As we move through life, we consistently gather new knowledge to grow and learn as human beings. Although there may be a few specific areas we aim to know very well, building a broader understanding of the world is just as important. It allows us to put forward exciting ideas, connect the dots, and see new patterns we would have missed otherwise. And it’s plenty of fun too!
Thankfully, with the digital world at our fingertips, exploring delicious and intriguing bits of information has never been easier. So it’s time for the newest batch of facts from the well-known corner on Reddit, the ‘Today I Learned’ online group. Time and again, curious 28 million members of this community exceed everyone’s expectations by passing along the cool trivia they recently found out themselves.
To celebrate infinite knowledge and the never-ending desire to learn something new, we’ve gathered some of the most captivating facts the group has shared on the page. Continue scrolling and upvote the ones you may not have known about! And if you’re in the mood to expand your mental horizons even further, check out Bored Panda’s previous pieces filled with TIL goodness here, here, and right here.
#1
TIL of Mary Anning, who discovered, with her brother, the first ichthyosaur fossil at age 12. She would go on to discover many more fossils and revolutionize the science of paleontology. However, due to being a woman in the early 1800s, she rarely received full credit for her discoveries
Image source: sexpressed, jacqline
#2
TIL fairy dust was not mentioned in the original version of Peter Pan, but the author added it as a neccessity to enable the children to fly because “so many children tried [to fly] from their beds and needed surgical attention.”
Image source: mike_pants, Lalelu2000
#3
TIL; In 1846, Joesph Leidy was the first person to solve a crime using a microscope. A famer claimed the blood on his clothes was chicken blood. Joseph Leidy showed that it was not chicken blood using a microscope
Image source: A_Bruised_Reed, Ed Uthman
#4
TIL that listening to your favorite music for just 15 minutes a day lowers stress levels, anxiety, sadness and a depressed mood
Image source: Ok_Ask_733000, visualbyfath
#5
TIL Wells Fargo was forced by the feds to rehire a whistleblower employee that reported fraud, and pay him $5.4 million in damages
Image source: filondo, Mike Mozart
#6
TIL in July of 2021 a British plane spotter noticed sparks coming off an F-15E Strike Eagle’s engine after it took off from RAF Lakenheath. He called the base’s switchboard to alert the base and the plane returned safely. The pilot publicly thanked him and gave him his insignia patch
Image source: Bigred2989-, Tomás Del Coro
#7
TIL the design of a skyscraper in London was melting cars and setting buildings on fire. It’s curvilinear shape was causing the problem: The south-facing exterior wall was covered in reflective glass, and because it’s concave, it focuses the sun’s rays onto a small area
Image source: rigorousthinker, apviktor
#8
TIL of Jacklyn H. Lucas. 3 years after joining the Marines at age 14, he snuck onto a ship bound for Iwo Jima, stormed the beach without a rifle and threw himself on top of 2 grenades to protect his team. He survived and earned the Medal of Honor at age 17
Image source: calvins48, VirtKitty
#9
TIL Robin Williams was offered, and accepted the role of The Joker in the 1989 film, “Batman.” Warner Brothers had only made the offer to bait their first choice, Jack Nicholson, into signing on, which he eventually did. Williams was furious, and demanded an apology from the film studio
Image source: szekeres81, Ryunosuke Kikuno
#10
TIL that an FBI informant secretly wore a wire to breakfast with a city official suspected of bribery, and met the suspect at the WTC Marriott. In the middle of getting a confession, the informant ends up making what is believed to be the only uninterrupted audio recording of the Sept. 11 attack
Image source: spiritelk25, m01229
#11
TIL the asteroid impact that caused the dinosaur extinction set 70% of the world’s forests on fire, caused tsunamis that rose to a height of 300ft (100m), and ejected 25 trillion metric tons of debris into the atmosphere that reduced sunlight by up to 90% for a decade
