Today I Learned (TIL)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/SweetPoison2704 on 2025-08-05 17:40:39+00:00.

Original Title: TIL: Hanna-Barbera gave characters like Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble necklaces not just for style—but to save money. The necklaces created a visual break between the head and body, allowing animators to reuse static body frames while only redrawing the head.

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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/penelopiecruise on 2025-08-06 03:01:53+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/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/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/sweepyoface on 2025-08-06 07:25:06+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/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/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/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/ModenaR on 2025-08-06 15:55:08+00:00.

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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/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/Neat-Shelter-8612 on 2025-08-05 10:46:14+00:00.

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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/Morella1989 on 2025-08-05 20:20:36+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving was founded in New York in 1912 to oppose pointless Christmas gifts and the custom of employees giving expensive presents to bosses. It reached 6,000 members, with Theodore Roosevelt as its first male member, before fading during WWI.