Title: TIL of an isolated village called Dali Koumbe (also known as Dali Gimba) in Mauritania, West Africa where the majority of people have been born blind for the past 10 generations. It is thought to be congenital, though some locals attribute it to an old prophesy that foretold of a blind baby's birth.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/nuttybudd on 2025-08-06 23:44:14+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Greene_Mr on 2025-08-06 22:24:23+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the Benny in the memorable line "Benny? Bring me everyone" from LEON THE PROFESSIONAL was Keith Glascoe, a NYC firefighter on top of being an actor, who died on 9/11 in the collapse of the South Tower aged only 38.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Ainsley-Sorsby on 2025-08-06 21:15:37+00:00.

Original Title: TIL In 2005, a scholar made an off hand suggestion that Niccolo Machiavelli may have been abused by his latin teacher, Paolo Sassi. This caused controversy, with another scholar defending Sassi's "upright moral standing". Years later, new evidence showed that Sassi was indeed a predator

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Physical_Hamster_118 on 2025-08-06 21:09:42+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the island of Iwo Jima is off-limits to the general public. The island today has military bases. Those that can visit are those visiting graves of former residents, attending memorial services for fallen US and Japanese soldiers, and staff working for government agencies there.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Male_Parent on 2025-08-06 20:27:13+00:00.

Original Title: TIL there's an Animals In War Memorial at Brook Gate, Park Lane (London, UK). It's a tribute to all the animals that served, suffered and died in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century. One of the inscription simply reads: “They had no choice.”.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/xxwarlorddarkdoomxx on 2025-08-06 19:40:29+00:00.

Original Title: TIL of Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet agronomist who rejected conventional genetics and natural selection. Lysenko believed plants of the same species never compete, and so forced farmers to plant seeds very densely. This actually harmed yields, contributing to large famines in the USSR, and later China.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/battywombat21 on 2025-08-06 15:17:02+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/JosiahWillardPibbs on 2025-08-06 17:59:12+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that while serving as a troopship during World War I, the Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic, rammed and sunk a U-boat that was trying to torpedo her. As the U-boat sank, the Olympic sailed on and did not pick up survivors.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Blu3_Phoenix on 2025-08-06 17:44:02+00:00.

Original Title: TIL an elephant helped the British war effort in WW1. The military requisitioned many horses, thus a circus elephant in Sheffield named Lizzie was repurposed to transport munitions and scrap, a job that usually required 3 horses. Other exotic animals, such as camels, were also used for the same job.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/salizarn on 2025-08-06 16:51:21+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the 145 reports of syringe attacks in France in June 2025 have not resulted in any prosecutions or verified cases, suggesting that the event was another case of collective panic similar to others that have occurred since the 19th century.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/el_gringo_exotico on 2025-08-06 16:32:49+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/ModenaR on 2025-08-06 15:55:08+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/South_Gas626 on 2025-08-06 15:17:53+00:00.

Original Title: TIL in 1866, Congress meant to put explorer William Clark on a 5¢ bill, but a last-name mix-up led Treasury Official Spencer Clark to put himself on it. This resulted in Congress passing an amendment that banned living people from appearing on U.S. currency.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Objective_Horror1113 on 2025-08-06 13:52:38+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, had no middle name. His middle initial “S” was not short for anything, but was chosen to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/leonklap1 on 2025-08-06 13:43:11+00:00.

Original Title: Til that the first president of Turkmenistan banned beards and dogs from the capital, and ordered the closure of all hospitals and libraries outside the capital, stating that the sick should go to the capital for treatment, and that Turkmens did not read anyway

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Cerebro_Matt on 2025-08-06 13:41:53+00:00.

Original Title: TIL The actor who played Fredo in the Godfather, John Cazale, appeared in 5 films over 7 years 1972-78, each nominated for Best Picture: Godfather & Godfather II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon & The Deer Hunter. He died in 1978 right after Deer Hunter with Meryl Streep at his side.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Bigred2989- on 2025-08-06 13:28:08+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Sweden's main battle tank during the Cold War didn't have a turret. The Stridsvagn 103's autoloading cannon ran almost the entire length of the vehicle and was traversed by engaging the tracks and elevated by adjusting the hull suspension.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/maninahat on 2025-08-06 12:52:39+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Stephen Stucker, best known for his role as the mad traffic controller in the 1980 movie Airplane, died only six years later to AIDs. He publicly revealed his condition in 1985, making him one of the first popular entertainers to be lost to recently discovered disease. He was 38.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Flubadubadubadub on 2025-08-06 11:16:48+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Princess Haya bint Hussein won circa £550m in a divorce settlement against Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, during the proceedings the court found he had previously kidnapped two of his daughters, that he installed bugging software on lawyers phones and he was a threat risk to his ex wife.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TrafficIndividual953 on 2025-08-06 10:57:49+00:00.

Original Title: TIL uppercase and lowercase letters are called that because back when people printed using metal letters, ink, and a brush, to keep the letters organized, the big letters were stored in the “upper” compartments and the little ones were in the “lower” compartments

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Johannes_P on 2025-08-06 10:30:50+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/gb13k on 2025-08-06 09:52:37+00:00.