Science & Technology,HistoryAPR 16, 2021

‘Today I Learned’: 35 Interesting Things People Didn’t Learn At School (New Pics)

Austėja Akavickaitė and Jonas Grinevičius

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Life's a never-ending rollercoaster of education, fun facts, and interesting trivia. And the ride's free if you're willing to stay curious all your life. One of the best places to expand your mind on a daily basis is the ‘Today I Learned' subreddit, boasting over 25.2 million members, over 12 years of service on Reddit, and a community that values curiosity and learning above all else.

We've collected some of the most interesting recent things that the TIL community shared for you to expand your minds with, dear Pandas, so go on and have a look below. And when you're done and if you're thirsting for more knowledge like a true Ravenclaw, you'll find our earlier posts about the TIL subreddit right over here, and here, as well as here.

Separating fact from fiction, however, isn't as easy as it might seem when scrolling through the TIL subreddit. Especially when different authority figures whom we trust say different things. I spoke about learning to separate the truth from falsehoods and how to diplomatically challenge people who might be wrong with Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement. Read on for her full and in-depth interview with Bored Panda.

#1

‘Today I Learned’: 35 Interesting Things People Didn’t Learn At School (New Pics)

In World War 1, Nobel prize winning physicist Marie Curie developed mobile X-Ray stations to travel to the frontlines and assist army surgeons and preventing amputations when limbs were still intact. It's estimated that over a million wounded soldiers were x-rayed with her units.

MrFlow

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535points

#2

Dave Thomas (the founder of Wendy's) was a high-school dropout. He was afraid his success would convince teens to drop out of school, so at age 60, he went back and got his GED.

howmuchbanana

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448points

#3

Icelandic horses are not allowed to leave the country. If they do, they are banned from returning. This is because Iceland is an island so they have limited diseases, and this is another measure to prevent it.

a_homosexual_carrot

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393points

Learning something new and figuring out what's fact, what's fiction, and what's opinion is difficult to do with the flood of information that's easily available to us. However, that same vast store of information that we have access to can be our greatest boon if we learn to swim, dive, and sail through it all.

Finding out that something's actually (not) true even though the beloved authority figures in our lives have been stating differently can fire us up and make us want to confront them. However, if we're not diplomatic and merely want to rub it in their faces that they were wrong, we can end up losing an even greater learning opportunity.

#4

Danny DeVito did the dub for his role as the titular character in The Lorax (2012) in Russian, German, Italian, Catalan, and Castilian Spanish, despite not speaking any of those languages

shoeswontwork

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370points

#5

Dogs and cats circle around before bedding down as a throwback to their wild ancestors. Their survival instincts provoked them to position themselves in the direction of the wind to pick up predator scents and choose the best angle for keeping an eye on the environment.

BrautanGud

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366points

#6

A Japanese ice cream company created a commercial to publicly apologize about needing to raise the price of their ice cream bars for the first time in 25 years from 60 yen to 70 yen.

drdisney

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360points

Lenore, the president of Let Grow, suggested that instead of being combative and turning opinionated authority figures away from you, people should try to learn something together with them.

“The key is to discover things together. If something sounds strange or unlikely, respond with curiosity—ask the person to tell you more, and how they found this information out, and where you should go if you want to delve into it further,” the expert, who greatly supports childhood independence, suggested.

“Then if the sources they give you seem dubious—well, probably so is whatever they gleaned from them. But if the sources seem legit, read them with an open mind. They may be right after all!” Lenore explained.

#7

Habsburg Emperor Joseph II tried to reform Austria into "ideal Enlightened state". He abolished serfdom, removed restrictions against Jews, gave religious freedom to Protestants and Orthodox and tried to weaken power of Catholic church. But as soon he died all his reforms were abolished

KandiLili

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330points

#8

Walt Disney accidentally "kidnapped" Richard Nixon by dispatching his monorail train before the Secret Service could get on. The agents ran after the train and attempted to jump onboard but the doors had already closed. Monorail pilot Bob Gurr was terrified; Nixon got a kick out of it.

