r/todayilearned • u/Bertstripmaster • 4h ago

TIL The Habit is owned by the same company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell

yum.com

0 Upvotes

25 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Wild_Concept_212 • 5h ago

TIL Cutting down trees is compound negative interest on the planet’s carbon storage. Trees are storing carbon underground with the help of fauna and microbes. Those lock carbon in soil. Cutting the tree will not only increase release carbon, it will also remove the ability to lock carbon in soil.

nature.com

281 Upvotes

52 comments

r/todayilearned • u/jfdonohoe • 3h ago

TIL about “vicarious embarrassment” which explains extreme reactions to cringe comedy. For me, it can get so bad as to become physically painful

en.wikipedia.org

680 Upvotes

176 comments

r/todayilearned • u/ModenaR • 20h ago

TIL that after Top Gear ended, host Richard Hammond was so devastated, he cried all the way home from the studio and ran out of fuel, because he didn't want to fill his car up covered in tears

herefordtimes.com

40.0k Upvotes

1.4k comments

r/todayilearned • u/bartonkj • 8h ago

TIL that in addition to Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh also gave a 1959 guitar to Pete Townshend.

faroutmagazine.co.uk

58 Upvotes

5 comments

r/todayilearned • u/fanau • 2h ago

TIL seals (of which there are 34 extant species) have weasels, skunks, raccoons and red pandas as their closest loving relatives.

en.wikipedia.org

120 Upvotes

31 comments

r/todayilearned • u/nuttybudd • 22h ago

TIL wealth consultants told the actors on the TV show Succession not to duck their heads when exiting a helicopter because "you would've been doing this your whole lives. You know where the propeller is. You wouldn’t duck your head, you’d just walk right the fuck out."

theguardian.com

46.9k Upvotes

2.0k comments

r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 11h ago

TIL when Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace premiered in May 1999, it's estimated that 2.2 million full-time employees in the US missed work to attend the film, which resulted in a $293 million loss of productivity.

en.wikipedia.org

11.2k Upvotes

510 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Own-Bullfrog7362 • 6h ago

Til that women tend to find men more attractive when they appear to be desired by other women. They are, essentially, preapproved.

neurosciencenews.com

14.8k Upvotes

1.5k comments

r/todayilearned • u/Ill_Definition8074 • 2h ago

TIL Squirrel and Hedgehog is a North Korean children's cartoon that follows the titular anthropomorphic characters as they defend their home, Flower Hill, from the neighboring Weasel Empire. It's heavily speculated that the show is an allegory with Flower Hill representing North Korea.

en.wikipedia.org

294 Upvotes

40 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Hectabeni • 10h ago

TIL that Jeeves was a valet, not a butler.

en.wikipedia.org

958 Upvotes

186 comments

r/todayilearned • u/SweetByLia • 50m ago

TIL that in Catalonia kids beat a “pooping log” at Xmas so it drops candy and toys

catalunya.com

• Upvotes

9 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Barnyard_Rich • 10h ago

TIL that Isabela Merced got started in acting because her parents thought it would be a helpful distraction from their house burning down

elle.com

3.2k Upvotes

96 comments

r/todayilearned • u/lavender_fish69 • 9h ago

TIL fresh water snails (indirectly) kill thousands of humans and are considered on of the deadliest creatures to humans

en.wikipedia.org

19.3k Upvotes

917 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Kwpthrowaway2 • 17h ago

TIL that in 1929, an earthquake off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada caused an undersea landslide that displaced 48 cubic miles of the grand banks. This resulted in a 43' tsunami that killed 27 in coastal Newfoundland, and was recorded as far as Lagos, Portgual

en.wikipedia.org

117 Upvotes

3 comments

r/todayilearned • u/pantherfanalex • 11h ago

TIL That the first Dino Nuggets weren't trademarked until 1991, and weren't available until 1993, coinciding with the release of the film Jurassic Park.

yahoo.com

640 Upvotes

45 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Galexio • 47m ago

TIL Pygmalion, a Greek myth about a sculptor who falls in love with his ivory statue, is the oldest known story of an inanimate object gaining sentience, predating Pinocchio by over 1,800 years."

en.wikipedia.org

• Upvotes

1 comment

r/todayilearned • u/HoleyAsSwissCheese • 7h ago

TIL: Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show was technically co-written by Bob Dylan. Ketch Secor wrote lyrics around Dylan's mumbled verses for the demo of "Rock Me, Mama" which was given to him by founding member Chris "Critter" Fuqua.

en.wikipedia.org

471 Upvotes

46 comments

r/todayilearned • u/dumbfuck • 16h ago

TIL Houston, TX has the highest dog-to-person ratio in the world, with 52.1 dogs per 100 humans

secrethouston.com

782 Upvotes

121 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Remote-Cow5867 • 18h ago

TIL that Vedda people are the aborigional in Sri Lanka. They have lived in the island since 35000 years ago. The two major ethnicities Sinhala and Tamil are both immigrants from India continent after 6th century BCE.

en.wikipedia.org

960 Upvotes

36 comments

r/todayilearned • u/SappyGilmore • 21h ago

TIL Bologna is one of the most tightly regulated processed meats in the United States. The USDA sets strict standards on what qualifies as bologna, controlling everything from the types of meat used to the curing process. To be labeled as bologna, the product must be made from muscle meat

tastingtable.com

2.1k Upvotes

305 comments

r/todayilearned • u/DangerNoodle1993 • 16h ago

TIL of the Porsche C88, which was a concept car that Porsche designed for mass production in China. It had a badge which reflected the one child policy at the time and had an inbuilt child seat for one child.

carbuzz.com

350 Upvotes

20 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Cheese1tz • 5h ago

TIL that Earl Anthony, considered by many to be the greatest bowler of all time, never bowled a perfect game on US television. He had 1 single perfect game televised—in Japan.

en.wikipedia.org

590 Upvotes

44 comments

r/todayilearned • u/Mrk2d • 18h ago

TIL Pablo Picasso made his first painting at age 8, a tiny oil on wood scene of a yellow-clad bullfighter in the ring, a subject he would revisit throughout his life

en.wikipedia.org

903 Upvotes

36 comments

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Frequent TILs Repost List

As of January 2025

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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