‘Today I Learned’: 30 Intriguing Things People Didn’t Learn At School, But Found On The Net (New Pics)

TIL of Adolfo Kaminsky, a 18 year-old French forger who faked IDs for Jews during WWII. He once worked for 3 days straight to make papers for 300 children until he passed out. He kept his work a secret - his own daughter only learned the details while writing a book about him.

TIL: Researchers taught African grey parrots to buy food using tokens. They were then paired up, one parrot given ten tokens and the other none. Without any incentive for sharing, parrots with tokens started to give some to their broke partners so that everyone could eat.

TIL: Late wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow once saved three children from a burning house and 40% of his skin was left with second degree burns forcing him to retire and hospitalized for two months. Bam Bam said he had "no regrets" of his act of courage, as long as all three kids were safe.

TIL that Shakuntala Devi from India, also known as the human computer, gave the 23rd root of a 201 digit number in 50 seconds. The answer was verified at the US Bureau of Standards by the UNIVAC 1101 computer, for which a special program had to be written to perform such a large calculation.

TIL that in Moscow, packs of stray dogs will sometimes send out a smaller, cuter member to beg for food, apparently realising it will be more successful than its bigger, less attractive counterparts.

TIL in the months before his sudden death, former Mythbuster Grant Imahara built a fully animatronic Baby Yoda. Having spent 3 months of his personal time designing, programming, and 3D printing the project, he intended to bring it to hospitals to cheer up sick children.

TIL that for 18 months, a village in Wales was mystified as to why their broadband internet crashed at 7am every morning, until engineers "picked up a large burst of electrical interference" springing from one dude turning on his very old TV.

TIL in 1992, a California middle school ordered teachers to cover up all "obscene" words in Fahrenheit 451 with black marker before issuing copies to students. The school stopped this practice after local newspapers commented on the irony of defacing a book that condemns censorship.

TIL Winchester Cathedral was built on marsh and was on the verge of collapse as it sunk into the earth. A diver named William Walker worked alone in pitch-black water for five years, eventually putting down 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks to save its foundation.

TIL about pack horse librarians that serviced the Appalachian communities (e.g., rural Kentucky) in the mid 1930s to early 1940s who were mostly women who rode on horses or mules to deliver library books to remote communities during the Great Depression.

TIL John Krasinski wore a wig in season 3 of The Office so he could film Leatherheads. Krasinski pitched the idea to the producer who rejected it because it would be too obvious. John, who was wearing the wig during the meeting, told him it wouldn't be, took off the wig, and was granted approval.

TIL Billy Joel got into an argument with a younger man about what the worst era to be young in was. The younger man told Joel that at least he got to grow up in the 50s when "nothing happened." Flabbergasted, Joel began listing the events of the 50s, which later became "We Didn't Start the Fire".

TIL a doctor reviewed the injuries sustained by Marv and Harry in Home Alone 1 & 2, and concluded that 23 of the injuries would have resulted in death.

TIL that the stick -- a small tree branch -- was inducted into the (U.S.) National Toy Hall of Fame in 2008. Organizers called it one of the world's oldest toys and said sticks "promote free play -- the freedom to invent and discover."

TIL that the F.B.I. and C.I.A. recruit heavily from the Mormon population because they are usually cheaper to do a security clearance on, they often speak another language from their mission trips and they usually have a low risk lifestyle.

TIL that during the sinking of the RMS Titanic, many passengers refused to evacuate, insisting they were safer on the ship than in the tiny lifeboats. Chief baker Charles Joughin eventually took it upon himself to forcibly drag reluctant passengers onto the deck and hurl them into the lifeboats.

TIL about Kiyoshi Shimizu, a Japanese journalist that helped solved a series of child kidnaping cases and released an innocent man from further prosecution. He also helped solved the murder of Shiori Ino which led to the changes to legal treatment of stalking in Japan

TIL Alexander Fleming’s mold could not produce penicillin fast enough for mass production; itwasn’t until 15 years later that lab worker ‘Mouldy’ Mary Hunt tested a moldy cantaloupe in a grocery store and discovered the strain that is used to produce all penicillin today

TIL that there are more than 1,300 stone rings across the British Islands and Stonehenge is only the most famous of them.

