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]

TIL that the prominent early 19th century American politician John Randolph of Roanoke never went through puberty. He is suspected of either having had Klinefelter syndrome, or tuberculosis which settled in the genital tract. [Source]

TIL that the trope of immigration officials at Ellis Island changing and anglicizing immigrants’ names is a myth, which only became popularized around 1970 [Source]

TIL Jason Giambi (MLB) — Wore a golden thong (or gold lamé thong) during slumps to break out of hitting slumps. [Source]

TIL that in the 1800s the American dairy industry used to sell milk thinned with water. They recolored the resulting bluish-gray liquid with dyes, chalk, or plaster dust, and faked the look of cream using pureed calf brains. The milk was often filled with bacteria and preserved with embalming fluid. [Source]