TIL that King of France Louis XIV decreed that French Army cannons be inscribed with the Latin phrase "Ultima Ratio Regum" meaning "The Last Argument of Kings" - as Louis XIV considered war to be an extreme continuation of politics and thus the last argument in a difficult debate. [Source]
10.02.202511:49
TIL a man was awarded $412 million against a men's health clinic that misdiagnosed him with erectile dysfunction & unnecessarily gave him 3 penile injections a week to treat it, which caused irreversible damage. It's the largest amount ever awarded by a jury in the US in a medical malpractice case. [Source]
14.02.202501:49
TIL In the Korean version of SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star's name is "뚱이" which simply translates to "fatty". [Source]
09.03.202500:49
TIL that Oxford University existed before the Aztec Empire was founded [Source]
13.02.202500:49
TIL that 40% of the recruits in the Red Army in the 1920s had whip marks on their backs, a punishment used by boyars and landlords for rebellions caused by hunger. [Source]
07.03.202501:49
TIL that fighter pilots sometimes hallucinate from G-forces, seeing things like glowing lights or tunnels that don’t exist. [Source]
13.02.202501:49
TIL edible gold is a particular type of real gold authorized by the European Union and the United States as a food additive, under the code E 175. It is used in haute cuisine as part of a trend towards extravagance in meals. It has to be pure, to avoid any type of infections or perils for the body. [Source]
13.02.202503:33
TIL Google’s 2004 IPO used a Dutch auction, where investors bid the highest price they’re willing to pay, and everyone gets shares at the lowest price that clears all available stock (the market-clearing price). [Source]
13.02.202519:49
TIL that Westminster Palace, the home of both Chambers of British Parliament is home to no less than 30 bars that are subsidized by the taxpayers [Source]
13.02.202522:49
TIL In 1909 then MP Winston Churchill was attacked and whipped by a suffragette. [Source]
13.02.202521:49
TIL the original Machine Gun Kelly was a gangster and bootlegger in the 1920's. His most famous crime was kidnapping oil tycoon Charles F. Urschel, whom he and his gang exchanged for nearly $5 million ransom in today's money. [Source]
07.03.202502:49
TIL coconut water (the liquid inside a young coconut) has been used as a substitute for human blood plasma in emergency situations. It’s far from ideal but it can work. [Source]
09.02.202501:49
TIL that Robert Frost was to read "Dedication" at the inauguration of JFK, a poem he had composed for the occasion, but due to the brightness of the sunlight he was unable to see the text, so he recited another poem of his "The Gift Outright" by memory instead. [Source]
13.02.202523:49
TIL “Aqua Dots” were recalled for containing a chemical that metabolizes to the controlled substance GHB when ingested [Source]
09.02.202505:49
TIL Washington State's admission to the union was delayed because the governor forgot to sign the state constitution. [Source]
TIL that Oxford University existed before the Aztec Empire was founded [Source]
09.03.202500:49
TIL IKEA’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, had dyslexia, so he used Swedish names instead of numbers for products—making them easier to remember and now a signature part of the brand. [Source]
08.03.202522:49
TIL of Luigi Galvani, an 18th-century Italian scientist, discovered "animal electricity" when he observed frog legs twitching in response to metal probes. [Source]
07.03.202502:49
TIL coconut water (the liquid inside a young coconut) has been used as a substitute for human blood plasma in emergency situations. It’s far from ideal but it can work. [Source]
07.03.202501:49
TIL Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain is the only song credited to all 5 members because it was created from combinations of several previously rejected materials. [Source]
07.03.202501:49
TIL that fighter pilots sometimes hallucinate from G-forces, seeing things like glowing lights or tunnels that don’t exist. [Source]
07.03.202501:49
TIL that back in 1916 you could buy a home through Sears for as little as $600. [Source]
14.02.202501:49
TIL In the Korean version of SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star's name is "뚱이" which simply translates to "fatty". [Source]
14.02.202500:49
TIL on the last episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, guest Tom Hanks used The Beatles' "Lovely Rita" as his walkout song, costing NBC $500,000. [Source]
13.02.202523:49
TIL “Aqua Dots” were recalled for containing a chemical that metabolizes to the controlled substance GHB when ingested [Source]
13.02.202523:49
TIL Kathleen Caronna was in a month-long coma after a Thanksgiving Day parade float knocked a lamppost onto her head in 1997. She bought a nice apartment with the settlement money and 9 years later, Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed his plane into her high rise and the engine landed in her bedroom. [Source]
13.02.202522:49
TIL In 1909 then MP Winston Churchill was attacked and whipped by a suffragette. [Source]
13.02.202522:49
TIL that GameBoy and GameBoy Color cartridges have a watch battery inside of them to power the chip for savefiles. [Source]
13.02.202521:49
TIL the original Machine Gun Kelly was a gangster and bootlegger in the 1920's. His most famous crime was kidnapping oil tycoon Charles F. Urschel, whom he and his gang exchanged for nearly $5 million ransom in today's money. [Source]
13.02.202519:49
TIL that Westminster Palace, the home of both Chambers of British Parliament is home to no less than 30 bars that are subsidized by the taxpayers [Source]
