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People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
Curiosities,Interesting FactsJUL 2, 2026

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)

Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Jonas Grinevičius
Mindaugas Balčiauskas and Jonas Grinevičius
44
2
It’s worth being curious about the world because it keeps your mind healthy, and it's a ton of fun on top of that. There’s always something new to learn, and it is a humbling experience to realize just how many things we don’t know. And one of the best places on the internet to face this head-on is the ‘Today I Learned’ group that gets millions of visitors every week.
We have collected our favorite interesting and fresh facts from the TIL community that helped us expand our minds, and we hope that they’ll help you, too. Put on your thinking cap, get your brain ready, and let’s get into it.

#1

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL In 1837 a British woman named Caroline Newton bit off part of a man's nose when he tried to kiss her without her consent. He took her to court but lost with the judge saying "When a man kisses a woman against her will, she is fully entitled to bite his nose off, if she so pleases."
Ill_Definition8074, Natalia Blauth
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91points

#2

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL for 21 years, Andromachi Papanikolaou volunteered to undergo daily cervical smears so her husband, Greek physician Georgios Papanikolaou, could perfect the Pap test. As such, she helped create one of the greatest cancer screening tools in medical history, saving millions of lives worldwide.

septagons:
Wow, I guess this time we really can say: Thank your for your cervix
No_Idea_479, anon
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85points

#3

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL a convenience store in Pocatello, Idaho has a video rental section called "Christina's Corner" which was created for a woman with Down Syndrome who is mostly nonverbal, so that she could still maintain her routine of renting movies after the video store next door had closed.
Sandstorm400, ROCKY13573
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82points

Staying curious and learning new things and skills is a great way to keep your mind active. Moreover, learning new things is a lot of fun (or is that just us?), and it’s an excuse to socialize more actively with others. However, staying curious as you age is a bit of a challenge.

For one, you have lots of responsibilities in your life that leave you very little time for education. Work, parenting, etc., are your main priorities, and you don’t have much space for intellectual exploration.

Moreover, you might become set in your ways and assume that you already know everything that is worth knowing.

#4

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL that, in 2006, 2 miners got stuck in a cave. When they requested an iPod with the Foo Fighters on it from rescuers, the lead singer, Dave Grohl, sent them a note promising tickets to the next show. After they were rescued 2 weeks later, they met him in person, Groll even writing a song about it.
Maleficent-Agent-477, Raph_PH
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58points

#5

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL Japan has more than 31,000 "Yakult Ladies" who deliver probiotic drinks door to door. A lot of their customers are elderly people living alone, so the deliveries double as a wellness check. If someone doesn't answer the door, the Yakult Lady will call their family.
Aihui-EasyMate, bryan...
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53points

#6

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL when John Williams first played the two-note "Jaws" theme for Spielberg, Spielberg laughed, thinking it was a joke and expecting something more melodic. Williams replied, "The sophisticated approach you would like me to take isn't the approach you took with the film I just experienced."
Giff95
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52points

Recent research shows that curiosity tends to drop off in middle age and pick back up later on in life. Older adults become more selectively curious. Specifically, older individuals show curiosity about topics that they already know and care about.

In other words, general (trait) curiosity tends to fade and decline over time, but specific (state) curiosity can rise as all the demands and pressures in life ease, allowing you to pursue more of your passions. Genuine interest in topics can lead to massive enthusiasm in learning more about them.

#7

TIL the oldest organ donor in US history was Dale Steele, a 100 year old World War II veteran who passed away in 2026. After he passed away, his liver was successfully transplanted into a patient who was able to go home just five days after the operation.
Kyzzz
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49points

#8

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL the majority of the oxygen we breathe comes from photosynthesizers in the ocean, not from trees.
dumbfu, Fellipe Ditadi
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47points

#9

TIL that 94% of Bosch is owned by a charity, which donated over €200 million to social causes last year.
lxlviperlxl
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46points

Which of these TIL facts blew your mind a little bit? How do you try to stay up to date with the latest science and other news? Would you say that you’re a curious person by nature, or do you lean toward thinking that you already know everything there is to know about the world?

What are some interesting facts you recently learned that you genuinely can’t believe you didn’t know until now?

Share your thoughts—and all the cool and surprising things that made you say ‘Today I Learned’—in the comments at the very bottom of this post. We’ll see you there!

#10

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL about Social Reorientation, a period in teenage years in which the brain naturally reduces dopamine during parental interaction and increases dopamine during peer interaction.
Kemilio, National Cancer Institute
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42points

#11

TIL in 1989 Li Jingwei, at 4 years old, was kidnapped by a neighbor who lured him away by saying they would go look at cars (rare in rural Chinese villages). At age 37, he posted a map of his home village online that he drew from memory, which helped lead to its location & a reunion with his family.
tyrion2024
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40points

#12

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL After the last republic of Florence fell to the Medici in 1530, Michelangelo went into hiding for 3 months. Nobody knew where he had disappeared to until a 6.5 feet/ 2 meter wide hiding hole was discovered under the Medici mausoleum in 1975. The walls were full of sketches drawn by Michelangelo.
Mors_Acerba
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38points

#13

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL (also) that a man with HIV developed a type of cancer that looked nothing like any cancer known to doctors. Right before he passed, doctors discovered his tapeworms had cancer and his body started developing tapeworm cancer as the HIV impaired his immune system.
geosunsetmoth, Karolina Grabowska
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37points

#14

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL that in 2024, archeologists in Spain found the skeleton of a 6-year-old Neanderthal with Down Syndrome.
Sebastianlim, Trnava University
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36points

#15

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL in 1997 three-day-old Zephany Nurse was kidnapped from the hospital by a woman dressed in a nurse's uniform. However, Zephany was reunited with her biological family 17 years later after she became close friends with a new student at school who coincidentally turned out to be her younger sister.
tyrion2024, Christian Bowen
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36points

#16

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL that in Victorian London, mail was delivered 12 times a day and people complained if a letter took more than two hours to arrive.
nic_tesla, unknown
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34points

#17

TIL in 2021 NFL player Alvin Kamara had yet to spend any of his salary after 4 yrs in the league despite signing a $75m contract in 2020 with the New Orleans Saints. Instead he lived off of his endorsement deals. He said "My mom ain't never had this much. It would be a shame if I got this & lost it."
tyrion2024
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34points

#18

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL about Ruby the painting elephant. When her keepers at the Phoenix Zoo saw her scratching in the dirt with a stick, they gave her a brush and paints. For 3 years, zookeepers did not publicize the knowledge that Ruby could paint. Eventually her paintings were sold to raise money for conservation.
Acrobatic-Post9811, Kyle sb
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32points

#19

TIL Dionysius I, ruler of Syracuse, wrote poetry which wasn't always well received. After Philoxenus, another poet, criticised his work, Dionysius imprisoned him for a day. He then released him, read him another poem and asked for his opinion. Philoxenus replied "take me back to the quarries."
Mors_Acerba
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31points

#20

People Are Sharing ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Expanded Their Minds (75 New Facts)
TIL Anne Hathaway had a miscarriage while acting in a one-woman off-Broadway play where she played a pregnant character and had to simulate giving birth on stage every night during the show. It was her first pregnancy and she was overwhelmed by the loss, however she eventually gave birth to 2 sons.
tyrion2024, Lee Jeong-woo
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28points
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