Learning doesn’t end at school and continues throughout life. It’s a fact. Although there may not be formal assignments or exams, there are always opportunities to explore and experience new things. Especially with the emergence of AI, we can find the information we need in just a few seconds, making learning incredibly easy. And to make it even more accessible, there’s a subreddit group called “Today I learned” that welcomes all kinds of interesting facts that you may not necessarily need, but they’re definitely worth knowing.
We’ve collected some of the most gripping facts for you to enjoy and perhaps show off in one of those “intellectually intriguing” moments when you’re casually sipping coffee with friends, unleashing your inner trivia virtuoso. Continue scrolling and upvote your favorite ones!
#1
TIL a family in Georgia claimed to have passed down a song in an unknown language from the time of their enslavement; scientists identified the song as a genuine West African funeral song in the Mende language that had survived multiple transmissions from mother to daughter over multiple centuries
Image source: admiralturtleship
#2
TIL in 2018, a middle school in Dallas organized an event called “Breakfast with Dads,” but saw that not all of the students have fathers or father figures to attend the event with. So, they put up a post on Facebook seeking around 50 volunteers. On the day of the event, 600 men showed up to help.
Image source: Business_Reporter420
#3
TIL About Diana Budisavljević, the female Schindler, who undertook one of the greatest humanitarian acts in WWII, by saving over 7,700 children from concentration camps in the area of what is today’s Croatia
Image source: MiauMiauMoon
#4
TIL that Carlo Urbani, an Italian Microbiologist, was the first to identify SARS-COV-1 in Vietnam and report it to the WHO as a dangerous new pathogen. Urbani himself died of SARS himself shortly after, having triggered a rapid response to a potential pandemic, and saving many lives.
Image source: CrimsonStorm
#5
TIL that Sweden has a nationwide network of “Fritidsbanken,” basically lending libraries of donated, used recreation equipment. Want to try a new sport, but not sure you’ll like it? Borrow the equipment for free for up to two weeks.
Image source: charolastra_charolo
#6
TIL of the Jim twins, separated at birth and reunited at 39: both had married and divorced someone named Linda, were currently married to a Betty, had sons named James Allan, had dogs named Toy, drove the same car, had jobs in security, and regularly vacationed at the same beach in Florida
Image source: imaginexus
#7
TIL in 1959, John Howard Griffin passed himself as a Black man and travelled around the Deep South to witness segregation and Jim Crow, afterward writing about his experience in “Black Like Me”
Image source: Johannes_P
#8
TIL of cascatelli, a new pasta shape invented in 2021 by podcaster Dan Pashman for maximum “sauceability”, “forkability” and “toothsinkability”
Image source: Specialist_Check
#9
TIL Scott Joplin, the groundbreaking “King of Ragtime”, died penniless of syphilitic dementia in 1917 in a sanitarium at just 48 and was buried in an unmarked grave, largely forgotten until a revival of interest in ragtime in the 70s led to him winning a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.
Image source: Skeleton_Pilots
#10
TIL a Chinese teenager defaced a stone sculpture in ancient Egyptian Luxor Temple with graffiti. An embarrassed Chinese traveller photographed it and shared on Weibo. It took just a day before outraged netizens tracked the teenager down in his hometown forcing his parents to apologize for him.
Image source: gullydon
#11
TIL that Euskara, also known as the Basque language, is one of the oldest languages spoken on Earth and has no proven connection to any other known language.
Image source: Nedostup
#12
TIL that at the company Hormel Foods, which makes canned SPAM, employees are supposed to refer to spam emails as unwanted emails.
Image source: RedZoneSunday
#13
TIL A Dominican man survived nearly a month at sea with nothing but ketchup and seasonings.
Image source: Algrinder
#14
TIL Stanford engineers made a folding origami microscope that costs less than $1 to make. 50,000 microscopes were shipped to 130 countries in 2014 to see what people will do with it
Image source: einstein_bern
#15
TIL humans can learn to observe their surroundings with echolocation. By snapping or clicking the tongue, humans can bounce sound waves off of nearby objects. The resulting echo reveals the approximate size and distance of the obstacle. Anyone with normal hearing can learn this skill.
Image source: whiskeyontherox
#16
TIL that the world’s largest Lego Titanic replica was built over an eleven month period by a ten-year-old autistic boy from Iceland.
Image source: Sebastianlim
#17
TIL that Tina Turner had her US citizenship relinquished back in 2013 and lived in Switzerland for almost 30 years until her death.
Image source: EzekielTraore
#18
TIL that the number of priests has been down 60% in the last 50 years leaving 3500 churches without one
Image source: 6millionwaystolive
#19
TIL that the acronym “R.I.P.” has been engraved on tombstones since at least the fifth century. “Rest in Peace” is the English translation of a Latin phrase with the same acronym.
