Life’s a never-ending rollercoaster of education, fun facts, and interesting trivia. And the ride’s free if you’re willing to stay curious all your life. One of the best places to expand your mind on a daily basis is the ‘Today I Learned’ subreddit, boasting over 25.2 million members, over 12 years of service on Reddit, and a community that values curiosity and learning above all else.
We’ve collected some of the most interesting recent things that the TIL community shared for you to expand your minds with, dear Pandas, so go on and have a look below. And when you’re done and if you’re thirsting for more knowledge like a true Ravenclaw, you’ll find our earlier posts about the TIL subreddit right over here, and here, as well as here.
Separating fact from fiction, however, isn’t as easy as it might seem when scrolling through the TIL subreddit. Especially when different authority figures whom we trust say different things. I spoke about learning to separate the truth from falsehoods and how to diplomatically challenge people who might be wrong with Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement. Read on for her full and in-depth interview with Bored Panda.
#1
In World War 1, Nobel prize winning physicist Marie Curie developed mobile X-Ray stations to travel to the frontlines and assist army surgeons and preventing amputations when limbs were still intact. It’s estimated that over a million wounded soldiers were x-rayed with her units.
Image source: MrFlow
#2
Dave Thomas (the founder of Wendy’s) was a high-school dropout. He was afraid his success would convince teens to drop out of school, so at age 60, he went back and got his GED.
Image source: howmuchbanana
#3
Icelandic horses are not allowed to leave the country. If they do, they are banned from returning. This is because Iceland is an island so they have limited diseases, and this is another measure to prevent it.
Image source: a_homosexual_carrot
#4
Danny DeVito did the dub for his role as the titular character in The Lorax (2012) in Russian, German, Italian, Catalan, and Castilian Spanish, despite not speaking any of those languages
Image source: shoeswontwork
#5
Dogs and cats circle around before bedding down as a throwback to their wild ancestors. Their survival instincts provoked them to position themselves in the direction of the wind to pick up predator scents and choose the best angle for keeping an eye on the environment.
Image source: BrautanGud
#6
A Japanese ice cream company created a commercial to publicly apologize about needing to raise the price of their ice cream bars for the first time in 25 years from 60 yen to 70 yen.
Image source: drdisney
#7
Habsburg Emperor Joseph II tried to reform Austria into “ideal Enlightened state”. He abolished serfdom, removed restrictions against Jews, gave religious freedom to Protestants and Orthodox and tried to weaken power of Catholic church. But as soon he died all his reforms were abolished
Image source: KandiLili
#8
Walt Disney accidentally “kidnapped” Richard Nixon by dispatching his monorail train before the Secret Service could get on. The agents ran after the train and attempted to jump onboard but the doors had already closed. Monorail pilot Bob Gurr was terrified; Nixon got a kick out of it.
Image source: WouldbeWanderer
#9
Not all people have an internal monologue and people with them typically have stronger mental visuals to accompany their verbal thoughts.
Image source: hockeyh2opolo
#10
Bill Nye (of Science Guy fame) invented a hydraulic component used on the 747 airliners, and holds three patents for other inventions.
Image source: Popular-Swordfish559
#11
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and hundreds more, started smoking at the age of 9, changed his last name from Blank to Blanc, survived a car accident resulting in a two week coma, recorded The Flintstones in a full body cast, and died only a year after recording Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Image source: QuicklyThisWay
#12
There is a street that is split down the middle by the USA-Canadian border, aptly named Canusa street. People who live in houses on the south side of the street are in the USA, and the north side, in Canada. Crossing the street requires having to report to the border crossing office.
Image source: russianlexicon
#13
Elephants can hear through both their ears and feet. Through special fat pads called digital cushions, they can hear sounds other elephants vocalize below the range of human hearing from many miles away. This helps warn them of far off danger, incoming floods, and rival elephants.
Image source: Squaragus_Asparagus
#14
Hall of Fame pitcher Lee Smith didn’t play baseball until he was a junior in high school, only tried out to win a $10 bet, and only started pitching after his team’s star pitcher was killed in a hunting accident. His first start was a no hitter.
Image source: theslob
#15
Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, sold the series as a pure entertainment vehicle due to censorship he experienced with previous projects that would delve into controversial social/political issues. The Twilight Zone tackled the same issues but veiled in science fiction and fantasy
Image source: WigboldCrumb
#16
ADHD doesn’t always mean ‘short attention span’. ‘Hyperfocusing’ on a task for hours on end is also a known symptom of ADHD, where the inability to stop is considered to be the problem.
