We have long heard about the power of learning new things. It keeps us motivated, confident, and curious about the world around us. No wonder science has shown time and again that learning plays an important role in improving the brain's ability to cope with damage.
It can also prevent memory loss, and possibly even prevent us from developing dementia. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that the dementia rate in Americans decreased by a staggering 24% from 2000 to 2012. Scientists believe that more years of education are directly linked with this decline.
And although not everyone has time (or need, for that matter) to take on learning things like chess or language, or memorizing verses from Homer’s Iliad (although this is what high school students do in European countries!), we can keep our mind open for bits of information that get those brain cells tingling! And there’s nothing that does it better than our beloved TIL posts, thanks to Reddit's powerhouse community known as the ‘Today I Learned’ subreddit where 26.6 million members share facts and factoids to fill your idle or bored mind.
#21

TIL that in 2002, two airplanes collided in mid-air killing everyone aboard. Two years later, the air traffic controller was murdered as revenge.
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161points
#22

TIL in 1986 a Russian commercial pilot made a bet with the first officer that he could land blind with curtains over the cockpit windows. He lost the bet, crashing and killing 70 people
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158points
#23

TIL Andromeda galaxy has already started merging with our Milky Way
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156points
#24

TIL a cancer treatment known as Dynamic Phototherapy has the side effect of giving humans a slight level of night vision. Under this treatment, the retina becomes able to process light at wavelengths higher than the visible light domain.
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148points
#25

TIL Boris Mikhailov, captain of the USSR hockey team, was offered a $1 million contract to leave Russia in 1980 after the Miracle on Ice. However, he declined as the KGB was standing next to him when the offer was made.
143points
#26

TIL A woman put over a million miles on her Hyundai Elantra and was given a special badge and a brand new car
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142points
#27

TIL a park ranger sat down in his office on Rinca Island and was attacked by a Komodo dragon hiding under his desk. The cleaner had the left the door open the night before. The smell of blood attracted more dragons outside. The ranger was taken to the hospital and survived but he has nightmares.
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140points
#28

TIL that the name George has the same root word as Geography and Geology, and means "Earth worker" or farmer.
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135points
#29

TIL studies show the reason why we "click" with certain people is due to people's brain waves being sync in wavelengths called the alpha–mu band, or what scientists call brain-to-brain coupling, and mirror each other neurologically in terms of what they are focusing on.
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114points
#30

TIL that the violin that was played as the Titanic sunk was rediscovered in an attic and auctioned off for $1.6 million in 2013.
105points