TIL Research shows that viewing online Cat media (i.e. pictures and videos) is related to positive emotions. It may even work as a form of digital therapy or stress relief for some users. Some feelings of guilt from postponing tasks can also be reduced by viewing Cat content.

TIL the man who Mount Everest is named after, George Everest, didn't want the honor of having the world's tallest mountain bear his name. He pointed out his name was difficult to write or pronounce in Hindi and all previous Himalayan peaks were officially given indigenous names.

TIL After crashing, a driver in German was fined for using Tesla touchscreen wiper controls, under the same rules as using a phone while driving. The German court decided touchscreen car controls should be treated as a distracting electronic device.

TIL Frank Sinatra was hired by Life Magazine as a ringside photographer for the Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier Heavyweight Boxing match, "The Fight of the Century", that took place 50 years a go today, March 8, 1971. One of his photos was good enough to be the cover of the magazine.

TIL many Chinese medical tourists who go to South Korea for inexpensive and high quality plastic surgery have difficulty re-entering China due to their passports photos not matching their new face post op.

TIL Basque (a language spoken near the Spain/France border) is a language isolate; not only is it NOT a Romance language, it's not even an Indo-European language. It is the only surviving Pre-Indo-European language in Western Europe.

TIL before synthetic plastics were invented, a substance called Hemacite was widely used to make everything from roller skate wheels to doorknobs. Its ingredients are blood and sawdust.

TIL the first country to recognize Greek independence was not any of the western powers, but Haiti, who alledgedly sent 25ton of Coffee beans to finance their rebellion.

TIL: Vodka doesn't have to come from potatoes, it can be made from anything which will ferment. Even grass, or salmon and old newspapers. Vodka just needs to be a clear spirit distilled to 190 proof. 

TIL despite being depicted on California's flag, the California grizzly bear has been extinct since 1924.

TIL that staying awake for more than 24 hours brings deficiencies in performance equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of more than 0.10. Most western developed countries consider 0.05 BAC as the threshold for intoxication.

TIL in the 2008 Olympics 200m race, Shawn Crawford finished 4th, but after 2 sprinters were disqualified for running outside their lanes, he received the silver medal. After the Olympics, he gave the medal to the 2nd-placed athlete, with a note saying "You ran a silver medal race and deserve this"

TIL about Wrong Way Corrigan. In 1938 he was denied permission to make a solo transatlantic flight because his plane was unsafe, but given the okay to fly to California. He took off, made a U-turn, and disappeared into the clouds. 28 hours later he landed in Ireland, claiming his compass had broken.

TIL in 1963 Robert Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wiper, presented it to Ford Motor Co. and was hired. Ford fired him and took his technology. He sued Ford for patent infringement and after 12 yrs. of litigation, at times without a lawyer, the court awarded Kearns 10.3 M dollars.

TIL that Prince opened for The Rolling Stones in 1981. Rolling Stones fans were not pleased with Prince that they not only threw objects on stage but shouted homophobic and racial slurs. Prince was so upset that he off stage and cried backstage.

TIL With 5 million vending machines nationwide (that's 1 vending machine for every 23 people) and natural disasters commonplace, Japan has specialized vending machines that have a backup battery and dispense free drinks and food in the event of a major emergency.

TIL in 1950, four Scottish students stole back the Stone of Scone (the stone in which Scottish monarchs were crowned) from England and brought it all the way back to Scotland.

TIL that certain plants can warn other nearby plants of danger. When these plants are damaged, they release airborne chemicals that tell other plants to start producing compunds that can hurt and repel herbivores. They can also produce smells that attract insects which attack herbivores. 

TIL that Ring was on Shark Tank and walked away without a deal. Ring later sold to Amazon for $1 billion.

TIL when recording a guest spot on The Simpsons, Justin Timberlake took issue with a line in which he said "Word!" saying it felt inauthentic. As a prank, the staff then edited his dialogue in production so every line ended with him saying "Word!"

