'Today I Learned': 50 Interesting Things People Didn't Learn At School

Although reading these facts once or twice and then remembering them for life so you could drop them at precisely the right time would be ideal, the reality is that much of what we learn goes in one ear and out the other. In fact, research shows that within just one hour, if we don't do anything with new information, we will forget about 50% of what we learned. After 24 hours, this number will rise to 70%, and if a week passes without that information being used, up to 90% of it could be lost.

If we want our learning to stick in our memory, we need to do more than just scrolling and reading. Luckily, Marianne Stenger, a London-based freelance writer, and journalist with extensive experience covering all things learning and development, says we can use a variety of techniques to cement new information in our minds.

Using visual aids, seeking out demonstrations, participating in group discussions (that means leaving comments under the entries you like!), putting new knowledge into practice, looking for opportunities to teach others, relating new material to what you already know, making an effort to retrieve information from memory, reading out loud, as well as writing—doing all of this means you are far more likely to retain what you learn in the long-term.

With this in mind, here are 30 Surprising Facts That Are Actually True. Happy learning!