“Today I Learned”: 40 Lesser-Known Facts About The World That Should Be Common Knowledge (New Pics)
One of the distinguishing features about pandas, one that separates them from other mammals, is their curiosity. Sure, they can get a bit lazy and too preoccupied with bamboo (we can't blame 'em). And yet, they go out and poke things with their fluffy paws, do somersaults until they learn something new about their environment.
And that is one of the reasons why we, dear pandas, can't get enough of the r/todayilearned subreddit which never fails to keep our inner pandas somersaulting from all the new things we learn. Whether it's bits of trivia related to hit TV shows like "Friends" or something new about the always weird, always surprising Weird Al Yankovic, we couldn't help but handpick the tastiest facts for your curious inner pandas.
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TIL I learned that the the town of Boring (Oregon, US) established relationship with village of Dull (Scotland, UK) in 2012; the following year they were joined with the Shire of Bland (New South Wales, AU) to form the League of Extraordinary Communities.
For many people, maintaining curiosity and continuously learning new things can be a lifelong journey. By now, it’s probably not a secret to most of you that new experiences, like visiting new places or trying something out for the first time, make it feel like time slows down. Or as one headline of a scientific article brilliantly put it: "It's like you're Doctor Strange, but only in your head."
The feeling of discovering something you didn't know before, in other words, can be deeply rewarding and satisfying. As we noted in one of our previous articles, our brain rewards us for learning or achieving small things with dopamine, which, although addicting, can give enough encouragement for those "Duolingo" streaks.
TIL during World War II, Papua New Guinean ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ carried 750 wounded up/down the Kokoda Trail. They prioritized feeding patients & built shelter with 4 sleeping on each side at night. No known injured soldier was ever abandoned by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, even during heavy combat.
Another great reason why we can't get enough of communities such as r/todayilearned is the ability to open up new worlds and perspectives. Whether you're exploring a new subject area, reading about a historical event, or delving into a scientific discovery - just take a look at the top facts of today - learning new information can help you to better understand the world around you and the people in it.
Of course, being curious and hungry for knowledge can often challenge our assumptions and beliefs, prompting us to reconsider opinions and expand our understanding of different cultures, experiences, and perspectives. Do you remember what it was like to unlearn that the poor ol' Pluto is not worthy enough to be considered a full-sized planet like its ball-shaped contemporaries?
TIL after the fires that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many insurance companies tried to avoid covering the losses, except for Lloyd's of London: "Pay all of our policyholders in full, irrespective of the terms of their policies." This cemented Lloyd's reputation in the U.S.
TIL of Solomon Islander Jacob C. Vouza. During WW2, he was captured by the Japanese during the Guadalcanal Campaign, tied to a tree, bayoneted, and left for dead. He then chewed through the ropes with his teeth and made his way to American lines warning them about an impending attack. He survived.
TIL that while 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson peaked at #3 in Australia, 'Eat It' by Weird Al Yankovic peaked at #1
It's no surprise, then, that curiosity has been described as the driving force behind scientific and technological advancement. The desire to understand the unknown and discover new truths about the world has led to some of the most significant breakthroughs in human history. From the discovery of penicillin to the exploration of space, curiosity has been at the forefront of human progress. What else, do you think, put humans all the way on the Moon?
TIL the first U.S official coin in circulation, the Fugio Cent, had the motto "Mind Your Business" instead of "In God we Trust".
TIL In ancient Greece, men weren't allowed to become midwives because it was required by law one had to have given birth themselves to qualify as one.
TIL in the early 1930s, Cadillac's policy was to not sell cars to black people. In 1933, Nicholas Dreystadt, a middle manager at General Motors, crashed a GM executive committee meeting and convinced them to drop the policy and instead market to black people. Sales increased by 70% within a year.
Then again, curiosity isn't just important for scientific advancement - it's also essential for personal growth and development. The more we learn and explore, the more we understand ourselves and the world around us. It's also been scientifically proven that curiosity can improve our creative problem-solving skills. Not to mention the enhanced empathy and compassion for others.
TIL in 2018 a mom put out an ad to borrow an orange cat so her kids could have "a lasagna dinner with Garfield" and succeeded.
TIL that unlike most animals, African wild dogs follow an age-based food sharing system where pups are given immediate access to kills, making older dogs wait before they can eat.
