Today I Learned (TIL)

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You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? Submit interesting and specific facts about something that you just found out here.

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76
1
TIL that First Lady Edith Wilson was a descendant of Pocahontas (blog.genealogybank.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/ManOfLaBook on 2024-01-22 16:42:29+00:00.

77
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TIL about Wawpawwawqua ('White Loon'), a Miami war leader who fought against the United States, but was later excused from a Miami removal because he paid property tax. He was said to be 107 years... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/L8_2_PartE on 2024-01-22 16:07:19+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about Wawpawwawqua ('White Loon'), a Miami war leader who fought against the United States, but was later excused from a Miami removal because he paid property tax. He was said to be 107 years old at the time of his death, in 1876.

78
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TIL Sonic Youth’s highly experimental 2000 album NYC Ghosts & Flowers was the result of the bands irreplaceable guitars and effects pedals being stolen in 1999. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/WeldingShipper on 2024-01-22 20:24:40+00:00.

79
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TIL about the sinking of the S.S. Eastland, which rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. Barely half of the vessel was submerged, yet 844 people (mostly poor working-class immigran... (www.smithsonianmag.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Brendawg324 on 2024-01-22 20:17:04+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about the sinking of the S.S. Eastland, which rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. Barely half of the vessel was submerged, yet 844 people (mostly poor working-class immigrants) perished, killing more passengers than the Titanic.

80
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TIL there's a man known as "the pudding guy" who gamed American Airlines' loyalty program in the 1980's by buying 12,150 cups of pudding ($3,140) for over 1.2 million frequent flyer miles. Bonus: ... (www.huffpost.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/plantbasedpanda on 2024-01-22 20:03:32+00:00.

Original Title: TIL there's a man known as "the pudding guy" who gamed American Airlines' loyalty program in the 1980's by buying 12,150 cups of pudding ($3,140) for over 1.2 million frequent flyer miles. Bonus: he donated the pudding to the Salvation Army in exchange for a sizable tax write-off.

81
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TIL about Lampo the train dog, who memorized the Italian train schedule and used the system to travel around the country and return home at sunset all on his own. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/glixam on 2024-01-22 20:02:40+00:00.

82
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TIL many people hear voices and music in white noise. This is known as auditory pareidolia or “musical ear syndrome.” (thedebrief.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/HarryBallsbald on 2024-01-22 19:47:00+00:00.

83
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TIL Tetris is called Tetris because of the Greek prefix “tetra” which means four, which is how many blocks are in a Tetris piece. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Ragedpuppet707 on 2024-01-22 19:28:56+00:00.

84
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TIL that "The Iodine State" was South Carolina's nickname in the 1930s and even on license plates, in an effort to promote the state's vegetables as having more healthy iodine than other other sta... (www.greenvilleonline.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/bostonstrong781 on 2024-01-22 19:25:23+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that "The Iodine State" was South Carolina's nickname in the 1930s and even on license plates, in an effort to promote the state's vegetables as having more healthy iodine than other other state's vegetables

85
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TIL that merchandise of this “Shmoo” character made the 1948 equivalent of 305 million dollars, he replaced Mickey Mouse as the face of the Children’s Saving Bond, and also had a crossover with th... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/TheEmperorofWalruses on 2024-01-22 19:14:24+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that merchandise of this “Shmoo” character made the 1948 equivalent of 305 million dollars, he replaced Mickey Mouse as the face of the Children’s Saving Bond, and also had a crossover with the Flintstones. He was everywhere in the old days but inexplicably disappeared after the 70s or so.

86
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TIL that the "dumb" in dumbbells originally meant "mute". A "dumb" bell was a contraption used to train church bell ringers in the fine art of bell ringing without annoying the entire neighborhood... (3quarksdaily.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/smudge_47 on 2024-01-22 18:16:01+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that the "dumb" in dumbbells originally meant "mute". A "dumb" bell was a contraption used to train church bell ringers in the fine art of bell ringing without annoying the entire neighborhood. Later, because of the similarities in shape, the name was applied to certain exercise equipment.

