51 "Today I Learned" Posts From Reddit That Will Further Your Knowledge About The World

We are never too old to learn new things.

May

• Published in Interesting
• April 23, 2022

Humans are inherently curious. But unlike the rest of the creatures on earth, we seek to know the reason behind things.

We want the answer to the question, "Why?" According to Mario Livio, an astrophysicist, studies demonstrate that curiosity has a major genetic component.

In other words, some people are more curious than the rest the same way some people have a knack for music than others. Still, we are all curious.

Even if there is no clear advantage, we simply enjoy knowing the answers to questions. We waste time reading news or Wikipedia entries about people we'll never meet, learning topics we'll never apply in our life, and exploring places we'll never return to because of our insatiable curiosity.

The origins of our unusual interest can be traced back to a human feature known as neoteny. This word refers to the "retention of juvenile features" in evolutionary theory.

It means that we are more childlike as a species than other mammals. Neoteny is characterized by our insatiable curiosity and fun nature throughout our lives.

Today, we are going to satisfy your curiosity about the things here on our planet. We compiled 50 random facts shared by knowledge-thirsty folks over at the "Today I Learned" (TIL) subreddit.

1. How Fort Blunder got its name

TIL in 1818, the US began building a fort near the New York-Quebec border to defend against invasions from Canada. After two years of construction, they realized the fort was actually on the Canadian side. They abandoned it and named it Fort Blunder.

2. One of the rare times when tardiness became an advantage

TIL that in 1950 in Beatrice, NE, a church exploded five minutes after choir practice started. No one was hurt because every single member of the choir was late for completely separate reasons, so the church was empty.

3. That's scary.

TIL during a financial crisis in 1720, the British parliament debated a resolution for bankers to be sewn into sacks with snakes and dumped into the Thames river.

4. The reason why there were cats on ships in the old days

TIL Keeping cats on ships has been a long held seafaring tradition due to their efficiency as a form of pest control and the supposed luck they brought to vessels. It is thought that cats were spread around the world by groups such as the Ancient Egyptians, Vikings, and Age of Discovery explorers.

5. How cute!

TIL that Charles Darwin often gave his old papers to his children for them to doodle on. Thus, much of what survives of his original Origin of Species manuscript represents the best of his children's writing and drawings, rather than the best of his work.

6. This was already a huge bonus at the time

TIL in 1952, a bus driver (Albert Gunter) was driving over Tower Bridge, when to his surprise, the bridge started opening. The double - decker bus was at the edge of the south bascule when it started rising. He made a split decision and accelerated clearing the 6ft drop. Later receiving a £10 bonus.

7. Admirable dedication

TIL that Stan Lee had a younger brother, Larry, who co-created Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man. Larry Lieber is currently 90 years old and only retired from pencilling comics in 2018.

8. This guy would do anything to avoid flying.

TIL that (former) Dutch footballer Dennis Bergkamp is afraid of flying to the point that he would take car/ferry/train to away games, or not travel at all. His Aviophobia gave him the nickname of the "Non-Flying Dutchman".

9. People have the wrong priorities.

TIL in Egypt, around 17000 divorce cases in 2018 cited "Candy Crush" as the cause of divorce.

10. Thank goodness they had their homework with them.

TIL that two 16-year-olds got lost in the Canadian wilderness while snowboarding, but were able to stay warm by burning their homework. The two boys were rescued the following day and managed to avoid frostbite, sustaining only minor injuries.

11. Secret apartments in a library

TIL there are 13 remaining secret apartments on the top floors of New York City’s branch libraries.

12. We hope cheetahs won't have to go through this again.

TIL cheetahs were at one point so close to extinction, their genetic diversity has become too low for their immune system to recognize a "nonself". Skin grafts exchanged between unrelated cheetahs are accepted as if they were clones or identical twins.

13. Genius

TIL John von Neumann regularly recalled complete novels and pages of the phone directory. He could divide two 8-digit numbers in his head and converse in Ancient Greek at age 6, and was proficient in calculus at age 8. When he enrolled in university at 16, he had already written a research paper.

14. The most intelligent bird

TIL that the Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds, and one of the most intelligent of all non-human animals. The expansion of its nidopallium is approx. the same in its relative size as the brain of humans. It is the only bird known to pass the mirror test.