 
TIL: The Black Death was responsible for the beginning of the end of European Feudalism/Manoralism. As there were fewer workers, their lords were forced to pay higher wages. With higher wages, there were fewer restrictions on travel. Eventually, this would lead to a trade class/middle class.

TIL about Lover’s Eye art. Jewelry popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s when stylish aristocratic Englishmen and women often wore the miniature portraits depicting their spouse or lover. Because the tiny watercolors revealed only the eye, the subject’s identity was kept secret.

TIL of the Sausage Duel. Otto Von Bismarck challenged his political nemesis (and pioneer of social medicine) Rudolf Virchow to a duel, allowing him to choose weapons. Rudolf decided upon sausages. One sauage would be safe, the other infected with parasitic larvae. Otto recinded the challenge.

TIL that Lenny Kravitz was named for his uncle Leonard Kravitz, who died saving the lives of other Korean War soldiers in 1951. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2012 after Congress reviewed Jewish (and Hispanic) recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross who were denied the higher honor.

TIL honeybees used in almond groves often die of pesticides, lack of biodiversity, arousal from dormancy early. To mitigate, growers split hives, put mail-order queens in new hives, feed bees fake pollen. The "Bee Better" program puts diverse flora in almond groves as natural pest control/bee food.

TIL that American economist Richard Thaler, upon finding out he won the Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on irrational decision-making, said he would spend the prize money as "irrationally as possible."

TIL That mount Everest became so popular that in 2019 there was a 12 hours long line of around 200 people at the very peak, with a few people dying because of it

TIL in 882 Louis III of France mounted his horse in pursuit of a girl who was running to seek refuge in her father's house. He then rode through a low door, hit his head on the lintel and fractured his skull. He died childless. He is one of two French kings to die from hitting a door lintel.

TIL When the British raised taxes on beer in the 17th century, they inadvertently made gin the cheapest alcoholic beverage in the country. The ensuing widespread consumption of gin led to substantial alcoholism problems in Britain, with the death rate overtaking the birth rate during this period

TIL that the Hershey Ice Cream Company is a completely separate entity from the Hershey Chocolate Company, despite both being founded in Lancaster County in the same year by unrelated men named Hershey.

TIL Czechoslovakia split up against the wishes of its people: "only 37% of Slovaks and 36% of Czechs favoured dissolution"

TIL in 1991 it was discovered that the heart has its "little brain" or "intrinsic cardiac nervous system." This "heart brain" is composed of approximately 40,000 neurons that are alike neurons in the brain, meaning that the heart has its own nervous system.

TIL a Danish ex-Jagercorps operative drove a post-apocalyptic 1979 Camaro through the war-torn streets of Sarajevo to deliver food to starving children during the Yugoslavia War.

TIL The Code of Hammurabi, bestowed total jurisdiction over brewing and beer to women, indicated by the word “she” used to describe every tavern owner. Sumerian women didn’t have many opportunities to earn a living, but they were responsible for brewing beer and allowed to open their own taverns.

TIL Tim Curry, a lifelong Scooby-Doo fan, was offered the villain role in the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie, but turned it down after learning the film would include Scrappy-Doo, a character he disliked.

TIL that newlywed couples who watched and discussed five movies about relationships over the period of a month reduced their three-year divorce or separation rate from 24% to 11%. That makes it as effective in reducing divorce rates as a 20-hour therapist-led early marriage counselling program.

TIL that Argentina has the most pets per capita, with 80% of the population having a pet. Argentineans have the most dogs (66% of pet-owners), Russians have the most cats (57% of pet-owners), Turks have the most birds (20% of the population), and Chinese have the most fish (17% of the population).

TIL Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas, but he was forced to use Keaton because the other actor was already using his name. As a result, he often inadvertently plays tricks on people expecting Michael Douglas - only to get Michael Keaton.

TIL some luxury buildings in New York City will only let you buy an appartment there after board approval. Mariah Carey was once rejected after showing up to the interview in a 'bare midriff' and answering "he be dead" when asked if Biggie would be visiting the building.