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.
And yet the rest of the world thinks Americans are stubborn for not going to metrics.
Load More Replies..."A lot of whatever" - my new favourite saying for non-metric measurements <3
Load More Replies...And a 'firkin' . We had a pub called the 'Fox and the Firkin' Now I know what that means.
I knew the butt thing, but wait, does this mean that the Hog's Head Inn in Harry Potter is also a play on the name barrell of mead? Holy c**p
"The Hogshead" is not an uncommon name for a pub, I've seen it a few times. I've also known pubs called "The Hop and Kilderkin" and "The Fleece and Firkin" which also take their names from this measurement system.
Load More Replies...As in how much can be carried by a donkey, to clarify
Load More Replies...I just found out Tun has 2 butts. (Edit: After magnifying the picture I saw it's Tun, not Tim. Thanks to mulk.)
Just realized that the word Tun and Ton are probably related. 954 litres of liquid would have weighed around 1000 kg or 1 metric ton.
I was today years old when I realized it actually is “buttload” and not “boatload”
And here was me thinking it was a load of brown stuff waiting to blast out from a rear end.
And I'm assuming the measurements are English gallons and not American gallons.
And as usual with English "standards," the increments of measurement have no immediately identifiable system. Also, with any number of common British accents, "butt load" could sound loke "boat load."
I have always believed a Barrel Of Beer is 36 imperial gals and a firkin 9gals and the pin as 4.5 gals!
Yeah I figured that out when I was 5. Dnd has done wonders for me "pass me a tun of ale" was what we would (and still) hear at the meetings
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.
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.