Ever had that feeling of being overwhelmed by the very digital world we currently live in? Information zooming past you faster than a supersonic jet, gadgets updating quicker than you can say “iPhone 23,” and jobs transforming like a chameleon on a rainbow? Well, you’re not alone. A lot of this stuff can escalate to overwhelming levels, especially when you’re using technology to unearth interesting or, more specifically, educational information. I mean, come on, you open Google and the amount of data on just one topic can quickly snowball into a digital avalanche just by skimming through the first page (we don’t talk about page 2 of Google, that’s another topic entirely).
So, what if you want to learn something new? You know, bite-sized chunks of intriguing info, tidbits of knowledge to store in your brain and impress your friends during a sleepover when the topic of discussion becomes something random. Well, look no further than the Today I Learned forum on Reddit as it collects all of that into one large space. And today we are here to share with you, Pandas, some of the most interesting and recent facts that have emerged from there.
#1
TIL there was a briefly popular social movement in the early 1930s called the “Technocracy Movement.” Technocrats proposed replacing politicians and businessmen with scientists and engineers who had the expertise to manage the economy.
Image source: ZenithTSF, Social Security Administration
#2
TIL that In 2018, A hacker broke into people’s routers (100,000 of them) and patched their vulnerabilities up so that they couldn’t be abused by other hackers.
Image source: smoke-season, facts
#3
TIL that Walmart tried and failed to establish itself in Germany in the early 2000s. One of the speculated reasons for its failure is that Germans found certain team-building activities and the forced greeting and smiling at customers unnerving.
Image source: ylenias, TaurusEmerald
#4
TIL the earliest known name for a pet was Nedjem, a cat owned by Puimre high priest of Amun in the 15th Century BC. Nedjem translates to ‘the sweet one’, meaning the very first named pet was a Sweetie.
Image source: ZizZizZiz, 2nd Chance for Strays
#5
TIL that STAR WARS released a Christmas music album in 1980 and the producers wanted a better lead singer for the track “R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas” so they asked the 17 year old kid who was sweeping floors at the studio, and he nailed it. His name was Jon Bon Jovi.
Image source: Anadyne, 949whom
#6
TIL of Ida & Isidor Straus, a couple aboard the Titanic the night it sank. Isidor had a chance to join his wife on a life boat, but stayed behind to give his place away to a child. Ida, refusing to leave her husband behind, too left the life boat. They died together arm in arm when the ship sank.
Image source: Unfair_Programmer_42, wikimedia
#7
TIL That Historians Believe Cats Domesticated Themselves
Image source: PlopCopTopPopMopStop, kieutruongphoto
#8
TIL orcas cultural fads. In the 1980s one such fad was wearing dead salmon as hats. It spread to three separate Pacific pods before suddenly going out of style.
Image source: Milt_Torfelson, thestranger
#9
TIL that while filming The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger went into a LA restaurant in battle-damaged Terminator makeup. He asked for a table in character and since no one knew who the Terminator was yet, the host and everyone in the restaurant started freaking out, screaming, and quickly left
Image source: SappyGilmore, elperiodico
#10
TIL octopus have nine brains – one mini-brain in each arm and another in the center of their bodies. Each arm can independently taste, touch and perform basic movements, but all arms can work together when prompted by the central brain.
Image source: fiureddit, Ashley Christiano
#11
TIL that in 2002, Chumbawamba accepted $100k from General Motors for the rights to use one of their songs in a Pontiac commercial. The band then donated it to a corporate watchdog group that used the money to launch an information campaign against GM.
Image source: archarbor, telegraph
#12
TIL about John Smeaton, a former baggage handler at Glasgow Airport. He helped thwart the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack by kicking one of the attackers in the groin. He was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his actions.
Image source: WouldbeWanderer, thescottishsun
#13
TIL that playing Tetris after a traumatic event can help prevent post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Image source: Blade_982, Brandenads
#14
TIL In 2013 a couple walking their dog in California found 8 coffee cans containing over 1,427 gold coins worth over $10 million. The original source of the hoard is still unknown.
