‘Today I Learned’: 40 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Inner Brainiac Entertained (New Facts)
Learning doesn’t end at school and continues throughout life. It’s a fact. Although there may not be formal assignments or exams, there are always opportunities to explore and experience new things. Especially with the emergence of AI, we can find the information we need in just a few seconds, making learning incredibly easy. And to make it even more accessible, there's a subreddit group called “Today I learned” that welcomes all kinds of interesting facts that you may not necessarily need, but they're definitely worth knowing.
We’ve collected some of the most gripping facts for you to enjoy and perhaps show off in one of those "intellectually intriguing" moments when you're casually sipping coffee with friends, unleashing your inner trivia virtuoso. Continue scrolling and upvote your favorite ones!
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TIL a family in Georgia claimed to have passed down a song in an unknown language from the time of their enslavement; scientists identified the song as a genuine West African funeral song in the Mende language that had survived multiple transmissions from mother to daughter over multiple centuries
TIL in 2018, a middle school in Dallas organized an event called “Breakfast with Dads,” but saw that not all of the students have fathers or father figures to attend the event with. So, they put up a post on Facebook seeking around 50 volunteers. On the day of the event, 600 men showed up to help.
TIL About Diana Budisavljević, the female Schindler, who undertook one of the greatest humanitarian acts in WWII, by saving over 7,700 children from concentration camps in the area of what is today's Croatia
In numbers she beat Schindler with miles. Maybe he is the male Budisavljevic?
The “Today I Learned” subreddit was created in 2008 and has attracted over 31 million members from around the world over the years.
Did you know that the word “ok” is said to be the most widely spoken word in the world or that China uses cloud seeding as a technique to control the weather? Well, now you do and you can learn even more fascinating facts by scrolling through this list!
TIL that Carlo Urbani, an Italian Microbiologist, was the first to identify SARS-COV-1 in Vietnam and report it to the WHO as a dangerous new pathogen. Urbani himself died of SARS himself shortly after, having triggered a rapid response to a potential pandemic, and saving many lives.
Was about to make an "urbani legend" pun but I'm pretty sure people would take it way too seriously, so rest in peace mr Urbani
TIL that Sweden has a nationwide network of "Fritidsbanken," basically lending libraries of donated, used recreation equipment. Want to try a new sport, but not sure you'll like it? Borrow the equipment for free for up to two weeks.
TIL of the Jim twins, separated at birth and reunited at 39: both had married and divorced someone named Linda, were currently married to a Betty, had sons named James Allan, had dogs named Toy, drove the same car, had jobs in security, and regularly vacationed at the same beach in Florida
To delve deeper into the topic of learning, we reached out to Nate Kornell, Ph.D., a professor of cognitive psychology at Williams College. His research focuses on the study methods that students believe are the most effective, as well as identifying the learning strategies that truly work the best. His main research questions are how learning works, what we can do to make memories stick and how people think they learn best.
Since learning can be a pretty draining process sometimes, we wanted to ask Kornell whether he has discovered any unique or unconventional ways to make learning more enjoyable and engaging. He told us that one of the best ways to make memories stick is to practice recalling them every once in a while. “One effective twist on this is giving yourself little hints. Studies show that hints don't impair learning (as long as the hints don't give the answer away). And they can make learning more fun.”
TIL in 1959, John Howard Griffin passed himself as a Black man and travelled around the Deep South to witness segregation and Jim Crow, afterward writing about his experience in "Black Like Me"
TIL of cascatelli, a new pasta shape invented in 2021 by podcaster Dan Pashman for maximum "sauceability", "forkability" and "toothsinkability"
TIL Scott Joplin, the groundbreaking "King of Ragtime", died penniless of syphilitic dementia in 1917 in a sanitarium at just 48 and was buried in an unmarked grave, largely forgotten until a revival of interest in ragtime in the 70s led to him winning a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.
In our fast-paced world, having a good memory might come in handy. Whether it's remembering important information for school or work, recalling names and faces, or keeping track of daily tasks, a sharp memory can make a big difference in our lives. So, you might be wondering if there are any specific exercises or activities that can help improve memory. Unfortunately, Kornell has some disappointing news. He says there aren't really any exercises that can make your memory better. “Off the record, brain-training apps and stuff like that don't really work the way people hope; they make you better in the game or app, but not in real life.”
