35 Interesting Facts We Bet You Didn't Know
It is never too late to learn something new
The Internet has given us an incredible opportunity to have all this knowledge and information at our fingertips, but it has also created a significant problem. Because any information is easily and instantly available, we tend to take knowledge for granted.
Before the Internet, you would have to go through tons of books and encyclopedias to find the information you were looking for. It stimulated your neurons and helped you remember the information much longer. Now, we just scroll without really paying attention, and Google serves us the information without telling us how it obtained it.
When we don't see the connections between things and information, we won't remember them for long. We rarely learn anything new when we browse the Internet, and we frequently forget what we have already learned.
When was the last time you glanced through something helpful? Consider our dwindling attention spans that social media has slashed to the bone.
Well, there is a way to combat that. One of the best methods is to visit the online community "Today I Learned," which promotes curiosity by disseminating some of the most fascinating and little-known items, facts, and knowledge that we all value.
Pull your seat closer and indulge in this guilt-free trip because today is the day for the newest TIL batch.
1. Exorcism and Apollo 11
TIL the boy whose exorcism inspired The Exorcist grew up to be a NASA engineer. His work contributed to the Apollo mission in the '60s.
Adisaisa,NASA2. Starbucks gift cards
TIL consumers lose $3 billion a year in unspent gift cards, with Starbucks itself having $140 million in unused gift cards.
spankacrocodile,401(K) 20123. Exiled statue
Blackcrusader
4. Robot bowler
TIL professional bowler Chris Barnes once beat a robot optimized to throw strikes.
Hrtzy,Vinod Divakaran
5. Painful tests
TIL that surgeon August Bier tested a form of anesthesia on his own assistant, consisting of injecting cocaine directly into the spine. To check its effectiveness, he stuck a needle in his leg, hit him in the shins with a hammer, ripped off his pubic hair, and even squeezed his testicles.
ShabtaiBenOron,Nicola Perscheid
6. A suicide square in The Game of Life
radkoolaid
7. Ridiculing always ends badly
sir-fur
8. Brave woman...
TIL US President John Adams’ beloved daughter Nabby developed breast cancer and underwent a complete mastectomy without anesthesia while strapped to a chair.
howsadley,Mather Brown
9. Amazing connection
RingGiver
10. The Titanic Orphans
TIL the only children to survive the Titanic without a parent were two brothers aged 2 and 4. Their father kidnapped them from his ex-wife and boarded the ship under a fake name. The father didn’t survive, and for weeks, the boys were known as the Titanic Orphans until their mother was found.
triviafrenzy,poland posts english
11. Story Musgrave
analog_aesthetics
12. Sigmund Freud had an addiction
TIL that Sigmund Freud was a cocaine addict, and he personally prescribed it to his wife and friends.
benp242,Max Halberstadt
13. Joe Delaney - a true hero
TIL in 1983, NFL Chiefs running back Joe Delaney sacrificed his life in an attempt to save three children from drowning. His number is unofficially retired by the team, and a statue was erected in his hometown.
solojones1138,Conman33
14. Nero and his wives...
TIL when Emperor Nero got his mistress pregnant, he divorced and banished his wife Octavia. When this led to a public outcry, he instead had her executed.
HeStoleMyBalloons,historynotes
15. Hormel Foods has a hatemail file
TIL that Hormel Foods keeps a file of hate mail they've received from American soldiers who had to eat the notorious food product while at war overseas.
BrokenEye3,I am R.
16. A thousand-year-old sword on top of the mountain
TIL that when Yoshitaro Shibasaki and his team completed their 1907 ascent of Mount Tsurugi — thought to be the last unclimbed mountain remaining in the Japanese archipelago — they found an ancient sword at the summit that was later determined to have been left there more than 1,000 years earlier.
murdered-by-swords,唐山健志郎
17. A swimming champion with bad lungs
LesPolsfuss
18. Some people really want attention
TIL of Lauren Stratford (Wilson), who wrote a book claiming that she was in a Satanic cult in which she sacrificed her own child. After magazine reporters exposed her as never having had a child, she changed her name and claimed to be a Holocaust survivor, only to be exposed again by the same magazine.
