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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26
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TIL Adidas acquired its signature 3-stripe logo from the Finnish athletic footwear brand Karhu Sports, for two bottles of whiskey and the equivalent of €1600 ($1805) in 1952 (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Double-decker_trams on 2025-05-08 09:58:20+00:00.

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TIL when fins are removed from Great White Sharks or Whale Sharks and are thrown back into water still alive, they die because they suffocate. If they don't swim they stop receiving oxygen, since ... (www.britannica.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Double-decker_trams on 2025-05-08 08:58:23+00:00.

Original Title: TIL when fins are removed from Great White Sharks or Whale Sharks and are thrown back into water still alive, they die because they suffocate. If they don't swim they stop receiving oxygen, since no water is being pushed through their gills (they can't pump water through their gills themselves).

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TIL Missy Elliott wrote and performed on Raven-Symone’s 1993 debut rap song, “That’s What Little Girls are Made Of.” Missy was left off the music video for not being physically attractive enough. (www.factmag.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/GotMoFans on 2025-05-08 15:43:14+00:00.

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TIL that in 1828 a "Tariff of Abominations" bill created with the intention of never passing congress was passed anyway and nearly led to President Jackson declaring war on South Carolina (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/chronasaurusrex on 2025-05-08 15:16:28+00:00.

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TIL that Navajo language was used to carry top-secret messages during the Pacific campaign, WW2. Navajo, a native american language, is incredibly complex and obscure, it was thought to be impossi... (www.history.co.uk)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Dystopics_IT on 2025-05-08 14:47:26+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Navajo language was used to carry top-secret messages during the Pacific campaign, WW2. Navajo, a native american language, is incredibly complex and obscure, it was thought to be impossible to decipher by the Japanese Army

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TIL of Ford Think, a "neighborhood electric vehicle" that Ford sold in the early 2000s, that were prone to an instrument cluster failure which would also brick the entire vehicle. (hackaday.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zahrul3 on 2025-05-08 13:59:50+00:00.

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TIL Susanna Hoffs was NOT the designated lead singer of The Bangles. All four members sang - it just so happened that most of the band's big hits had Hoffs as lead. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/MisterMarcus on 2025-05-08 01:55:56+00:00.

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TIL How scientists taught monkeys the concept of money. Not long after, the first prostitute monkey appeared (www.zmescience.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Bigearl020 on 2025-05-08 07:16:08+00:00.

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TIL that one of Edward VII's mistresses, Alice Keppel, was the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles. Camilla was the mistress and later wife of Prince (now King) Charles, Edward’s great-grea... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Upstairs_Drive_5602 on 2025-05-08 09:54:02+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that one of Edward VII's mistresses, Alice Keppel, was the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles. Camilla was the mistress and later wife of Prince (now King) Charles, Edward’s great-great-grandson.

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TIL British accents noticeable change within the UK every 25 miles (news.bbc.co.uk)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/jc201946 on 2025-05-08 09:35:58+00:00.

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TIL: 12th century Vikings broke into a Stone Age tomb in Orkney and left runic graffiti, 30 in total, including one inscription saying: 'Tholfir Kolbeinsson carved these runes high up' (www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zahrul3 on 2025-05-08 07:26:02+00:00.

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TIL Anne Rice's birth name was Howard Allen. She became 'Anne' on her first day of school, when a nun asked her what her name was. She told the nun 'Anne' because she considered it a pretty name. ... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2025-05-08 04:05:29+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Anne Rice's birth name was Howard Allen. She became 'Anne' on her first day of school, when a nun asked her what her name was. She told the nun 'Anne' because she considered it a pretty name. Her mother, who was with her, let it go without correcting her and then legally changed her name in 1947

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TIL that en route to Nagasaki to deliver Fat Man, on August 9, 1945, St Elmo's Fire appeared around the B-29 aircraft...the Bockscar experienced an uncanny luminous blue plasma form around the spi... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/HeavyMetalOverbite on 2025-05-08 03:42:31+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that en route to Nagasaki to deliver Fat Man, on August 9, 1945, St Elmo's Fire appeared around the B-29 aircraft...the Bockscar experienced an uncanny luminous blue plasma form around the spinning propellers, "as though we were riding the whirlwind through space on a chariot of blue fire."