WouldbeWanderer

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302points

#9

Not all people have an internal monologue and people with them typically have stronger mental visuals to accompany their verbal thoughts.

hockeyh2opolo

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261points

It's a fact of life that nobody is right all the time. And Lenore believes that because of this, it isn't "cruel or crazy" to think that someone else “may have their facts wrong.” However, you shouldn't be getting angry at someone who got something wrong, unless they were deliberately lying to you.

“Ever since the Age of Enlightenment, humans have realized that the best way to get closer to the truth is by saying something out loud and seeing if it stands up to scrutiny. If not—hooray. We are one step closer to the truth because we've just jettisoned a misconception,” Lenore told Bored Panda.

#10

Bill Nye (of Science Guy fame) invented a hydraulic component used on the 747 airliners, and holds three patents for other inventions.

Popular-Swordfish559

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253points

#11

Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and hundreds more, started smoking at the age of 9, changed his last name from Blank to Blanc, survived a car accident resulting in a two week coma, recorded The Flintstones in a full body cast, and died only a year after recording Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

QuicklyThisWay

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251points

#12

There is a street that is split down the middle by the USA-Canadian border, aptly named Canusa street. People who live in houses on the south side of the street are in the USA, and the north side, in Canada. Crossing the street requires having to report to the border crossing office.

russianlexicon

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251points

“If it turns out that you do find some information that contradicts what the other person—your teacher or boss or anyone—has stated as true, again, the best approach is not confrontation. It's assuming that the other person didn't mean to steer you wrong,” she pointed out that instead of being aggressive, we should be approaching the situation in a way that provides the biggest learning opportunity.

#13

Elephants can hear through both their ears and feet. Through special fat pads called digital cushions, they can hear sounds other elephants vocalize below the range of human hearing from many miles away. This helps warn them of far off danger, incoming floods, and rival elephants.

Squaragus_Asparagus

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246points

#14

Hall of Fame pitcher Lee Smith didn’t play baseball until he was a junior in high school, only tried out to win a $10 bet, and only started pitching after his team’s star pitcher was killed in a hunting accident. His first start was a no hitter.

theslob

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237points

#15

Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, sold the series as a pure entertainment vehicle due to censorship he experienced with previous projects that would delve into controversial social/political issues. The Twilight Zone tackled the same issues but veiled in science fiction and fantasy

WigboldCrumb

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233points

“So if you bring in information that contradicts the person, don't say, ‘SEE??? YOU WERE WRONG!' Say something more like, ‘I was so interested in what you were talking about that I did some research and now I'm a little confused. Can we look at this together?'" Lenore advocated going for the diplomatic route rather than seeking out a fight and wanting to prove your own correctness all the time.

#16

ADHD doesn't always mean 'short attention span'. 'Hyperfocusing' on a task for hours on end is also a known symptom of ADHD, where the inability to stop is considered to be the problem.

Alkyen

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231points

#17

Disney uses a paint colour called "GO AWAY GREEN" to camouflage and hide objects and doors in their theme parks.

KanataCitizen

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224points

#18

People keep finding meticulously crafted hollow dodecahedrons throughout Europe dating back to the Roman Empire but historians have no idea what they're supposed to be used for as there's no historical record of them anywhere. Theories range from dice to knitting.

GenocideSolution

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222points

“Being accusatory only makes people defensive. So don't be rude, be engaged. This works in the classroom, in the office, and pretty much everywhere,” Lenore, the president of Let Grow, offered us some great advice on what to do if we overhear somebody potentially sharing misinformation.

#19

Every fall, Alaska’s Katmai National Park hosts “Fat Bear Week” and crowns the park’s fattest brown bear. The aim is to highlight the park and wildlife conservation.

redmambo_no6

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221points

#20

Neanderthals, which were traditionally thought of as extremely primitive humans, are now believed to have been extremely intelligent, even comparable to the intelligence of modern humans. They used tools, had social structures, thrived in hostile environments, and lived long lives.

IanMazgelis

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216points

367