TIL when the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond was delivered to The Smithsonian, it was sent via registered mail in a plain brown paper-wrapped box, insured for $1 million

http://ift.tt/2mQkIGr via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2v9zonJ

TIL putting Viagra in a flower's vase will make the flower stand up straight for longer.

http://ift.tt/1IXubxU via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tP3Yzq

TIL artisans working with the American Natural History Museum in NYC produced an 11x4 foot tapestry from the silk of more than 1 million golden orb weaver spiders. The brilliant yellow color is natural, the fibers are not dyed.

http://ift.tt/2tV3MlW via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tP5lxZ

TIL Balloon Boy (from the Balloon Boy Hoax) is still seeking fame- this time through Heavy Metal music

http://ift.tt/2tOWvA7 via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vcBnY1

TIL In 19th Century Britain young women and girls worked topless in Coal Mines next to naked men.

http://ift.tt/2tPefv9 via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vcyXc7

TIL China used more cement between 2011 and 2013 than America did during the entire 20th century

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J78ezpadFo via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vcAlez

TIL Johnny Depp always travels with his Jack Sparrow costume so he can make surprise visits to kids in hospitals

http://ift.tt/2vcoMEu via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tP1DV7

TIL the U.S. Army tried to obtain Einstein's brain after he died.

http://ift.tt/2vcRJzQ via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tOYQeF

TIL that octopi, octopuses, and octopodes are all correct plural forms of the word octopus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFyY2mK8pxk via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tPaPc6

TIL that the "Truth" campaign (anti-tobacco) is heavily sponsored by tobacco companies.

http://ift.tt/1yLek3o via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tPj4Vr

TIL the Triple Crown of Motorsports, defined as winning the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Monaco Grand Prix, has only been completed by one driver ever: Graham Hill.

http://ift.tt/1IdmXme via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tPaFRJ

TIL that a wolf killed 113 people and terrorised the Gévaudan region in the south of France from 1764 to 1767

http://ift.tt/2vcvtXa via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tP331J

TIL about Lake Maracaibo, a Place Where Lightning Strikes Almost 300 Days a Year, up to 1 million strikes a year.

http://ift.tt/2kFYKRw via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tPhOl0

TIL Dogs are used in courtrooms to help child crime victims tell their stories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNI5qsvFr_U via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2tP7tG2

TIL Adolf Hitler was nominated Nobel Peace Prize in 1939

http://ift.tt/2cXiPSZ via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vcvrP2

TIL the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) emit light rays "outside the visible range, but in the ultraviolet that gets absorbed by the atmosphere before it reaches us on the ground . . ."

http://ift.tt/2an306d via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vcuJ49

TIL The First Use of OMG (to mean Oh My God) Was in a 1917 Letter to Winston Churchill.

http://ift.tt/1jFU6Ls via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vc9Ndx

TIL that the scientific name for the butt crack is the intergluteal cleft.

http://ift.tt/2vjzF8r via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2wbRr9W

TIL that 92% of the people in the Netherlands believe that "gay men and lesbians should be free to live their own lives as they wish."

http://ift.tt/1fGWFBR via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vjmy73

TIL of 7 ways to maximize misery

https://youtu.be/LO1mTELoj6o via /r/todayilearned http://ift.tt/2vjBvFZ