“Today I Learned”: 30 Interesting Things About The World That People Didn’t Know Until Recently (New Pics)
Today I Learned, also known as TIL, is the fifth-biggest subreddit. It unites a whopping 30.9 million members, who all go there with a single goal in mind — to enrich each other's understanding of the world.
Sharing interesting facts about human psychology, animal behavior, food history, and pretty much everything else you can imagine, this online community is full of fascinating trivia that has been successfully evading many of us.
Continue scrolling to check out its recent posts, and for more, fire up our older publications on TIL here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
TIL that dogs intentionally try to make humans laugh. They understand that laughter means play, and play is positive.
Like my pup Cleo. She likes to do silly things. Here she is trying to go to bed but not quite making it An-attempt...50a13b.jpg 
TIL Jonathan Goldsmith, AKA The Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis commercials, has been an advocate for landmine victim support, has assisted the effort to prevent and cure cancer in dogs, save the Siberian Tiger, and end child sex trafficking in Cambodia.
TIL Japan has a 'wind phone'. An unconnected phone booth where grieving relatives go to 'talk' to their lost loved ones. Opened after the 2011 Fukushima earthquake/tsunami, it has seen over 30,000 visitors.
TIL The average life span of a pet cat has risen from seven years in the early 1980s to fifteen years as of 2021.
More cat slaves are keeping them as indoor only now, cats which are free to roam outside generally have shorter lifespans due to predators, vehicles and a-holes who like to do horrible things to then.
Thank you for pointing this out! I came here to see if anyone else was going to remark on that being one of the reasons cats are living longer. This (cats living longer if kept indoors or let outside in a safe way ~ catios, harnesses/leashes, cat runs,etcetera) is a hilll I will die on (metaphorically), so if nobody else had commented on it, I would have.
Load More Replies...
My baby is 2, let's see if we can get it up to 45 years! Who's with me?
My Katsy made it to 21 yrs, I am praying for you to get your wish.
Load More Replies...
Ha! I've had a 22 year old, 19 year old, 17 year old and I currently have a 16 year old :) (apparently I'm a good cat mom?)
If they have lived that long, you absolutely are a good cat mom! Good for you (and them, obviously). Lucky them, and you!
Load More Replies...
I wish cats and dogs lived longer as we get so incredibly attached to our furry friends.
My own most recent cat lived until age 18. And growing up we had several Burmese who lived in to their 20's. Last week we lost my mom's oldest cat who was 19. As long as they don't develop disease/cancer and you keep them INSIDE, cats with good care can live a long time. Still not enough for me - I wish they lived forever. :(
And before you come at me saying how cruel it is to not let cats outside, do some research. Not only do outdoor cats live half as long, but they are terrible for local wildlife populations. If your cat HAS to go outside, walk it on a leash or keep them confined to your deck or balcony. We do both leash walking and letting them on the deck.
Load More Replies...
Better vet care and better knowledge of their needs makes for better kitty lives!😺
Cats who are allowed to roam outdoors have an average lifespan of 7 years and their average lifespan has NOT increased since the 1980s. Cats kept indoors have an average lifespan of 15 years. IDK what the average lifespan of indoor cats was in the 1980s because all of my cats — except one — have lived from 18 to 21 years!
Better nutrition and medical care. My cat eats better than I did in the 80's and 90's. :)
This is great but 15yrs still seems young to me. Growing up my family always had cats, they all lived for a long time. We had 2 die around 14/15yrs old, 2 die aged 18 and 3 who lived into their 20s. My parents currently have 2 cats that are 16 and 18 years old and very healthy.
My childhood cat lived up to 19 years. My family and I think she was 16 or 18 when she passed on because she was born in either 1990 or 1992. We got her from neighbors who could not keep her when they moved and her previous owners didn’t know her exact age because she was a rescued feral or stray cat. It’s been almost 20 years since she passed, and I still can’t believe she’s gone sometimes.
I wish. However long we get with them it's never enough. We lost our 19 year old last week. She had a great long (extremely spoiled) life. :)
Load More Replies...
Long life is only really an asset if good health is part of it; both for our furbabies and our humans.
