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35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
CuriositiesSEP 21, 2021

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)

Austėja Akavickaitė
Liucija Adomaite
Austėja Akavickaitė and Liucija Adomaite
331
24
The day can be gloomy, hard, long, or totally irrelevant, but if you can learn something on that day, even the simplest fact, then your day is complete. And there’s no better place to do that than our beloved corner of Reddit, the ‘Today I Learned’ community that has people sharing interesting things they learned on the internet.
And keeping in mind what a vast place this world wide web actually is, there’s always something new to discover! Some things are totally useless yet eyebrow-raising, others are seriously game-changing, so there’s a little for everyone to get their brain cells in shape.
Scroll down, upvote your favorites, and be sure to check our previous TIL posts here, here, and here.

#1

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL, The Netherlands gives Canada 20,000 tulips every year as a thank you for protecting the Dutch royal family in ww2
Jasian1001, Andrew Scheer
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358points

#2

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that Sea Urchins are called Sea Urchins because Hedgehogs used to be called Urchins until about the 15th century. Sea Urchins are Ocean Hedgehogs.
theonewithBacon, Nhobgood
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341points

#3

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL the self-absorption paradox asserts that the more self-aware we are, the less likely we are to make social mistakes, but the more likely we are to torture ourselves over past mistakes. High self-awareness leads to more psychological distress.
SonOfQuora, Anna Shvets
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334points

In the midst of everyday life, it often seems like there's not enough time for learning new things, taking up a new hobby, or doing something outside your comfort zone. But staying curious about new things may open up new horizons for all of us.

So to find out more about curiosity and how we can all become better at learning new things every day, Bored Panda spoke with Helen Marlo, a licensed clinical psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst who provides psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and consultation. Helen is also a Professor of Clinical Psychology and the Department Chair at Notre Dame de Namur University.

#4

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that tigers are nearly invisible to their prey, who see orange as green. Tigers are orange because mammals can’t produce green fur, and orange was the next best thing.
Iwantmorelife, Bernard Spragg
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326points

#5

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL of the Ovitz family, not only the largest family of dwarfs ever recorded but also the largest family (12 people ranging from a 15-month-old baby to a 58-year-old woman) to enter Auschwitz and survive intact.
lighted_is_lit, imdb
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301points

#6

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989. He was frustrated with the fact that he had to go and ask his coworkers what data was on their computer so he can add it to his computer which led to him creating an application that became the world wide Web.
somnifacientsawyer, ITU Pictures
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260points

“It helps to understand what messages we have internalized about curiosity as well as the responses received from others when we express curiosity. For example, many internalize that being curious means they “do not know something” or are not intelligent. That inhibits curiosity and its negative effects are compounded because it limits further learning,” Helen explained.

She continued: “Similarly, curiosity can diminish when others respond with judgment, criticism, rejection, or shame rather than encouragement, wonder, openness, and affirmation.”

#7

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that Tupac Shakur renamed his publishing company name from "Ghetto Gospel Music" to "Joshua’s Dream" after meeting with 11-year old Joshua Torres with muscular dystrophy who died 45 minutes after Tupac left his bedside
Sno0pyBo0, ballislife
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256points

#8

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL, that Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen's tribute for Elvis, took Freddie Mercury 10 minutes to write while taking a bath
Darkness4923
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253points

#9

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that in India, there is a species of giant squirrel that have multicoloured fur, with with varying shades of orange, maroon and purple. Their bodies measure 36in from head to tail – double the size of their grey relatives – and they can leap 20ft between trees.
Alolan_Teddiursa, VinodBhattu
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231points

According to the clinical psychologist, research suggests that “individuals who feel secure in relationships are more likely to feel and express curiosity including feeling free and confident to explore others’ viewpoints; pursue a new hobby, or learn a new subject area.”

Among many new things we can learn every day, language is one of the most beneficial ones. Helen explained that learning a new language has many benefits including improving cultural awareness and increasing empathy. 

#10

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL two high school students found that despite advertising claims that “the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges,” the drink contained almost no trace of vitamin C and one orange juice brand had over three times more. The company were taken to court and fined NZ$217,500.
Str33twise84, Melaneas
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229points

#11

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that cigarette filters were designed with color-changing chemicals to give the illusion that they filter out toxins. In reality, the filters have little to no health benefits.
gnulynnux, Akroti
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228points

#12

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL there is a herd of wild zebras in central California that can be seen off of Route 1 near San Simeon.
Platographer, Linda Tanner
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219points

You may also hear that learning languages has the ability to prevent diseases like dementia, but Helen warns that data on that is mixed. “However, very generally speaking, there is a “use it or lose it” principle when it comes to our brain health. We are less likely to “lose it” when we “use it,” she explained.

#13

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL about a New Jersey history professor who was telling a story to his class about how a ranger saved his life in a canyon at night in Texas in 1940. The ranger had managed to track him down and coincidentally walked in to the classroom right as the professor was telling the story.
CanadianW, Laird Funeral Home
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210points

#14

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL - Ben and Jerry's has a physical graveyard that they retire old flavors to, and you can actually go visit it.
Chr0nos1, Jimmy Emerson, DVM
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210points

#15

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL some people suffer a "weekend migraine" or "let-down headache" on weekends (or other break from a 9-to-5 weekday job) due to a decrease in stress.
tense_n_nervous
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204points

Moreover, “engaging in learning, especially something new like a language, that stretches our minds can stimulate and support brain activity which can support brain health.” Helen said and added that “research supports that learning and keeping our brains active can help slow the progression of cognitive decline as seen in dementia,” she concluded.

#16

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL of Tullimonstrum Gregarium, aka the Tully Monster. An animal so strange, that despite having thousands of fossils, we don’t know whether it was a vertebrate or an invertebrate. To add to the strangeness, fossils of this creature have only been found in one fossil site in the world.
xSparkyBoomManx, Nobu Tamura
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196points

#17

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL Harrison Ford was frozen in The Empire Strikes Back because, unlike Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, Ford had only signed on for two films. After the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lucas didn't think Ford would return for the 3rd Star Wars film, but left him frozen just in case.
wjbc
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184points

#18

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that the vampires were not inspired by bats. Bloodsucking bats were only discovered in Latin America in the 16th century, while the earliests vampires stories were from 12th century Europe.
Ptcruz, George Hodan
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184points

#19

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL the longest surgery ever recorded was performed in 2001 by a team of 20 doctors; it took 103 hours (more than four days) to complete.
electricmaster23, Vidal Balielo Jr.
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179points

#20

35 'Today I Learned' Facts That Show It's Never Too Late To Learn (New Pics)
TIL that due to the fact that they spend the majority of their lives on sea ice, polar bears are classified as marine mammals, like dolphins, seals, and whales.
derstherower, Alan Wilson
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175points
331
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