Science & Technology,History,CuriositiesJAN 20, 2021

30 Interesting Things People Didn’t Learn At School And Decided To Share Them In This Online Group

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Education is something that never stops because you’ll never reach the point where you know everything there is to know about life. We really can learn something new every day. The best proof of that is the r/todayilearned subreddit where people post about all the interesting and insightful new things they learned about the world just now.

With nearly 24.6 million (yup, million) members, the ‘Today I Learned’ community is a real powerhouse, both on Reddit and on the internet. And the online group is chock-full of knowledge-hungry Ravenclaws sharing intriguing things with all of us. Check out the awesome things that the TIL members learned recently, upvote your fave ones, and let us know what interesting things you’ve discovered yourselves, dear Readers. We’re big fans of the TIL community because it keeps on expanding our minds. You’ll find our earlier posts about r/todayilearned here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Remember, Pandas, knowledge is power… and the perfect snack to go with a cup of coffee.

Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence, and founder of the Free-Range Kids movement, was kind enough to explain to Bored Panda all about how we can foster our kids’ desire to learn independently beyond school and turn them into lifelong learners like in the times before compulsory education, as well as how to bring back their spark of curiosity if they ever lose it, no matter what age they are. Read on for our full and incredibly insightful interview with her.

#21

30 Interesting Things People Didn’t Learn At School And Decided To Share Them In This Online Group

TIL In 2007 a man in a wheelchair was hit by an 18 wheeler. The handles were ensnared within the grill of the truck and he was pushed at over 60 mph for several miles on the highway. Amazingly, he escaped without injury.

Urisk

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224points

The TIL subreddit was created on December 28, 2008, which means it celebrated a whopping 12 years in existence recently.

In other words, if the subreddit were a kid, it would probably be in 6th or 7th grade by now (most likely telling its parents all about the new things it learned at school that day). If the community were a business, it could pop the champagne because surviving and thriving for more than a decade is no easy feat.

Saying that we should always be hungry for knowledge and constantly learning is incredibly easy. In practice, however, real-life gets in the way. Promising ourselves that we’ll start delving into a new field, furthering our education, or even brushing off the rust from our old degree sounds good on a Sunday evening. But once Monday morning rolls around, you can find that you’re low on energy, motivation, and just want that first cup of Joe.

#22

TIL that although Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was written to include cannons firing and cathedral bells, synchronising them with an orchestra proved all but impossible. It wasn't until 1954 that composer Antal Doráti mixed a studio recording with cannons and bells, finally playing it as intended.

Big_JR80

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222points

#23

TIL Reagan and Gorbachev Agreed to Pause the Cold War in Case of an Alien Invasion

bugalooflu

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220points

#24

TIL that Britain's worst nuclear accident, would have been much worse, were it not for Sir John Douglas Cockcroft. Whom insisted on installing filters onto the exhaust shaft of the Windscale Nuclear Power Plant. When the accident happened the radioactive dust was reduced by 95%.

VeryCriticalCritic

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214points

However, you don’t need to restructure your entire life to ensure that you’re learning all life long (though that would help). Even small shifts to your schedule and how you spend your leisure can have large effects. Feeling tired all the time? Try going to bed a tad earlier, even if you feel like you’re missing out on your leisure time. Can’t concentrate and feeling irritated all the time? Try reducing the amount of caffeine and sugar you consume daily by a small amount. Get the basics like exercise, nutritious food, hydration, and sleep down first before moving on to complex solutions.

Meanwhile, Forbes suggests switching part of your TV time out for reading a book. And, yes, before you ask, binging random YouTube channels and scrolling through TikTok counts as watching TV. Forbes also explains that meditating can help unclutter the mind while meeting new people can open you up to new ways of thinking. What’s more, playing games makes learning a lot of fun. That’s why you see a lot of apps like Duolingo that gamify education.

But, at the end of the day, these are all crutches. What really matters is a powerful personal desire to keep learning. For me, it’s the desire to get closer to the Truth about the world and life. For others, constant education might have practical ends (e.g. getting a new job or learning a new skill) or might be embraced for its own sake. What’s your reason, Pandas?

#25

TIL if you get a zebrafish drunk and put it in a tank of sober zebrafish, the sober fish will adopt it as their leader and follow the drunk fish around the tank.

diiejso

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206points

#26

TIL that in 2012, a survey in eastern Germany (regions formerly part of East Germany/GDR) was unable to find a single person under the age of 28 who believed in God

malalatargaryen

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179points

#27

TIL Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter in the film series was allergic to his own glasses. He had a nickel allergy and suffered for weeks with mysterious bumps around his eyes, where the glasses touched his face. The nickel glasses were quickly replaced with hypoallergenic specs

epicdcboy

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167points

#28

TIL a Harvard research showed that having no friends is as deadly as smoking. Researchers have discovered a link between loneliness and the levels of blood-protein which can cause heart attacks and strokes.

epicdcboy

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167points

#29

TIL that the life expectancy number we know for the midde ages includes the infant mortality, so 13th-century English nobles had 30 year life expectancy at birth, but when they reached the age of 21, they would normally have a expectancy of 64.

Peisis

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162points

#30

TIL the phrase "Turn a blind eye" (willfully ignore information) originated from Admiral Lord Nelson in 1801, who used his injured eye to see through his telescope during the Battle of Copenhagen when he wished to ignore his commander's signals, which resulted in their victory.

Flayrah4Life

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123points

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Ilona BaliūnaitėBoredPanda Staff

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