TIL (Timeline I Learned)

TIL that Apple coined the term "Podcast". It is a combination of the words "iPod" and "broadcast". [Source, Comments]

TIL that in 1995, a man robbed two banks after rubbing lemon juice on his face, believing it would make him invisible to security cameras because lemon juice is used as invisible ink [Source, Comments]

TIL that two homes in the US state of Texas were accidentally demolished when the demolition company followed the GPS to the wrong address [Source, Comments]

TIL During the Spanish American War the quality of the beef sourced from Chicago meatpackers was so bad it resulted in what’s known as the “Embalmed Beef Scandal”, where twice as many American deaths were attributed to food poisoning than enemy action. [Source, Comments]

TIL that the word 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' existed for decades before it was used in the Mary Poppins song. [Source, Comments]

TIL about Saroo Brierley, a 5-year old boy who fell asleep on a train in India and woke up 1,400 km from home. He found his mother 25 years later using satellite images on Google Earth. [Source, Comments]

TIL that when Greeks refused free potatoes in the 1820s, their leader Ioannis Kapodistrias allegedly had them guarded by soldiers to make them appear valuable. After curiosity grew, the guards intentionally became lax, the potatoes were stolen, and the crop spread throughout Greece. [Source, Comments]

TIL utopia literally translates as "no place" in Greek, meaning it doesn't exist [Source, Comments]

TIL that Andrew and Tristan Tate's father, Emory Tate, was an American chess International Master who won the U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship five times. [Source, Comments]

TIL that Roman Emperor Augustus (ruled 27 B.C. to 14 A.D.), concerned with declining birth rates, created a system of incentives including tax breaks, being excused from compulsory services, and allowing women to receive inheritances in a bid to encourage people to have more children. [Source, Comments]

TIL Nigerian Americans have one of the highest rates of bachelor’s degree attainment in the United States, with about 61% of adults ages 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. [Source, Comments]

TIL divorced women in Mauritania experience high societal acceptance, celebratory divorce parties and high rates of remarriage, despite being a Islamic Republic. Unlike in many other regions, divorce carries little social stigma and divorced women are often viewed as mature and desirable. [Source, Comments]

TIL despite the fact that Pirelli has been the sole tire provider in Formula One for 15 years, the tire provider with the most Grand Prix victories is Goodyear with 368 victories to Pirelli's 365. Goodyear was the sole tire supplier for 113 races to Pirelli's 315. [Source, Comments]

TIL After Andronikos Komnenos eliminated everybody that was close to his 14 year old co-emperor Alexios, and then finally killed the boy itself, one of the only member of Alexios' family that was left alive was his 11 year old betrothed, Agnes of France. 65 year old Andronikos, decided to marry her [Source, Comments]

TIL about Czech Jewish inmate Siegfried Lederer's escape from Auschwitz in 1944 with an SS guard. He went to the Theresienstadt Ghetto to warn people about the death camps. He returned to Auschwitz to help others escape but was nearly caught. He spent the rest of the war in the Czech resistance. [Source, Comments]

TIL that, according to Chinese legend, the founder of the second dynasty of China decided to overthrow the first known dynasty after the king forced him to eat a meat dish made from his own son. [Source, Comments]

TIL of the freakish death of truck driver Bob Knight. Driving home at the end of a shift, he was struck by a single stray bullet from a shootout that suddenly erupted hundreds of meters away. Suffering a "massive head wound", Bob still pulled the rig safely to the roadside before passing away. [Source, Comments]

TIL that onions are the only agricultural commodity that is banned from futures trading in the US [Source, Comments]

TIL Coffee can provide similar hydrating qualities to water - and there's no evidence it causes dehydration [Source, Comments]

TIL Gilded Age financier Russell Sage survived an 1891 office bombing after allegedly using his clerk as a human shield. The maimed clerk sued for 7 years and won two jury verdicts - but ultimately got nothing and died destitute. [Source, Comments]