87
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TIL during Operation Desert Storm, the M2 Bradley performed more tank kills than the Abrams. Additionally, 20 Bradley’s were destroyed, 17 of those due to friendly fire (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/WarmAppleCobbler on 2024-01-22 16:40:08+00:00.

88
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TIL that during his time undercover as Donnie Brasco, Joseph Pistone was asked to do four hits. At least once, the FBI had to stage a murder when it was too risky for him to try and get out of doi... (www.biography.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/pizzarobot69 on 2024-01-22 16:39:21+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that during his time undercover as Donnie Brasco, Joseph Pistone was asked to do four hits. At least once, the FBI had to stage a murder when it was too risky for him to try and get out of doing it.

89
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TIL Members Only, a popular brand of jackets in the 1980s, spent its entire 6 million dollar ad budget in 1986 on anti-drug public service announcements. (www.mentalfloss.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Forward-Answer-4407 on 2024-01-22 16:14:45+00:00.

90
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TIL the first CEO of Apple was not Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak, but Michael Scott (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/MattO2000 on 2024-01-22 13:08:25+00:00.

91
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TIL about Delusional Parasitosis, a mental disorder in which individuals have a persistent belief that they are infested with living or nonliving pathogens such as parasites, insects, or bugs, whe... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Serious_Specter on 2024-01-22 07:35:54+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about Delusional Parasitosis, a mental disorder in which individuals have a persistent belief that they are infested with living or nonliving pathogens such as parasites, insects, or bugs, when no such infestation is present.

92
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TIL that jukeboxes in the 1940s and 50s sometimes contained a "silent" record so someone could choose to turn the music off for a bit. (youtube.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/aspiegrrrl on 2024-01-22 00:11:56+00:00.

93
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TIL that it is absolutely dangerous to swallow button batteries, because the battery reacts with bodily fluids and releases a strong alkaline substance which can burn through tissue. (www.gosh.nhs.uk)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Wooden_Potential_699 on 2024-01-22 09:43:42+00:00.

94
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TIL in Ancient Rome, the Rex Nemorensis was a priest of Diana Nemorensis. An escaped slave became Rex Nemorensis by breaking a branch of a tree to engage the current priest in mortal combat (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Johannes_P on 2024-01-22 09:12:22+00:00.

95
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TIL Johannes von Trapp, youngest son Georg and Maria von Trapp, is still alive. He's not featured in The Sound of Music, but was one of the Trapp Family Singers. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/HolycommentMattman on 2024-01-22 06:41:00+00:00.

96
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TIL The first Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference was held in 1956 (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/IndubitablePrognosis on 2024-01-22 06:29:53+00:00.

97
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TIL Paper marbling is the Eastern art of floating colours on aqueous solutions and was employed in 1695 by the Bank of England to make banknotes to prevent their counterfeiting. They were forged m... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Time_Mechanism on 2024-01-22 05:45:48+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Paper marbling is the Eastern art of floating colours on aqueous solutions and was employed in 1695 by the Bank of England to make banknotes to prevent their counterfeiting. They were forged mere weeks later by infamous counterfeit coiner William Chaloner.

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TIL Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon made a pinball game about driving Marilyn Monroe, Mikhail Gorbachev, Santa Claus, and Dracula around in a taxi (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/theillustratedlife on 2024-01-22 01:47:21+00:00.

99
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TIL songwriter Trevor Rabin wrote the entirety of the Yes song "Owner of a Lonely Heart" while sitting on the toilet. (www.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Ghosts_of_Bordeaux on 2024-01-22 02:47:00+00:00.

100
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TIL that readiness potentials are a kind electroencephalogram signal that appears before the intention to perform actions, so they were thought to predict awareness of voluntary movement. But this... (www.sciencedirect.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Soias18 on 2024-01-22 06:01:05+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that readiness potentials are a kind electroencephalogram signal that appears before the intention to perform actions, so they were thought to predict awareness of voluntary movement. But this recent study have found them also before the partecipants decided not to move.

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