oRGgW TIL that lungworms led to the creation of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center
dDBJE TIL Ken Jennings & Matt Damon won $1m on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' & it was initially believed that they had not phoned a friend (it would've been the 2nd time in the US version of the show that a winner had lifelines left). But it was revealed they had called Brad Rutter to tell him they won
KYpR9 TIL in 1941 two Navy pilots in an open biplane executed a mid-air rescue of a Marine who was dangling upside down by four shroud lines 100 ft behind a transport plane 3K ft above San Diego. The Marine's chute had opened suddenly while he was still on board, which forcibly pulled him out of the plane
a8l1J TIL the inspiration for the hundred acre wood is actually 2500 hectares, closer to 6200 acres
Zp6kY TIL owls cannot move their eyes at all — so evolution gave them 14 neck vertebrae, backup arteries, and blood vessels that swell like sponges to prevent strokes during 270-degree head rotations
78XBZ TIL We don't actually know who wrote the Iliad and Odyssey. "Homer" isn't a name that appears anywhere else in history. Most scholars believe they were written by two different authors
kJKge TIL in 1859 US congressman Daniel Sickles murdered his wife's lover outside the White House in broad daylight. While in custody, he was allowed to keep his personal gun and the jailor gave him keys to his apartment to receive his numerous VIP visitors. He was acquitted citing "temporary insanity"
Egavd TIL Jack Swigert realized while in space that he didn’t file his taxes before leaving on the Apollo 13 mission (April 11-April 17 in 1970).
Y75EP TIL that in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a non-canonical biblical text, a young Jesus was accused of pushing a friend off a roof. To prove his innocence, he resurrected the boy so he could testify to the crowd that he hadn't been pushed.
BgkGx TIL about Nalanda University in India (predating the University of Oxford by more than 500 years) which was destroyed by Turko-Afghan invaders. It supposedly burned for 3 months after being set on fire and was once home to 9 million books and attracted 10,000 students from around the world.
rNvMW TIL that Lady Grinning Soul by David Bowie and Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones were both inspired by the same woman
NXDOM TIL about the shame pole. Tlingit tribes would erect a totem pole to publicly ridicule individuals guilty of dishonorable acts