Around 1100 years ago, probably during a Sunday mass, a bored Viking named Halvdan carved his name on a marble slab at the upper gallery of Hagia Sophia.

One former NBA player, Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, was able to turn $350,000 into $600 million in a way you wouldn’t believe.

This candidate for the loudest bird in the world screams from the treetops with chainsaw volume, directly into the ear of a potential mate.

Posted in r/todayilearned by u/Goosekilla1 • 1,326 points and 229 comments

The human eye actually sees only three colors, scientists refer to color in terms of wavelength, and coloring foods goes back at least 3,500 years.

Do you ever wonder why your pooch always loves it when you pet them? Or when you scratch their belly and their legs start to go wild? They might look a bit weird but admit it; you love it when you see them get wild with joy. What are the effects of petting…

If not for a doctor uncle, Herbert Hoover might not have lived past age 2.

"The Wizard of Oz" burst into brilliant Technicolor 75 years ago. On Aug. 15, 1939, 10,000 fans lined the streets of Hollywood for the gala premiere, just two days before the now-iconic film opened to the public.It wasn't the first adaptation of Frank L.…

How a fast-food marketing campaign turned into a widespread Yuletide tradition for millions

A bōnenkai (忘年会, literally "forget the year gathering") is a Japanese drinking party that takes place at the end of the year, and is generally held among groups of co-workers or friends. The purpose of the party, as its name implies, is to forget the woes…

The legendary children's television host is often viewed as a near-saint, but it turns out he found farting just as funny as the rest of us.

historical profession

American publisher, activist, and inventor of the bra

It's more confusing than it seems.

They’ve got great hearing, but is there truth to being “blind as a bat”?

The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 American Christmas musical fantasy comedy film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. The fourth theatrical film in The Muppets franchise, it was the first film to…

Soviet dissident; prominent in the Soviet dissident movement of the 1960s and 1970s and spent a total of twelve years in psychiatric prison-hospitals, labor camps and prisons within the Soviet Union

The British actress says Boseman took a pay cut in order to raise her salary on the film 21 Bridges.

1953 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

The Pinocchio paradox arises when Pinocchio says "My nose grows now" and is a version of the liar paradox. The liar paradox is defined in philosophy and logic as the statement "This sentence is false." Any attempts to assign a classical binary truth value…