#Today I Learned — blogs.social

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

8h

TIL That the government's mass surveillance programs operating under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, have never stopped an act of terrorism.

submitted by Anonymous_Leaker to til
672 points | 103 comments
https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/ignore-drumbeat-doom-nsas-call-records-program-didnt-stop-single-terrorist-attack

Boy, that makes you wonder.

lemmus.org - General purpose Lemmy instance. Fast & Free for al… @lemmus.org.web.brid.gy

6h

TIL That the government's mass surveillance programs operating under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, have never stopped an act of terrorism.

submitted by Anonymous_Leaker to til
775 points | 120 comments
https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/ignore-drumbeat-doom-nsas-call-records-program-didnt-stop-single-terrorist-attack

Boy, that makes you wonder.

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

10h

TIL That the government's mass surveillance programs operating under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, have never stopped an act of terrorism.

submitted by Anonymous_Leaker to til
577 points | 75 comments
https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/ignore-drumbeat-doom-nsas-call-records-program-didnt-stop-single-terrorist-attack

Boy, that makes you wonder.

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

Jun 20

TIL the network utility "Ping" was written by a single person in an evening in 1983, and he named it after the sound a submarine sonar makes

submitted by Patnou to til
585 points | 59 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_(networking_utility)

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

Jun 12

TIL that cancer drug Revlimid is one of the bestselling products of all time. It cost nearly $1,000 per pill, even though that same pill cost just 25 cents to make

submitted by Valuy to til
262 points | 31 comments
https://www.propublica.org/podcast/revlimid-cancer-drugs-fda-healthcare

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

Jun 10

TIL The location of the G-spot is typically reported as being about 50 to 80 mm (2.0 to 3.1 in) inside the vagina, on the front wall

submitted by Patnou to til
235 points | 132 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-spot

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

Jun 7

TIL one of the Unabomber's victims had a six-year correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.

submitted by ivanafterall to til
392 points | 56 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gelernter

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

May 19

TIL that eating dirt was common in the U.S. South until the 80s. People ate a handful a day, often seasoned with vinegar and salt.

submitted by Wudi to til
485 points | 192 comments

nytimes.com/…/southern-practice-of-eating-dirt-sh…

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

May 17

TIL that reading scores have plummeted in school districts around the U.S.

submitted by Wudi to til
431 points | 111 comments

Source

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

May 18

TIL that reading scores have plummeted in school districts around the U.S.

submitted by Wudi to til
680 points | 201 comments

Source

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

May 2

TIL a photography student sent blank negative film to a height of 36.5 km using a balloon. Cosmic rays burned into the film, revealing ethereal patterns not visible to the human eye.

submitted by RegularJoe to til
301 points | 16 comments
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/photography/astrophotography/photography-student-sends-film-into-space-and-ends-up-capturing-the-very-essence-of-the-universe

Lemmy.org - General purpose Lemmy instance. [Unofficial] @lemmy.org.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL that for the average price of a car in the US, you could buy 5 cars in China

submitted by Wudi to til
275 points | 121 comments
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/average-price-car-us-you-could-buy-5-new-chinese-evs-2026-04-28/

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL that for the average price of a car in the US, you could buy 5 cars in China

submitted by Wudi to til
334 points | 142 comments
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/average-price-car-us-you-could-buy-5-new-chinese-evs-2026-04-28/

Lemmy.org - General purpose Lemmy instance. [Unofficial] @lemmy.org.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL vending machines were invented in the 1st century AD, and accepted coins in exchange for wine or holy water

submitted by 58008 to til
219 points | 14 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vending_machine#History

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL that 53% of white women voted for Trump whereas approximately 7% to 8% of Black women voted for trump

submitted by WGKKWGKF to til
419 points | 80 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL that last month, a rich man in New Jersey killed a pedestrian and left the scene. He was put on trial. The jury found him guilty. 15 minutes later, he walked out free.

submitted by NomNom to til
619 points | 60 comments
http://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/nyregion/new-jersey-pardon-phil-murphy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SlA.xwU4.0xpXlbIFqEF8

lemmus.org - General purpose Lemmy instance. Fast & Free for al… @lemmus.org.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL You can leagally drop your baby off at the fire station in all 50 states

submitted by so_pitted_wabam to til
579 points | 204 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe-haven_law

Pretty wild! All states give you at least 30 days to dump your baby, no strings attached. Some states give you 60 days!

I feel like more people should know about this! It seems like a highly under utilized ability.

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use. @lemmy.world.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL the US Military operates a massive non-profit "socialist" grocery chain called the Commissary. It is taxpayer-subsidized and sells goods at cost

submitted by Wispy2891 to til
687 points | 93 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Commissary_Agency

Socialism for the elite but not for the masses?

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL the US Military operates a massive non-profit "socialist" grocery chain called the Commissary. It is taxpayer-subsidized and sells goods at cost

submitted by Wispy2891 to til
308 points | 42 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Commissary_Agency

Socialism for the elite but not for the masses?

R

rblind.com.web.brid.gy @rblind.com.web.brid.gy

May 3

TIL for at last 15 years US government has been able to implant hardware into USB cables to turn them into hacking devices with wireless capability.

submitted by brachiosaurus to til
436 points | 60 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANT_catalog#/media/File:NSA_COTTONMOUTH-I.jpg