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.
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I read about it years ago, but didn't know they sent him a painting. That's cool and sweet too!
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.
Measles targets memory cells?? Thanks to every scientist who ever put an ounce of thought into creating that life-saving vaccine.
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.
Oh god, they really should talk to the people making cartoons. I have been gravely misinformed in my youth...
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).
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.
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.
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.
I was told "bumped his head in the middle of the bed" was really "his wife killed him'. My grandmother was one dark woman
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.
I'd always heard "he bumped his head at the end of the bed," I guess there are a lot of different versions
Load More Replies...Oh I always thought it was "he fell out of bed and bumped his head".
yet another darker-than-it-seems children's rhyme to add to the list ...
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
Load More Replies...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/
Yes. And forms of satire and criticism of ancient ruling entities.
Load More Replies...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."
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?
which is now considered the wrong advice. sleeping when concussed is not a death sentence.
'He went to bed and bumped his head and in the morning he was dead' is basically what they're saying
But then again, you should sleep if you had a concussion, so the brain get a chance to heal.
The going to sleep after a concussion thing is not medically sound, but I kinda like the little English take on Haiku.
ring around the rosie is supposed to be about the plague so this doesn't surprise me
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?
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!
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"
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."
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
Actually, this is a myth. You can and should sleep as that is how the body repairs itself
Going to sleep after a head injury will not cause coma or death, it's a myth.
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
Load More Replies...But they say sleeping is best for a concussion if you don't have double vision
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!
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
I have known this for ages but forget to do it and always ended up cooking more pasta than needed.
Jesus Luke, aren't you supposed to be able to sense these things??
Note: this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I was exactly today years old when I learned of at least half of these... One of my own aha moments, that this reminds me of, is much older... : The "romantic" tradition for a dad to hand over the bride is basically a symbol of how ownership of the woman is passed from father to husband. (No wonder I'm not married, huh? :P)
yup... it was a literal exchange of property. It's why women took on a man's name: as an indication of ownership (& therefore "protection" from other "suiters"). It's still within living memory, where it was ILLEGAL for a married woman to work. This "marriage bar" was only stopped in the mid-60's. If a woman got married, she got fired. :(
Load More Replies...These were all awesome but the one I can't get over is the fact that LOOFAHS ARE PLANTS????
I admit I am less than enamored with this post. Not much was that new.
I was exactly today years old when I learned of at least half of these... One of my own aha moments, that this reminds me of, is much older... : The "romantic" tradition for a dad to hand over the bride is basically a symbol of how ownership of the woman is passed from father to husband. (No wonder I'm not married, huh? :P)
yup... it was a literal exchange of property. It's why women took on a man's name: as an indication of ownership (& therefore "protection" from other "suiters"). It's still within living memory, where it was ILLEGAL for a married woman to work. This "marriage bar" was only stopped in the mid-60's. If a woman got married, she got fired. :(
Load More Replies...These were all awesome but the one I can't get over is the fact that LOOFAHS ARE PLANTS????
I admit I am less than enamored with this post. Not much was that new.