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As Albert Einstein famously said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” But that’s no reason to stop your education. In fact, that’s all the more reason to keep learning as much as you possibly can!
If you’re dedicated to being a lifelong learner, we’ve got the perfect list for you down below, pandas. We gathered some of the best posts of all time from the Today I Learned subreddit, so you can find out plenty of new fun facts that you’ve probably never heard before. So enjoy scrolling through this wealth of information, and keep reading to find a conversation with Dan Lewis, creator of the popular trivia newsletter Now I Know!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
TIL: A park bench in Bristol was given an official postal address so doctors could register the homeless as patients.
#2
TIL Judith Love Cohen, who helped create the Abort-Guidance System which rescued the Apollo 13 astronauts, went to work on the day she was in labor. She took a printout of a problem she was working on to the hospital. She called her boss and said she finished the problem and gave birth to Jack Black.
#3
TIL that March 12th, 1990, over 60 disability rights activists abandoned their mobility aids and climbed, crawled, and edged up the 83 stone steps of the U.S Capitol, demanding the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which had been stalled in Congress. It was called the 'Capitol Crawl'.
To find out more about why it’s so important to be a lifelong learner, we reached out to Dan Lewis, creator of the popular newsletter Now I Know, which brings fun facts to readers' inboxes every day.
First, we wanted to know what inspired Dan to start this newsletter. “I'm a digital native who built my first website in the late 1990s, and I've always been decent at building online audiences,” he told Bored Panda. “While between jobs a decade or so ago, I consulted with an email newsletter startup – they were looking for help building their subscriber base. And I figured hey, I've done this for websites and blogs, how different could email be? But I realized that no, it's a lot different, and I failed miserably.”
#4
TIL of Elouise Cobell (“Yellow Bird Woman”) who founded the first Native American owned bank. As treasurer of the Blackfeet Nation she tried to resolve accounting discrepancies regarding leases on Indian Land which led to a $3.4 Billion dollar class action settlement against the US government.
#5
TIL of an Australian diver who befriended a baby shark. For years afterwards, whenever the shark would see him, she would swim up to him and demand cuddles.
#6
TIL of Bessie Coleman, the first African American and Native American female pilot who would only perform if the crowds were desegregated and entered thru the same gates.
“A few months later, that failure was still bugging me, so I decided to give it another go, this time on my own,” Dan continued. “I've always loved random trivia, so I went that route.”
“I started Now I Know in June 2010, sending it to 20 friends/family, and just kept at it, growing it slowly over the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. This Monday's went to more than 50,000 readers!”
#7
TIL Hours after being adopted from an animal shelter, 21-pound cat Pudding saved her owner's life. While suffering a diabetic seizure, Amy Jung's newly acquired cat pounced his weight on her chest and began swatting her face and biting her nose until she gained consciousness.
#8
TIL there is a group of wolves in British Columbia known as "sea wolves" and 90% of their food comes from the sea. They have distinct DNA that sets them apart from interior wolves and they're entirely dedicated to the sea swimming several miles everyday in search of food.
Karma Black 3 months ago
Yet, our huskies scream like you're killing them if you give them a bath.
#9
TIL US Airways kicked a blind and his dog off a plane in 2013 after the Dog repositioned itself during a two hour delay. They cancelled the flight after passengers disembarked in protest saying the flight attendant responsible be kicked off instead of the man and his service dog.
As far as why we should keep learning our entire lives, Dan says, “I think it's important to be curious about the world around us and open minded about what we think we know. Learning should be lifelong and fun facts are a great entry point – it keeps you humble and keeps you growing, intellectually.”
#10
TIL that during WW1, the MI5 used Girl Guides to deliver secret messages. They used Girl Guides instead of Boy Scouts because they found out that Boy Scouts weren't efficient enough, boisterous and talkative.
Mimi La Souris 3 months ago
I worked in either female-only or male-only teams. nobody believes me when I say that it is the men who are the most talkative and the most chit chatting :D
#11
TIL that Muhammad Ali went to Iraq in 1990 against the then president George H.W. Bush's wishes and secured the release of 15 american citizen hostages held in Iraqi prisons, and brought them home.
#12
TIL that even though Edward Bannister won 1st prize for painting at the 1876 Philadelphia centennial international exhibition, after discovering Bannister's identity, the judge wanted to rescind his award because he was black. However this wasn't possible due to protests from the other competitors.
We also wanted to know if the trivia expert had any fun facts that he’s partial to. “My favorite fun fact is one I haven't learned yet,” Dan shared. “I titled the newsletter ‘Now I Know’ (instead of ‘Now You Know’) for a reason – it's my effort to learn more and share more.”
“For me, the joy of the fun fact comes from the discovery of something new that I didn't think possible or realistic,” he added. “I really liked most of the ones I've shared before for the same reason!”
