r/todayilearned

TIL that William Whipple, one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, freed his slave after signing it because he believed one cannot simultaneously fight for freedom and hold another person in bondage

TIL Robert Rodriguez had to work to convince studio backers to let him make the family in Spy Kids Hispanic. Backers said the movie would attract a limited audience and asked, "Why don't you just make them American?" Rodriguez said, "They are American."

TIL NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, a fan of visiting zoos, claims gorillas would always go wild seeing him behind glass. Animal expert Ron Magill confirmed this, saying male gorillas were often intimidated by O’Neal’s size and presence.

TIL in Norway everyone's income, net wealth and tax paid are published online and anyone can search them. But you have to log in, the person you look up can see your name in their search history within the hour, and you're limited to 500 look-ups a month

TIL when Kesha lost her case vs Dr Luke and had to keep making albums under his label, Sony refused to promote her and she could only play small theaters. Macklemore invited her on a joint tour where they split stage time evenly, donating a portion of sales to SA victims.

TIL Charles Darwin once caught two rare beetles, one in each hand. When he spotted an even rarer third beetle, he refused to let any of them go, so he put one of the first two in his mouth. It sprayed acid down his throat, forcing him to spit it out. In the end, Darwin lost all three.

TIL that Japan's first astronaut, Toyohiro Akiyama, hated his time in space because he suffered from severe space sickness and chain-smoked four packs a day on Earth. His fellow cosmonauts later reported, in regards to his nausea, that they "hadn't ever seen a man vomit that much."

TIL that Buzz Aldrin reported seeing flashes of light with his eyes closed during Apollo 11, and NASA later determined they were charged particles (radiation) passing directly through his eyeballs and triggering his retina, with no actual light involved

TIL Sleep triggers a "wash cycle" in the brain. Studies show that during sleep, the space between brain cells widens over 60%, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to flush out waste like beta-amyloid. Because of this, pulling an all-nighter stops this waste from clearing, causing brain fog.

TIL a drinks vendor in Germany cheated $47,000 from a bottle recycling machine by putting a single bottle into it 177,451 times. He built a wooden tunnel and magnetic sensor to pull the bottle back out every time, listening to the radio while sitting at the machine all day to pass time.