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Most of us have a small Ravenclaw inside of us, and we adore learning new things about the world, especially if they’re random facts that completely blow our minds. A lot of us are still spending loads of time working and studying from home, which leaves plenty of time for random browsing—so we’re picking up semi-useless but fun new facts about the world every day.

Like the fact the American Gothic painting shows a farmer and his daughter, not his wife. Or how Gandalf carries his pipe in his staff.

You’re probably aware of the ‘I was today years old’ jokes that people post online when they want to share something weird that they just learned with everyone. Well, these jokes have made a resurgence during the coronavirus lockdown, and there are plenty of new ones to make our jaws drop. 

Bored Panda has collected some of the best ‘I was today years old’ moments for you to enjoy (and to have random cool facts to drop during your next Zoom cocktail party), so scroll down for some truly weird facts that are true and don’t forget to upvote your faves.

#2

todayyearsoldig tweets about KFC, and picture of KFC owner with person on his back

todayyearsoldig Report

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kitty.boom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read about it years ago, but didn't know they sent him a painting. That's cool and sweet too!

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#4

_youhadonejob1 tweets about screwdriver handles and picture of person using screwdriver

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This typically is not the best idea, though. Rather use a socket wrench with bits and operate it really carefully. Using special oils to loosen a screw firstbor to de-rust it can also help. Merr mere force likely destroy the screw!

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#5

soapachu tweets about aubergines and picture of aubergines

soapachu Report

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glowworm2
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't know that because I'm more familiar with the purple kind in the stores. I didn't know that that's how they grow. BTW, this is the white version. The purple version starts out purple from the beginning.

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New Fact For Dog Lovers

So, since we’re talking about random facts today, let’s share some other cool ones, shall we? For instance, did you know that one study found that dogs prefer to align themselves “along the North-South axis under calm magnetic field conditions” when they have to go number two? Researchers studied 70 dogs over two years, and this was the first time that magnetic sensitivity was proven in dogs. Science is weird and wonderful.

#7

sassycrass tweets about measles completely erases body's immunological memory

sassycrass Report

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Ani Archeron
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Measles targets memory cells?? Thanks to every scientist who ever put an ounce of thought into creating that life-saving vaccine.

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Old Weird Fact That Is True

Another brain-melting fact is that there were fewer than 1.5k people living in Central Europe for significant periods of time during the Stone Age. Yeah, that sounds unbelievable. IFL Science made a great analogy about how you could fit all those people on a modern mid-sized cruise ship.

#11

Shxperienced tweets about buttload and picture of wine barrels

Shxperienced Report

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Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The English are unchallenged in having absurd units of measurement.

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#12

bakbakbakkerr tweets about turtles and picture of turtle inside

bakbakbakkerr Report

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Not-so-MadMax
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh god, they really should talk to the people making cartoons. I have been gravely misinformed in my youth...

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A Modern, But Random, Cool Fact

Speaking of modern times, if you’ve ever complained about TV ads being too long, just wait until you realize that Old Spice made a 14-hour promo. Their ad ran on December 18, 2018, in São Paulo, Brazil, and won the Guinness World Record for the longest TV ad ever. You can find the abridged version right here (don’t worry, it’s just over 3 minutes, not 3 hours long).

#17

ThatEricAlper tweets about American Gothic and portrait of farmer and his daughter

ThatEricAlper Report

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chi-wei shen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The painter's sister Nan who modelled as the woman in the paintintg, perhaps embarrassed about being depicted as the wife of a man twice her age (modelled by a dentist), started telling people that Wood had envisioned the couple as father and daughter, not husband and wife. The painter Grant Wood himself remained vague on this point.

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A Source for More Daily Fun Facts

The internet continually proves that there are still things for us to learn. Luckily, someone took the ‘I was today years old’ concept and created a whole project around it. This initiative regularly shares new facts on social media, mainly Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), and their dedicated website.

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However, you can always check out Reddit for a daily dose of ‘I was today years old’ moments. Two groups, r/IWasTodayYearsOld and r/TodayYearsOld, are full of weird but true facts you might want to know about.

#24

TechConnectify tweets about word footage

TechConnectify Report

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David Jeu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This all make sense now. Btw love technology connections channel.:)

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#25

Sarahmcgphoto tweets about warning against going to sleep with a concussion and picture of woman holding her head

sarahmcgphoto Report

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Flisey
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was told "bumped his head in the middle of the bed" was really "his wife killed him'. My grandmother was one dark woman

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Hannah Hartley
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I though it was "it's raining, Its pouring, the old man is snoring, he bumped his head then he went to bed and he couldn't get up till the morning.

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Isla Goulding
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd always heard "he bumped his head at the end of the bed," I guess there are a lot of different versions

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Venic
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To paraphrase Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, people will believe any "explanation" you pose for a nursery rhyme as long as it's sufficiently horrifying. Virtually all such accounts are 100% unsubstantiated by anything but guesses. (Also that falling asleep after sustaining a concussion is inherently dangerous is mostly an old wives' tale. The danger is that it prevents doctors from monitoring your condition as easily for complications. It doesn't CAUSE any harm.)