#13
TIL after a chance encounter, Charles-Michel de l'Épée was taught to sign by the deaf. Believing the deaf should be able to receive the sacraments, he founded a school in 1760 to teach sign language. His public advocacy enabled deaf people to legally defend themselves in court for the first time.
#14
TIL that a cow escaped from a Polish farm and was spotted months later living with a herd of wild bison.
Salty_Sasquatch 3 months ago
I just read about a donkey who escaped from a family farm (previously feral). People spotted him months later hundreds of miles away running with a herd of elk. The owners were told and were glad that he was alive but realized (thankfully) that there was no way they could get him back and rehabilitate him. Thank goodness.
#15
TIL Agatha Christie has outsold Stephen King and J.K Rowling combined by about 2 billion books.
Chicken Nugget 3 months ago
she's my favorite author and poirot is my second favorite detective (you can guess who my favorite is)
And if you’re looking to start learning something new every day, Dan recommends subscribing to Now I Know. “It's easy,” he says. “Next time you learn something new, if it brings you joy, figure out how you found that out – and do that again, and again, and again.”
#16
TIL that ravens and wolves have formed a mutually beneficial relationship out in the wild. Ravens have been observed calling wolves to the site of dead animals so that the wolves will then open up the carcass and leave the scraps for the ravens once they're finished.
#17
TIL that Fermilab used to clean its particle accelerators with a ferret named Felicia, who would run through the tubes with cleaning supplies attached and be rewarded with hamburger meat.
#18
TIL that all beaches in Mexico are property of the federal government. There are no privately owned beaches in the whole country, all of them are open to public use.
Abdullah Abd Rahman 3 months ago
Same thing in Malaysia. All beaches are property of the government and every member of the public has a right to use them.There are no private beaches, restricted to some people only.
#19
TIL the clearest lake in the world is the Blue Lake located in Nelson, New Zealand. Visibility in the lake is up to 80 metres meaning the water is considered almost as optically clear as distilled water.
#20
TIL a woman quit her job to search for her border collie who escaped from a hotel room during a thunderstorm while on vacation in Kalispell, Montana. After 57 days of searching and posting hundreds of flyers around town, she finally found ‘Katie’ who was starving, but otherwise OK.
#21
TIL Japanese doctor Tetsu Nakamura devoted his life revitalising deserts in Afghanistan, making forests and wheat farmland and contributing to peace. Nakamura was decorated with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun and Afghan National Medal.
#22
TIL In 1802, Napoleon added a Polish legion to fight off the slave rebellion in Haiti. However, the Polish army joined the Haitian slaves in the fight for independence. Haiti's first head of state called Polish people "the White Negroes of Europe", which was then regarded as a great honour.
#23
TIL juice company dumped 12,000 tonnes of orange peels on virtually lifeless soil, 16 years later, it turned into a lush forest.
Mimi La Souris 3 months ago (edited)
i have mixes feelings about it, because if the soil has been ruined, it is because they have been operating in the area for a long time Edit : as an answer to negative comments, there is not enough info there to know where it takes place, my comment was about a land in indonesia (yes Beth D, too lazy to look after a ref right now) a orange juice company tried to sell a ruined field and the justice forced it to make it fertile again. for not paying the fertilizer, they had used their waste
#24
TIL alpacas are being used as bodyguards in some turkey farms, since they instinctively accept the birds into their herd and scare off foxes.
#25
Nas listed his then 7-year-old daughter, Destiny Jones, as an executive producer on his fifth studio album Stillmatic to ensure she would always receive royalty checks from the album.
#26
TIL that in 2009 Icelandic engineers accidentally drilled into a magma chamber with temperatures up to 1000C (1832F). Instead of abandoning the well like a previous project in Hawaii, they decided to pump water down and became the most powerful geothermal well ever created.
#27
TIL in the anatomy building at Dalian Medical University, where medical student can practice on cadavers, there's a sign with a quote from a donor that reads "I’d rather let students try something 20 times on me than see them make one mistake on a future patient.”
Igor914624 3 months ago
If my death can help one person live, my life will not have been wasted. That's why I am an organ donor.
#28
TIL the King's doctor Johann Struensee seized power for over a year in 18th century Denmark. He managed to abolish slavery, abolish censorship of the press, and have an affair with the Queen before being ousted and executed in 1772.
#29
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.
#30
TIL the chemical reaction in glow sticks was discovered by Dr. Edwin Chandross in 1962, but he had no idea the "chemiluminescent" objects were popular at music shows until a Vice interview in 2013. "Is that so?" he said. "Maybe my granddaughter will think I'm cool now."
#31
TIL British Parliament had an official discussion where they condemned the historical inaccuracies of the film U-571 and the rewriting of history to paint the Americans as heroes in an event they never even took part in. They felt it was unfair on the British sailors that lost their lives.
