Join the Fun!

Ok-Indication-5121 , Art Guzman/pexels Report

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) In 2020, five Lithuanian soldiers went missing during a graduation exam. Thinking the exercise was still ongoing, they successfully evaded all attempts to find them. A military spokesman said their performance was "exemplary."

Final score:

355points

POST

Disgruntled Pelican 4 months ago

Hide and Seek: Master's Edition

177points

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Disney cofounder Roy Disney spent time with his grandchildren every week at Disneyland. Roy greeted each employee by name and picked up garbage he saw on the ground to teach them "Nobody is too good to pick up trash”.

ubcstaffer123 , Brian McGowan Report

Final score:

345points

POST

Tucker Cahooter 4 months ago

Now let's try to find something nice to say about his brother Walt...

120points

Sometimes the world can seem like a pretty scary place. Other times, just the sheer volume of information is enough to make people resist casually searching for things or ideas. After all, most sites are unwaveringly aggressive in throwing words and provocative images at you, while other times things get lost in the deluge of “breaking news.”

So, to beat back the doldrums, here are some bits of good news just from this May (2024): firstly, for the first time perhaps ever, over 30% of all global electricity is made using renewable energy.

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) John Krasinski fought for a deaf actress Millicent Simmonds to be cast in 'A Quiet Place'; she taught everyone sign language on set.

Puzzleheaded-Cat4647 , IMDb Report

Final score:

311points

POST

BoredBranzino 4 months ago

And the movie was better for it, seeing as their nemesis were super acute hearing.

71points

Chemical-Elk-1299 , Charles Wilkinson Report

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Egyptian builders such as those of the pyramids were usually not slaves, and frequently took sick days from work. Popular excuses included “stung by scorpion”, “bleeding wife”, “trouble with eye”, and even “brewing beer”.

Final score:

271points

POST

Analyn Lahr 4 months ago

I can't come in to work today, I'm brewing beer.

161points

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Scientists have been communicating with apes via sign language since the 1960s; apes have never asked one question.

alfdana , Janosch Diggelmann Report

Final score:

239points

POST

Joey Jo Jo Shabadoo 4 months ago

This is why apes rarely make it past the first date

181points

-Ash-Ketchup- , Gaby Lopez/pexels Report

If that’s not enough, an often understated part of constant medical improvements worldwide is the fact that more and more mothers survive childbirth. Over the last two decades, maternal mortality rates have been cut in half as medical knowledge and experience becomes better distributed across the globe.

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Obelisk, a Queen's Guard horse, who used to lure pigeons to him by dropping oats from his mouth. When they came close, he would stomp them to death. He was eventually taken for additional 'psychological training'.

Final score:

234points

POST

Andy Frobig 4 months ago

He was a quiet horse, mostly kept to himself...

316points

When Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned for the movie Hercules in New York (his film debut), his agent said he had years of "stage" experience, implying theater, when he had only appeared on bodybuilding stages.

sgrams04 Report

Final score:

207points

POST

Adrian 4 months ago

It worked!

89points

MaroonTrucker28 , Adriaan Greyling/pexels Report

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Menstruation is actually very rare in mammals. Other than humans, only 9 primate species, 4 bat species, the elephant shrew, and one species of mouse menstruate. All other female mammals reabsorb their uterine lining, rather than shed it.

Final score:

207points

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Analyn Lahr 4 months ago

Why can't we do that? That would be so much easier.

304points

But wait, there’s more! While it might not be nearly as exciting, a group of Cambridge University scientists have developed a way to make carbon neutral cement. Maybe this is a bit, if you will pardon the pun, dry, but making even the act of building more sustainable is an important step for the future. After all, look around you, cement is everywhere!

#10

American composer Kevin MacLeod allows anyone to use his music for free, as long as he receives credit for the song. This has led to his music being used in thousands of films, millions of videos on YouTube.

icanhazkarma17 Report

Final score:

203points

POST

Sky Render 4 months ago

Lots and lots of indie games too! Chances are, if you've played an indie game or two, you've heard his stuff before. Frost Waltz is one that shows up in a lot of them, including Kerbal Space Program.

