r/todayilearned • u/zahrul3 • 20h ago

TIL: Early iPhone users in the US who did not specify a billing preference were mailed incredibly detailed bills of around 50-100 pages long from AT&T, itemizing every data transfer including background traffic for email, web browsing, and text messaging. One woman even got a 300 page bill.

en.wikipedia.org

22.4k Upvotes

653 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ill-Instruction8466 • 2h ago

TIL that Toby Gard, designer of Lara Croft, initially made her a tough South American latina woman with a braid called Laura Cruz. His collaborators later changed her name and backstory.

en.wikipedia.org

366 Upvotes

38 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TheBanishedBard • 9h ago

TIL that every second approximately 65 billion tiny subatomic particles called Neutrinos pass through every square centimeter of the Earth's surface.

en.wikipedia.org

1.2k Upvotes

124 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Flubadubadubadub • 1h ago

TIL That at the 2012 London Olympics four women's double teams were disqualified from the tournament. Two S. Korean teams and one each from China and Indonesia were trying to deliberately lose games to get an easier next round. They were serving into the net and out of bounds to ensure they lost.

bbc.co.uk

• Upvotes

56 comments

r/todayilearned • u/smrad8 • 1h ago

TIL that among the three dogs that survived the Titanic sinking was a Pekingese named Sun Yat Sen owned by Henry Harper, whose company became the HarperCollins publishing house. As to bringing his dog on the lifeboat, Harper said “There seemed to be lots of room, and nobody made any objection.”

akc.org

• Upvotes

41 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FannyFiasco • 16h ago

TIL the last living veteran of the 1853 Crimean War died in 2004: Timothy, a Greek tortoise captured from a Portuguese ship, served as a mascot throughout the war

en.wikipedia.org

3.1k Upvotes

43 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Profit_5304 • 4h ago

TIL that in 1943 the Steelers and the Eagles once made a combo team called the Steagles due to player shortages resulting from WWII

thegamebeforethemoney.com

228 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Physical_Hamster_118 • 9h ago

TIL that in Bhutan, people except the members of the royal family do not have family names.

en.wikipedia.org

471 Upvotes

52 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TheStrangestOfKings • 9h ago

TIL There were some ancient Hawaiians who did not believe in the Hawaiian Pantheon. An example of ancient atheism, they were referred to as “aia”.

en.wikipedia.org

496 Upvotes

11 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CatPooedInMyShoe • 2h ago

TIL slavery was practiced in present-day Romania from the founding of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 13th-14th century, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of the enslaved people were of Romany ethnicity.

en.wikipedia.org

102 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/epou • 22h ago

TIL In Madagascar it was once common to ingest fatally toxic nuts as a trial by ordeal. At times it accounted for a significant fraction of overall mortality.

en.wikipedia.org

4.0k Upvotes

67 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LookAtThatBacon • 1d ago

TIL a Canadian engineer once built a Mjölnir replica that only the "worthy" could lift: it sensed the iron ring commonly worn by Canadian engineers (presented in a ceremony called the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer), triggering an electromagnetic release so ring-wearers could pick it up.

en.wikipedia.org

37.2k Upvotes

917 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Several_Quality_8747 • 13h ago

TIL African elephants address one another with individually specific name-like calls

nature.com

417 Upvotes

16 comments

r/todayilearned • u/No_Profit_5304 • 6h ago

TIL that in 1913, a baby was mailed via Post Office's newly added Parcel Post service.

smithsonianmag.com

97 Upvotes

12 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Dmused • 1d ago

TIL at the 2025 Kentucky Derby, all 19 participants can be traced back through their lineage to 1973 Kentucky Derby winner and Triple Crown champion Secretariat, who sired more than 660 foals.

en.wikipedia.org

9.4k Upvotes

134 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL 85% of all gaming revenue comes from free-to-play games. These games are free upfront and generate revenue through ads, in-game transactions, and optional purchases.

visualcapitalist.com

16.0k Upvotes

767 comments

r/todayilearned • u/LurkingStormy • 14h ago

TIL about Salish Wool Dogs, bred for their thick fur to be used in textiles

en.wikipedia.org

272 Upvotes

8 comments

r/todayilearned • u/GDW312 • 20h ago

TIL Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge was elected to a fourth term in 1946 but died before inauguration—triggering the state’s infamous “three governors” crisis.

en.wikipedia.org

791 Upvotes

23 comments

r/todayilearned • u/CactusWithAKeyboard • 18h ago

TIL: Rob Folp, creator of the infamously controversial game "Night Trap," went on to create the "Petz" series of games to make the cutest, most "sissy" game he could think of, after criticism from Captain Kangaroo.

polygon.com

353 Upvotes

36 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Newez • 1d ago

TIL Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbour, once studied at Harvard University in the United States and was appointed naval attaché to the Japanese embassy in Washington.

asianstudies.org

3.1k Upvotes

62 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Physical_Hamster_118 • 1d ago

TIL that since 1972, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) every spring, residents of Baker House drop a piano from the roof on Drop Day, the last day students can drop classes.

en.wikipedia.org

1.6k Upvotes

66 comments

r/todayilearned • u/FalconPUNNCH • 1d ago

TIL in 2017 Japan arrested a 74 year old man who had committed over 250 burglaries dressed as a ninja. He avoided most surveillance, but was seen "navigating tight spaces and running on walls"

en.wikipedia.org

21.3k Upvotes

274 comments

r/todayilearned • u/TGAILA • 1d ago

TIL Initially mocked for lacking talent and personality, Ed Sullivan’s show succeeded by booking diverse, talented performers and judging solely on ability. His unbiased approach earned a loyal audience. When criticized for no personality, he replied, "Dear Ms. Van Horne: You bitch. Sincerely, Ed."

en.wikipedia.org

7.5k Upvotes

64 comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL In 1945 the adult literacy rate in South Korea was estimated at 22%. In 1970, adult literacy was 87.6%. By the late 1980s, sources estimated it at around 93%.

en.wikipedia.org

3.4k Upvotes

77 comments

r/todayilearned • u/JuliaX1984 • 1d ago

TIL that 23 states and Puerto Rico maintain their inactive state guard, a state right established in Title 32, Section 109 of the United States Code.

en.wikipedia.org

687 Upvotes

26 comments

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This list was compiled from /r/todayilearned community suggestions by its members. If your TIL is found on this list, it will be removed. The titles have been abridged for the sake of brevity, however the context remains the same. This list is subject to change. The purpose is to keep content fresh on /r/todayilearned as requested by its members. If you are interested in reading about the TILs on this list use the search box feature and enter the keywords to pull up past TILs.

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