TIL that a number of English words have changed spelling due to confusion between 'a' and 'an'. These include, "an ewt" becoming "a newt", "a napron" becoming "an apron", and "a numble pie" becoming "an 'umble [humble] pie".
https://ift.tt/vXlO29M
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 01:21PM by Illogical_Blox
via reddit https://ift.tt/w3WiBhP
https://ift.tt/vXlO29M
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 01:21PM by Illogical_Blox
via reddit https://ift.tt/w3WiBhP
TIL about Thomas White, a 15-year-old enslaved Black teen who escaped in the 1840s. Hidden in family papers for 150+ years and revealed in 2025, his dictated story tells of evading slave catchers and surviving as a cook, lumberjack, and sailor across Australia, India, and beyond.
https://ift.tt/G6ES18q
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 02:12PM by Emotional_Quarter330
via reddit https://ift.tt/RiLOy14
https://ift.tt/G6ES18q
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 02:12PM by Emotional_Quarter330
via reddit https://ift.tt/RiLOy14
Smithsonian Magazine
Tattered Pages Discovered in Storage Reveal an Enslaved Man’s Daring Bid for Freedom—and His Second Life at Sea
Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manunoscript, which chronicles Thomas White's escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years ago
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TIL a study uncovered how bowhead whales can live to over 200 years old. The key to their long lifespan is a cold-activated protein called CIRBP. This protein can repair damaged DNA and bowhead whales have large amounts of it.
https://ift.tt/ygSd8w7
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 02:49PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/e5KW7iq
https://ift.tt/ygSd8w7
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 02:49PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/e5KW7iq
Smithsonian Magazine
Bowhead Whales Live Long Lives. Do They Hold the Key to Human Longevity?
A cold-activated gene that helps the mammals repair their DNA may also help humans live longer
TIL the 1990 Mr. Olympia was the first edition of the bodybuilding competition to drug test its participants for anabolic steroids. However, amid criticism by spectators for lowering the quality of the event, the IFBB reversed its decision the following year.
https://ift.tt/GR61PBL
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 04:02PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/Bs8yDX2
https://ift.tt/GR61PBL
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 04:02PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/Bs8yDX2
TIL according to the Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology, "one-third of a product's shelf-life remains after the sell-by date for the consumer to use at home."
https://ift.tt/XSNpm7j
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 04:16PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/uXpEhK0
https://ift.tt/XSNpm7j
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 04:16PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/uXpEhK0
Food & Wine
What's the Difference Between 'Sell By,' 'Use By,' and 'Best By' Dates?
Here's everything to know about common expiration date labels like sell by, use, by, and best by — and why they often matter less than you think.
TIL Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age, constituting almost 1/3 of all post-neonatal deaths in Western countries. Diagnosis requires that the death remains unexplained even after autopsy and detailed death scene investigation.
https://ift.tt/tWYfu1r
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 11:01AM by narkoface
via reddit https://ift.tt/JdeyV81
https://ift.tt/tWYfu1r
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 11:01AM by narkoface
via reddit https://ift.tt/JdeyV81
TIL 8 out of 10 of the World's Busiest Train Stations are in Japan. The top two, Shinjuku & Shibuya Stations handle over 1 billion passengers annually or around 2.8~3.1 million people daily
https://ift.tt/2NRQ7hH
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 06:46PM by CraftyFoxeYT
via reddit https://ift.tt/cZiR4vy
https://ift.tt/2NRQ7hH
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 06:46PM by CraftyFoxeYT
via reddit https://ift.tt/cZiR4vy
TIL an industrial engineering screw up resulted in the entire Colorado River emptying into a California valley over the span of two years. This resulted in a 318 sq mile body of water known as the Salton Sea.
https://ift.tt/bKF5SzT
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 07:42PM by SoSKatan
via reddit https://ift.tt/bdDSsiM
https://ift.tt/bKF5SzT
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 07:42PM by SoSKatan
via reddit https://ift.tt/bdDSsiM
TIL that the gene mutation behind “Asian flush” from alcohol (ALDH2*2) may actually boost resistance to infections like tuberculosis by letting toxic aldehydes help kill bacteria.
https://ift.tt/ZKlFYaj
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 05:16PM by EasternPotential3952
via reddit https://ift.tt/mPHznSM
https://ift.tt/ZKlFYaj
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 05:16PM by EasternPotential3952
via reddit https://ift.tt/mPHznSM
PubMed
Disruption of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 protects against bacterial infection - PubMed
Aldehydes produced by host cells contribute to the control of bacterial infections.
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TIL the person who recommended Hitler receive the award of the Iron Cross in 1918 for his bravery during WW1 was German Jewish army officer named Hugo Gutmann
https://ift.tt/fmaG9zD
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 07:50PM by Solid-Move-1411
via reddit https://ift.tt/V4CzXFn
https://ift.tt/fmaG9zD
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 07:50PM by Solid-Move-1411
via reddit https://ift.tt/V4CzXFn
TIL that the Witness Protection Program claims 100% success rate to subjects who followed the guidelines
https://ift.tt/4z8V9By
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 10:21PM by PlethoraOfPinatass
via reddit https://ift.tt/U1Aybsz
https://ift.tt/4z8V9By
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 10:21PM by PlethoraOfPinatass
via reddit https://ift.tt/U1Aybsz
U.S. Marshals Service
Witness Security | U.S. Marshals Service
The U.S. Marshals Service provides for the security, health and safety of government witnesses, and their immediate dependents, whose lives are in danger as a
TIL when Simone Biles executed the Yurchenko double pike on vault during the 2023 World Championships, she willingly took a half-point deduction for having her coach stand on the landing mat, ready to step in & redirect her into a safe position if it looked as if she was headed for a "scary landing"
https://ift.tt/QVWl5XK
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 10:18PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/4vlMtL5
https://ift.tt/QVWl5XK
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 10:18PM by tyrion2024
via reddit https://ift.tt/4vlMtL5
USA TODAY
Simone Biles has 5 gymnastics moves named after her. What are they?
