20 New Facts By “Today I Learned” Online Group

I think we all agree that learning is a lifelong process. A Reddit community called ‘Today I Learned’ constantly reminds us that there is so much information on this planet that we can learn something new every single day. The vast world of knowledge may be endless, but learning one thing every day can be beneficial as well as fun.

More info: Reddit

#1

“TIL in 1908, the NYT reported a story on a dog that would push kids into the Seine in order to earn beefsteak treats for “rescuing” them.”

#2

“TIL There’s 3,200-Year-Old Egyptian Tablet Records Excuses for Why People Missed Work.”

#3

“TIL in 2011, a 29-year-old Australian bartender found an ATM glitch that allowed him to withdraw way beyond his balance. In a bender that lasted four-and-half months, he managed to spend around $1.6 million of the bank’s money.”

#4

“TIL about Jean Boulet who in 1972 set the world record for the highest altitude reached in a helicopter, 40,280ft. During descent his engines failed, and he landed the helicopter without power, setting another record in the process for the highest unpowered helicopter landing.”

#5

“TIL A turkish mother that read lecture notes for four years to her blind daughter in law school, has been awarded an honorary degree with the daughter.”

#6

“TIL about the Horse, Sergeant Reckless. A Horse who served with the marines in Korea. She was able to haul ammunition by herself without a handler, would seek a bunker or lay down when under fire and received two purple hearts as well as other medals for her service in the Korean war.”

#7

“TIL that by letting a wolf population recover, traffic collisions caused by deer are reduced by nearly 25%; the reduction is not based as much on the decimation of the deer population but on the “landscape of fear” created by the wolves.”

#8

“TIL That the hair style Princess Leia wears in Star Wars, was inspired by women of the Mexican Revolution, most notably, guerrilla fighter Clara de la Rocha.”

#9

“TIL in 2013, JCPenney sold a stainless steel tea kettle that attracted controversy due to its perceived resemblance to Adolf Hitler.”

#10

“TIL The Wright Brothers only flew together on the same flight one time, a six-minute flight on May 25th, 1910. They promised their father, Milton, they would never fly together to avoid the chance of a double tragedy and to ensure one brother would remain to continue their flight experiments.”

#11

“TIL that “Old Book Smell” is caused by lignin — a compound in wood-based paper — when it breaks down over time, it emits a faint vanilla scent.”

#12

“TIL that 1996’s movie “Twister” was rated PG-13 for “intense depiction of very bad weather””

#13

“TIL Captain Robert Campbell whilst a prisoner of the Germans in WW1 asked the Kaiser to visit his dying mother in England. Surprisingly he was given permission, provided he returned to prison afterwards. He did.”

#14

“TIL that Alice Munro, co-founder of a bookstore with her then-husband Jim, started writing after reading some of the store’s stock and thinking “I can write better books than this.” In 2013, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature.”

#15

“TIL when you see actors smoking cigarettes in movies, they’re often smoking “Herbal Cigarettes” which contain other plants like lettuce or tea leaves instead of tobacco.”

#16

“TIL it took an Iowa man named Otto Frederick Rohwedder some 16 years to perfect and sell the first bread-slicing machine. A prototype made in 1912 was destroyed in a fire, and he didn’t sell his first slicing machine until 1928. Within 5 years, 80% of bread sold in the U.S. was pre-sliced.”

#17

“TIL that when his film Uncut Gems began to receive critical acclaim, Adam Sandler threatened the world with making “the worst movie ever” if he did not receive a nomination for Best Actor at the Oscars. He was not nominated.”

#18

“TIL that one of the earliest recorded variations of classic dad phrase “Women: can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em” is found in a speech from 102 B.C. by Roman Censor Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, in a speech that would be repeated by Caesar Augustus nearly a century later.”

#19

“TIL that the new Rolls-Royce Ghost soundproofing was so overengineered that occupants in the car found the near-total silence disorienting, and some felt sick. Acoustic engineers had to go back and work on “harmonizing” various sounds in the car to add a continuous soft whisper.”

#20

“TIL every year at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the 1958 special ‘Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas’ is screened on Sweden’s main channel. Swedes are so compelled by the cartoon that last year during the program, cell data usage fell 28% and calls to emergency services dropped 16%.”

Saumya Ratan

Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.