TIL that about 30% of people with depression have treatment resistant depression (TRD), which means they have failed at least 2 different types of treatment modalities. [Source]
PubMed Central (PMC)
Treatment‐resistant depression: definition, prevalence, detection, management, and investigational interventions
Treatment‐resistant depression (TRD) is common and associated with multiple serious public health implications. A consensus definition of TRD with demonstrated predictive utility in terms of clinical decision‐making and health outcomes does not ...
TIL that philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe believed that human consciousness is an evolutionary overextension, unnecessary for survival. He believed that humans developed four common coping mechanisms to dull our self-reflection and soothe our anxiety regarding our mortality. [Source]
TIL there is an old handwriting system that is faster than typing. Masters have reached up to 280 Words per minute! [Source]
TIL Thomas Jefferson's tombstone lists what he considers his three greatest accomplishments ... none of which are being President of the United States. [Source]
Monticello
Jefferson's Grave and Tombstone
Jefferson left instructions for the building of his tombstone, which included listing what he considered his three greatest achievements and an obelisk…
TIL puppeteer Frank Oz hasn’t worked with the Muppets since 2007 not because he wanna retire. In 2021, he stated: “I’d love to do the Muppets again but Disney doesn’t want me. They don’t want me because I won’t follow orders and I won’t do the kind of Muppets they believe in, The soul’s not there". [Source]
the Guardian
Frank Oz on life as Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy and Yoda: ‘I’d love to do the Muppets again but Disney doesn’t want me’
He played some of the most memorable characters of all time on The Muppet Show and Sesame Street - then became a brilliant comedy director. What is he most proud of?
TIL that Ioannis Ikonomou is the Chief Translator of the European Commision, speaking 21 of the 24 Official Languages. He is also the only Translator trusted with classified Chinese documents, which he considers his favorite Language, but also the most Complicated. [Source]
TIL The tea ruined at the Boston Tea Party had a value in 1773 equivalent to $2.3 Million USD in today's money. [Source]
TIL that to prove the idea that Clark Kent wearing glasses was enough to hide the fact that he is Superman, Henry Cavill, who played Superman in the 2016 film "Batman v Superman", walked around Times Square wearing a Superman shirt in 2016, and no one seemed to notice him. [Source]
TODAY.com
Super surprise! Henry Cavill goes unrecognized next to billboard of Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill put on his Superman shirt and went to one of the busiest places in the world — and no one noticed!
TIL about "headspin hole", a common scalp injury in breakdancers, caused by years of performing headspins. The repeated friction causes a cone-shaped "breakdance bulge" to form. [Source]
Irish Examiner
Repeated breakdance headspins gave dancer a 'conehead' bulge
A man was diagnosed with a 'headspin hole' after extensive breakdancing
TIL the Drake Equation—the famous formula used to estimate the number of active civilizations in our galaxy—was never intended to be a "solution." Frank Drake originally wrote it in 1961 simply as an organizational agenda for the world's first SETI meeting. [Source]
www.seti.org
Drake Equation
TIL - The spray from your mouth when yawning is likely due to a phenomenon called "gleeking," which is the involuntary ejection of saliva from the sublingual glands under your tongue. This can happen when the muscles in your mouth contract during yawning, creating a stream of salia. [Source]
GetMe Treated
Why We Accidentally Spray Saliva When We Yawn
Learn why we accidentally spray saliva when we yawn, what causes it, and how simple actions can help you avoid awkward moments.
TIL Illinois school worker Vera Liddell was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5M worth of chicken wings [Source]
WGN-TV
Suburban school worker pleads guilty to stealing $1.5M worth of chicken wings from district
Vera Liddell, the former food service director for Harvey School District 152, has pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of food, including chicken wings, and has been sentenced to 9 years …
TIL the eruption from a Coke and Mentos geyser isn't caused by a chemical reaction, but rather a physical one. The surface of the Mento has millions of cavities which serve as nucleation sites for carbon dioxide to desaturate from. [Source]
TIL: In 1876, Mary Lincoln thanked friends who helped free her from an asylum by giving them Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten note: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy." [Source]
Harper's Magazine
Notes to Self
Lincoln’s private thoughts on fate, failure, slavery, and belief
TIL that New Nissan Stadium, future home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, costs $2.1 billion dollars & is being constructed using $1.26 billion dollars of public funds. This makes it the largest allocation of Stadium Subsidy funds to a sports venue in U.S. history. [Source]
TIL the first commercial film to feature a woman, the 21-second Carmencita (1894), also became the first film ever banned in the United States. [Source]
Moviegoings
Film History Essentials: Carmencita (1894)
Summary: A woman wearing an elaborate costume, including a wide, billowing hoop skirt and white dance shoes with high heels, performs an intricate, balletic dance for the camera. She gestures exagg…
TIL Single mothers spend less time on housework and get more sleep than married mothers [Source]
SpringerLink
Marital Status and Mothers’ Time Use: Childcare, Housework, Leisure, and Sleep
Demography - Assumptions that single mothers are “time poor” compared with married mothers are ubiquitous. We tested theorized associations derived from the time poverty thesis and the...
TIL that 45 years ago, Saudi Arabia built a 1,200-kilometer oil pipeline from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, just in case the Strait of Hormuz ever got blocked [Source]
TIL that in 2025 a mini dachshund named Valerie was found alive after 529 days in the Australian wilderness. [Source]
NPR
After 529 days alone in the Australian bush, Valerie the mini dachshund is home
Valerie ran off while she was on a camping trip with her owners back in 2023 on a remote island in Australia. They had lost hope until locals spotted her more than a year later, surviving in the wild.
TIL the plane crash that killed John F Kennedy Jr, his wife, and her sister was caused by “spatial disorientation”. Weather conditions were poor that night & Kennedy was not qualified to fly at night under instrument conditions. He did not request a weather briefing nor did he file a flight plan. [Source]