We go to school, study further, then learn new things in our chosen careers. But no matter how much knowledge we acquire, there always seems to be space in our brain for more.
Sometimes we gather new information by choice. Other times it comes at us unexpectedly. Like those midnight moments when we're casually scrolling through the socials and a fun fact stops us in our tracks. Next thing, we're going down a rabbit-hole that we never planned to visit, and boom! it's 2am.
There's an entire community dedicated to sharing the facts they just recently learned, so that you too can broaden your knowledge of the world we live in. Today I Learned reads like a virtual encyclopedia, and has more than 5 million curious visitors popping by every week.
Bored Panda has put together our favorite picks from the page, from celebrity tidbits to tech, science, environmental, current affairs and more. Let us know how many of them you only learned today and don't forget to upvote your favorites.
#41
TIL that in 1953, Isaac Asimov wrote a story where he predicted that climbing Mount Everest was impossible and that the first human to reach its summit would have to be parachuted. Everest was first successfully climbed one month after he wrote it and 7 months before it was published.
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29points
#42
TIL that it's required to speak English to be a commercial airline pilot or air traffic controller.
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29points
#43
TIL Harrison Odjegba Okene became a commercial diver who works for the same company that rescued him after he unexpectedly survived 60 hours underwater in a sunken ship.
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29points
#44
TIL that Hawaii was internationally recognized as an independent country - the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi - from 1795 to 1893, and later a republic until it was annexed by the United States under President William McKinley in 1898.
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29points
#45
TIL in Britney's debut song, "...Baby One More Time", Swedish songwriters Max Martin and Rami, mistook hit for an American slang meaning call (like "hit me up"). So Britney's actually begging for her ex to phone her one more time.
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26points
#46
TIL over 3,000 attempts are made each year to complete the Appalachian Trail and only about 25% succeed.
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26points
#47
TIL the first gold rush in the U.S. started in North Carolina, when a 12 year old boy found a 17lb nugget on his farm. Not knowing what it was, the boy's father sold it years later to a jeweler for only $3.50. Its true value at the time was $3500.
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25points
#48
TIL Orson Welles was only 25 years old when he wrote, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane. Today considered one of the greatest films of all time.
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24points
#49
TIL Lego's patent to their brick design ended in 1978, which allowed multiple companies, such as Mega Bloks, to start producing their own 'clones.'
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24points
#50
TIL Defibrillators don't start hearts, they stop them (to force a hopefully good restart).
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23points