Image source: Jd20001, Kagin’s Inc
#15
TIL of the 1850 shipwreck of the Jenny Lind on a South Pacific coral reef. 28 people survived for 37 days on a tiny patch of sand because a passenger created a water distillation system from salvaged cookware capable of making 25 gallons a day of freshwater.
Image source: triviafrenzy, LittleT889
#16
TIL that the choir in the title sequence of Mr Bean is singing ‘Ecce homo qui est faba’, which translates to ‘Behold the man who is a bean.’ in Latin.
Image source: W1ngedSentinel, classicfm
#17
TIL In Scotland, two students went to an art exhibition and left a pineapple on a table to see if it would become art. When they returned four days later, the pineapple was still there and had been covered with a glass display case
Image source: nerdy_subha, LloydJack16
#18
TIL that ‘Nothing’ was a Shakespearean nickname for the Vulva… ‘Much ado about Nothing’ could just as easily have been called ‘A lot of fuss about Fannies’
Image source: ArcTan_Pete, Shakespeare Memes
#19
TIL in the original German ending of the fairy tale Snow White, the evil queen is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes and dance until she drops dead.
Image source: Skeleton_Pilots, Landsbókasafn Íslands
#20
TIL that Austrian actress Eva von Berne was presumed to be dead for 70+ years because a PR consultant at MGM accidentally reported her death in 1930. 96-year-old von Berne said in 2006: “It was fortunate that the world thought that I died. So I did not have to deal with autograph hunters.”
#21
TIL of Chaser, a border collie whose tested memory was the highest of any non-human animal. She could identify and retrieve 1022 different toys based on name and category.
Image source: dragonoid296
#22
TIL that International Shooting Union barred women from shooting with men in 1993, after Zhang Shan won the gold medal in Skeet Shooting in 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Image source: Fan387, Tasnim News Agency
#23
TIL after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS West Virginia battleship was salvaged six months later. During the salvage operation, a calendar was discovered in an airtight room indicating three sailors survived for another 16 days after the event.
Image source: customlord, U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships
#24
TIL about Empires of the Deep, an $130 million mermaid movie from 2011 that’s never been released
#25
TIL that in the 17th century, when coffee had made its way to Europe, some people reacted to it with suspicion or fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.” In 1615, the clergy in Venice asked Pope Clement VIII to intervene. He found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.
Image source: LadyWarrior73, chinoproduct
#26
TIL that all clownfish are born as males. One female lives with a group of males but only mates with one of them. When she dies her mate will become female. This change is irreversible.
Image source: Tall_Cow2299, Nick Hobgood
#27
TIL that every employee at the Hanford Engineer Works in Richland, WA donated one day’s worth of their pay to purchase a B-17 bomber, as their contribution to the WW2 effort. The plane was christened ‘Day’s Pay’ and flew over 60 missions in Germany
Image source: Geeledouche52
#28
TIL that a set of triplets found each other coincidentally after being separated at adoption for a pyschological experiment, when a college student mistook one of the triplets for his unknown brother. Once the two reunited, the unusual story made the paper catching the attention of the third brother
Image source: KiNikki7
#29
TIL that there is a German man named Marc Wubbenhorst who must drink 20 liters of water every day in order to not die from dehydration. He suffers an extreme case of diabetes insipidus.
Image source: JurassicPark9265, tlc uk
#30
TIL the world’s oldest terrarium / sealed bottle ecosystem has been thriving since 1960. The 10-gallon bottle is like a mini Earth. It has only been opened once in 53 years to add a bit more water (in 1972). Otherwise it has been sealed without fresh water or air.
Image source: logicalconflict
#31
TIL in 2013, Italian surgeons split new residents into two laparoscopic surgery training groups. They found that the group that was ordered to play the Nintendo Wii for 1 hour a day/5days a week performed better on test surgeries than their non-gaming counterparts.
Image source: Radient-Rabbit, Greyson Orlando
#32
TIL of socialite Ida Wood: in 1907 she emptied her 1 million dollar bank account(21 million in today’s money), declared she was “tired of everything” and shut herself in a hotel room along with her sisters. She stepped out of the room for the first time 24 years later
Image source: Ainsley-Sorsby, biblio
#33
TIL about Grizzly 399. A female bear from the Grand Tetons that bucks the trend of living into her old age and giving birth to triplets instead of twins. She chooses to live in close proximity to humans for their protection and has become a social media celebrity and tourist attraction.
