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While some of the things we learn don't necessarily make us smarter, they can definitely arouse our desire to learn more. Or at least help us continue our stalling conversations. And Twitter account WTF Facts is dedicated to collecting and sharing these random tidbits of information. From celebrity lifestyle to international relations, the project covers a wide range of topics, which is probably the reason why its feed remains so fresh and interesting. Continue scrolling and check out some of the most popular tweets WTF Facts have ever released!

Knowing obscure facts isn't just fun. It's also good for our mental health. For example, experts say that playing trivia games can provide a dopamine rush much like gambling, but without the negative effects. 

Even if our trivia games differ, the benefits are there. Whether we're playing Trivial Pursuit at home or attending a pub trivia night, the basic premise remains the same: we experience the thrill of providing correct answers to questions about lesser-known facts.

"You get a rush or a neuroreward signal or a dopamine burst from winning,” John Kounios, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the doctoral program in applied cognitive and brain sciences at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, told Healthline. “I think whenever you’re challenged with a trivia question and you happen to know it, you get a rush. It’s sort of like gambling.”

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Kounios said the benefits can also be similar to those of playing a video game.

However, unlike gambling and even video games, Kounios said trivia is generally not a problematic habit.

“I don’t think there are any pitfalls,” he said. “Like anything else that’s fun, it takes up time.”

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A librarian from California, Sarah Kishler, loves trivia games and enjoys attending a monthly pub trivia night in which a team of librarians participates.

"Learning facts so that I can get better at trivia is definitely a passion of mine," she told Healthline. "Getting a question right is definitely very satisfying to me."

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

Same in Italy... You're allowed to disobey an order that you think is illegal...

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Over the past decade or so, pub trivia nights that are popular in the United Kingdom appear to have grown in other parts of Europe and the United States.

Enthusiasts like Kishler enjoy getting to interact with people at these events, especially compared to electronic trivia games.

She has learned that doing well at these social trivia games gives her "a feeling of validation" and increases her self-esteem.

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

yeah Disney often adapts its stories to be appropriate for children, eventually leading everybody to only remember the Disney version and not the original

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"I love general knowledge, geography, literature, music, science trivia," Kishler explained. "I just love to accumulate knowledge. I like the exercise that it gives my brain and memory."

She doesn't think of herself as a competitive person but nevertheless enjoys getting a bit amped up at trivia games.

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“People really like to have some expertise on something and the brain is very good at focusing on things that you’re interested in,” Deborah Stokes, Ph.D., L.P.C., B.C.N., a psychologist in Virginia, who focuses on neurotherapy, told Healthline.

According to Stokes, learning large bodies of knowledge can often start with trivia. And people who are interested in trivia can be brainy, have a high IQ, and be smart on a lot of levels.

However, Kounios said that people aren’t necessarily better at trivia games just because they’re more educated.

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

I can barely draw a stick figure and if instructions have more than one step it is safer to write them down.

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"Some people soak up facts,” Kounios added. "Plenty of people with a lot more education may not remember what they had for breakfast yesterday morning."

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"In typical people, my observation, not backed up by any research, is that their interest in trivia is confined to topics that they are generally interested in. So if a person is very interested in history, then they may either seek out history trivia, or they might just naturally pick it up in the course of learning about nontrivial aspects of history."

Stokes pointed out that trying to retain information about things we're interested in can be like a good exercise for the frontal cortex as the brain ages.

"That’s the first thing to go with injury or with age if we don’t use it," she said.

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Of course, it's completely understandable if the pandemic has drained your brain of the desire to learn and flooded it with boredom and tiredness instead. In an earlier Bored Panda interview, Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow and the founder of the Free-Range-Kids movement, said that before we can become curious again, we have to do the hard part: get off the couch. Force yourself out the door. Why? Because beyond your four walls, things are never exactly the same. Weather, animals, people, sounds, smells, clouds—they’re all swirling about."

Lenore continued: "Ask yourself to start noticing new things. I did that this morning with a friend. We took a walk around our neighborhood and started looking for interesting details in the homes and buildings we passed. It went from a walk down streets we’d seen a million times to a sort of treasure hunt. And the big thing we were really hunting for? Curiosity! When you’re curious you’re alive again—noticing, thinking, making connections. You can’t do that if there’s no new information coming in. So your first step is to force yourself out of a rut by leaving the house (harder during the pandemic, but not impossible)."

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annemarie-ophetveld avatar
Hooked
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Prostituition is not illegal in the Netherlands and prostitutes are (mostly) self-employed business owners. Handicapped people have/can apply for a gouvernemental budget from which they pay all the care they need. A visit from a legal sex worker is just one of the approved things they may spend it on.