TIL a Chinese teenager defaced a stone sculpture in ancient Egyptian Luxor Temple with graffiti. An embarrassed Chinese traveller photographed it and shared on Weibo. It took just a day before outraged netizens tracked the teenager down in his hometown forcing his parents to apologize for him.
Poor parents. They should have made him clean it up (under guidance).
TIL that Euskara, also known as the Basque language, is one of the oldest languages spoken on Earth and has no proven connection to any other known language.
And for à nation now being part of both France and Spain, and located on a crucial commercial route, preserving their language without bastardizing it (or hardly) with either French or Spanish was no mean feat.
TIL that at the company Hormel Foods, which makes canned SPAM, employees are supposed to refer to spam emails as unwanted emails.
It would be great to have a Broadway play called "Spamalot" . oh, wait
In today's world, technological advancements have changed the way we find and remember information. We can instantly connect to vast amounts of knowledge with just a few clicks. But have you ever wondered what this reliance on technology means for our memory and how it affects our ability to remember things? Saskia Giebl, Ph.D(c), Learning Researcher and Collaborator at UCLA Bjork Lab, published a study about memory and search engines. She wanted to find out how the internet and search engines could be used as tools for active learning. In order to do that, Giebl asked people to take a moment before searching for something on Google and try to guess what the search results would be. Interestingly, she discovered that thinking before googling resulted in improved memory. “And doing it was quick, easy, and kind of fun,” Kornell added.
TIL A Dominican man survived nearly a month at sea with nothing but ketchup and seasonings.
TIL Stanford engineers made a folding origami microscope that costs less than $1 to make. 50,000 microscopes were shipped to 130 countries in 2014 to see what people will do with it
TIL humans can learn to observe their surroundings with echolocation. By snapping or clicking the tongue, humans can bounce sound waves off of nearby objects. The resulting echo reveals the approximate size and distance of the obstacle. Anyone with normal hearing can learn this skill.
Sometimes, learning can come hand in hand with stress, especially when we find ourselves in a nail-biting situation where we've procrastinated until the last night to cram for that dreaded exam. Let's face it, that doesn't exactly create an ideal environment for memorizing information, does it? According to Kornell, “generalized chronic stress and anxiety tend to reduce our ability to learn and remember.” This happens partly because they make us easily distracted. “On the other hand, if a specific event is highly stressful, people usually remember it well,” he added.
Have you learned something new today? Let us know in the comments! For more interesting facts, check out our previous articles here, here, here and here.
TIL that the world’s largest Lego Titanic replica was built over an eleven month period by a ten-year-old autistic boy from Iceland.
That must have cost a fortune, unless they managed to get people to donate Lego pieces.
TIL that Tina Turner had her US citizenship relinquished back in 2013 and lived in Switzerland for almost 30 years until her death.
A true queen and legend with a heart and a voice of gold! She was very much beloved here in Switzerland and she really supported the small town she had moved to. You never ever heard a bad word or rumor about her in the press - only lots of different people telling how kind, down-to-earth and supportive she was
TIL that the number of priests has been down 60% in the last 50 years leaving 3500 churches without one
TIL that the acronym “R.I.P.” has been engraved on tombstones since at least the fifth century. “Rest in Peace” is the English translation of a Latin phrase with the same acronym.
TIL that Humans actually have stripes in their skin that can only be seen under UV light. They are called Blaschko’s lines after the Dermatologist who discovered them.
TIL That Pliny the Younger, although primarily known as an author and lawyer in ancient Rome, is perhaps best known for two letters he wrote which intricately detailed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii both of which he witnessed.
He saw the eruption of Vesuvius with Pliny the Elder, his uncle. They went to offer aid to a friend and senator and fled for their lives on a ship when they were engulfed by falling rocks and gases. Pliny the Elder did not survive.
TIL that from 2009 to 2019, out of 212 cruise ship overboard incidents only 48 people were rescued.
That is not surprising. Not all people who fall overboard are noticed in the first place, unfortunately. Sometimes it is eventually assumed the missing person fell overboard.
TIL that in 1986, Motörhead broke records by hitting 130 decibels in concert. The music was so loud that it damaged the ceiling of Cleveland’s Variety Theater.