Image source: shaka_sulu
#34
TIL that there’s a species of wasp called the horse guard wasp. It is found in the eastern US and acts as a natural biological control by hanging around horses and killing horse flies. Despite their loud buzzing noises, horses are not disturbed by them.
Image source: ReturntoPleistocene
#35
TIL The Ninja Turtles are a parody of Daredevil (Marvel). Daredevil and the turtles were both created in the same radioactive material accident, and Daredevil fights ‘The Hand’ while the turtles fight ‘The Foot’, and Daredevil’s sensei is called ‘Stick’, while the turtles’ is called ‘Splinter’
#36
TIL that when the submarine ARA San Juan disappeared in 2017, initial search crews picked up a banging noise at the search site, like tools hitting metal. After analyzing the audio, it was determined the sound was not from the submarine and was probably from a biological source.
Image source: PabloTheUnicorn, Martin Otero
#37
TIL that orcas have a culture that they pass down to their offspring and they also have variations in vocalizations similar to languages and dialects in humans
Image source: MudakMudakov
#38
TIL that the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City is so long with such tall towers that the top of the towers are 1 5/8 inches farther apart at their tops than at their bases. This is because the distance between the towers made it necessary to compensate for the earth’s curvature.
Image source: Selimsnek
#39
TIL that they stopped putting missing children on milk cartons because the threat was largely overblown, was mostly ineffective, had no requirements for what missing meant, was emotionally disturbing to families, and was done mostly for the tax credits.
Image source: ProbablyABore, desmoinesregister
#40
TIL Peppers evolved to prefer birds spread their seeds. Capsaicin and pepper colors attract birds. Seeds that pass through the digestive system of a bird germinate at a rate of 370% higher than seeds that pass through mammals who are normally repelled by Capsaicin.
Image source: pdentropy
#41
TIL: Antilia is one of the most expensive private residences in the world, costing over $1 billion. The billionaire had his entire family live in the 27 story home which requires 600 servants and has 168 car garage, 9 elevators, a theatre, pool, ballroom, and snow room. It was built on an orphanage.
Image source: Flares117, https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/antilia-b%C3%A2timent-mumbai-inde-4878391/
#42
In 2001, a New York couple got married on the deck of the Titanic, in a submarine. They faced criticism that their stunt was in “bad taste.”
Image source: GarysCrispLettuce, hindustantimes
#43
TIL that Sigourney Weaver only earned $35,000 for Alien (1979) but got $1,000,000 and a share of the profits for Aliens (1986)
Image source: Make_the_music_stop
#44
TIL that Rüppell’s griffon vulture has the highest documented altitude of any bird at 36k feet. Unfortunately this information was discovered after a Boeing 747 took the bird into the engine over western Africa.
Image source: TrackerDyl
#45
TIL – The Onion submitted a 23-page Amicus Curiae brief to the US Supreme Court in 2022 for the case Novak v. City of Parma, Ohio, in support of the protection of parody as free-speech. In the text, The Onion openly parodies the Court and says it is “staffed entirely by total Latin dorks”.
Image source: stdubbs
#46
TIL game designer Will Wright (creator of The Sims) held the record for the illegal ‘Cannonball Run’ race to drive across the US in 1980, driving from New York to California in 33 hours 9 minutes
Image source: LotusCobra, nbc
#47
TIL Paris has more than 44000 restaurants, with an approximate population of 2.14 million residents, that’s 48 people for every restaurant.
Image source: Moto_Rouge, Pierre Blaché
#48
TIL that only $2 was budgeted toward safety training for the crew of MV Sewol, the South Korean passenger ferry which sank in 2014 killing 306 people. This was used to pay for a paper certificate.
Image source: rugrats1989, gcaptain
#49
TIL there are 20 mountains over 23,000 ft in the world that have never been climbed.
Image source: Babatikidido1212, Sultanalipassu
#50
TIL 200,000 to 600,000 pets were estimated to have been left behind in the evacuations from hurricane Katrina, as people were not allowed to take pets with them and pets were not allowed in sheltering places.
Image source: Moodfoo, buzzfeednews
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