35 "Today I Learned" Facts To Keep Your Brain Curious (New Posts)

3,200-year-old tablet shows that ancient Egyptians took attendance at work and recorded absences. One type of reason cited for missing work was "wife or daughter bleeding" referring to menstruation because men were needed at home during this time to help with the housework.

In World War I, a homing pigeon named Cher Ami was shot by the Germans, but managed to keep flying and carry the message of help. Thanks to this, 194 American soldiers were saved.

Jumbo the elephant was not named such because of his size. Instead, Jumbo the word, meaning exceptionally large, was only introduced into the english language because of Jumbo the elephant. He was so big and so well known that his name became synonymous with size.

“I Have a Dream” speech was a last-minute decision. Dr. King planned to give an entirely different speech, until a legendary gospel singer behind the podium yelled, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!”

Since the year 2000, 5 new elements have been added to the periodic table. The 7th row of the periodic table is finally filled.

In Japan there is a group of prominent female housewife stock traders known as Mrs. Watanabe who are so proficient at what they do that many traders look to them for reference on which stocks are doing well.

During the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty that founded NATO, the Portuguese delegate gave a speech in English with such a heavy accent that the translator just repeated it without the accent and nobody realised.

The Bajau, a group of people in South East Asia who evolved to have spleens 50 percent larger than normal. This allows them to spend eight hours a day underwater, catching octopus by hand.

Tim Curry was one of the top choices to play the Joker in the 1989 “Batman” film, but the role went to Jack Nicholson instead. Curry later voiced the Joker in the 1992 animated series, but was quickly replaced by Mark Hamill as his voice was deemed “too scary”.

30 scientists and staff of the Pavlovsk Experimental Station starved to death guarding the institute's edible seeds and plants during the siege of Leningrad.

Danny DeVito's short stature is the result of Multiple Epiphyseal Dysplasia (Fairbank's disease), a rare genetic disorder that affects bone growth. He met Rhea Perlman when she went to see a friend in the play The Shrinking Bride, which featured DeVito, and they moved in together 2 weeks later.

The writer of 'Crime and Punishment', Dostoevsky, was sentenced to death by firing squad for political reasons. Moments before he was to be shot, a cart delivered a letter from the Tsar commuting the sentence to four years of exile in Siberia.

The oldest known writing in the world, Sumerian Cuneiform, is over 5000 years old and only 5-10% of all recovered tablets have been translated.

Six Tongan castaways were able to keep a fire burning continuously for more than 12 of the 15 months they spent marooned on a deserted island in 1965 after one of the boys named Stephen (who would go on to become an engineer), had managed to use two sticks to start one.

Japanese man Yasuo Takamatsu lost his wife in the 2011 earthquake and has not stopped looking for her body for more than 10 years and has dived more than 800 times in the ocean to retrieve her.

1 out of 3 Americans live in just four states. California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

Broccoli only became available in grocery stores in the UK and Ireland in the late 1970s.

George Washington had to borrow money to travel to New York City for his presidential inauguration. Despite owning 60,000 acres and 300 slaves he had very little cash and part of the reason he took the job was the salary.

Flamma, one of the most successful gladiators in his time under the Roman Empire, through great skill & bravery was awarded his freedom four times but refused each time & instead chose to remain a gladiator. He fought 34 times, won 21 of them, fought to a draw 9 times, & won reprieve 4 times.

Original script to Rocky V, Rocky is so beaten from his fight with Tommy that he places his head on Adrian’s lap while on the way to the hospital and dies. Stallone apparently wept when he wrote that scene.