TIL that the US military's use of Native Americans as "code talkers" began during World War I, used more than the Navajo language, and wasn't declassified until 1968 because their codes had remained unbroken.
TIL that transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (also known as prion diseases) have the highest mortality rate of any disease that is not inherited: 100%
In Finland im not allowed to donate blood as i have lived(was born in) the UK between the years 1980-1996 as there is a risk im a carrier of it or something
TIL Monty Python reunion shows typically included an urn said to contain the ashes of Graham Chapman. During one such show in 1998, the urn was "accidentally" knocked over by Terry Gilliam, spilling the ashes on stage, which were then vacuumed up with a DustBuster.
TIL that Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind had a different English dub back in the 80s called "Warriors of the Wind" and it was incredibly shortened. It was apparently so bad that Hayao Miyazaki adopted a "no cuts" clause for future English releases of Studio Ghibli films.
TIL that despite being organisms with highly intricate nervous systems and an impressive level of intelligence, many octopus species only live for roughly 1-5 years.
Some octopus species are semelparous - meaning they breed and produce offspring only once, and then die. The female octopus stops eating and guards her eggs until they hatch. Scientists aren't entirely sure WHY the female dies, although many do die of starvation. The male octopus enters senescence shortly after mating and dies quickly. Of course, to be fair, only a few octopus species have been extensively studied, so this may not occur in ALL octopus species! (The larger Pacific striped octopus, for example, is NOT semelparous.)
TIL that the early 2000s Nickelodeon children's show, "LazyTown", was not only filmed in Iceland but also one of the most expensive children's show ever made (each episode cost nearly $1 million to make)
My favorite episode ever was when sportacus got arrested for supposedly eating a cake
TIL: In China for about three years around 1900, a secret martial arts training club tried to overthrow the Chinese government & force out foreigners. Known to the West as "The Boxer Rebellion," the name literally comes from the fact that members fought unarmed using Chinese forms of unarmed combat.
I hope I'm not the only one seeing a person pooping right there
TIL that Switzerland is so far the only country in the world that recognizes the dignity of plants in its constitution.
TIL that on the 13th of September, 1985, Major Doug Pearson became the only pilot to destroy a satellite with a missile, launched from his F-15.
TIL a kidnapping victim was jailed after he tried to extort his kidnappers. He told them "call me if you want to finesse trial... either you cough up sum bread or sit in the feds for 20 years"
TIL that Shakespeare's last residence in Stratford-upon-Avon was demolished in 1759 by its owner, Francis Gastrell, because he was tired of tourists.
Then whose house did I visit when I went to Stratford-upon-Avon?? EDIT: Okay, I looked it up, and the house I toured was his birthplace. He later had another house in the area which was demolished and there's a garden there now. Which I remember also visiting, now I think about it (it was a long time ago).
TIL that it was calculated that it would have taken the concrete for the Hoover Dam 125 years to cool if it was poured as one continuous pour. Instead giant concrete blocks in columns were poured and then cooled by a series of internally contained pipes of cold water, greatly reducing cooling time.
TIL Margaret Theresa of Spain, the main subject of Velasquez's famous "Las Meninas" painting died at the age of 21. She went through 6 pregnancies in 6 years, including 2 stillbirths and at the time of her death, she was 4 months into her 7th
TIL that Bolaji Badejo, a 6 foot 10 Nigerian visual artist, played the original Alien (1979)’s xenomorph. His height and slender body convinced Ridley Scott that he was a perfect choice for the villain. He also died from sickle cell disease at age 39.
TIL about anterograde amnesia. People with this condition completely forget very recent events, yet most of them can learn and retain new skills - even though they forget every day that they had learned those skills yesterday.
I once watched a documentary about a man that lost his short time memory and most of his long time memory in an accident. Every day he'd write in his diary, and the next day he'd say 'I didn't write that!' His wife visited him each day and had to introduce herself.each time. The odd thing though is that when they brought him to the church choir he used to conduct, he still knew how to conduct even though he didn't recognise any of the choir members. I bet he could still ride a bike as well.
TIL that in 1950's and 60's the Canadian government, military and the RCMP used a device called "the fruit machine" to attempt to identify homosexual men in the public service. Subjects were made to view pornography while measurements were taken of pupil diameter, perspiration and pulse.