44points

#11

In Germany a driver's license costs over $2000 after a minimum of 25-45 hours of professional instruction plus 12 hours of theory.

ubcstaffer123 Report

Final score:

188points

POST

Narwhal Blast 4 months ago

I think in most countries in Europe you're required to pay quite a hefty amount and are obligated to drive the car with an instructor by your side for 40h. You pass a driving exam and a theoretical exam.

14points

#12

'Botanical sexism' refers to the practice of preferentially planting cloned male plants in urban areas to avoid the litter of fruits and flowers. However, since male plants produce pollen, this can lead to high pollen levels in the air, making the area inhospitable for people with allergies.

rustyyryan Report

Final score:

184points

POST

Rebecca A. Corvello 4 months ago

And that's why I have allergies 24/7 here in Florida.

63points

Last, but not least, again in the UK, scientists have developed a form of gene therapy that might be able to restore hearing to some forms of deafness. This comes after a trial of the treatment that helped return hearing to 18 month old UK toddler, Opal Sandy. Once perfected, this method could be applied to a great number of conditions.

#13

In Bhutan, people do not recognize, and many do not know, their individual birthdays. Everyone in the country turns another year older together each January 1st.

PianoCharged Report

Final score:

173points

POST

John Mosley 4 months ago

They must have one hell of a party.

106points

#14

Yellowstone’s famed thermal pools can melt flesh and bone. In 2016, a tourist illegally searching for a swimmable hot spring fell into a portion of the Norris Geyser Basin, where his body was dissolved by the boiling, highly acidic water. His wallet and shoes were all that remained of him.

Chemical-Elk-1299 Report

Final score:

156points

POST

Adrian 4 months ago

Happened again, recently. Darwinism...

134points

ImJoeKing77 , khalifa waleed/pexels Report

#15

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Castrated men do not go bald. Balding is caused by sex hormones which castrated men do not produce.

Final score:

153points

POST

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 months ago

That's a plus point for castration, let's see if there are any downsides.

143points

#16

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) The common plastic garden chair is called a "Monobloc" chair, and was once banned in Switzerland for polluting the cityscape.

Thomas_Catthew , Chris/flickr Report

Final score:

151points

POST

HelluvaHedgehogAlien 4 months ago (edited)

Solution: carve the same shape out of wood

48points

#17

Sylvester Stallone asked Survivor to write the song Eye of the Tiger because Queen wouldn't let him use Another One Bites the Dust.

sd_glokta Report

Final score:

147points

POST

David 4 months ago

Another One Bites the Dust isn't a Rocky tune IMO but it would be a GREAT Rambo tune.

55points

LeftNeck9994 , Anna Shvets /pexels Report

#18

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Multiple studies have found that an extra inch of height can be worth an extra $1,000 a year in wages both for men and women.

Final score:

144points

POST

Flare 4 months ago

*Is 5'3* Dang it...

62points

space_force_majeure , Almada Studio/pexels Report

#19

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Most people can see their own white blood cells moving through their retinas.

Final score:

141points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago

Oh! That's what those are!

142points

#20

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) A man died in the lighthouse he built. Henry Winstanley was so confident in the lighthouse's design that he wished to be inside during "the greatest storm there ever was". The lighthouse was completely destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703, killing Winstanley.

TMWNN , Henry Roberts Report

Final score:

132points

POST

HF 4 months ago

the builders misread the drawings and built a light house instead of a lighthouse

9points

#21

Helium was detected on the sun before it was detected on Earth. That's why it was named for Helios, the Greek god of the sun.

gullydon Report

Final score:

132points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago

"The sun is a mass of incandescent gas A gigantic nuclear furnace Where hydrogen is built into helium At a temperature of millions of degrees." They Might be Giants.