15. This is just heartbreaking.

TIL Aurora Rodríguez Carballeira wanted to have a perfect daughter. Her daughter Hildegart read at 2, spoke 4 languages at 8, joined law school at 13, becoming professor there at 18, writing on socialism and sexuality, writing to figures. On 1933 her mother shot her.

16. How bikes for women were designed

TIL that the "lower bar" on women's bikes is antiquated and was created to accommodate the heavy dresses women wore in the late 1800s.

17. Who in their right mind would do such a thing to a little girl?

TIL that a 4-year-old was arrested for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Little Dorothy Good spent 10 months chained in a prison cell after confessing to a local judge that she had a pet snake that could talk.

18. How pilots navigated inclement conditions

TIL In 1924, the federal government funded enormous concrete arrows to be built every 10 miles or so along established airmail routes to help the pilots trace their way across America in bad weather conditions and particularly at night, which was a more efficient time to fly.

19. An excellent strategy

TIL the hit version of “Tom’s Diner” was remixed by the group DNA and circulated to clubs without the permission of the artist Suzanne Vega or her label. When Vega heard the remix, she advised the label to buy it and officially release it rather than sue the group for copyright infringement.

20. War is terrible.

TIL, that Lieutenant Elmo Zumwalt III contracted cancer and died at 42, after getting exposed to Agent Orange while deployed in Vietnam. It was his father, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt who ordered the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

21. A noble act that ended the persecution

TIL that in the 4th century CE, Roman bishop Acacius of Amida sold the all church's treasures to free 7000 Persian prisoners captured by the Romans during war. The Persian emperor was so impressed by the act that he ordered an end to Christian persecution throughout his empire.

22. New Zealand's official languages

TIL English is not an official language of New Zealand despite it being spoken by 90% of the population. The two official languages are Te reo Māori and NZ sign language.

23. How Cancun was discovered

TIL Cancun was founded by the Mexican government using computer models to find a nice spot for tourists.

24. The cost of success

TIL F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen nearly bankrupted his Lotus team. They put a €50k bonus per point in his contract thinking they wouldn't score many, Kimi scored 390 in two years including 15 podiums and 2 race wins.

25. We all live on the thinnest layer of the Earth

TIL that the crust of the Earth is so thin, that it makes up 1% of the earth's volume that contains all known life in the universe and can be compared with a peel of an apple.

26. Even the Earth had its dullest moment

TIL of the "Boring Billion". From roughly 1.8 billion BC to 0.8 billion BC, relatively nothing happened on earth. There was tectonic stability, a static climate, and hardly any biological evolution. It has been termed "The Dullest Time in Earth's History"

27. The origin of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

TIL Philadelphia Cream Cheese was invented in New York and has never been made in Philadelphia. Its name was part of a clever marketing strategy, because at the time (1880s) Philadelphia was known for its high quality dairy.

28. A computer code that's still not obsolete

TIL the IRS still operates largely on mainframe computers running 60 year old code.

29. A piece of Sesame Street's history

TIL that Sesame Street was initially banned in several states, such as Mississippi, for casting black and hispanic actors.

30. How Scooby-Doo was made

TIL Scooby Doo was designed by Iwao Takamoto, who first learned illustration from fellow prisoners in the Manzanar concentration camp for Japanese-Americans.

31. The Octomom that caused a sensation in 2009

TIL of the Octomom case of 2009, where a single mom was implanted with 12 embryos and gave birth to 8 babies (octuplets). They are currently the longest surviving octuplets ever. Ultimately her fertility doctor had his license revoked.

32. Data reveals the basis of walking speed

TIL that there is a strong positive correlation between how fast someone walks and the population of the city that they're from. If a city is 10x larger than another, people will walk 24% faster on average.

33. Not all transplants extend people's lives

TIL that since 2004 at least 18 have people died from contracting rabies after receiving organs from infected donors. Transplanted organs are not typically screened for rabies virus, which can incubate for up to a year or more before symptoms manifest, after which time it is nearly 100% fatal.