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Arcticflower170
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh I always thought it was "he fell out of bed and bumped his head".

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Ani Archeron
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yet another darker-than-it-seems children's rhyme to add to the list ...

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Aragorn II Elessar
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They’re all talking about death though. Ring around the rosey= Black Plague; Jack and Jill=Jack dying; of course this one; London Bridge falling down=crushing pedestrians to death, and there are several others I can’t remember right now. Look it up

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DramaDoc
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nursery rhyme origins are fascinating, and several have really interesting historical backgrounds (that are generally pretty dark as they were mostly made up as political/social satire rather than as rhymes for children). This one can only be traced to the early 20th c. although that doesn't mean it didn't exist prior to that: http://nurseryrhymesforbabies.com/its-raining-its-pouring-history/

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Mimi M
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reverse the words: 'He bumped his head and he went to bed and he couldn't get up in the morning'. That's the correct order. And makes sense, given the explanation.

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Red Mudcrab
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We sang, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring, he bumped his head and now he's dead and that's the end of the story."

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Steve Cruz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who else had a book of children's nursery rhymes where the hand-painted picture for this showed a man lying on his side in bed and a woman with a rolling pin raised over her head standing behind him, ready to bash his bean?

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Mandy Delaforce (PC Girl)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

which is now considered the wrong advice. sleeping when concussed is not a death sentence.

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A Lazy Spider
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

'He went to bed and bumped his head and in the morning he was dead' is basically what they're saying

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Linus Nilsson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But then again, you should sleep if you had a concussion, so the brain get a chance to heal.

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Hobbes
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yikes. I just remembered how dark this rhymes can be...

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Steve Barker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The going to sleep after a concussion thing is not medically sound, but I kinda like the little English take on Haiku.

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Katie Allen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ring around the rosie is supposed to be about the plague so this doesn't surprise me

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Charlotte A.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seems there are several theories on what exactly is meant by this rhyme. Maybe it's just a silly rhyme without reason? So to speak?

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Lori Caswell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my family, it was "didn't get up until the next morning" It was my parents hint that we had to stay in bed!

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Karen Ogden
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Should say " He bumped his head, went to bed & couldn't get up in the morning " NOT " He went to bed, bumped his head & couldn't get up un the morning"

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Wendy Emlinger (ManyTotems)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd always heard it as, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring. He fell out of bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up the next morning."

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William McCarthy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the song really goes, its raining its pouring. the old man is snoring. he bumped is head then went to bed, and didn't get up in the morning

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KT Trondsen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, this is a myth. You can and should sleep as that is how the body repairs itself

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Nathan Jones
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Going to sleep after a head injury will not cause coma or death, it's a myth.

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Heather Keedy Bateman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please don't tell people that. A slow brain bleed from traumatic brain injury or subdural hematoma left untreated can cause coma and death. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20378557

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glowworm2
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've realized this as an adult that the old man probably died afterwards.

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Allen Lavine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But they say sleeping is best for a concussion if you don't have double vision

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Got Your Own Fact to Share?

Here at Bored Panda, we are always eager to learn. Have you ever had an 'I was today years old' moment? Share it with other Panda users and us. Whether it’s funny, cool, or downright strange, if you find it interesting, share it in the comments below!

#26

todayyearsoldig tweets about Bikini Bottom houses and picture of Bikini Bottom house and car mufflers

todayyearsoldig Report

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Untitled_Goose_Man
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How old were you when you realized Bikini Bottom is under Bikini Atoll, where the US tested hundreds of nuclear weapons? Spongebob is a nuclear mutation

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#27

RavenElyseTV tweets about pasta spoon and picture of pasta with spoon

RavenElyseTV Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have known this for ages but forget to do it and always ended up cooking more pasta than needed.

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#28

BitchItsSpice tweets about yellow watermelon and picture of yellow and red watermelons

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Troux
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They taste identical, so don't bother going out of your way for it.

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#32

Today-Years-Old-People-Share-Facts

MonicaLewinsky Report

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was today's years old when I realised the Tweet was actually from Monica Lewinskym

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#35

Today-Years-Old-People-Share-Facts

agasramirez Report

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Agnes Jekyll
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't know there was a plague outbreak in Manila in 1912! There was one around the same time in San Francisco.

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#37

Today-Years-Old-People-Share-Facts

iowahawkblog Report

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Cori
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First it was cow farts. Now it's oyster farts. How poetic would it be if the final straw in humanity's fight for existence was flatulence? 'Well, they were hanging in there until they ramped up the oyster farming. All those oyster farts finally pushed them over the edge.'

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#38

Today-Years-Old-People-Share-Facts

MlNACHAEYU Report

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Missy Moo Moo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was today years old when I discovered these are called calderas and Yellowstone park is a big one with a semi solid magma pocket underneath it waiting for the hotter liquid magma pocket below it to infuse it with heat and liquify the subsurface pocket. About 20 years after that, it will erupt

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#43

Today-Years-Old-People-Share-Facts

OCHannahMontana Report

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Nica Thva
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was today years old when I found out that Hanna Montana is not a cartoon.

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