Today, you will learn there's a subreddit called "Today I Learned" (TIL).
Even if you already know about this online community from my earlier articles (here, here, and here), I think you're gonna enjoy this one!
TIL is a place with a simple premise: everyone shares interesting facts they discover on the Internet. And sure, it's no Britannica, but the most important rule on the subreddit is that the facts must be legit and the online community has 26.1 million members self-governing its content, so you know what you're reading is true.
Plus, they usually attach corresponding photos to make the content more vivid and easier to digest as well. Here are some of the posts that recently went viral on the subreddit. Enjoy!
#21
TIL Steve Harvey sent a television for Christmas every year to the Teacher Who Said He'd Never Be on Television
Report
115points
#22
TIL that Christopher Lee sent Peter Jackson a photograph of him in a wizard's costume, wanting to play Gandalf, but Jackson decided he would be a perfect Saruman, instead.
Report
113points
#23
TIL that Brisbane was originally founded as a penal colony for convicts who committed new offenses after they had arrived in Australia
Report
105points
#24
TIL a California lawyer filed for a restraining order to stop his neighbor's kids from playing basketball claiming their game dropped the value of his house by $100k. He was ultimately denied with the court saying that reasonable people can expect "some inconveniences and annoyances" from neighbors
Report
99points
#25
TIL the McDonald's corporation quietly phased out Ronald McDonald, the companies clown mascot, due to the 2016 clown scare video fad
Report
98points
#26
TIL the modern air conditioner was invented by Willis Carrier not to cool people, but to reduce damaging humidity in a print shop
Report
96points
#27
TIL that the town of Why, Arizona was originally known as just "Y" due to the Y-shaped intersection of two roads. It changed its name to "Why" due to an Arizona state law requiring town names to be at least 3 letters long
Report
90points
#28
TIL Centuries after Alexander the great's death, his tomb was a tourist attraction. Many of the roman emperors who visited the tomb left with souvenirs, effectively looting the monument. According to one account, Augustus Caesar tried to touch the 300 year old mummy, accidentaly breaking its nose
Report
90points
#29
TIL building codes in South Florida require exterior doors to swing outwards because it offers better protection against hurricanes. It was enacted after Hurricane Andrew
Report
82points
#30
TIL that the entry fee for Hammond's Jurassic Park (from the first movie) was supposed to be 550 $
Report
75points