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

Let's hope the picture matches the description... I assume few women would be fond of being linked to a pictures with such a description unless it matches...

mariannecontrino avatar
Marianne Contrino
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was just about to comment the same thing when I saw your post. That woman is about to get some frantic phone calls from her parents if not. Though to be fair, even if I was one myself, pretty sure I wouldn't necessarily want the whole world knowing. Not trying to shame people who do, or act like I'm better than them, just know how much stigma is attached to it, possibly leading to a lot of harassment, scorn.

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

When I was a nurse I worked in a ventilator dependent ward which had permanent residents living there due to the high specialist care they needed. We had one young guy there early 20's with muscular dystrophy and his parents would have a "sex therapist" visit once a month. Since the sleep study area was not in use on the weekends I used to make it up nice for them with flowers and soft lighting ( couldn't use candles as it would have likely blown the place up) he was always in a positive mood after those visits which was good for a guy knew he wouldn't make it past his mid 20's

emily271 avatar
Em
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's exploitation and studies have shown that there are high levels of mental health issues for sex workers having to do this type of work. Also prostitutes are often victims of child abuse and therefore see their bodies as a objects to be used and abused.

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jamie1707
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I paid a sex worker to visit a friend of mine. He had MS and you would not believe the difference it made. I kept paying until he no longer could enjoy it. He died happier than most.

liddlecatpaws avatar
Jo Johannsen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Prostitution, i.e., consensual sex between two adults, should not be illegal just because money is involved.

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

yep. europe where sex isn't see as evil and bad as america do by the religious nuts

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

Or we have completely different demographics which includes gangs that force prostitution. It’s a very dangerous profession here and promotes human trafficking. But I’m sure you just wanted to make a hateful one-off comment and not be an informed individual.

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

Why is all the good news coming from the Netherlands? Other countries should take some notes

wh4ok avatar
Jon S.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once had a discussion with a a friend who runs an adult care centre and he was all for this. He reckoned it would vastly improve the lives and outlook of his residents. But he knew he could never get it past the trustees. To find out there is a country where it is accepted gives me hope we may one day break off the shackles of prudishness and accept that sex is part of being human.

jacobbeccagizmothesquirrel avatar
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

AnRi, we get it. You are a religious prude. Let people live how they want to live! There is an amazing world out there! Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

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

I have mixed feelings about this. I don‘t mind them doing that per se and I find it great that they’re so open about this topic, but it sort of implies that handicapped people can‘t find a person to love them. I acknowledge some people are that shallow, but among the (admittedly few) disabled people I know, all of them have a loving partner. Plus, what about other people prone to depression? Jobless or homeless people are the first ones coming to my mind, or widows and widowers.

lauraswearingen-steadwell avatar
Aeon Flux
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It doesn't imply they can't find anyone to love them. It implies that it's a lot more difficult for them to find someone to simply sleep with them.

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

I once spoken with somebody who was on the caregiving side of this. She told me that the prostitute, who is specialised for these cases, told her that most people in the end don't end up having sex since it isn't their real desire.

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

I worked in the kitchen of a residential home for the disabled in Amsterdam for half a year and one of our kitchen chefs would regularly take a select group of disabled guys out to visit the prostitutes. Disabled guys have needs too :)

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

Meanwhile, in the USA, we'd put those women in a jail and give them a big fine to "protect them from sex trafficking"

moviefreak122 avatar
Karin Jansen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I never understood how prostitution is illegal, but porn is legal in the US. Is there a reason for it? It seems to me that women would be less protected in porn (images online indefinitely, money into someone else's pockets), but maybe I'm wrong?

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

Reportedly, according to the prostitutes, most of the clients spend their time cuddling or just talking intimately. It isn't the lack of sex so much as the lack of human contact that causes their depression.

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stephyg1980 avatar
Ms.GB
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Handicapped women can apply for the governmental budget also can't they? Maybe it isn't a service that many women use their money for but I would think they could if they wanted to....

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

The biggest problem with prostitution is the bastards who make money on them, forcing, extorting , abusing them, or being abused raped, robbed, beaten by bad johns. And then not treated well by police if seeking help. The looking down on a prostitute as less human is we need to change. And helping those who want out.

rebeccalievense avatar
moviefreak122 avatar
faeryiis avatar
Lululoohoo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

meanwhile...the photo above is of a handicapped man & his actual girlfriend/wife...lol

dragonness37928 avatar
Satya Bain
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depression needs to be treated on the level that helps the person. It's not "one size fits all." Bravo.

ramanaus avatar
Iara Ra
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Red light district, legal drugs and yet they close prisons due to lack of criminals. They are an example to follow.

suzannehaigh avatar
Tee Witt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What do women get? Would they really want a male prostitute?

xan_maranya avatar
Xan Maranya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Government survey question: What do you miss most about being disabled? Most frequent answer: Sex. Netherlands government: We can easily solve that problem. U.S. government: Sixty psychotherapy sessions or electroshock.