Today I Learned Roman physician Galen would use wine as a disinfectant for all types of wounds, and even soaked exposed bowels before returning them to the body. Only 5 Gladiators died under his watch.
Our openness to new experiences and information varies according to the personality trait of being curious, it turns out. This trait is linked to the Big Five personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. As Regan Gurung, an American psychologist and award-winning author of "Study Like a Champ", explained to Bored Panda, there are certain variables, such as the Need for Cognition, which encourage deeper processing rather than surface processing, leading people to want to know more.
TIL: The consensus is that octopuses are most likely sentient.
Shall we just assume that all living creatures are sentient? I'd prefer to err on the side of caution.
I always feel like people are confusing sentient (has senses, is able to feel) and sapient (is self-aware, has higher cognitive functions)
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Sentient, it seems, is redefined whenever humans find out there isn't much exclusivity in the current definition. It isn't defined as attempt to answer "does this individual think, feel, know?", but rather "how does human thinking, feeling, knowing differ from other species'?", in order to allow us more than we could justify, but still make it, formally, justifiable.
I had to log back in just so I could upvote your comment. I had been putting it off for a week or two because I’m too lazy to type all the login info lol. But finally this did it for me. I couldn’t scroll past the octopus debacle without upvoting that animals need respect, plain and simple. The poaching that goes on in the safari breaks my heart. Where’s the respect :o(
Load More Replies... Yep, I stopped eating them some time ago (after Paul the German octopus became famous).
I'd put my cat in the sapient category. My friends after all are convinced that I've pissed off an ancestor and he is the result. Love the lil bugger though
Please define "sentient" here. Octopodes (squabble among yourselves) are certainly capable of sensation, one definition of sentient. However, "sentient" usually connotes the ability to have an cognitive emotional response not only directly to the stimulus, but to the memory of the stimulus. Some even go so far as to mean capable of feeling the emotion, processing it, and making a rational decision to make an action in contradiction to that emotion for some greater good or delayed gratification, although that's less ambiguously described as "sapience." Some would go so far as to use sentient to mean capable of a meta-awareness of that sapience.
That is always have seen sentient used. As having an awareness of what's going on. Not merely responding to stimuli. I wonder if the dictionary needs to update their definition based on how the word is actually used in society.
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All animals, plants, trees and mushrooms are sentient and sapient. We're still catching up.
I hate to be rude, but no. We are the most sapient species on the planet, considering we control it (and unfortunately are destroying it).
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Have you seen the video of the octopus punching a fish? The fish was just swimming along minding its own business, and wham! Try to tell me that's not a sentient creature. :)
This seems like a low bar -- "Simply put, sentient means the ability to have feelings. It's the capacity for a creature to experience sensations and emotions" --- People talk about it like it makes an animal brain (or alien brain in movies) on par with a human brain. Many animals can experience sensations and emotions. Still - octopuses are pretty cool
And yet not according to this bunch... https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2022/02/01/plural-octopus/
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I'm in Portugal at the moment and they're on the menu everywhere. I just don't understand how you can eat them once you realise how clever they are.
Pandas, Roaches, Humans and Feathered Dinosaurs, what does sentient mean?
If you've read about some of the things octpuses have done, this wouldn't even be a question.
it's baffling how many people think other animals are some kind of meat robot. of course they have thoughts and feelings. not just a system of mechanical reactions. rats are proven to have compassion and show metacognition.
They have opposable thumbs, as it were like us. That trait puts us on top of the bunch with them.
I would think that most, (if not all) beings are sentient and have feelings of some sort.
Check out the 2020 Oscar-Winning movie "My Octopus Teacher." You'll agree.
Since the word sentient (Latin, sentire ‘feeling’) means "able to perceive or feel things", then this term applies to all living creatures. The only animal that do not perceive or feel things is a dead animal.
Non-sentient refers to living organisms that can’t think or perceive. Sentience refers to all creatures capable of feeling. Sentient creatures can have both happy and negative experiences. To me this includes all farm animals, so I prefer to be vegan.
Oh here comes the comments from the self entitled human meat bags that think they're the only God damn f****** species on planet Earth that has feelings in their body and emotions not only worthless useless human beings that are killing everything in sight are the only ones allowed to live f****** selfish f**** don't even believe animals could feel pain how insane can evil cruel can humans be
I believe octopuses, dolphins, cats, dogs, pigs, elephants, most monkeys, ravens and crows are sentient.