TIL of United Passions (2015), a movie financed by FIFA for $29 million as a fluff piece to make themselves look good. But due to being released right around the time of the FIFA Corruption Scandal, the movie only earned $918 at the opening weekend.
TIL A chess robot in Moscow broke the finger of its 7-year-old human opponent after the boy made a quick move without waiting for the robot to complete its turn.
C-3PO: "But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid." Han Solo: "That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose."
TIL Ringo Starr had tuberculosis as a child and spent two years recovering in a sanitorium. To entertain himself he used a wooden bobbin to drum objects and developed his love of drumming.
"Sanatorium", not "sanitorium". Or, as Manny would say, "I told them I was in sanitation!"
TIL Burritos are popular food for astronauts in space because it's easy to eat and doesn't produce crumbs that could float around and damage equipment
And a little bit later it helps them fly around like they are jet propelled.
TIL about an expensive brothel in Paris called One-Two-Two with a pirate themed room that was fitted with a bed which mechanically swing like a boat with jets of water drenching the occupants mimicking sex in a leaky boat.
Sex in a leaky boat is like Budweiser beer, f*ck*ng close to water.
TIL that aqueducts are water channels that use gravity to move water from a source to a destination. An ancient Roman aqueduct used only a 51 foot height difference to push water down a 31-mile-long path, resulting in as little as a 1-inch drop to push water 1,500 feet.
TIL the Ancient Olympics were held at least 293 times (1,169 years) consecutively — from 776 BC to 393 AD — nearly 10 times longer than the Modern Olympics have been running (since 1896).
This glosses over there being a number of other "Olympics" in between. Highland Games of sorts in the 11th Century. The Cotswold Olympick Games in 1612. The Jeux Olympiques Scandinaves in 1834. What is called the Modern Olympics is the international competition. See https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-little-known-history-of-how-the-modern-olympics-got-their-start-138117709/
TIL: In 2011, a Florida senator tried to bring back dwarf tossing, which was made illegal decades prior, arguing that "In this economy, why would we want people from getting gainful employment". In 1989, dwarf tossing was made illegal after one dwarf died of alcohol poisoning.
TIL: Production on the 80's TV series ALF was so stressful that Max Wright (who played the father Will Tanner) once physically attacked ALF. Producers had to jump in and pull Wright off of ALF.
TIL that the Mayans used to consume alcohol through enemas.
It does work but you have to be careful that you don't poison yourself! The answer doesn't have the same reflexes that make you vomit if you're too drunk. (Please don't ask how I know this - my mother might see.) 🥺
TIL actress (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Attack of the Giant Leeches) and Playboy centerfold (July 1959) Yvette Vickers died alone at home in 2010 and her mummified body was found by a neighbor in 2011.
This is tragic. Please check in on your friends and neighbours, if possible.
TIL a funeral home in Michigan has a drive-thru. You can view the deceased through a window and pay your respects. There is also a registry book and a memorial box for dropping off cards
TIL While some plant based milks date back to the 13th century, oat milk was invented in the 1990s. Rickard Öste developed oat milk while studying lactose intolerance at Lund University in Sweden.
TIL: The last imperial eunuch of Chinese history was castrated by his father with a razor to serve the last emperor Pu Yi. However, just mere months after the operation, the emperor was deposed and the system of government changed.
TIL that in 67 C.E, Emperor Nero found a Boy named Sporus Who looked Like his deceased Wife, so he had him Castrated, Put in female attire, and made his entire Court play along with the act
TIL when flies land on your food, they basically spit on it — because they have to release digestive juices to liquefy it into a predigested, slurpable soup they can swallow.
And the digestive juices are comprised of their last meal, so they spit out some manure they just ate and mix it around on your food; they eat a bit of it and then fly away and leave the rest for you
TIL Milhouse first appeared in a Butterfingers commercial before actually appearing on "The Simpsons"
TIL that 13% of finishers tested at the 2002 Boston Marathon had hyponatremia (caused by overconsumption of fluids)
This can lead to a quite serious condition because you sweat out the salt in your body. Salt binds water and keeps it from leaking into places where it shouldn't be, like the brain. That is why runners who start running erratically are immediately picked off the course and given a saline drip.