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

There's a wonderful film about this called COME AS YOU ARE, about a group of handicapped men who go to a brothel where they are welcomed. The truly soul-stirring part is the huge issues they have to overcome about themselves and their bodies in order to become intimate with someone.

kevinperry_1 avatar
okpkpkp
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think my wife might have something to say about this...

jar avatar
Ja R
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

its also legal and regulated for regular customers

cyberchook avatar
Cybele Spanjaard
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A very forward thinking nation of strong people and down to earth ideas..that work!!

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

Not on board with this one. Just give people money and let them decide what to spend it on. I can’t imagine many disabled women wanting to spend money on male prostitutes. Sex workers aren’t merchandise.

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

So they can't walk, but they can have sex? Didn't know they could do that.

sj-dumond avatar
JD Lee
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. Here in the US the government takes our money just for the privilege of attending a subpar university.

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

This is just plain creepy. No one deserves to "get sex". I live in Sweden so it is not forbidden to be a prostitute, but it is forbidden to buy one. This is to protect them. I find many of your comments ignorant

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

Some of you have never read "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate"; by Mark O'Brien and it shows

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rosalie-schnauzer avatar
C
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Prostitutes are often very traumatized and in most cases it all started with child abuse. Often the psyche tries to solve the trauma via reenacting. It's not good for them and they need help, not people who buy a very broken person. It's rape against money. Stop glorifying this and educate yourself please.

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

Prostitutes are often very traumatized and in most cases it all started with child abuse. Often the psyche tries to solve the trauma via reenacting. It's not good for them and they need help, not people who buy a very broken person. It's rape against money. Stop glorifying this and educate yourself please.

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

Absolutely! Ex stripper here, the really damaged girls would also prostitute

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

What about the poor women who are forced into this profession? I expect they are in desperate financial situations. It's exploitation and studies have shown that there are high levels of mental health issues having to do this type of work. Also prostitutes are often victims of child abuse and therefore see their bodies as a objects to be used and abused.

emily271 avatar
Em
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's exploitation, studies have shown that there are high levels of mental illness consequences for sex workers. Prostitutes are often victims of child abuse and therefore see their bodies as a objects to be used and abused.

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Rick
Community Member
3 years ago

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Does the government pay the “hookers” wages too, or are they just objects in this scheme?

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

Prostituition is not illegal in the Netherlands and prostitutes are (mostly) self-employed business owners. Handicapped people have/can apply for a gouvernemental budget from which they pay all the care they need. A visit from a legal sex worker is just one of the approved things they may spend it on.

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Rabite
Community Member
3 years ago

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Who cares about women anyways, amirite?

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Marilyn Holt
Community Member
3 years ago

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I don't understand this idea. Disabled people frequently marry and/or have partners of their own. Why would they need prostitutes?

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wyatt hollingsworth
Community Member
3 years ago

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Me and the boys on our way to netherland without seatbelts gettin a dui

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JESSE REED
Community Member
3 years ago

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I'm sure their wives don't appreciate that.

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

what wives? the point is, these people are dependents on the system and are not married. They either live with parents or in group homes. stop being so judgy and understand that not everyone and everything works the way YOU do

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CHRISTOPHER BRIDGER
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3 years ago

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if I was on my reddit account I would say that you can get them for free if you put them in your basement and tie them up.

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

Here's another fact. Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth were born in the same year.

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

Except 21 payouts and Non Disclosure agreements. No innocent person would pay out that many times

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

As an Italian (but this is my personal belief, everyone is entitled to it's own) this is exactly something Mafia would do. It's something I know occurs in Italy on a daily basis. You see a quite common modus operandi is mobster would do something nice for the community or for specific people, so that the community in the area feels dependable. One well known method of recruiting in the mafia is: you have a problem, we send to you someone you know (and you don't know he works for us). Maybe a friend of a friend. He'll fix your problem for you. After time is passed this person asks for a little innocent thing like let's say "I'm sick can you bring this box to this adress? I can't move". After that he asks for more pressuring you on the favor he did awhile back and tells you that box you delivered was full of drugs/handguns so you're an accomplice. And that's it you're in a system you can't escape without hurting family and friends.

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Mary Rose Kent
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I assume that this photo is all of the lazy culprits and, of course, the one who actually did the deed

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Note: this post originally had 122 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.

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