Learning never stops. If you’re open and energetic, you can find opportunities to expand your mind with new knowledge every single day. Oh, and we mean that very literally. Every. Single. Day. It’s something that the members of the massively popular ‘Today I Learned’ online community know perfectly well.

They share the new things about history, science, and the world that they’ve learned that day, and the facts are eye-opening, to say the least. We’ve collected some of their freshest new insights to share with you, dear Pandas. Scroll down and check them out. Don't forget your thinking caps!

We got in touch with Lisa McLendon, Ph.D., with a few questions about how the news is changing as our attention spans are getting shorter, as well as what can help motivate journalists to dig deeper and stay curious as they're covering stories. McLendon is the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Bremner Editing Center Coordinator at the University of Kansas. Read on for Bored Panda's interview with her.

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#1

British Airways airplane flying against a cloudy sky, showcasing interesting world aviation facts. TIL a woman flying from Manchester to Florida had a heart attack during the flight and when the stewardess asked for help 15 cardiologists came to save her. They were flying to a cardiology conference.

qasqaldag Report

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    #2

    A dog lying on rocks in a natural setting, alert and relaxed, illustrating a curious scene. TIL Missy, a 100lb injured dog abandoned by her owner on Mount Bierstadt in Clear Creek County as a storm closed in, found by hikers a few days later who treated her but couldn't rescue her, they posted her location on a climbers' forum and an epic rescue journey began to rescue a dog from a mountain.

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    #3

    Man in historical clothing holding a sheet with symbols, illustrating interesting things about the world. TIL the Cherokee writing system was made by one man, Sequoyah. It's one of the only times in history that someone in a non-literate group invented an official script from scratch. Within 25 years, nearly 100% of Cherokee were literate, and it inspired dozens of indigenous scripts around the world.

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    #4

    Yoda humorously sits next to a Saudi delegate at a conference, blending fantasy with reality in an interesting world scene. TIL Saudi Arabia accidentally printed thousands of textbooks containing this image of Yoda sitting next to King Faisal while he signed the 1945 UN charter.

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    #5

    Man with frost-covered beard standing in a snowy forest, representing interesting world facts. TIL in 1947, the Canadian town of Snag, Yukon, saw a temperature of -83F (-64C). It was so cold, you could hear people speaking 4 miles away, along with other phenomena such as people's breath turning to powder and falling straight to the ground and river ice booming like gu shots.

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    #6

    A pair of elderly hands folded together, wrapped in a burgundy fabric, representing an interesting aspect of the world. TIL Officials went to congratulate Sogen Kato, the oldest living man in Tokyo, on his 111th birthday. Upon arriving to his house, a mummified body wearing underwear and pajamas was lying in his bed. He had been dead for 30 years but his family kept the secret to keep receiving his pension.

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    #7

    Retro video game screen showing "Nicole has dysentery" with travel stats, dated June 30, 1848. Interesting history fact. TIL the game Oregon Trail was developed by 3 college students trying to teach history creatively. The first version was coded in just 10 days in 1971 and played by middle schoolers for 5 days. The code was given to an educational nonprofit in 1974, and the creators never profited from the game.

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    #8

    Modesto sign reading "Water Wealth Contentment Health" over a busy street with cars and American flags in view. TIL that when Californians wanted to name a new city after San Francisco businessman William Ralston, he declined and said he was not worthy of the honor. So instead they named the city in honor of his modesty: Modesto, California.

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    #9

    Excited cat with green eyes and open mouth, showcasing interesting feline expressions. TIL that cats are more vocal with humans than with other cats.

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    #10

    Portrait of a historical figure with a long beard and a hat, illustrating interesting world facts. TIL the first known résumé was written by Leonardo da Vinci, when applying to be a military engineer for the Duke of Milan. It's mainly just a list of his designs for siege weapons (including trebuchets). He briefly mentions his art: "In painting, I can do everything possible." He got the job.

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    #11

    Two people laughing together in a black and white photo, sharing a joyful moment. TIL the song Baby, It's Cold Outside was written by Frank Losser to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at parties to indicate to guests that it was time to leave.

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    See Also on Bored Panda
    #12

    A diver in camouflage suit and goggles explores an underwater shipwreck. TIL that free divers' heart rates can drop as low as 11 beats per minute(as low as that of diving seals, whales and dolphins), in order to preserve blood-oxygen levels.

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    #13

    Teen with a guitar in a vintage setting, showcasing an interesting aspect of the world. TIL a school social worker noticed a young Jimi Hendrix's habit of emulating a guitar with a broom and attempted to get school funding to buy him a guitar. Her request was denied.

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    #14

    Person in a dimly lit room, lying on a sofa and looking at a smartphone, reflecting on interesting things about the world. TIL more than 300 million people globally don’t have a single friend, according to Gallup data.

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    #15

    Thermometer, multimeter, tape measure, and 1 kg weight on carpet, showcasing interesting measurement tools. TIL the USA was supposed to adopt the metric system but the ship carrying the standardized meter and kilogram was hijacked by pirates in 1793 and the measurements never made it to the States.

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    #16

    Polar bear standing on snowy terrain, showcasing interesting wildlife features. TIL How toxic a polar bear liver actually is. The entire liver contains enough vitamin A to kill as many as 52 adults! If you spread it out and ate just enough to get your RDA every day, that liver would last you 143 years!

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    #17

    Star Wars artwork with characters holding a lightsaber, starfighters, and a futuristic skyline in the background. TIL movie theater sound quality was greatly improved thanks to Star Wars. Sound across movie theaters was generally inconsistent or low quality, George Lucas then co-created THX to fully project the audio quality of Return of the Jedi.

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    #18

    Soldiers in a forest, illuminated by sunlight streaming through trees, depicting a historical military scene. TIL that in the Vietnam war the US conducted a psychological warfare operation which used loudspeakers to play eerie sounds and altered voices to represent the spirits of dead N. Vietnamese soldiers so as to undermine their morale. Operation Wandering Soul.

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    #19

    Historic shipwreck artifact display in a museum, showcasing interesting things about maritime history and engineering. TIL In 1998 part of the hull of the Titanic was recovered and is displayed in a casino. Visitors are given a 'boarding pass' with the name of a passenger and find out the fate of their passenger at the end of the exhibition.

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