Today I Learned (TIL)

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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.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/CatPooedInMyShoe on 2025-08-06 09:47:41+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Martin Sommer, a convicted concentration camp guard who (allegedly) had two priests crucified, became a double amputee in military service and was released from his life sentence in prison in 1971 because no prison was equipped to continue treating his war-related injuries.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Just-Marzipan1169 on 2025-08-06 09:59:12+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/SaberLover1000 on 2025-08-06 07:28:20+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/sweepyoface on 2025-08-06 07:25:06+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/tipputappi on 2025-08-06 04:24:46+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/CT1616 on 2025-08-06 03:53:22+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Denmark made a kids’ show called John Dillermand about a man with a sentient, extremely long penis that helps him with everyday tasks like walking his dog and stealing ice cream. It aired in 2021 for kids aged 4-8.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/penelopiecruise on 2025-08-06 03:01:53+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/asusa52f on 2025-08-06 02:38:48+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/PomegranateOwn1469 on 2025-08-06 02:23:04+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/LeahTheKnown on 2025-08-06 02:07:12+00:00.

Original Title: TIL one of the reasons the nature of Greek fire has been lost to time is the Byzantines' compartmentalized the production, similar to modern top secret weapons development (such as the Manhattan Project).

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-06 02:05:22+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that John Elwes (1714–1789), MP for Berkshire, was an eccentric miser believed to inspire Dickens’ Scrooge. Inheriting vast wealth, he lived in rags, ate spoiled food, and would walk miles in the rain to save coach fare, amassing £500,000 (£81 million in 2021) by his death.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/OutrageousTerm7140 on 2025-08-06 00:33:00+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that in 1828, a surgeon who had previously been in Andrew Jackson's militia during the War of 1812 started keeping track of every "violent and abusive quarrel" Jackson had caused or partaken in. The final list accumulated to nearly 100.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/South_Gas626 on 2025-08-05 23:55:53+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the longest recorded duel in history began in 1794 and lasted 19 years, featuring many separate battles across Europe between two French officers. Despite their long-lasting rivalry, the two officers eventually reconciled and ended their dueling spree cordially.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/astronautica on 2025-08-05 23:11:10+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Archimedes died during the Siege of Syracuse in 212BC, after he had devised multiple war machines to defend the city walls. Before being killed by a Roman soldier, his reported last words were "Do not disturb my circles!"

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/thewickerstan on 2025-08-05 22:28:47+00:00.

Original Title: TiL when Burt Bacharach and Hal David gave their song "Make it Easy on Yourself" to Jerry Butler instead of Dionne Warwick, she angrily responded "Don't make me over!" The two writers wrote a new song around the phrase, and it became the first top 40 hit single for Bacharach, David, AND Warwick.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/New-Gap2023 on 2025-08-05 21:51:36+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TheGreatJaceyGee on 2025-08-05 21:38:48+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Moosplauze on 2025-08-05 20:44:03+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/MrMojoFomo on 2025-08-05 20:22:00+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the deadliest fireworks accident in the United States was the Station nightclub fire. In 2003, The Station nightclub (RI) was hosting a Great White concert when pyrotechnics ignited acoustic foam. The resulting fire saw 100 fatalities and 230 injuries