Skills are named after the first gymnast to do them in a major international competition, and Simone Biles has five of them.
TIL about Elizabeth Woodcock, who survived eight days buried in snow in 1799 after her horse threw her near the village of Impington. Cold and exhausted she became entombed but managed to push a twig with a handkerchief through the snow. A villager spotted it 8 days later and dug her out - alive.
https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/resources/family-fun/story-time-with-cambridge-characters/elizabeth-woodcock-miraculous-survival-after-being-buried-in-snow-for-eight-days-1799/
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 10:39PM by Ribbitor123
via reddit https://ift.tt/aOP8f13
https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/resources/family-fun/story-time-with-cambridge-characters/elizabeth-woodcock-miraculous-survival-after-being-buried-in-snow-for-eight-days-1799/
Submitted January 09, 2026 at 10:39PM by Ribbitor123
via reddit https://ift.tt/aOP8f13
The Museum of Cambridge
Elizabeth Woodcock, Miraculous Survival After Being Buried in Snow For EIGHT DAYS (1799)
Elizabeth Woodcock: Miraculous Survival After Being Buried in Snow For EIGHT DAYS (1799) Elizabeth Woodcock 1799 Imagine being trapped under snow for eight days, could you survive? Amazingly, in Fe…
TIL Harrison Odjegba Okene became a commercial diver who works for the same company that rescued him after he unexpectedly survived 60 hours underwater in a sunken ship.
https://ift.tt/yf6MpQb
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 12:16AM by Gecko99
via reddit https://ift.tt/TVFktBq
https://ift.tt/yf6MpQb
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 12:16AM by Gecko99
via reddit https://ift.tt/TVFktBq
TIL that in 1822, a man named Alexis St. Martin was accidentally shot in the stomach, leaving a permanent opening (fistula). A doctor spent years studying his digestion by inserting food on strings through the hole to observe the stomach's processes, leading to the birth of modern gastroenterology.
https://ift.tt/iB6nlGW
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 02:19AM by Independent_Flan_890
via reddit https://ift.tt/jPrH1ey
https://ift.tt/iB6nlGW
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 02:19AM by Independent_Flan_890
via reddit https://ift.tt/jPrH1ey
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TIL that in the European Union, there is a rule specifying that only fruits can be used in making jams, and to preserve the Portuguese carrot jam delicacy (or Doce de Cenoura in Portuguese), the EU made a rule that, for purposes of regulation of fruit jams and jellies, carrots are fruit.
https://ift.tt/TABH6bk
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 12:45AM by CatPooedInMyShoe
via reddit https://ift.tt/ytS7hmH
https://ift.tt/TABH6bk
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 12:45AM by CatPooedInMyShoe
via reddit https://ift.tt/ytS7hmH
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TIL Only 11% of US women are taller than 5'7 and only 1% are taller than 6'0.
https://ift.tt/6P8zfLB
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 02:44AM by WarwickReider
via reddit https://ift.tt/5HEz78S
https://ift.tt/6P8zfLB
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 02:44AM by WarwickReider
via reddit https://ift.tt/5HEz78S
DQYDJ – Don't Quit Your Day Job...
Height Percentile Calculator by Gender (United States)
Height percentile calculator for adult men and women in the United States. Toggle between feet/inches and meters/centimeters and see the distribution.
TIL There is a rare condition called fatal insomnia. Patients suffer for months or years, unable to sleep until they eventually die. The disease is hereditary and there is no known treatment
https://ift.tt/pjUXS1a
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 05:07AM by Sunny_Sarenite
via reddit https://ift.tt/4WjdEle
https://ift.tt/pjUXS1a
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 05:07AM by Sunny_Sarenite
via reddit https://ift.tt/4WjdEle
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TIL Cuban chess master José Capablanca, one of the world's best players in the 1920s, tried to promote his own variation of chess named "Capablanca Chess", with changes like adding new pieces with unique moves & changing the chessboard size, believing high-level chess was becoming too repetitive.
https://ift.tt/QIwPS1A
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 09:03AM by PanzerWafflezz
via reddit https://ift.tt/0721Saz
https://ift.tt/QIwPS1A
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 09:03AM by PanzerWafflezz
via reddit https://ift.tt/0721Saz
Chess News
Capablanca and the question of draws
After the Moscow 1925 tournament, World Champion José Raúl Capablanca wrote an account of the event, together with proposals for a new form of chess. "Capablanca Chess" was to be played on a 10×8 board with two new pieces: the "archbishop," combining the…
TIL that Kevlar (bullet-resistant material), fire escapes, windshield wipers, and home security systems were all invented by women.
https://ift.tt/LFG1gAR
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 06:28AM by SwordfishEither2516
via reddit https://ift.tt/aWoJOqA
https://ift.tt/LFG1gAR
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 06:28AM by SwordfishEither2516
via reddit https://ift.tt/aWoJOqA
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TIL that, beginning in 1982, the original roar of the MGM lion was actually replaced with the sounds of a tiger
https://ift.tt/TGWq3VD
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 12:19PM by Romboteryx
via reddit https://ift.tt/6ZytARJ
https://ift.tt/TGWq3VD
Submitted January 10, 2026 at 12:19PM by Romboteryx
via reddit https://ift.tt/6ZytARJ