I feel the OP meant octopuses have Self-cognize. Which most animals do not.
today kids, we learn the difference between sentience and sapience... https://thewordcounter.com/sentience-vs-sapience/
TIL that ginkgo trees are a symbol of hope and tenacity in Japan, as they were one of the few living things to survive the nuclear bomb at Hiroshima.
They outlasted the dinosaurs, i'm not surprised that a nuke would be shrugged off.
TIL The pika is a small rodent that collects plants and dries them out in the sun to store them for winter.
"From an external standpoint, it is reinforcing to know facts (silly or random) when people around us give us attention for knowing or value us knowing," Gurung argued. "There is also a satisfaction some derive from knowing the answers to 'Why' questions (not something all share). It gives some [people] meaning."
TIL that everyone wears Crocs in the 2006 movie Idiocracy because the costume designer had a limited shoe budget, and thought the cheap plastic shoes made by the then startup company were futuristic yet too stupid looking to ever become popular in real life.
TIL about the Pizzly Bear, a Polar and Grizzly Bear hybrid. This hybrid species isn't sterile and can actually procreate.
Everybody in this thread is geeking about the cuteness and the name, but really the most ferocious type of bear and the only one that will actively hunt humans are mating to make Pizzly Bears
TIL a boy was hit in the head with a foul ball during a televised game, rather than wait for EMTS to arrive, Jim Rice Ran into the stands and took him into the clubhouse, where he was immediately treated by the team's medical staff. He is credited with saving the boy's life.
Gurung also pointed out that the digital age and social media have made obtaining information much easier compared to the time-consuming process of physically visiting a library. "Those of us who are more curious may go down deeper rabbit holes due to social media (calling for higher levels of managing the self)."
TIL Christine Maggiore founded the HIV/AIDS denialism group Alive and Well. Maggiore herself then died of aids in 2008.
Sorry but I really think this is a darwin award, I can't feel bad for her. We had an aids denialist president and we estimate the death toll as over 100 000 as a result.
TIL that Wild European hamsters in Vienna, Austria have learned to survive harsh winters by feasting on the oily, protein-filled candles left by mourners in gravesites.
There is a saying "Death must be from Vienna". Vienna takes pride in its enourmous cemeteries, people flock to them , it is deeply ingrained into the city culture. There are famous mausoleums and crypts, mummified remains, death as a pompous staging. So it makes sense that even the hamsters take advantage of the dead.
TIL that the low cost wine brand "Two Buck Chuck" was created by Fred Franzia, who bought the Charles Shaw name from a bankrupt winery for $27k. Once when asked why his wine was cheaper than water, he replied "They're overcharging for the water. Don't you get it?"
TIL Anti-climb paint, a class of non-drying oil paint, was developed in the 1960s. It can take over 3 years to dry, It is used to prevent trespassing and mark trespassers as it is very difficult to remove.
I've definitely had nail polish like this. My bet its the polish reacts with ones need to pee right after painting nails
TIL that the deepest scuba dive of all time was 1,090 feet, set by Ahmed Gabr in 2014. It took him nearly a decade to properly prepare for the dive. While the descent took only 15 minutes, the ascent back to the surface took over 13 hours.
TIL about “One Night Cough Syrup” was sold in the late 1800s, and it contained alcohol, cannabis, chloroform, and morphine. This mixture was available over the counter and promised to eliminate your cough in one night so you could sleep.
TIL King Charles & Prince William always travel in separate planes in case there is a crash, one needs to survive.
TIL Mt. Thor on Baffin Island, Canada, has Earth’s greatest sheer vertical drop (4,101 feet).You can take one step off the peak and fall nearly a mile before you hit anything.
TIL of a courtier, Jeffrey Hudson, in the court of King Charles I of England who was only 18 inches tall. He challenged a normal-height man to a duel with pistols over an insult. His opponent came to the duel armed with a water squirt gun. Hudson shot him in the head with a real gun, killing him.
TIL: That scam baiters managed to trick Nigerian scammers into traveling 1400 miles and left them stranded in Darfur in a warzone.
