planet that is hypothesized to have impacted Earth and created the Moon

Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and two BAFTAs. Upon the death…

American big box department store chain

Titanic Disaster official casualty figures, with commentary on sex, age, and class variations.

When you think of vampires, chances are you think of Anne Rice’s Lestat—gothic, beautiful, tortured, romantic, everything that has practically defined the creatures in pop culture since Rice wrote Interview With the Vampire in 1976. But in her new book, the…

former United States Federal Aviation Administration National Operations Manager

holiday celebrated in Antarctica

What's a poi dog? Today in Hawaii, this typically refers to a mongrel type of everyday dog. But int the past, this wasn't the case. Find out more here.

Special flights brought in tonnes of banknotes which disappeared into the war zone.

Marilyn Monroe had been raised for a short time in an orphanage and she often told the press that she had no living family. Due to the star’s wishes for privacy, fans around the world had no idea that she had a sister for many years. After Monroe’s death…

institutionalized servitude in ancient Rome

The Ritchie Boys were responsible for gathering more than half the actionable intelligence on the battlefield during World War II. For the many German-born Jews in their ranks, defeating the Nazis was heartbreakingly personal.

The Republic of Pirates was the base or stronghold of a loose confederacy run by privateers-turned-pirates in Nassau on New Providence island in the Bahamas for about eleven years from 1706 until 1718. While it was not a republic in a formal sense, it was…

You were abducted by aliens, you saw Bugs Bunny at Disneyland, and then you went up in a balloon. Didn't you? Laura Spinney on our remembrance of things past

Don't know the difference between a city and a country ham? Don't know how to cook and serve them? Don't worry; we've got you covered. Here's our complete guide to the types of ham out there, what to look for when shopping, and how to cook and serve your…

Posted in r/todayilearned by u/SvanteArrheniusAMA • 133 points and 7 comments

early American lawyer and politician, Founding Father of the United States (1721-1793)

An unusual visitor has been hanging out in the St. Lawrence River for the past three years: A narwhal, more than 1,000 kilometres south of its usual range. And it appears that the lone narwhal has been adopted by a band of belugas.

In 1897, in a two-week period while working at Bayer, Hoffmann synthesized both aspirin and heroin. Aspirin is still widely sold as an over-the-counter medication today.

American film and television actor (1921-2003)