TIL that Oliver North, of Iran-Contra fame, collaborated on an episode of "The Americans" dealing with Contras.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_Eagle_(The_Americans)
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1531e6t/til_that_oliver_north_of_irancontra_fame/
TIL about the mythical Headless Men who's facial features are on their chest and appear on maps as early as 1300.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_men
TIL The US doesn’t have an official language.
https://www.usa.gov/official-language-of-us
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/15313jh/til_the_us_doesnt_have_an_official_language/
TIL Zyzzyx Road is the lowest grossing movie of all time: only six people bought tickets for a total box office of $30
TIL the only two published Lindbergh Kidnapping experts with law enforcement experience both concluded that Charles Lindbergh was behind his son’s death.
https://www.crimetraveller.org/2017/03/lindbergh-kidnapping-did-charles-lindbergh-kill-his-son/
TIL Jet Li turned down a role in The Matrix Reloaded because Hollywood producers wanted to record and copy all of his martial arts moves into a digital library, with all IP rights owned by them
https://screenrant.com/jet-li-matrix-sequels-role-why/
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1530e9n/til_jet_li_turned_down_a_role_in_the_matrix/
TIL the longest ever tank-to-tank killshot was scored by a British tank crew during the Gulf War (1990). It was from over 2.9 miles (about 4.7 km).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War#United_Kingdom
TIL The discovery of a mummy in a golden coffin in Pakistan in 2000 caused a diplomatic incident between Iran, Pakistan and the taliban who claimed ownership of "the persian princess". A Pakistani scientist determined that the woman died getting hit by a car and a rug in her coffin was made in 1996
Today I Learned (TIL) Rommel risked his own life taking personal colour camera photos of Australian troops storming his own positions with bayonets
https://www.australianculture.org/rommels-comments-on-australian-soldiers/
TIL there's 20-40x less oxygen in water than air.
[TIL] Baskonia will have new playmaker in next coming season and new player is from Partizan
https://sportstorie.com/baskonia-next-season-with-a-new-playmaker/
TIL Ancient Roman Concrete Has 'Self-Healing' Capabilities
https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/152v4kv/til_ancient_roman_concrete_has_selfhealing/
TIL Gremlins 2: The New Batch famously has a scene where the gremlins break the fourth wall and mess with the projector until Hulk Hogan forces them to stop. For the VHS release the gremlins mess with the tape and change channels until John Wayne forces them to stop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlins_2:_The_New_Batch
TIL about starfish use hydraulic systems to move themselves around
TIL that from 1895 through 1907 the Rothschilds family loaned nearly $450,000,000 (equivalent to $14,100,000,000 in 2022) to European governments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family
TIL John urschel a former NFL player retired after 3 seasons and continued his career teaching vector calculus , trigonometry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Urschel
TIL of the great Battle of Mrs. McCormack’s Cabbage Patch, a sassy name for a fight in which Irish rebels attempt to rescue McCormack hostages from police who are using them as human shields.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Ireland_rebellion
TIL: In the past, covering a yawn with one's hand was believed to protect against the devil or the loss of one's soul. The superstition likely originated from the idea that showing a yawn made one susceptible to spirits entering the wide-open mouth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn#Culture
TIL prolonged use of beta 2 agonists in case of bronchial asthma can lead to down regulation of beta receptors.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1968733/