Image source: UralIveGotTonight
#20
TIL that Humans actually have stripes in their skin that can only be seen under UV light. They are called Blaschko’s lines after the Dermatologist who discovered them.
Image source: Humpers92
#21
TIL That Pliny the Younger, although primarily known as an author and lawyer in ancient Rome, is perhaps best known for two letters he wrote which intricately detailed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii both of which he witnessed.
Image source: GentPc
#22
TIL that from 2009 to 2019, out of 212 cruise ship overboard incidents only 48 people were rescued.
Image source: xool420
#23
TIL that in 1986, Motörhead broke records by hitting 130 decibels in concert. The music was so loud that it damaged the ceiling of Cleveland’s Variety Theater.
Image source: UralIveGotTonight
#24
TIL that the US military’s use of Native Americans as “code talkers” began during World War I, used more than the Navajo language, and wasn’t declassified until 1968 because their codes had remained unbroken.
Image source: Scruffy_Nerf_Hoarder
#25
TIL that transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (also known as prion diseases) have the highest mortality rate of any disease that is not inherited: 100%
Image source: Neil_2022
#26
TIL Monty Python reunion shows typically included an urn said to contain the ashes of Graham Chapman. During one such show in 1998, the urn was “accidentally” knocked over by Terry Gilliam, spilling the ashes on stage, which were then vacuumed up with a DustBuster.
Image source: evilclownattack
#27
TIL that Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind had a different English dub back in the 80s called “Warriors of the Wind” and it was incredibly shortened. It was apparently so bad that Hayao Miyazaki adopted a “no cuts” clause for future English releases of Studio Ghibli films.
Image source: SharkiBee
#28
TIL that despite being organisms with highly intricate nervous systems and an impressive level of intelligence, many octopus species only live for roughly 1-5 years.
Image source: JurassicPark9265
#29
TIL that the early 2000s Nickelodeon children’s show, “LazyTown”, was not only filmed in Iceland but also one of the most expensive children’s show ever made (each episode cost nearly $1 million to make)
Image source: hstarwood
#30
TIL: In China for about three years around 1900, a secret martial arts training club tried to overthrow the Chinese government & force out foreigners. Known to the West as “The Boxer Rebellion,” the name literally comes from the fact that members fought unarmed using Chinese forms of unarmed combat.
Image source: sed_non_extra
#31
TIL that Switzerland is so far the only country in the world that recognizes the dignity of plants in its constitution.
Image source: pnutlove
#32
TIL that on the 13th of September, 1985, Major Doug Pearson became the only pilot to destroy a satellite with a missile, launched from his F-15.
Image source: CYBORG303
#33
TIL a kidnapping victim was jailed after he tried to extort his kidnappers. He told them “call me if you want to finesse trial… either you cough up sum bread or sit in the feds for 20 years”
Image source: brilliant22
#34
TIL that Shakespeare’s last residence in Stratford-upon-Avon was demolished in 1759 by its owner, Francis Gastrell, because he was tired of tourists.
Image source: Matuko
#35
TIL that it was calculated that it would have taken the concrete for the Hoover Dam 125 years to cool if it was poured as one continuous pour. Instead giant concrete blocks in columns were poured and then cooled by a series of internally contained pipes of cold water, greatly reducing cooling time.
Image source: Kyleforshort
#36
TIL Margaret Theresa of Spain, the main subject of Velasquez’s famous “Las Meninas” painting died at the age of 21. She went through 6 pregnancies in 6 years, including 2 stillbirths and at the time of her death, she was 4 months into her 7th
Image source: Ainsley-Sorsby
#37
TIL that Bolaji Badejo, a 6 foot 10 Nigerian visual artist, played the original Alien (1979)’s xenomorph. His height and slender body convinced Ridley Scott that he was a perfect choice for the villain. He also died from sickle cell disease at age 39.
Image source: JurassicPark9265
#38
TIL about anterograde amnesia. People with this condition completely forget very recent events, yet most of them can learn and retain new skills – even though they forget every day that they had learned those skills yesterday.
Image source: JOWWLLL
#39
TIL that in 1950’s and 60’s the Canadian government, military and the RCMP used a device called “the fruit machine” to attempt to identify homosexual men in the public service. Subjects were made to view pornography while measurements were taken of pupil diameter, perspiration and pulse.
Image source: Ryangel0
#40
TIL of United Passions (2015), a movie financed by FIFA for $29 million as a fluff piece to make themselves look good. But due to being released right around the time of the FIFA Corruption Scandal, the movie only earned $918 at the opening weekend.
Image source: res30stupid
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