Today I Learned (TIL)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Own-Bullfrog7362 on 2025-08-02 04:54:46+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that In 1947, engineers working on the Mark II computer at Harvard University found a moth stuck in one of the components. They taped the insect in their logbook and labeled it "first actual case of bug being found." The words "bug" and "debug" soon became a standard part of programming.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Objective_Horror1113 on 2025-08-02 04:46:51+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Freddie Mercury was born with four extra teeth, causing a prominent overbite. Despite being self-conscious about them, he never got them fixed, believing the extra space in his mouth contributed to his vocal ability. He feared altering his teeth might change his voice.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-02 03:50:51+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Mary Frith (c.1584–1659), alias Moll Cutpurse, was a notorious London pickpocket and fence. Defying gender roles, she dressed in men's clothes, moved in criminal circles, and became a legendary figure in the 17th-century underworld.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TungstenEnthusiast on 2025-08-02 03:57:56+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/The_Flaneur_Films on 2025-08-02 02:31:30+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Grrerrb on 2025-08-02 01:13:30+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that in the 90s Alaskan Iñupiat schoolchildren in Kaktovik created a series of numerical digits to represent their base-20 numeral system to remedy the inadequacy of using Arabic numerals for the purpose.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Own-Bullfrog7362 on 2025-08-02 00:21:18+00:00.

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

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/kingwafflez on 2025-08-01 22:30:42+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/OatSoyLaMilk on 2025-08-01 21:24:42+00:00.

Original Title: Today I learned that Arkham House, the publishing company August Derleth founded in 1939 to publish Lovecraft's work and which released the first book of Ray Bradbury's, did not turn a profit a single year prior to 1970.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/roboputin on 2025-08-01 21:41:30+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Blakechi on 2025-08-01 21:15:43+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill man who believed that the Domino's "Avoid the Noid" campaign was personally directed towards and was antagonizing him, entered a Domino's restaurant in Chamblee, Georgia. Armed with a .357 Magnum, Noid then held two employees hostage for over five hours.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Theace0291 on 2025-08-01 21:06:52+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Sanguinusshiboleth on 2025-08-01 19:08:55+00:00.

Original Title: TIL the Official Secrets Act of Britian was created after Charles Thomas Marvin sold the details of a secret treaty to the press and it was realised there was no law to actually prosecute him. It's suspected that this is the basis of the Sherlock holmes story "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty"

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Blenderhead36 on 2025-08-01 18:27:57+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Super Nintendo consoles run slightly faster today than they did on release. A sound chip governed by an aging ceramic resonator is thought to be the source. The difference is too small to affect human users, but has led to a changed standard for tool assisted speedruns.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/primal_cortex on 2025-08-01 18:18:48+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that during the last invasion of Britain in 1797, French soldiers looted a Welsh church and burned its Bible and pews for warmth before surrendering to locals—some of whom were just women in red shawls.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/VirtualProtector on 2025-08-01 16:23:34+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/grrrsandpurrrs on 2025-08-01 17:30:01+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TheClungerOfPhunts on 2025-08-01 17:28:09+00:00.

Original Title: TIL, The most abundant animal species on Earth is the nematode, also known as the roundworm. There are approximately 57 billion nematodes for every human on Earth. They make up about 4/5 of all animal life.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-01 16:52:58+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that from the 15th century to the early 20th century, female rowers called Roddarmadam operated water taxis in Stockholm, ferrying people between islands. They were famed for their blunt manner and coarse language. A visitor in 1787 praised them as “Good women who row like devils!”

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/JIMMY_RUSTLING_9000 on 2025-08-01 16:51:23+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Morella1989 on 2025-08-01 16:33:43+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Sarah "Crazy Sally" Mapp was an English lay bonesetter in the early 1700s, known for performing impressive bone-setting acts in Epsom and London. She learned the practice from her father and gained fame as a woman working in a male-dominated profession.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/shaka_sulu on 2025-08-01 16:14:50+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about the Agricultural Bank of China robbery, where two bank managers stole US$4.3M to buy lottery tickets, hoping to win enough to repay the theft and keep the rest. They won only US$12.7K, fled, were caught, and eventually executed.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Previous_Knowledge91 on 2025-08-01 15:23:04+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2025-08-01 15:07:30+00:00.

Original Title: TIL a 60cm Humboldt penguin escaped from Tokyo Sea Life Park by jumping over a rock wall twice its height before slipping through a gap in the fence that surrounded the park. Despite 30 confirmed sightings, the penguin eluded capture for 82 days before eventually being picked up near a river.