Rachel Ratty 3 months ago
yes - with loads of money you can simply re-write history for entertainment....
#32
TIL that even though Henry Heimlich demonstrated his signature maneuver thousands of times throughout his life he never got the chance to use it in an actual emergency until he was 96 when he saved a woman in his nursing home from choking on a burger.
#33
TIL of Eric Moussambani, who had never seen an olympic sized swimming pool before the 2000 olympics. He recorded the slowest time in 100m freestyle history at 1:52.72, however won his heat as all other competitors false started. He is now a national hero the head swimming coach of Equatorial Guinea.
Mimi La Souris 3 months ago (edited)
oh, i remember him ! He could barely swim and had learned a few minutes before diving how to do a half turn under water, not very successful, by the way. But he show so much good energy the whole audience encouraged him, and I also in front of my TV. a very good memory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ow6vXafLo
#34
TIL, The Netherlands gives Canada 20,000 tulips every year as a thank you for protecting the Dutch royal family in WW2.
#35
TIL about the Great Green Wall, an effort to plant trees to stop desertification in the Sahara that began in 2007. Ethiopia has planted over 5.5 billion seedling since.
#36
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.
Bat cat in a hat 3 months ago
They're not as bright coloured as the photo, but really beautiful!
#37
TIL A director made a ten hour movie that's just about paint on a wall drying, lasting for ten hours and seven minutes. The film was created by Charlie Lyne in order to troll the British Board of Film Classification (B.B.F.C.) who were forced to sit through the whole thing.
#38
TIL that anatomically dogs have two arms and two legs - not four legs; the front legs (arms) have wrist joints and are connected to the skeleton by muscle and the back legs have hip joints and knee caps.
#39
TIL In 1911 The Rigby family included their cat Tom in their census form. 'Tom Cat' was listed as being an 8-year old, married Mouse-Catcher, Soloist and Thief with 16 children. His birthplace was listed as Cheshire and he was described as being 'speechless' in the infirmity section of the form.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 months ago
Ha! Good for the soft can-opener! We're not speechless, though. We're very good at communicating, even with a ridiculous species that communicates primarily through sound. I mean, really! Sniff noses, and you're good.
#40
TIL the medals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were made from metals recovered from recycled cell phones collected since 2017.
#41
TIL of eagle hunters in Mongolia. Known as the Burkitshi, this nomadic tribe hunts with eagles (only female eagles as they are larger and believed to be fiercer). While eagles can live for decades, theirs are captured at the age of four and released after 10 years to live out their life in the wild.
#42
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.
#43
TIL that in 1995, a man received a "check" for $95,000 as junk mail. Jokingly, he deposited it into his account. The "check" met all of the legal criteria for a check and was cashed.
#44
TIL Two guys honored their dead friend's dying wish by using his ashes as fish bait and caught an enormous 180lb Carp in his memory.
#45
TIL of Vince Coleman, a train dispatcher who sacrificed his life to save hundreds, warning of a massive boat explosion nearby. The message: "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbour making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye, boys."
General Anaesthesia 3 months ago
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, December 6, 1917. 1800 people died.
#46
TIL Richard Simmons would wake up at 4AM to call up to 40 people who are isolated, alone, or needed empathy. Some credited Richard Simmons for saving their lives.
#47
TIL in Rwanda people go to milk bars to socialise and drink milk.
#48
TIL that the Ginkgo Tree is unique, not obviously related to any living plant; a “living fossil,”unchanged in 200 million years.
#49
TIL A duet sung by Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson remained unfinished because Mercury walked out of the recording. He couldn’t tolerate Jackson bringing his pet llama into the studio.
#50
TIL the ancient Egyptians developed the first recorded early pregnancy test, whereby a woman would urinate on a bag of wheat or barley and, if the bag started sprouting, it indicated a pregnancy. In 1963, researchers measured the test as being 70% accurate.
What do you think ?
CD Mills 3 months ago (edited)
I've called myself a "Veritable Fount of Useless Information" for decades. My little school-girl brain still wants to learn "ALL THE THINGS!". {I got to keep that part to this day.} Articles like this keep my brain all wrinkly and happy!
Mary Peace 3 months ago
My mother used to say "Mary's a mine of useless information." Well she had to say something when I came up with a random snippet at family parties.
Load More Replies... CD Mills 3 months ago (edited)
I've called myself a "Veritable Fount of Useless Information" for decades. My little school-girl brain still wants to learn "ALL THE THINGS!". {I got to keep that part to this day.} Articles like this keep my brain all wrinkly and happy!
Mary Peace 3 months ago
My mother used to say "Mary's a mine of useless information." Well she had to say something when I came up with a random snippet at family parties.
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