We believe it's fair to say that there's always something new to learn for every person here on earth. This is why communities like Reddit's 'Today I Learned' (TIL) offer a trove of astonishing revelations that might have escaped our attention.
For instance, were you aware of the local Indonesian mythology bit that suggests Orangutans possess the capacity to communicate in human languages? However, they consciously decide not to, in fear they would be captured and obligated to work (fair on them, to be honest).
Or how about the captivating fact that Brazil holds the record for the most frequent showers? Statistics indicate that an average Brazilian takes a shower roughly every 12 hours. Oh, and if you're considering an investment, it might surprise you to learn that unopened Lego sets typically yield better returns than gold (the more you know, right?). These snippets from 'Today I Learned' are just a fraction of what we have in store for you today, Pandas.
#21
TIL that after large animals went extinct, such as the mammoth, avocados had no method of seed dispersal, which would have lead to their extinction without early human farmers.
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151points
#22
TIL when US President Harding died unexpectedly in 1923, Vice President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office at 2:47 AM, and promptly returned to bed.
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145points
#23
TIL The firm who repaired seat covers on San Francisco's BART trains started paying people to slash the fabric, eventually accounting for 85% of vandalism reports
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139points
#25
TIL space stations smell like “combinations of antiseptic, garbage, and body odor.”
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137points
#26
TIL Bed bugs were all but eradicated in the developed world in the 1950s but had a resurgence in the 1990s due to factors including increased international travel, lack of public awareness
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137points
#27
TIL that some pirate codes forbid the crew from seducing a woman, sneaking her on board the ship and taking her out to sea. This offense was punishable by death.
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132points
#28
TIL that our voice has a considerable influence on how we are perceived by other people. A single spoken word is enough to obtain personality ratings that are highly consistent across independent listeners. Based on voice samples, AI can predict how a speaker tends to be perceived by other people
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127points
#29
TIL giraffes only sleep about 4 hours a day in 5-15 minute power nap sessions (because lions)
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125points
#30
TIL Brazil is, by far, the country that takes the most showers. On average, a Brazilian showers every 12 hours.
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124points
#31
TIL the US Navy sold 2 obsolete aircraft carriers to scrap dealers for a cent each because they were very expensive to dismantle and recycle.
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117points
#32
TIL in the United States, obesity rates decline the higher above sea level an area is.
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113points
#33
TIL Freshwater snails carry a parasitic disease, which infects nearly 250 million people and causes over 200,000 deaths a year. The parasites exit the snails into waters, they seek you, penetrate right through your skin, migrate through your body, end up in your blood and remain there for years.
113points
#34
TIL about Tim Friede, the Venom Man. Tim flatlined from two back to back cobra bites in 2001. He was revived and decided to become immune to snake venom in hope of creating a universal antivenom. He has taken 200+ fang bites and 500+ needle injections from lethal cobras, mambas, kraits and taipans.
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102points
#35
TIL wild blueberry farming in Maine traditionally involved burning the fields every year, a technique learned from the Passamaquoddy tribe, since most of the plant mass is underground
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102points
#36
TIL: During the filming of 'Dexter,' actor Jimmy Smits accidentally grabbed a real knife and stabbed a stuntman in the chest; the stuntman survived unharmed due to the blade hitting a post-it note sized piece of plastic covering his heart.
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99points
#37
TIL 601 Lexington Avenue—once the 7th-tallest building in the world—was in danger of being toppled over by high winds due to a structural error. It was secretly fixed and the public had no idea anything was wrong until an article about it came out decades later.
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93points
#38
TIL that Shattered was a British TV series where ten contestants were challenged with going without sleep for seven days. Due to sleep deprivation contestants became hostile and irrational and one believed himself to be the Prime Minister of Australia. The winner was awake for 178 hours
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84points
#39
TIL in 1815 B.C. it took about a year for Sumerian scribes to learn how to multiply. They also signed and dated their homework.
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83points
