Notices by Today I learned (todayilearned@noc.social)

TIL that during the filming of Star Wars in 1976, 50 years ago, Muammar Gaddafi threatened to declare war on Tunisia because he mistook the Jawa Sandcrawler prop for a military vehicle being deployed near the Libyan border.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatooine
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1uo3hpq/til_that_during_the_filming_of_star_wars_in_1976/

TIL the American Revolution wasn't a united monolith, but a civil war. Over 60,000 American Loyalists were forced into exile by the newly formed United States after the Patriots won the war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_the_Loyalists
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1uohi80/til_the_american_revolution_wasnt_a_united/

TIL: President Nixon worked for months to learn to use chopsticks, in preparation for the dinner banquets on his opening visit to the People's Republic of China in February 1972.

https://blog.iwfs.org/2014/07/dining-for-detente-the-role-food-played-during-nixons-trip-to-china/
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1uofidn/til_president_nixon_worked_for_months_to_learn_to/

TIL that most restrooms are free in the USA due to activism efforts in the 70s by the Committee to End Pay Toilets in America. Membership in the Committee cost $0.25, and members received a newsletter, the Free Toilet Paper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_in_America
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1uo8kdf/til_that_most_restrooms_are_free_in_the_usa_due/

TIL Pope Leo XIV still plays Wordle and Words With Friends with his brother during their daily phone calls, a routine they kept from before his election

https://www.today.com/news/robert-prevost-pope-leo-xiv-brother-interview-wordle-white-sox-rcna205779
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1uoatmh/til_pope_leo_xiv_still_plays_wordle_and_words/

TIL that Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! Died on July 4th while saving an American Soldier from drowning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuki_Takahashi
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1unhput/til_that_kazuki_takahashi_the_creator_of_yugioh/

TIL Yoko Ono's maternal great-grandfather Yasuda Zenjirō was Japanese financier who got assassinated. When John Lennon saw Yasuda's picture he said "That's me in a former life", to which Ono replied "Don't say that. He was assassinated."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuda_Zenjir%C5%8D
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1umypsx/til_yoko_onos_maternal_greatgrandfather_yasuda/

TIL that US hops production is heavily concentrated in the Pacific Northwest. Washington, Oregon, and Idaho account for 99% of all US production. Yakima Valley, WA alone accounts for 75% of domestic hops. If you had a beer with American hops it likely came from this region ,"The Hops Belt".

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/hops-production-by-state
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ui3v2w/til_that_us_hops_production_is_heavily/

TIL that the national fruit of Jamaica is called the ackee apple and the national dish is ackee and saltfish. Fresh ackee is banned from entering the USA due to food safety issues. Unripe Ackee contains Hypoglocin A which is linked to Jamaican vomiting sickness.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackee
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1uhyw7v/til_that_the_national_fruit_of_jamaica_is_called/

TIL The NFL is the only of the Big Four American sports organizations that did not have a color barrier or segregation in the beginning however 13 years after its formation in 1933 it made a secret rule to ban black players that lasted 13 years

https://www.theringer.com/2023/03/21/nfl/blackballed-episode-1-nfl-segregation-gentlemens-agreement
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ub8k0d/til_the_nfl_is_the_only_of_the_big_four_american/

TIL in 1925, major lightbulb makers including GE and Philips formed the Phoebus Cartel and deliberately reduced bulb lifespans from 2,500 hours to 1,000 hours, then fined any company that made longer-lasting bulbs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1u96v85/til_in_1925_major_lightbulb_makers_including_ge/

TIL that FIFA stripped Indonesia of its 2023 U-20 World Cup hosting rights after the governors of Bali and Central Java refused to allow a qualified nation to compete in their regions. FIFA also fined the Football Association of Indonesia for breaching its hosting obligations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Indonesia_as_2023_FIFA_U-20_World_Cup_hosts?wprov=sfla1
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1u28jgk/til_that_fifa_stripped_indonesia_of_its_2023_u20/

TIL Nathan’s Famous founder Nathan Handwerker sold hot dogs for 5¢ to undercut a competitor. When customers became suspicious of the low price, he had men in doctors’ coats eat at his stand to make the food seem trustworthy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan%27s_Famous
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1u2jnjw/til_nathans_famous_founder_nathan_handwerker_sold/

TIL a 2020 genetic study proved that seafaring Polynesians and Coastal native Americans met in the 1200s under intense El Niño cycles. Around the same time, Sweet Potato was introduced to Polynesia and chickens to South America. 10% of the Easter island genome is native american in origin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_transoceanic_contact_theories#Human_genetics
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1tymtpl/til_a_2020_genetic_study_proved_that_seafaring/

TIL that despite its arctic climate, Iceland actually produces bananas in large greenhouses powered by geothermal energy from volcanoes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_production_in_Iceland
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1tybd82/til_that_despite_its_arctic_climate_iceland/

TIL that in 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, a world champion finswimmer, heard a trolleybus crash into a lake. He dove 10 meters deep in zero visibility, smashed the window with his feet, and pulled out 37 people, saving 20 lives. It cost him his career due to severe pneumonia and sepsis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavarsh_Karapetyan_Note
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1twefb1/til_that_in_1976_shavarsh_karapetyan_a_world/

TIL that in 1964, the US government intentionally blasted Oklahoma City with 1,253 sonic booms over 6 months just to see if the noise would drive citizens crazy or damage their homes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_sonic_boom_tests
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1tsjtk5/til_that_in_1964_the_us_government_intentionally/

TIL that bamboo forests (aka canebrakes) used to be widespread across the southeastern United States. They were rapidly destroyed by early settlers because they tend to only grow on land that’s the most fertile for agriculture. Today canebrakes are considered a critically endangered ecosystem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canebrake
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1tseiu2/til_that_bamboo_forests_aka_canebrakes_used_to_be/

TIL cancer can get cancer and it's called a hypertumor. hypertumors could theortically get harnessed and used to kill cancer sometime in the future as it steals the initial tumor's nutrients and starves it

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94852-y
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1tm1jhz/til_cancer_can_get_cancer_and_its_called_a/

TIL in 1975 the Metric Conversion Act was signed into law. It declares the metric system as the USA’s preferred weights and measures system. However it is not a mandate and all metrification is voluntary. The law has been largely ignored.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_Conversion_Act
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1tky708/til_in_1975_the_metric_conversion_act_was_signed/