Image source: vienna95, Chris Henry
#12
TIL that the most requested funeral song in England is by Monty Python
Image source: Still-Finger1880, BBC
#13
TIL that the British had a POW camp called Trent park during WWII. They would take axis prisoners of war and let them live in luxury, while secretly bugging the house. The program gave the allies lots of intel, such as the location of a V2 rocket facility
Image source: YEETAWAYLOL, Leonard J Matthews
#14
TIL Darius McCollum, a New Yorker diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, has been arrested over 30 times for impersonating transit employees, stealing trains and buses, and driving their routes – complete with making safety announcements and passenger stops
Image source: Str33twise84, mitchazj
#15
TIL The “alarm chemical” released by bees to make the hive attack (Isopropyl Acetate) is the same favouring we use to make banana flavoured sweets, meaning bees can become hostile around those sweets
Image source: 1FlawedHumanBeing, biancablah
#16
TIL that Batman’s suit, arsenal of awesome gadgets, and secret identity were not created by Bob Kane. Gotham City was not even created by him. All these creations belong to Bill Finger, who died penniless while Kane did everything he could to suppress Finger’s involvement in creating the character
Image source: TheAnimatedBat, serge_k
#17
TIL: A bonsaï tree is not a species of tree. It’s just a regular tree. Bonsai is a method of growing trees which aims to create an image of a large mature tree but in miniature
Image source: Matelot_Pierrot, tegethoff
#18
TIL that Pythagoras of The Pythagoras Theorem was a cult leader who claimed he could speak with animals, time travel and had an extreme hatred for Fava Beans
Image source: chipsandsourcream1, Unknown author
#19
TIL Tiger beetles run so fast they temporarily blind themselves. When moving at up to 120 body lengths per second, their environment becomes a blur as their eyes can’t gather enough light to form an image
Image source: ergotpoisoning, erik_karits
#20
TIL that the disappearance of D. B. Cooper remains the only unsolved air piracy case in commerical aviation history
Image source: DarkPhoenix94, Leio McLaren
#21
TIL the iconic Australian hat is bent up on one side to allow the armed forces maneuver rifles on and off their shoulders without hitting the brim
Image source: jdoreh, Donald Giannatti
#22
TIL after basketball player Zion Williamson’s foot ripped through his Nike shoe during a game, causing him to slip and sprain his knee, Nike’s stock valuation dropped $1.1 Billion the next day
Image source: d1t0m6, Danilo Capece
#23
TIL Arthur Wharton, born Ghana, 1865, became the 100 yard world record holder for 30 years, the world’s first professional black soccer player, a cycling champion, a professional cricketer and then a professional rugby player. He died penniless in 1930 and was buried in an unmarked paupers grave
Image source: Single-Goose7015, Kobby Mendez
#24
TIL In 1948 Ford Motor Company was offered to take over Volkswagen for free. They turned down the offer. Volkswagen is now the second largest car manufacturer in the world
Image source: Jon_Huntsman, Mondo79
#25
TIL that Bermuda has no natural water source. Each house collects rainwater using white, stepped roofs
Image source: deliriz, lhooq38
#26
TIL Commercially produced Mayonnaise has a high enough acidity that bacteria growth associated with food-borne illnesses is slowed and the product doesn’t need to be refrigerated
Image source: LegalizeBonJovi, Sara Cervera
#27
TIL Disney World is legally allowed to build a nuclear plant in Florida under a 1960s law
Image source: filondo, Amy Humphries
#28
TIL people downloaded computer games over the radio in the 80s
Image source: Hamsternoir, Dave Weatherall
#29
TIL that Ford’s Theatre refuses to perform the play which Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was [taken away]
Image source: GreekKnight3, libraryofcongress
#30
TIL 1941 after a meteor shower two Canadian Inuit announced they were Jesus and God and convinced people to kill their sled dogs since people will soon be able to fly. 9 people ended up losing their lives as a result of the community spread insanity
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