I'd like to see the raw statistical data for this. For starters, is this mean or medium? Mean can be up to five years higher than median. I already have data on lifespans for zoo animals.
TIL in 1915 a pharmacist saw his sister make her own mascara with coal and petroleum jelly and thought he could make a better product. His invention was easier to apply and won't burn a woman's eye. He named his new company Maybelline after his sister Maybel and the base material Vaseline.
TIL Environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill lived in a 1500-year-old California redwood tree (known as Luna) 180 feet (55 m) off the ground for 738 days in order to prevent it from being chopped down by Pacific Lumber Company. She successfully saved the tree.
TIL about Third Man Syndrome. An unseen presence reported by mountain climbers and explorers during traumatic survival situations that talks to the victim, gives practical advise and encouragement.
TIL that elephant poaching has steadily decreased in certain African countries causing elephant populations to slowly begin rising.
We've also seen shortening of tusks which we believe has to do with short tusks being undesirable to poachers.
TIL that Sea Urchins are called Sea Urchins because Hedgehogs used to be called Urchins until about the 15th century. Sea Urchins are Ocean Hedgehogs.
TIL that domestic dogs have developed muscles in there brow to "mimic" humans.
Or we've selectively bred the ones that could move their eyebrows because we consider them cuter and as a result they now have the muscle rather than they developed it to mimic us
TIL Crows are a highly intelligent species, which are self-aware just like humans. They are as smart as Gorillas and have a complex brain which has the ability to reason.
There's 3 in my neighborhood that I feed. If I'm gone before I feed them in the morning they will sit in a tree at the main road so they can spot my vehicle turning into our road. They will follow me home and patiently wait for about 30 minutes in the backyard for their food. If it's longer than that, one will sit on the deck and tap on my sliding door and caw until he sees me coming out. Visitors think it's hilarious, and they are cute! I named them Poe, Lenore, and Nevermore, what else?
TIL that in The Shawshank Redemption, when Morgan Freeman’s character is asked “why do they call you Red?” and he responds with “maybe it’s because I’m Irish”. It’s because the character in the novel was a red haired Irish man. They cast Freeman for the part but added the line as a joke.
TIL that in 1554 Elizabeth Crofts hid in a wall on Aldersgate Street, where she pretended to be a heavenly voice. Reputedly 17,000 people came to listen to her give out anti-Catholic propaganda.
TIL mixed-breed dogs live an average of 14 years while purebreds live only an average of almost 10 years.
It also depends on the size of the breed of dog - a great dane averages 8-10 years whereas a chihuahua 12-18 years.
TIL that the world's largest rodent "Capybara" are so chill to the point that they can form an unlikely friendship with crocodiles.
TIL Willie O'Ree, the first black man to play in the NHL, was blind in one eye. It was caused by a ricocheting puck that hit him in the face when he was 18 and he kept it a secret for his entire 21-year career.
TIL that New York City is reintroducing millions of oysters into their harbor to help clean the water and create marine habitats. They've been collecting used shells from local restaurants to create new homes for juvenile oysters.
TIL the Higgs-Boson Particle, aka "the God Particle", was actually called "the Goddamn Particle" by physicists because it was so difficult to detect. Publishers forced the rename, resulting in a confusing tie to religion for the particle which is nearly universally hated by physicists.
TIL - The Middle Ages had retirement homes, where seniors could buy residence for the rest of their lives at a monastery with food, shelter and clothing included.
This should always be a thing, but in about 10 years, it’s going to be bad in America
TIL That in 1941, USS New York opened fire on an object, believing it to be a japanese aircraft. Fire commenced until a navigator realized they were shooting at Venus.
TIL when an American film has more than one writer, an "&" indicates that the screenwriters collaborated on the script. An "and" means they worked independently on separate drafts.
et al means 'and others' in text books. I wonder why they can't say what it means. That way you wouldn't need to learn what all the coded language meant.
TIL a “ferocious rabbit” ran amok in Central Park in 1917. He terrorized the sheep in Sheep Meadow, maimed dogs, and fought an orangutan in the zoo.
TIL Wolfgang Mozart had a sister, Maria Anna, who was also an extremely talented child prodigy in music. Sadly, she was prevented from performing as an adult. Many of her compositions have been lost, including one Wolfgang wrote that he was in ‘awe’ of, contributing to her obscurity.