Image source: Alkyen
#17
Disney uses a paint colour called “GO AWAY GREEN” to camouflage and hide objects and doors in their theme parks.
Image source: KanataCitizen
#18
People keep finding meticulously crafted hollow dodecahedrons throughout Europe dating back to the Roman Empire but historians have no idea what they’re supposed to be used for as there’s no historical record of them anywhere. Theories range from dice to knitting.
Image source: GenocideSolution
#19
Every fall, Alaska’s Katmai National Park hosts “Fat Bear Week” and crowns the park’s fattest brown bear. The aim is to highlight the park and wildlife conservation.
Image source: redmambo_no6
#20
Neanderthals, which were traditionally thought of as extremely primitive humans, are now believed to have been extremely intelligent, even comparable to the intelligence of modern humans. They used tools, had social structures, thrived in hostile environments, and lived long lives.
Image source: IanMazgelis
#21
During solar eclipses, tree leaves act as pinhole cameras, resulting in trees casting crescent-shaped shadows on the ground. This effect puzzled Aristotle in the 4th Century BC.
Image source: granta50
#22
The plans for Winston Churchill’s state funeral had to be revised several times because Churchill outlived several intended pallbearers.
Image source: stupidusername69
#23
Teeth are only able to experience one sensation, that being pain. When you eat or drink something too hot or too cold, or a dentist operates on your teeth, you will only experience pain because that is the only thing the nerves around your teeth respond to.
Image source: Midnightghost_
#24
The parents of “Simpsons” creator, Matt Groenig, were named Homer & Marge. He also had sisters named Lisa, Maggie, & Patty.
Image source: Twoweekswithpay
#25
Serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for happiness, can be toxic. When injected into skin it causes extreme pain and is a main ingredient of wasp venom
Image source: Affectionate-Bus4935
#26
When your immune system fights an infection, it cranks up the mutation rate during antibody production by a factor of 1,000,000, and then has them compete with each other. This natural selection process creates highly specific antibodies for the virus.
Image source: wattnurt
#27
the Driftless Area is a rugged area of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and a minor part of Illinois that was completely missed by glaciers. It is roughly the size of West Virginia, and is home to huge bluffs, deep canyons, and rare species of plants found no where else.
Image source: joeph0to
#28
In the 1950’s the US airforce tried to design a cockpit to fit the average pilot’s body. After measuring 4000 pilots they discovered that none of them came close to having an average body. This lead to introduction of adjustable seats.
Image source: wearekindtosnails
#29
During WW2, Ernest Hemingway used his fishing boat named after his ex-wife (Pilar) to hunt German U-boats in the Caribbean armed only with Thomson machine guns and hand grenades. He was given unlimited gasoline by the US government.
Image source: Some_Chow
#30
That Japan burns a portion of its garbage and uses the resulting ash in land reclamation. As of 2012 Japan has created over 250 square kilometers (96 square miles) of new land using this method.
Image source: NeonChurch
#31
Grasshoppers are older than grass, having evolved roughly 250 million years ago
Image source: TheGoogolMoon
#32
Tchaikovsky hated to conduct by his own admission. He became obsessed with the fear that his head was going to fall off while he conducted. In 1868, when Tchaikovsky conducted his own Dances of the Hay Maidens, he held his head in place with his left hand while he conducted with his right.
Image source: CyberSibey
#33
The sauna is such a deeply igrained part of the Finnish culture, that finns will even build them in war. Custom dictates no titles or hierarchies are allowed in the sauna, including military ranks in saunas built and used by soldiers.
Image source: BandaidPuppet
#34
Saffron, the world’s costliest spice by weight, has been cultivated by humans for at least 3500 years and there are no known Saffron plants in the wild. Scientists still disagree about which part of the world the plant orginated. It takes 150,000 flowers to make 1 kg of Saffron spice.
Image source: dspiral
#35
There was an ape named Oliver who preferred walking upright. He was bald, freckled, showed sexual attraction towards humans and even liked to pour himself a cup of brandy every night while wearing a smoking jacket. Due to his human-like features and mannerisms he was once believed to be a “Humanzee”.
Image source: WhileFalseRepeat
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