Okay that's awful wth I know they are not princes and yeah they scam people (who still fall for this?) but wtf, a warzone????
TIL that the famous dish: tikka masala - is British, not Indian and it was invented in the 70’s, not some cultural cuisine that’s been around for ages.
Britain has had a thriving community of people of Indian descent for centuries.
TIL that Madame Tussaud's skill at making wax replicas of people is what saved her from the French Revolution's Guillotine.
TIL in 1656 Boston, a ship's captain was sentenced to sit in the stocks for two hours because he had engaged in "lewd and unseemly behavior" on the Sabbath. Upon arriving home on a Sunday after a three-year voyage at sea, Captain Kemble had kissed his wife
ah, christian governments. More worried about bedrooms than genocide.
TIL about Troy Hurtubise, a Canadian man who built multiple suits of armor to study grizzly bears up close in nature. He'd test these by having his friends hit him with 2x4s or drive trucks into him.
TIL that the Voynich Manuscript, a a 240-page medieval codex written by an unknown author, in an unknown language, and illustrated with unknown plants, strange creatures, and naked women, was radiocarbon dated to the early 15th century. Despite 600 years of study it has never been deciphered.
"We have been trying to reach you about your horse and cart's extended warranty"
TIL Eleanor Roosevelt's maiden name was Roosevelt. Her husband, Franklin, was her fifth cousin once removed.
TIL: 1 in 5 German parents regrets having children and would prefer to live their life without them.
TIL that EU citizen can demand a copy of all personal data that companies hold about them. However, most Android and iPhone apps completely ignore this right, a study has found.
TIL that Kit Kat Bars come in over 200 flavors. Soy Sauce, Matcha, Orange, Blueberry, Lemon Vinegar, Yuzu, Blood Orange, Salt, Banana, Fruit Parfait, Melon, Muscat, Maple Syrup, Red Bean Soup, Cherry Blossom... just to name a few.
TIL that a McDonald's in the Netherlands once fired an employee for selling a coworker a hamburger and then separately giving them a piece of cheese, arguing that she should've charged more for a cheeseburger. Courts ruled in the employee's favor, ordering the rest of her contract paid out in full.
TIL about a painkiller present in human saliva called Opiorphin which is stronger than Morphine.
TIL In 2000, when the cast of "Friends" wouldn't come down from their $1,050,000/episode salary demands, NBC's Garth Ancier produced promos saying "You've loved them for seven years, see how it all ends with the series finale of Friends this Thursday". The cast agreed to lower salaries.
Personal opinion, I never liked the show or them, and this little things of abusing the greed and fame. No
TIL of Irene of Athens (750-803 CE), the first sole-ruling empress in Roman history. Her husband the emperor having died, she had her son's eyes gouged, and him imprisoned, becoming sole ruler for 5 years, when she was exiled to the island of Lesbos and forced to support herself by spinning wool.
Note: this post originally had 121 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Big FYI on the "40,000 Americans are hurt by toilets". No, we don't have rampaging wild feral toilets. About 39,000 of those injuries are back injuries caused by improper lifting and carrying of toilets being replaced or installed by plumbers (OK, that's my guesstimate, based on back injuries seen as a medical doctor). The other 1,000 are people who aren't plumbers trying to lift, carry, etc., toilets. Sometimes they get dropped on your foot, sometimes they explode because a drunk idiot threw a firecracker in and got toilet shrapnel in his face, but mostly... It's basic "Oof, my back!"
Today I learnt that Braille has numbers, punctuation marks and abbreviations, and not just letters. Obvious in retrospect, but it had never occurred to me.
Big FYI on the "40,000 Americans are hurt by toilets". No, we don't have rampaging wild feral toilets. About 39,000 of those injuries are back injuries caused by improper lifting and carrying of toilets being replaced or installed by plumbers (OK, that's my guesstimate, based on back injuries seen as a medical doctor). The other 1,000 are people who aren't plumbers trying to lift, carry, etc., toilets. Sometimes they get dropped on your foot, sometimes they explode because a drunk idiot threw a firecracker in and got toilet shrapnel in his face, but mostly... It's basic "Oof, my back!"
Today I learnt that Braille has numbers, punctuation marks and abbreviations, and not just letters. Obvious in retrospect, but it had never occurred to me.