I wonder why Maria Anna was prevented to perform? Whatever the reason I'd be surprised if it was for her own good.
TIL In 1941 The Germans allowed the British RAF to drop a prosthetic leg by parachute to a Luftwaffe base in France. The Germans were very respectful of Captain Douglas Bader, who was captured after bailing from his plane with only one of his two prosthetic legs. One got stuck in his damaged plane.
TIL about the thymus, a small (1 oz.) organ behind the sternum that trains new white blood cells to NOT attack the body's own cells. Only 2% survive this rigorous training program; the rest commit suicide to prevent themselves from attacking friendly cells.
This kind of makes me want to write a fanfic about the immune system. It’s so interesting to me
TIL about hysterical strength, a display of extreme physical strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be normal. Examples include a woman saved several children by fighting a polar bear and a woman lifting a car high enough to save a person.
Our brain limits us from using our maximum strength to prevent bone and muscle damages, in a life or death situation that limit often gets lifted
TIL Founding Father and author of the Bill of Rights James Madison stopped the Virginia Assembly from establishing Christianity as the state religion with the help of Thomas Jefferson.
TIL that the writers on Futurama created and proved a new mathematical theorem as a plot point for a body-switching episode.
TIL in the 1800’s bananas were seen as “immoral fruit” because of their shape. Fruit companies began issuing postcards of women eating bananas to advertise the fruit wasn’t taboo.
The only acceptable way to me to eat a banana in my male friends company is to break it half at first. Looking at their face during it is priceless.
TIL On PC/console games, about 60% of the female avatars you meet are played by a male player.
That's an improvement over 1995, when 95% of women on internet weren't, and 98.6% of internet statistics were plucked out of thin air.
Note: this post originally had 110 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I like these posts. I'd prefer it if people gave references as well so we can factcheck.
On the bottom left side of each post is gray lettering for a link.
Load More Replies...
Some are just made up stories. Please fact check before you believe everything that you read online.
Nah. They kept me in solitary for the rest of my time in (3 months). I was "too dangerous" for Gen pop, and everyone was always either scared of me, or just didn't get me when I was in it anyways. I didn't belong there, I was not like the rest, I know everyone says this but I TRULY DIDN'T do anything to be there. My "man" of 6 years woke up, and beat the s**t out of me, he didn't want to wake up, but I truly needed him at the time. After 6 years of taking every kind of abuse possible I got angry. (which I had never done because A. He had me under some "spell" after years of gaslighting, and isolation. So much so I catered to his every need, and walked on eggshells around him, because I didn't want him to stop talking to me. He was the ONLY person around, because we lived in the middle of nowhere. And B. I was stuck in that situation, because he had custody of our son, and I WAS NOT leaving him there without protection) I threw a cup of coffee at his feet, and it splashed up on him. After that I was tackled, and beaten bloody. I left to go to the one other place around... His parents house. The people who enabled him to do this, and always refused to help me, or let me call the police. They let me call my dad to come get me, and while I was waiting for him to come the police showed up. This little b***h of a man called them when I stood up for myself for the first time.I told the story covered in blood, and bruses, and -I- ended up in cuffs, and absolutely NOTHING happened to him. In a small south GA town like that everyone knows everyone... Including the police, and they had been friends with them for YEARS. I ended up with a simple battery charge and 10 months in jail. So when I say I didn't belong there, the little mouse of a beaten down woman I was meant it. I stuck out like a sore thumb, and people wanted to try me. Honestly I have to say that was the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life, that separation, time to think, and "find myself" was a true blessing. I found a book in jail about domestic violence, read it cover to cover, and was able to see what had happened to me. I was happy with that time (That I believed with all my heart that God, or the universe, or whatever higher 8s out thwre gifted me) I needed it to sort some s**t out with myself. I found gratitude, to look for the good in life, found my higher power and learned to live with acceptance (accept the things you cannot change, and change the things you can) because I came out stronger, confident, and 100X happier. Iwent back... For a week... He COULD NOT accept who I had, become. Someone he could no longer push around, and break. I did the most heartbreaking thing I had ever done, and left my son with him yo go make a better life for him. I DID THAT over the next year I fought to find the place I belonged, and made it happen for us. We are comfortable in a nice home, with a man who loves us with all his heart. We are stable and happy. I know you didn't want my life story, but thank you for reading it anyways... It felt good to get it out there... But believe me this is only a small portion of all the s**t I have been through in my life, I think I could make a 700 page biography, and sill not remember it all. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Aww This morning this said 100, now it's 30. I was still trying to get thru this. lol
There is always a link below the last post that reads: "Note: this post originally had 110 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes."
