Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL Ferrari, Kowalski, Smith are all occupational surnames refering to blacksmiths. It is the most common occupational name in Europe.

Ferrari (surname) - Wikipedia

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndj97n/til_ferrari_kowalski_smith_are_all_occupational/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL “Macho Man” Randy Savage played for the STL Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds before becoming a wrestler https://www.thetelegraph.com/sports/article/macho-man-randy-savage-st-louis-cardinals-20337560.php #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndhssr/til_macho_man_randy_savage_played_for_the_stl/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that fleas were used as biological weapons. During WW2, the Japanese army dropped fleas with Y. Pestis in China.

Flea - Wikipedia

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndgfr3/til_that_fleas_were_used_as_biological_weapons/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that Pope Innocent VIII was the first known recipient of an attempted blood transfusion. After falling into a coma in 1492, his doctor paid 3 young boys a ducat each to become blood donors. The physician then attempted to give their blood to the Pope by mouth. The Pope and the 3 boys all died https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/first-successful-non-direct-blood-tran… #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndg7fl/til_that_pope_innocent_viii_was_the_first_known/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that green products sell better when marketed as helping people rather than helping the planet https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619334456 #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndfu09/til_that_green_products_sell_better_when_marketed/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL about Stargazers, a family of fish that eyes on the top of their heads. They usually catch food by hiding in the sand and leaping upwards when the prey passes overhead.

Stargazer (fish) - Wikipedia

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndddov/til_about_stargazers_a_family_of_fish_that_eyes/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that about 90–95% of the body’s serotonin is made in the gut, not the brain. Intestinal cells and gut microbes regulate its production, and while it mainly controls digestion and inflammation, it also influences brain signaling, mood, and risk for conditions like depression and anxiety. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-024-01743-1 #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndcn39/til_that_about_9095_of_the_bodys_serotonin_is/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL: Tom Cruise filmed the motorcycle cliff jump stunt in Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One over 500 times in practice before performing the real jump six times for the movie. It’s considered one of the most dangerous stunts ever attempted on film.

Tom Cruise Explains 'Mission Impossible 7' Motorcycle Stunt on Day One of Filming

Tom Cruise filmed the "Dead Reckoning" motorcycle stunt on the first day of filming so that if he died other parts of the movie wouldn't be wa...

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ndcfzp/til_tom_cruise_filmed_the_motorcycle_cliff_jump/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL Sean Connery had such a bad time on the set of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" in 2003 that it made him decide to retire from acting and publicly complain about "the idiots that make hollywood films these days"

ScreenRant

Sean Connery's Final Movie Appearance Was 20 Years Ago Today: Why It Made Him Retire

Sean Connery was tired of Hollywood idiots.

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd99x1/til_sean_connery_had_such_a_bad_time_on_the_set/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL nonviolent civil resistance is far more effective in producing change than violent campaigns

Harvard Gazette

Why nonviolent resistance beats violent force in effecting social, political change

Harvard Professor Erica Chenoweth discovers nonviolent civil resistance is far more successful in effecting change than violent campaigns.

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd82nu/til_nonviolent_civil_resistance_is_far_more/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that 2 to the power of 0 is 1. In fact, anything (other than 0) to the power of 0 is 1. Contrary to my intuition that it should be 0.

Anything to the Zero Power: Why 1? – The Math Doctors

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd7vqv/til_that_2_to_the_power_of_0_is_1_in_fact/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL about Dream-reality confusion (DRC) – a psychological term for when people have difficulty distinguishing dream experiences from waking memories. People can live their entire life believing events from their past actually happened when indeed it was always just a dream and nothing more.

NeuWrite San Diego

When Dreams Become Reality

Dream-Reality Confusion in Borderline Personality Disorder Introduction Image source: The American Academy of Pediatrics. (2023) When you look back...

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd6z8v/til_about_dreamreality_confusion_drc_a/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL 10k acres of Tohono O'odham reservation was flooded by a dam in 1960. In compensation, the Tribe could add unincorporated land to its reservation. Instead of a rural area, the Tribe won a lawsuit to build a casino in unincorporated land in the Phoenix Metro Area over AZ's objections in 2017 https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-folds-hand-in-casino-settlement-d… #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd61w1/til_10k_acres_of_tohono_oodham_reservation_was/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL During the funeral of William Sherman, Joseph Johnston served as pallbearer. He kept his hat off in respect despite rainy weather; when told to put on his hat, he refused on the idea Sherman would not put on a hat at Johnston's funeral. He died the next month due to the cold caught that day.

Joseph E. Johnston - Wikipedia

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd5t8a/til_during_the_funeral_of_william_sherman_joseph/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL about the Cokeville, Wyoming hostage crisis, where in 1986, ex-marshal David Young stormed an elementary school and took 154 people hostage, claiming he did so to "reign over intelligent children." Before he could surrender, his homemade gasoline bomb backfired, killing Young and his wife.

1986 Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis - Wikipedia

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd58f2/til_about_the_cokeville_wyoming_hostage_crisis/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that there is a basketball court directly above the U.S. Supreme Court named “Highest Court in the Land”

Atlas Obscura

The Highest Court In the Land in Washington

There just so happens to be a court even higher than the U.S Supreme Court: a basketball court in the building itself.

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd4rmi/til_that_there_is_a_basketball_court_directly/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL - we use all of our brains. Constantly.

MIT McGovern Institute

Do we only use 10 percent of our brain? - MIT McGovern Institute

Movies like “Limitless” and “Lucy” play on the notion that humans use only 10 percent of their brains—and those who unloc...

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd46aq/til_we_use_all_of_our_brains_constantly/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL about Charlie Ward, Heisman-winning, 1993 National Champion QB from Florida State, who skipped the NFL to instead play in the NBA for a 12-year career.

Charlie Ward - Wikipedia

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nd3ukc/til_about_charlie_ward_heismanwinning_1993/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL There’s a California based hot air balloon company that offers a Mile High Club package for partners interested in doing the deed at 5000 ft. in the air. It includes a whole basket separated by a privacy screen from the pilot, which will be wearing headphones. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/08/travel/travel-news-mile-high-club-hot-air-balloon-flights #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ncm2y0/til_theres_a_california_based_hot_air_balloon/

Today I learned 5 months ago

TIL that artist James Turrell owns a two-mile-wide crater in the Arizona desert

Smithsonian Magazine

An Exclusive Look at James Turrell's Visionary Artwork in the Arizona Desert

In the American Southwest, the famed light-bending artist is putting the final touches on Roden Crater, his ambitious, mind-boggling masterpiece

#til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1n98ntf/til_that_artist_james_turrell_owns_a_twomilewide/