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TIL that Auschwitz had a brothel (Block 24) where female prisoners were forced to have sex with selected male inmates as part of a reward system. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/SPXQuantAlgo on 2025-05-08 06:43:57+00:00.

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TIL that in 1975, after Gillette introduced a two-blade cartridge razor, Saturday Night Live aired a fake commercial for a three-blade razor. Gillette introduced one in 1998. In 2004, a satirical ... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/ICanStopTheRain on 2025-05-07 03:51:37+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that in 1975, after Gillette introduced a two-blade cartridge razor, Saturday Night Live aired a fake commercial for a three-blade razor. Gillette introduced one in 1998. In 2004, a satirical article in The Onion introduced a fictional five-blade razor. A real five-blade razor came out in 2006.

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TIL of the role of Groom of the Stool, which was initially responsible for supplying their king with a toilet stool, bowl, water, towels, and physically cleaning their anus (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/shotsfordays on 2025-05-07 23:32:33+00:00.

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TIL that a medical study has shown that surgeons who play video games at least three hours a week perform, on average, 27% faster, while making 37% fewer errors. (www.reuters.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/nepios83 on 2025-05-07 16:13:51+00:00.

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TIL that ants are much more closely related to bees than wasps are (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zerofunhero on 2025-05-07 18:40:22+00:00.

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TIL Wearing a tie can reduce blood flow to the brain by 7.5 per cent (theconversation.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/jc201946 on 2025-05-07 15:34:50+00:00.

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TIL about Giuseppe Siri, an Italian cardinal who was the subject of a conspiracy theory claiming he won the 1958 conclave but was forced to decline after being threatened that either he and his fa... (wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Capital_Tailor_7348 on 2025-05-07 18:37:59+00:00.

Original Title: TIL about Giuseppe Siri, an Italian cardinal who was the subject of a conspiracy theory claiming he won the 1958 conclave but was forced to decline after being threatened that either he and his family would be killed, the Vatican nuked or an assassination campaign launched against the church.

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TIL that while filming the iconic “Gonna Fly Now,” Sequence in Rocky (1975) the moment where Rocky is encouragingly thrown a piece of fruit by a passerby was completely improvised because they fil... (runlovers.it)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/No_Material3111 on 2025-05-07 18:35:19+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that while filming the iconic “Gonna Fly Now,” Sequence in Rocky (1975) the moment where Rocky is encouragingly thrown a piece of fruit by a passerby was completely improvised because they filmed this without permission and so the people in the market are not actors.

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TIL that Pro Wrestler Kevin Sullivan once wrote a storyline, or "Kayfabe", about his wife Nancy (ring name "Woman") leaving him for fellow wrestler Chris Benoit. The storyline would lead to a real... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Nocturnal_Pages on 2025-05-07 12:45:55+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that Pro Wrestler Kevin Sullivan once wrote a storyline, or "Kayfabe", about his wife Nancy (ring name "Woman") leaving him for fellow wrestler Chris Benoit. The storyline would lead to a real-life affair between Chris and Nancy. The resulting marriage tragically ended in murder-suicide in 2007.

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TIL that King Louis XVI built a temple at Rambouillet for the sole purpose of tasting milk and cheese, as a surprise present to Marie Antoinette. It was equipped with water jets just to keep the m... (culturezvous.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/zahrul3 on 2025-05-07 11:38:13+00:00.

Original Title: TIL that King Louis XVI built a temple at Rambouillet for the sole purpose of tasting milk and cheese, as a surprise present to Marie Antoinette. It was equipped with water jets just to keep the milk cool during tasting sessions.

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TIL that Walt Disney, in 1947, gave permission to the University of Oregon to use Donald Duck's likeness as their mascot. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/RaccoonCityTacos on 2025-05-07 23:26:35+00:00.

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TIL that Joshua Trees are more closely related to Asparagus than actual trees. They are in the "Asparagaceae" Family. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/extremekc on 2025-05-07 22:30:41+00:00.

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