ButtholeBanquets,bbcsimonwarr
19. Quentin Tarantino directed an episode of CSI
TIL Quentin Tarantino directed an episode of CSI in 2005 after word of him being a fan of the show reached the producers.
DjOverEZ
20. Blue hippos from Ancient Egypt
TIL that there are around 50-60 blue faience hippopotamus statuettes that survived from Ancient Egypt. Due to the danger hippos posed in the wild, they often snapped off the legs of hippopotamus statuettes before placing them in tombs, so the hippos wouldn’t be able to eat the soul of the deceased.
AndiamoAllie,The Metropolitan Museum of Art
21. Greenpeace ship bombing
TIL French secret service agents bombed the Greenpeace ship "Rainbow Warrior" in order to stop Greenpeace from disrupting underwater nuclear testing in 1985.
treebob07,greenpeace
22. The Hebrew Hammer
ChronosBlitz
23. Tasty dandelions
TIL that dandelions are edible, highly nutritious, and can be eaten raw.
Madarathequincy,health.clevelandclinic
24. Victoria Woodhull was the first woman nominated for US presidential election. This was in 1872
TIL: As far back as 1872, despite practically no women being allowed to vote, Victoria Woodhull of the Equal Rights Party became the first woman nominated for a US presidential election. Frederick Douglass, a Black abolitionist, was even chosen as her running mate.
That_Charming_Otter,Mathew Brady
25. Primrose plants and bees
TIL that a 2019 study showed that evening primrose plants can "hear" the sound of a buzzing bee nearby and produce sweeter nectar in response.
godsenfrik,pxhere
26. Rage against the X Factor
TIL in 2009, British people rebelled against the ongoing trend of X Factor victors winning Christmas number one by purchasing copies of Rage Against the Machine.
Eireconnection,Mary Hutchison
27. So, that's how it all started...
TIL that during World War II, the United States published a spy manual urging middle managers in enemy territory to sabotage their employers by bringing up irrelevant issues, promoting bad workers, haggling over petty details, and holding unnecessary meetings.
PikesPique,Joe Loong
28. Go, Spaceballs!
TIL George Lucas not only gave his blessing to make Spaceballs, but he also handed the movie over to his effects company, Industrial Light and Magic, to provide the space effects and postproduction.
Bl4ckb100d,mgm
29. Doctor Who missing episodes...
TIL episodes five and ten of the 1960s story The Daleks' Master Plan were long considered missing until they were found in the basement of a Mormon church in Wandsworth. Nobody has discovered how they got there.
MellotronSymphony,burrunjor
30. "Do Drugs" pencils
TIL a company in the '90s made pencils with the anti-drug slogan "Too Cool to Do Drugs" but had to recall them because, when sharpened, they read "Do Drugs."
duralyon
31. 15 is enough
TIL, despite its vastness, it only takes 39-40 digits of pi to calculate the size of the observable universe to an accuracy of 1 hydrogen atom. Because of this, NASA uses only 15 digits of pi in even their highest accuracy calculations.
zyonker,dano272
32. The Glue
TIL that SNL called Phil Hartman "The Glue" because his professionalism and comedy skills held together so many sketches.
JeremyZenith,Paul Hartmann
33. Grass lawns were a way for people to say they are rich
TIL traditional grass lawns originated as a status symbol for the wealthy. Neatly cut lawns used solely for aesthetics became a status symbol as they demonstrated that the owner could afford to maintain grass that didn’t serve the purpose of food production.
vinsclortho,planetnatura
34. Corn sweat
TIL about corn sweat, where corn plants release water into the air. One acre of corn can release 3,000-4,000 gallons of water per day and can raise the humidity level by up to 10%.
ClassyBroadMSP,Felix
35. Interesting statue
TIL of the Fontana delle Tette in Treviso, Northern Italy, a 16th-century topless statue of a woman sprinkling water from each nipple. During celebrations, it spouts red and white wine, free to drink.
kinbeat,Didier Descouens
It is a big and interesting world out there, and it would be a shame to know only what social media and influencers are serving us. There are so many interesting stories waiting to be discovered and told.
And there is a benefit—besides expanding your knowledge, you are also putting your brain to work. Sounds good.