62points

tyrion2024 , Beatrice Murch/flickr Report

#22

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Humans are the "most sensitive" to the castor oil seeds: it takes 1 to [take out] a full grown human, 11 to [take out] a dog, and a massive dose of 80 to [take out] a duck. The seeds contain ricin which is roughly 6000 times more poisonous than cyanide.

Final score:

131points

POST

Adrian 4 months ago

Thanks BP for protecting me from those terrifying words!

151points

#23

Recruitment to the British Army's Gurkha unit is extremely competitive, accepting only 230 recruits out of 28,000 applicants. All recruitment happens in Nepalese villages, and candidates must participate in a two-mile race up a steep hill, carrying 35kg of rocks in a basket.

EtOHMartini Report

Final score:

126points

POST

Adrian 4 months ago

Gurkhas are serious badasses. My grandfather fought with them in WWII and was in awe of them...

127points

#24

A 2022 survey of 3,000 adults & children found that just 27% of children (ages 6-16) said they regularly play outside their homes, whereas, 71% of the baby boomer generation said they did when they were children (80% for those ages 55-64).

Final score:

123points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago (edited)

WOW! Gen-Xers like me used to travel miles and be gone for hours. As long as we made it to school on time, our parents didn't care how long it took us to get home.

140points

#25

Benjamin Franklin used to sit around naked for extended periods to take air baths.

athornton Report

Final score:

119points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago

He was kind of the weird hippy dude of the Founding Fathers. He was all about free love too. He'd have fit right in in Haight-Ashbury in 1968.

110points

#26

GPS, despite being free for global use, costs around $2 million a day to operate and maintain. This budget covers satellite launches and system upkeep, funded through American tax revenue.

whstlngisnvrenf Report

Final score:

118points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago

Totally WORTH IT! Not every tax dollar for the USA needs to be spent on the USA alone. Helping others helps ourselves. How did we end up with this sociopathic isolationist movement in the 21st century?

140points

Bexxxx 4 months ago (edited)

Humans helping humanity! What’s the point of all these awesome advances in technology if humanity can’t use it? Thanks for paying for our GPS America, we appreciate you!

21points

laura lee 4 months ago (edited)

Republicans gaming the electoral college and kowtowing to their real employers (kick backs) and gutting the American school system making eveyone dumber and more afraid. Not to mention poorer

7points

BoredBranzino 4 months ago

TRUTH!! But the rest needs to go to healthcare and other citizen service.

5points

Sky Render 4 months ago

It's a revival of the xenophobic movement of the early 1900s. Prior to WW1, the US did its best to stay far away from international wars and generally didn't like dealing with foreigners. A stark difference from what happened during and after WWI!

5points

Rebecca A. Corvello 4 months ago

I wish I knew. I've been wracking my brain for years trying to figure out where we went wrong.

4points

Kim Lorton 4 months ago

Political greed and unrealistic glory by small men.

3points

Michael None 4 months ago

US foreign aid is like $70 billion and counting. $2 million is a drop in the bucket my friend.

3points

Mike m 4 months ago

Isolationists have been proven wrong ever time. It's a failure to learn from history.

3points

Nancy Bania 4 months ago

I'm pretty sure we all know who started the me first movement. He's orange.

3points

Ąåřţđęşịɠŋȿ 4 months ago

IMHO... this is due to a lack interest in, nor knowledge of history, critical thinking, and a woeful lack of common sense...

2points

Wolf princess quinn 4 months ago

Conservatives!!

2points

AtMostAFabulist Premium 4 months ago (edited)

CoughcoughTrumpcoughcough

2points

Baali Venomax 4 months ago

Sounds like something in your schools. Or maybe the extreme bible belt followers.

1point

Lindy Mac 4 months ago

Ray: you can't possibly be Republican.... those words were never uttered by a single GOPy in the history of the world. 😂🙄

0points

Laura Parker 4 months ago

Do some research on how much we give out every year in Foreign Aid. Too much really! Let them hate us on their own dime!

