TIL The Constitution of Norway was enacted in 1814, is the second oldest codified constitution still in force after that of the United States, and predates not only the dissolution of the union with Sweden, but also its formation [Source]

TIL that The Senator, the largest and oldest tree east of the Mississippi, died when a 26 year old woman started a fire in it to get a better look at the meth she was trying to smoke. [Source]

TIL the Telugu letter "Gna" (జ్ఞా) forced Apple into an emergency global update in 2018 because simply displaying it would fatally crash the iOS user interface. [Source]

TIL In later Greek tradition, Odysseus was accidentally killed by Telegonus, the son he had with the sorceress Circe. Unaware Odysseus was his father, Telegonus attacked Ithaca, wounded him with a spear, and killed him. This story comes from the lost epic Telegony, not The Odyssey. [Source]

TIL it is no longer possible to establish a new landline phone as a private person in Sweden and the copper telephone network is being disassembled. [Source]

TIL that nuclear fission reactors appear to have happened naturally on Earth. Uranium-rich mineral deposit became inundated with groundwater, which could act as a moderator for the neutrons produced by nuclear fission. [Source]

TIL the Great Wall of China isn't actually visible from space with the naked eye. NASA has repeatedly confirmed astronauts can't spot it unaided, despite the myth. [Source]

TIL from 2004-2023, Japan has closed 8,850 schools. The nation is losing 400-500 schools a year. Japan's Ministry of Education tracks almost 75,000 excess classrooms not in use. Many of these schools are repurposed into other facilities but they are often located in declining rural areas. [Source]

TIL while waiting for a flat tire to be fixed before deaparture, Sue Hendrickson decided to explore an area their fossil expedition never checked. She then found a few fossils, and upon further excavation, a near complete T Rex fossil, that is now named "Sue" [Source]

TIL in 2025 three octogenarian nuns fled their nursing home and broke back into their former convent in Salzburg with former students and a locksmith. After they gained 100,000 Instagram followers, the diocese said they can stay under conditions including closing their social media accounts [Source]

TIL a school district appealed all the way to SCOTUS to try to ban “I (heart) Boobies! (KEEP A BREAST)” bracelets [Source]

TIL that during the War of 1812 British officer James Dacre was acquitted by court martial for the loss of his ship after defending himself by noting it had been French-built. [Source]

TIL a New Jersey construction worker tried to keep a $38.5M lottery-pool jackpot, told his boss he was leaving for foot surgery he never had, and filed for unemployment after claiming the prize. A jury rejected his story and awarded each of his five coworkers a $4M share. [Source]

TIL that the American School system is *not* based on a 150 year old agrarian harvest cycle and is almost entirely based upon the fact that all of the Lower 48 get very hot from May-August. Additionally back when America *was* more agrarian, kids *did* go to school in the summer. [Source]

TIL the Attica Prison Riot in New York ended with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison riots. Almost everyone, including 9 out of the 10 hostages, was killed by law enforcement gunfire when the state retook control of the prison [Source]

TIL that Dominique Dunne, actress who played Dana in Poltergeist was strangled by her abusive ex-boyfriend after she ended their relationship. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, served only two and a half years, and has been free for decades. [Source]

TIL Jackrabbits can literally panic to death in an evolutionary trait called "capture myopathy." This is because jackrabbits are such fast performing animals that they prioritize immediate survival over long term health. Capture myopathy can lead to poisoning, organ failure, and usually death. [Source]

TIL David Letterman created a college scholarship specifically for average "C students," believing that grades don't always reflect a person's talent or potential. [Source]

TIL that sex, on average, burns 69 calories. [Source]

TIL there was a gladiator fight between a group of five retiarii and an equal number of secutores. The retiarii surrendered without a fight, but when their execution was ordered, one of them picked his weapon back up and slaughtered the secutores. Emperor Caligula was disgusted by the showing. [Source]

TIL basketball, especially American basketball, is extremely popular in China. The NBA is the most popular sports league in the country, beating all domestic leagues. In 2020, there were 482 million fans in China, a viewership higher than the entire population of the United States. [Source]