TIL about Parakaryon myojinensis, a single-celled organism that is apparently distinct from all prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It is the only known species with a completely unknown position within the tree of life. [Source]

TIL that, unlike his father Benjamin Franklin, William Franklin was a staunch British loyalist who went into exile after the Revolutionary War and died in London in 1813. [Source]

TIL that famed sheriff Buford Pusser who lost his wife in a supposed retaliatory attack in 1967 and inspired the 1973 movie “Waling Tall” is now believed by investigators to be his wife’s murderer after an autopsy was finally performed on her in 2024. [Source]

TIL: in the 1920s, composer Maurice Ravel wrote an experimental work consisting only of one very long, gradual crescendo. He was astonished and displeased that the work, "Boléro", became a massive success. When a listener shouted "Rubbish!" at the premiere, he said "That old lady got the message!" [Source]

TIL "John Bohannon sent out bogus papers about a fictitious cancer experiment, papers that should have raised red flags. But more than 150 journals offered to publish his work." [Source]

TIL the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog puppet was found in an assortment of animal puppets at a country furniture store by Robert Smigel and his wife. Smigel immediately used it to jokingly smell his wife's butt, so she bought seven of those puppets and later gave them to Smigel as a birthday gift [Source]

TIL about the Virginia dynasty, a term sometimes used to describe the fact that four of the first five presidents of the United States were from Virginia. After the state contributed four of the first five presidents, four other natives of Virginia have so far served as president. [Source]

TIL Ozempic (weight-loss medication) was developed based on a protein found in the venom of the Gila Monster. Researchers discovered this protein in the lizard's venom, exendin-4, regulates blood sugar and appetite [Source]

TIL that the Ancient Greece we commonly talk about, the Classical Greece, was a period that lasted only some 187 years, from 510 BCE to 323 BCE. [Source]

TIL Fritz the Cat is the first animated film to receive an X rating. The plot follows a womanizing cat in New York City who smokes weed, accidentally starts a riot, and ends with him in the hospital having group sex with three women. [Source]

TIL that the Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million light‑years away, so when we see it in the night sky, we’re seeing it as it was 2.5 million years ago. If an observer in Andromeda could see Earth in detail right now, they would be watching our early human ancestors, not modern civilization. [Source]

TIL that while in the army C.S. Lewis made a pact with his roommate, Edward “Paddy” Moore, that if either died in combat the other would take care of both families. Moore was killed in 1918 and Lewis kept the pact, living with and caring for Moore’s mother until the 1940’s. [Source]

TIL that Switzerland’s sewage system contains millions of dollars worth of gold and silver every year from industrial waste but it can’t practically be reclaimed [Source]

TIL that cats sleep 12-16 hours per day and the sleep time even reaches up to 20 hours. [Source]

TIL that Earths closest planatary neighbor is, on average, Mercury. [Source]

TIL before Richard Horvitz landed the role of Zim in Invader Zim, both Mark Hamill and Billy West were hired for the role first, and both even recorded a version of the pilot [Source]

TIL Korean Air was known as "an industry pariah, notorious for fatal crashes" in the airline industry prior to 1999, resulting in hundreds of fatalities. South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung would call the airline's safety record "an embarrassment to the nation" & would fly rival airliner Asiana. [Source]

TIL of the Jim Twins. They were separated at birth and reunited at age 39, at which time they realized that they were both married to a woman named Linda, divorced, then married a woman named Betty, and each named their son's James Allan. They also both owned dogs named Toy and worked as Sherrifs [Source]

TIL It is assumed that the word “bear” is a euphemism and derives from the Proto-Germanic word for “the brown one.” The actual name of the animal was probably “arctos.” [Source]

TIL: being physically fit reduces anger [Source]

TIL the cast of Das Boot (1981) were deprived of sunlight during the entire year of filming to realistically portray the unhealthy, pale skin of real sailors. I also learned 30000 of 40000 sailors never made it home. [Source]