TIL the longest-standing record chronicled in The Guinness Book of Records belongs to the monk, St Simeon the Stylite (c. AD 386–459), who spent approximately 39 years on a stone pillar in Syria. His purpose was self-persecution for people's sins, and to be nearer God. [Source]

TIL about Randy Gardner, a 17 year old who spent 11 days and 25 minutes without sleep [Source]

TIL that in 2016, a Chinese artist spent 3 days building a $15,000 LEGO statue or Nick Wilde from Zootopia. Shortly after it was put on display, a 4-year-old boy accidentally knocked it over, destroying it. The artist refused an offer of compensation from the parents. [Source]

TIL Albert Einstein, besides his work as a physicist and mathematician was also a Fridge engineer. Together with a former student Leo Szilard he helped invent several new technologies in refrigeration and jointly held 45 patents, including a design for a fridge with no moving parts. [Source]

TIL you could fit every planet in the Solar System between Earth and the Moon [Source]

TIL in 2016, a sweet shop owner in Pakistan confessed to mixing a highly toxic pesticide into the sweets after an argument with his brother and co-owner. From 20 April to 8 May 2016, at least 33 people, including five children, died from the purposely poisoned baked confection. [Source]

TIL the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie pitch was to have starred comedians Sam Kinison, Gallagher, Bobcat Goldthwait and Billy Crystal in green make-up as the turtles. [Source]

TIL that in 2010, UCF professor Richard Quinn uncovered a massive cheating scandal by analyzing statistical anomalies in exam scores, prompting 205 students to come forward and forcing all 600 to retake the exam. [Source]

TIL that in 2014, a recall was issued for about 2.2 million bean bag chairs that had zippers on them after two children were found dead inside two of the chairs, having suffocated from lack of air and from inhaling the chair's foam beads. [Source]

TIL that the "pre-filled" tax return is a new innovation in the tax world used by 90% of OECD countries. Gov't. administrators pre-fill a tax return based on data collected. In China, 85% of VAT refund applications info is pre-filled. The IRS, the USA's tax agency, does not offer pre-filled returns. [Source]

TIL that the 2011 dark/action comedy film “30 Minutes or Less” mirrors a real-life event where a pizza delivery driver was forced to wear a bomb collar and rob a bank, ultimately dying when the bomb detonated, though the filmmakers denied knowledge of the real-life story. [Source]

TIL Disneyland originally used real human skeletons provided by the UCLA Medical Center in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride because 1960s fake bones weren't convincing enough [Source]

TIL that Portugal’s crown prince, Pedro, was governing Brazil when he declared its independence in 1822, breaking with the kingdom ruled by his own father. A month later, he declared himself Brazil’s first emperor. [Source]

TIL during the Spanish-American War, approximately 1,100 men died in combat while 17,000 died from disease. [Source]

TIL golfer Tom Morris Jr. won four consecutive British Opens in 1868, 1869, 1870 and 1872. (There was no tournament in 1871.) He won his first at just 17 and all four before turning 22. In 1875 his wife and baby died during a difficult delivery. He died four months later. He was only 24. [Source]

TIL cacao trees grow flowers directly from their trunks and older branches. Unlike other flowery plants, cocoa tree's flower can be grown on woody branches. This is called cauliflory. [Source]

TIL a medieval woman's dental plaque contained lapis lazuli, a precious blue pigment used in illuminated manuscripts. [Source]

TIL that Moby Dick was a commercial failure and became popular after the author's death [Source]

TIL that only one of the Beach Boys could actually surf [Source]

TIL Michael Jordan would often bet on Jumbotron cartoon races with a Bulls security guard during games, but nearly always won because he got the winners from arena staffers in advance. [Source]

TIL René Descartes, famous for “I think, therefore I am,” believed three dreams he had in a stove-heated room in 1619 were divine guidance directing him to pursue truth through science and philosophy and leading to the development of analytical geometry. [Source]