TIL: There is a graveyard/garden in Vatican City that you can only enter if you speak German or if you are Dutch/Belgian. It also is technically part of Italy but fully under the control of the Vatican.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Cemetery
TIL Texas produces the most renewable energy in the US
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_electricity_production_from_renewable_sources
TIL Among the 210 000 burials registered in Quebec before 1800, 178 mentioned an age at death of 100 or more, including a 113 year old. This led to the idea that French Canadians have exceptional longevity. But after verification, only one centenarian remained
https://www.demogr.mpg.de/books/odense/6/04.htm
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1527xnr/til_among_the_210_000_burials_registered_in/
TIL: Flight Attendants are not paid until the doors close
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/26/1094850577/delta-flight-attendants-pay
TIL about Larry Hoover, a gang leader of CBGD, or Chicago's Black Gangster Disciples Nation. After being sent to prison, he was inspired by the biography of Richard J. Daley and decided to change his gangs GD to Growth and Development, and forced his army learn to better their community instead.
https://www.biography.com/crime/larry-hoover
TIL there are some time zones in the world that are offset 30 (or even 45) minutes (instead of the usual 60 minutes) from UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-some-time-zones-30-minutes-off-instead-of-an-hour
TIL there was an alleged mental disorder during German hyperinflation that caused patients to write endless rows of zeros.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_stroke
TIL that László József Bíró was a Hungarian inventor who patented the most commercially successful ballpoint pen also invented the automatic gearbox. He also at some point in his life, worked as a hypnotist, insurance salesman, book publisher and he also sold oil.
https://www.paperstone.co.uk/News/2016/exactly-mr-biro
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/15270kj/til_that_lászló_józsef_bíró_was_a_hungarian/
TIL that when it comes to hand washing, the water is having the greatest impact on getting rid of grime and microbes, not the soap. However, hand washing with soap and water is still significantly better than water alone.
TIL that due to industry influence, Missouri has some of the loosest alcohol laws in the US. Hard liquor can be sold in grocery stores and gas stations; bars can double as liquor stores; public intoxication is legal; and open containers are allowed in most areas, including by passengers in vehicles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Missouri
TIL that serial killer Michael Bruce Ross attended Killingly High School, in Killingly Connecticut.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bruce_Ross
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1526d0m/til_that_serial_killer_michael_bruce_ross/
TIL that Cuckoo bumblebees are brood parasitic and do not make nests or form colonies; their queens aggressively invade the nests of other bumblebee species, kill the resident queens and then lay their own eggs, which are cared for by the resident workers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psithyrus
TIL the Liberty class cargo ship was mass produced by the United States to help win WWII. Made with antiquated, but easily manufactured technology they were built in record time. Of the 2710 ships made, only my 4 remain. Three are museums, while the fourth is a land locked canning facility.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Albert_M._Boe?wprov=sfla1
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/15262ae/til_the_liberty_class_cargo_ship_was_mass/
TIL that most national currencies have no backing in precious metals or commodities and have value only by fiat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknote
TIL Paul Newman was so embarrassed by his film debut he put out an advertisement in Variety magazine apologizing for his performance
https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/silver-chalice
TIL in 2016, a Saudi princess was enraged after a plumber took photos of her bathroom. She made her bodyguard beat him up and then forced him to kiss her feet. She left France—this happened in her luxury apartment in Paris—and was tried in absentia. She received a 10-month suspended sentence.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49678033
TIL of the Civil Cooperation Bureau, a government death squad in Apartheid South Africa. Accused of murders, they also bombed a kindergarten, harassed a dissident by pointing a RPG7 at him while forcing him to drink moonshine, and tried to bewitch Desmond Tutu by hanging a baboon fetus in his home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Cooperation_Bureau#Known_and_suspected_operations
TIL there are gendered differences in the sexual attractiveness of smiles among heterosexuals: while men are more likely to prefer women who look happy & least attracted to those who appear proud, women are less likely to be attracted to happy/smiling men & prefer those who look proud or brooding.
http://news.ubc.ca/2011/05/24/happy-guys-finish-last-says-new-study-on-sexual-attractiveness/
TIL the word “emoji” is not related to “emotion” as many people believe, it is simply a combination of the Japanese words 絵 (pronounced eh) meaning picture, and 文字 (pronounced mōji) meaning letter or character.
TIL there was a short-lived country in Africa named the Republic of Maryland, settled by freed slaves from the US state of Maryland. Their governor was named John Brown (different one) and then they got annexed by Liberia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Maryland
