TIL In 1987, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice, sparked major controversy by calling the U.S. Constitution "defective from the start," arguing it required a Civil War, amendments, and social transformation to include Black people and women.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-07-mn-4540-story.html
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7v171/til_in_1987_supreme_court_justice_thurgood/

TIL What those 4-5 digit (PLU) numbers on produce say about how it was grown.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2010/05/what-do-plu-codes-say-about-your-produce/index.htm
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7uypp/til_what_those_45_digit_plu_numbers_on_produce/

TIL that Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus, was a Greek Bishop from Myra (modern-day Demre, Antalya) in Turkey. He was famous for secret gift-giving, such as dropping bags of gold through windows to save three girls from a life of destitution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7hf4u/til_that_saint_nicholas_the_inspiration_for_santa/

TIL, The Boomerang Nebula: This is the coldest known place in the universe, with a temperature of -272°C (1 Kelvin). It is actually colder than the background glow of the Big Bang itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang_Nebula
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7fob5/til_the_boomerang_nebula_this_is_the_coldest/

TIL Folk and Blues singer Lead Belly produced the first known recording of the phrase "stay woke"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Belly?wprov=sfla1
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7fnmn/til_folk_and_blues_singer_lead_belly_produced_the/

TIL that humans shed approximately 200 million skin cells every hour. When indoors, these cells have nowhere to go and make up a significant portion of the dust found in homes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desquamation
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7fgym/til_that_humans_shed_approximately_200_million/

TIL a Roseland Public School teacher planted a false brochure for a graduation trip to Disney World after suspecting students of rifling through his desk. After rumors of the trip spread, staff showed a Disney PowerPoint presentation to students but the final slide revealed a trip to a bowling alley

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/teachers-disney-trip-prank-upsets-windsor-students-1.1397654
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7f3tp/til_a_roseland_public_school_teacher_planted_a/

TIL that 7,000 years ago, the Saraha desert was full of hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and giraffes.

https://www.science.org/content/article/skeletons-green-sahara-offer-genetic-peek-lost-human-population
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r7en17/til_that_7000_years_ago_the_saraha_desert_was/

TIL there's a place in Yellowstone where you could theoretically get away with murder due to a constitutional loophole discovered by a law professor in 2005

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_Death_(Yellowstone)
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r76hzg/til_theres_a_place_in_yellowstone_where_you_could/

TIL Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy is first cousins twice removed with former Secretary of State Colin Powell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Wentz
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r74xl2/til_pete_wentz_of_fall_out_boy_is_first_cousins/

TIL in the state of Montana in the US 46.3% of driving fatalities involve alcohol and in North Dakota 46.7%

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/alcohol-consumption-by-state
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r74cxr/til_in_the_state_of_montana_in_the_us_463_of/

TIL Weird Al was set to a series of Star Wars parody sketches where he would interact with the movie via green-screening, but Mark Hamill refused to allow usage of any footage with him in it, despite already getting approval from Lucas and Alec Guinness, so the idea was scrapped

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weird_Al_Show
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1r73vdz/til_weird_al_was_set_to_a_series_of_star_wars/