TIL that there is a form of moonshine popular in the slums of Nairobi called chang'aa which is intentionally cut with chemicals like embalming fluid and jet fuel to make it more potent. Chang'aa literally means "kill me quick."
people did this in prohibition in the USA and that's why one of the euphemisms for alcohol was 'rotgut' and also why cocktails were invented (to cover up the taste of the embalming fluid or whatnot). Lots of people died. I'm p sure the consumers were not intending to consume embalming fluid though.
TIL about failed WW2 plot: Operation Pastorius. In which Americans were recruited by Nazis to sabotage the US from within.
TIL that India's Marine Commando Force was equipped with cyanide tipped crossbows as a silenced pistol alternative until the late 1980s.
TIL Eminem holds the record for fastest rap verse, rapping 11 syllables per second, or 222 words in 30 seconds, in the third verse of his Godzilla.
With a close second in Rap God. 9.6 syllables/second vs 10.65 syllables/second
He is a great person as well just saw an article about how he has taken on three kids that he didn’t actually parent!!
TIL That First Lady Abigail Powers Filmore was the Teacher to 13th US President Millard Filmore Prior to marrying him
She was only two years older than him :p She was 16 when she became a schoolteacher. They didn't get married until their late 20s (he was 26, she was 28) when the age "gap" mattered significantly less.
TIL show sponsor Home Depot pushed out host Bob Vila from PBS's This Old House in 1989 due to his sponsorship of then-competitor Rickel. He was paid so little by the network, whose funding had been slashed, that he decided to stick with Rickel rather than the show.
Bob Vila was upset that PBS paid so little? The great Bob Ross made all of those wonderful art instruction programs for PBS for free. He was paid nothing.
TIL there is a song titled "10,000-Year Earworm to Discourage Settlement Near Nuclear Waste Repositories" meant to "convey[] the concept of radiological warning" so "no one will forget it for a significant portion of the lifespan of dangerous radiation at repository sites"
TIL that the Illuminati existed but had no enduring influence on world politics
TIL that George Washington only left the present-day United States one time in his life, when he traveled to Barbados with his brother in 1751.
Lawrence Washington (1718 – 1752) was George’s half brother. It is said George idolized him. In 1739 Lawrence Washington, on the HMS Princess Caroline under command of Captain Edward Vernon, fought in an invasion of Barbados in what became known as the War of Jenkin’s Ear. (Mt. Vernon was named in honor of Captain Vernon.) Later, Lawrence Washington developed Tuberculosis. In 1751, George and Lawrence Washington took a ship to the island of Barbados hoping that a stay in the warm tropical climate might help Lawrence. While in Barbados, George Washington contracted smallpox; rendering him infertile. Lawrence Washington died of tuberculosis at his Mount Vernon home in July 1752.
TIL Bangles' lead singer, Susanna Hoffs was tricked into recording the song "Eternal Flame" while completely naked.
TIL It's the opposite: A frog that is in gradually heated water will jump out. While a frog placed into already boiling water will die immediately, not jump out.
The frogs that just sat there and took the gradually heated water had been lobotomised first.
TIL that an object's "Escape Velocity" (from any body of mass) is the same as the speed at which it would hit the ground if it were dropped from infinity (without external influence)
This is kind of weirdly worded and muddles up a bunch of ideas making it somewhat contradictory, but there's a nugget of truth buried in there that I can't be bothered to try and explain because it's neither entertaining nor interesting and barely counts as a "fact".
most of these were new or semi-new to me. this was a good post, BP
BP does a lot of lame posts but I really enjoyed this one! I googled furiously!
TIL some people were apparently born under a rock and spent their lives with their eyes shut and fingers in their ears going "lalalala can't hear you"
Are you telling me you just knew that the Hoover Dam was calculated to take 125 years to cool if poured in one go? Because I call bυllshit.
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most of these were new or semi-new to me. this was a good post, BP
BP does a lot of lame posts but I really enjoyed this one! I googled furiously!
TIL some people were apparently born under a rock and spent their lives with their eyes shut and fingers in their ears going "lalalala can't hear you"
Are you telling me you just knew that the Hoover Dam was calculated to take 125 years to cool if poured in one go? Because I call bυllshit.
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