Load More Replies...
Ember Flame, Iam sorry you had to experience everything you went trough. But, sometimes I think we go through awful experiences because there are other people out there who we can be an inspiration to , people who may not feel they are strong enough to leave a difficult situation, until they hear your story and how you made it. That is the best way i can justify why awful things happen to people. It is nice to hear a success story
I like these posts. I'd prefer it if people gave references as well so we can factcheck.
On the bottom left side of each post is gray lettering for a link.
Load More Replies... Some are just made up stories. Please fact check before you believe everything that you read online.
Nah. They kept me in solitary for the rest of my time in (3 months). I was "too dangerous" for Gen pop, and everyone was always either scared of me, or just didn't get me when I was in it anyways. I didn't belong there, I was not like the rest, I know everyone says this but I TRULY DIDN'T do anything to be there. My "man" of 6 years woke up, and beat the s**t out of me, he didn't want to wake up, but I truly needed him at the time. After 6 years of taking every kind of abuse possible I got angry. (which I had never done because A. He had me under some "spell" after years of gaslighting, and isolation. So much so I catered to his every need, and walked on eggshells around him, because I didn't want him to stop talking to me. He was the ONLY person around, because we lived in the middle of nowhere. And B. I was stuck in that situation, because he had custody of our son, and I WAS NOT leaving him there without protection) I threw a cup of coffee at his feet, and it splashed up on him. After that I was tackled, and beaten bloody. I left to go to the one other place around... His parents house. The people who enabled him to do this, and always refused to help me, or let me call the police. They let me call my dad to come get me, and while I was waiting for him to come the police showed up. This little b***h of a man called them when I stood up for myself for the first time.I told the story covered in blood, and bruses, and -I- ended up in cuffs, and absolutely NOTHING happened to him. In a small south GA town like that everyone knows everyone... Including the police, and they had been friends with them for YEARS. I ended up with a simple battery charge and 10 months in jail. So when I say I didn't belong there, the little mouse of a beaten down woman I was meant it. I stuck out like a sore thumb, and people wanted to try me. Honestly I have to say that was the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life, that separation, time to think, and "find myself" was a true blessing. I found a book in jail about domestic violence, read it cover to cover, and was able to see what had happened to me. I was happy with that time (That I believed with all my heart that God, or the universe, or whatever higher 8s out thwre gifted me) I needed it to sort some s**t out with myself. I found gratitude, to look for the good in life, found my higher power and learned to live with acceptance (accept the things you cannot change, and change the things you can) because I came out stronger, confident, and 100X happier. Iwent back... For a week... He COULD NOT accept who I had, become. Someone he could no longer push around, and break. I did the most heartbreaking thing I had ever done, and left my son with him yo go make a better life for him. I DID THAT over the next year I fought to find the place I belonged, and made it happen for us. We are comfortable in a nice home, with a man who loves us with all his heart. We are stable and happy. I know you didn't want my life story, but thank you for reading it anyways... It felt good to get it out there... But believe me this is only a small portion of all the s**t I have been through in my life, I think I could make a 700 page biography, and sill not remember it all. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Aww This morning this said 100, now it's 30. I was still trying to get thru this. lol
There is always a link below the last post that reads: "Note: this post originally had 110 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes."
Load More Replies... Ember Flame, Iam sorry you had to experience everything you went trough. But, sometimes I think we go through awful experiences because there are other people out there who we can be an inspiration to , people who may not feel they are strong enough to leave a difficult situation, until they hear your story and how you made it. That is the best way i can justify why awful things happen to people. It is nice to hear a success story
