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.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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.