Today I Learned (TIL)

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Some-Culture-2513 on 2025-07-13 20:10:11+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Benjamin Franklin left about 1,000 pounds sterling in a trust for Boston and Philadelphia in his will. The money couldn’t be touched for 200 years. When it matured in the 1990s, Boston had over $5 million, which was used to fund scholarships and public works.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/brattyleaa on 2025-07-13 18:58:57+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Some-Culture-2513 on 2025-07-13 17:54:22+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Benjamin Franklin left about 1,000 pounds sterling in a trust for Boston and Philadelphia in his will. The money couldn’t be touched for 200 years. When it matured in the 1990s, Boston had over $5 million, which was used to fund scholarships and public works.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/georgecm12 on 2025-07-13 17:25:30+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Ron Gilbert, co-developer of the 1987 game "Maniac Mansion," coined the phrase "cutscenes" for the game's innovative use of non-playable videos that "interrupt gameplay to advance the story and inform the player about offscreen events."

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/pantrokator-bezsens on 2025-07-13 17:16:10+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Battle of Wounded Knee received disproportionate number of Medals of Honor when compared to some other battles and by some is considered a massacre given how many casualties were unarmed woman and children

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/OneVeryCoolFact on 2025-07-13 16:41:30+00:00.

Original Title: TIL: At lavish banquets in ancient Rome, perfumed doves—soaked in fragrant oils—were released so their wings would spread scent through the air. This luxurious practice was exclusive to the wealthiest elites as part of their ultra-opulent feasts.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/astarisaslave on 2025-07-13 15:59:34+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that due to teasing, basketball player God Shammgod went by Shammgod Wells until high school. He only reverted to his birth name when he enrolled in college as he was told he would have to register under his legal name and could not afford to have it legally changed.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/IWinston- on 2025-07-13 15:19:36+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/GDW312 on 2025-07-13 15:09:15+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TheCanOnlyBeOne on 2025-07-13 14:29:24+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2025-07-13 14:59:42+00:00.

Original Title: TIL in 2020 a man in Como, Italy stepped outside to cool off after fighting with his wife and ended up walking 450km. His walk eventually ended a week later when he was stopped in Fano and fined €400 for breaking the curfew. His wife, who had reported him missing, travelled to Fano to collect him.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/something_is_fishy_ on 2025-07-13 14:20:24+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/PrestigiousBrit on 2025-07-13 14:09:18+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that from 1992-1997, two-thirds of Albania’s population invested in state-backed pyramid schemes, with many people investing their life savings. When 25 schemes collapsed, civil unrest erupted, lasting over six months, toppling the government and requiring UN intervention to restore order.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/strangelove4564 on 2025-07-13 13:43:40+00:00.

Original Title: TIL the German submarine U-864 was sunk along the Norwegian coast in 1945 with 67 tons of mercury on board. The wreck has contaminated nearby cod, cusk and crab, and there are plans to entomb the remains in sand and concrete.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/CatfishEnchiladas on 2025-07-13 13:39:21+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that on July 13, 1854, the U.S. Navy bombarded and destroyed the Nicaraguan town of Greytown without a single American casualty, in retaliation for insults against an American diplomat and a shipping dispute.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/JonnySparks on 2025-07-13 13:29:26+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that on 13 July 1985, the US leg of Live Aid was opened by a complete unknown called Bernard Watson - an 18yo high school graduate from Miami Beach with no professional musical experience. He slept outside the stadium for a week to convince Bill Graham - the concert's promoter - to let him play.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Chassian on 2025-07-13 11:10:15+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Tim22Mt on 2025-07-13 08:12:11+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that during the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, U.S. pilots George Welch and Kenneth Taylor took off in P-40 fighters under fire and shot down at least six Japanese aircraft. They were among the first American pilots to engage enemy planes in World War II.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Tim22Mt on 2025-07-13 07:44:31+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that in 1929, Jimmy Doolittle made the first flight using only instruments, with the cockpit windows blacked out. Proving pilots could fly “blind.” This paved the way for modern aviation. He later led the famous 1942 Doolittle Raid, the first U.S. airstrike on Japan in WWII.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/superpowercheese on 2025-07-13 07:38:34+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Timothy Dexter (a wealthy but eccentric businessman) faked his death to see how many people would attend his funeral. Over 3,000 mourners showed up, but he revealed the ruse after berating his wife for not mourning enough.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zahrul3 on 2025-07-13 04:10:24+00:00.

Original Title: TIL of the Mikea people of Madagascar, a group of hunter gatherers descended from various Malagasy groups who ran into the forest, looking to escape military conflict and heavy taxation from the Queen, sometime in the 1800s.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zahrul3 on 2025-07-13 06:56:04+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that during the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, F1 driver Martin Donnelly survived a terrifying 140 mph crash that flung him onto the track while still strapped to his seat, as his car split in half. His injuries were so severe that a priest was called to administer last rites. He survived.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Famous_Put3229 on 2025-07-13 05:52:57+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the bacterium devastating millions of olive trees in Italy, causing over €5.5 billion in annual damages, has been traced back to a single infected coffee plant imported from Costa Rica in 2008

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/gixk on 2025-07-13 03:06:54+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/raidriar889 on 2025-07-13 01:53:59+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that due to their weakly interacting nature, neutrinos generated in the core of a collapsing star can escape before the shockwave and light of a supernova. They travel so fast that the light still doesn’t catch up with them even after traveling millions of light years.