TIL that over third of people who called the Massachusetts Problem Gambling Hotline in 2023 were calling because they were having a technical problem with their betting apps and mistakenly believed that calling the Mass hotline would get them IT help. [Source]

TIL that the original pilot for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (which later became “Charlie Has Cancer”) was shot on handheld camcorders on a budget of $200, though Charlie Day has since claimed it was essentially filmed for free. The show was later picked up by FX and has aired for 2 decades. [Source]

TIL the 2015 short "Kung Fury" had a full-length theatrical sequel that included Michael Fassbender and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It finished filming in 2019 but has been stuck in post-production ever since. [Source]

TIL In 1651, Jan De Doot, a man who disliked surgeons decided to take a knife and remove his own bladder stone with just some help from his brother. The feat made him famous across the Netherlands and he even had his portrait painted with him holding the egg-sized stone, which he had coated in gold [Source]

TIL that in the U.S., most paper money lasts less than 7 years before being destroyed and replaced due to wear. [Source]

TIL There is a fatal disease called Kuru that causes uncontrollable laughing and is transmitted through ritual cannibalism. [Source]

TIL there is a still (somewhat) active mafia group based in Kansas City [Source]

TIL: "Working cats" programs help unadoptable cats live a productive life as mousers [Source]

TIL the “Democracy Manifest” meme guy was a prison escape artist and was involved in a love triangle between his wife and “Australia’s Charles Manson,” the latter of whom killed his wife [Source]

TIL that before becoming an actor, Danny DeVito worked as a cosmetologist for dead bodies at a morgue, styling the hair of the deceased. He began this after a client of his died where he worked as a beautician at his sister's salon, and her family asked him to do her hair for her funeral. [Source]

TIL a woman named Lydia Abate has been "funeral tracking" for nearly 6 years — she scours obituaries to find recently deceased people, then offers grieving families a free estate clean-out service in exchange for keeping their dead relatives' vintage clothes. She hasn't bought clothes in years. [Source]

TIL about the Carnation Revolution where military officers organized a coup against their corporatist government, transforming Portugal into a democracy. [Source]

TIL that the Persian "Immortals" weren't called that because they couldn't die, but because their number was kept at exactly 10,000 at all times. If a soldier was killed or fell ill, he was immediately replaced, creating the illusion that the army never suffered casualties. [Source]

TIL that Johnny Cash would create a snare drum effect in the studio by putting a dollar bill under the strings of his guitar [Source]

TIL of Sabbatai Zevi who in the 17th century claimed he was the Messiah, leading to a significant portion of Jews world wide believing him. Only for him to end up converting to Islam. [Source]

TIL that the last time the United States authorized a private person to conduct war (granting a letter of marque) was during the Second Barbary War (1815) [Source]

TIL chicken sold in supermarkets are often "plumped" with a salt water solution to increase sell weight, making up as much as 30% of the total weight. A serving of plumped chicken can contain between 200 and 500mg of sodium while non-plumped chicken generally contains 45 to 70mg. [Source]

TIL a married Czech couple born on the same day both won gold medals at the 1952 Olympics [Source]

TIL the rivers are so clean in Bern and Basel in Switzerland that many people commute to work by swimming. [Source]

TIL that Goerge Wendt, who played Norm on the TV show Cheers, was expelled from Notre Dame for a 0.00 GPA [Source]

TIL about the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. All 36 men of the study lost 25% of their body weight eating 1,560 calories daily, proving that a calorie deficit alone causes weight loss. These starvation conditions produced a severe physical and mental decline in the subjects. [Source]