34. Where the song Sixteen Tons was inspired from

TIL of 'Truck Wages' or 'Company Scrip, where an employer will pay employees in company minted money that is only redeemable in company owned stores. It is referenced in the sea shanty 'Wellerman' and the last company to get sued for using it was Walmart Mexico.

35. Gold wasn't the most expensive metal.

TIL that Aluminum was once more expensive than gold. It was a status symbol that emperor Napoleon III reserved a prized set of aluminum cutlery for special guests at banquets. Less favored guests used gold knives and forks.

36. The Principia almost didn't get published.

TIL that while impressed by his book "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", the UK's science academy couldn't publish Isaac Newton's book due to being nearly bankrupt from spending all of its money printing the "History of Fish". Thankfully, scientist Edmond Halley's funded the printing.

37. Look at all those achievements at a very young age!

IL of Audie Murphy, an American soldier from World War II that earned every military combat med offered by the U.S Army, including the Medal of Honor at age 19. He also won medals from France and Belgium.

38. There was a time when bread was a luxury.

TIL that in the years preceding the French Revolution, the price of bread went from costing about 50% of a laborer's daily wages to about 88% of their income.

39. Why NASA uses countdowns

TIL that NASA was inspired by Fritz Lang's film, 'Frau im Mond', to use a countdown for rocket launches. NASA used the countdown to not only help technicians synchronise, but also found that announcing the countdown would build suspense for those watching at home.

40. They took the bait.

TIL in 1993, college basketball coach Bob Knight invented a fictitious player named Ivan Renko to expose disreputable basketball recruiting experts. Sure enough, the "experts" began listing Renko as a prospect and some even claimed to have footage of the nonexistent player.

41. How to fight writer's block

TIL screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The Social Network) takes six to eight showers a day to get over writer’s block. If writing isn’t going well, he takes a shower, puts on different clothes, and tries again.

42. People used to be this inhumane

TIL in 1323, the Mexica, founders of the Aztec Empire, asked the King of Culhuacan for his daughter, to which the King of Culhuacan agreed. The Mexica then sacrificed her and flayed her skin, and invited the King of Culhuacan to a feast, during which a Mexica priest came out wearing her flayed skin.

43. In case you have a space mission, remember these numbers.

TIL In Space there's only 9 to 12 seconds to be conscious outside airlock and humans are totally rescuable for at least 30 seconds.

44. What this spy was willing to do to achieve his goals

TIL of Shi Pei Pu, a Chinese opera singer turned spy who obtained secrets from a French embassy worker for twenty years by masquerading as a woman. He even took a child and pretended it was theirs.

45. What a waste of kale.

TIL Before 2012, Pizza Hut was the largest purchaser of kale in the US, but they only used it as garnish for their salad bars.

46. Interesting yet disgusting. We hope no one lets a tapeworm live inside them for this long.

TIL that tapeworm can live inside humans for up to 30 years and grow to 80ft in size.

47. The ugly effects of war

TIL the most destructive single air attack in human history was the napalm bombing of Tokyo on the night of 10 March 1945 that killed around 100,000 civilians in about 3 hours.

48. They want to maintain the island's clean look.

TIL only white cars are allowed in Boracay island, Philippines. It is a municipal ordinance that was signed in 2001.

49. This is unfair!

TIL that a California court ruled that a man was not entitled to the $3 billion market value of his cells, which his doctor had secretly commercialized after removing his spleen.

50. A space in the theater dedicated to people with noisy kids.

TIL cry rooms were an amenity movie theaters had starting in the 1940s. These were small areas at the back of a theater where those with unruly kids could continue to watch the film. The presence of these rooms declined greatly by the 1970s due to the rise of multiplex theaters.

51. How nausea works in our bodies

TIL that the act of vomiting involves a complex series of chain-link reactions by your body that connect to a "vomit center" in the brain. The lower digestive system in cases of perceived poisoning shuts down and causes the stomach to convulse in order to bring everything back up the way it came in.

If you're hungry for more random facts, check out the "Today I Learned" subreddit.

As of writing, it has 27.4 million users who share and consume factual information. Submissions are heavily moderated to ensure that users will only read stuff that's true.

If you have time to spare, why not expand those memory banks and read some posts in the community. Share this post with your friends who love reading facts too!

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