Today

OGv5a TIL not happy with the lighting for footage while filming Top Gun, the director asked the captain to turn the carrier. The captain said it would cost $25,000 so the director wrote a check on the spot
X0bpk TIL 99% of human history happened in prehistory (before the invention of writing). It’s the longest period of human history, lasting for 3.4 million years
VBbp0 TIL while Gaddafi was in Italy for the World Food Summit he hired 200 models to attend a party. But instead spent the entire night lecturing them on Islam before giving them copies of the Koran and his political book.
epbA6 TIL of Nandy, a disabled Neanderthal skeleton found in Iraq who suffered blindness, major hearing loss, a missing arm, and other serious healed injuries that likely left him unable to care for himself. Despite this he lived into his 40s, suggesting he was supported and cared for by his community.
P1Dpg TIL that in 1996, Annie Leibovitz sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement. She alleged that an ad depicting a nude and pregnant woman with Leslie Nielsen's head was IP theft. The SDNY ruled it was parody and protected by fair use laws. US Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling in 1998
8eOBG TIL the New Jersey Reds (now Washington Generals) once beat the Harlem Globetrotters. The Globetrotters weren't paying attention to the time and had to finish the match playing normal basketball.
l7bKK TIL that in July of 2025, more than 2.6 million Australians voted in a radio poll to determine the greatest Australian song of all time. The result? “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS.
NXJpb TIL about the American Fenian Brotherhood. During the 1860s they attempted several 'invasions' of Canada in order to trade it to the British for Irish Independence
rNbKd TIL jockey Ralph Neves was declared dead, then raced the next day - and won.
BgYRy TIL of the Swoon of the Virgin, a common religious theme of art of the Virgin Mary swooning at the death of her son; it was criticised by catholic church for making Mary look emotionally weak and not being biblically accurate.
Y7bZx TIL Bhutan is the world’s only carbon negative country since 2017, thanks to its forests and the generation and export of renewable energy
Eg7Oo TIL that after the Maersk Alabama pirate hijacking in 2009, the $30,000 cash the pirates stole from the ship and stowed in the lifeboat was never found. 2 SEAL team members were investigated but no charges brought