-1point

Ryn 4 months ago

Obama

-1point

Jeff Hunt 4 months ago

Because people are tired of seeing a lot of this tax money benefit enemies. Iran, Afghanistan, and China ring a bell?

-1point

John Smith (he/him/xy/️) 4 months ago

Due to your voting system allowing you to vote for either an extreme right douche or a slightly less right douche. In the eyes of the resto fo the world, typical us presidential candidates are extremely conservative

-1point

The Other Ben 4 months ago

I'll get downvoted, but I always have to point out that GPS is funded and operated through the US Defense Department (i.e., military). People like to complain about or mock the huge US military budget (and I'm not saying they're necessarily wrong), but those expenditures also pay for a number of civil public services and technology. Let the flaming begin.

11points

Ionescu Popa 4 months ago

it was the same with the internet - we keep the keys bcz we support so much of it...then ppl around the world pushed for shared expenses and responsibilities, and everybody was happy (except us). free gps and free security are scams.

2points

Hmmm hmmmm 4 months ago

Thanks America

5points

leendadll 4 months ago

There are multiple systems in use throughout the world: "As of 2024, four global systems are operational: the United States's Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the European Union's Galileo." -Wiki

5points

Jess Smith 4 months ago

How long would the government shut down need to be for GPS to stop working? Because we keep getting really close to those.

2points

Susan Reid Smith 4 months ago

The US government can shut down the GPS if it thinks it needs to. Please learn how to read a map.

0points

Cybele Spanjaard 4 months ago

I wish they could find out what is wrong with my granddaughter's screwy Sat Nav then

1point

Robert Veitch 4 months ago

As good and useful as GPS is it is causing wide-spread loss of geographic sense, especially among younger people. Without it they are often completely lost. They seem to lose the sense of automatically recording landmarks, distance, and direction and thus no longer have a geographic reference base in their minds. s

1point

Karina 4 months ago

Who owns the data, and what do they learn?

1point

Adam Jeff 4 months ago

Through GPS itself, nothing. GPS satellites broadcast signals but do not receive signals back, so they don't 'know' what devices are using the signals. The apps on your phone, of course, are a different story.

0points

Samuel Pelatan 4 months ago

That's even a geopolitical issue because most of the systems in the west relly on it. You could call that an investment in soft power.

1point

Stardust she/her 4 months ago

The interesting thing about the GPS is that its satellites have to adjust and account for time dilation caused by being a bit further from the centre of the earth causing the satellites to be a few microseconds ahead. If that difference in time is not accounted for then data would be off by several kilometres

1point

Adrian 4 months ago

Isn't that the point?

1point

PrettyJoyBird 4 months ago

America's tax dollars pay for the whole world to use GPS for free.

7points

Lesbitarian Lady Premium 4 months ago

Go 'murica, I love it when we're kind to the world instead of all the mean being directed towards our fellow countries

0points

Stan Chung 4 months ago (edited)

Using it to spy for 2M a day is a small price to pay.

0points

Hakitosama 4 months ago

Europe has launched Galileo and it should be fully operational in 2024 so you won't have to shoulder all of it alone anymore 🤷‍♀️

0points

kelsischloe1986 4 months ago

I don't think it is free. I pay to use it on my phone every month. Those that buy the gps boxes that go in your vehicle also have to buy the gps. So where is this free b.s. coming from?

0points

Downunderdude 4 months ago

For God's sake don't tell the republicans.

-1point

Ian Webling 4 months ago

Don't tell the Republicans!

-1point

#27

In 2008, Tesla took the TV series Top Gear to court for libel and malicious falsehood after it suggested one of its vehicles had run out of power after only 55 miles. The High Court of Justice in London rejected Tesla's libel claim in 2011.

9oRo Report

Final score:

117points

POST

Con O Cuinn 4 months ago

And their subsequent appeal. Tesla were claiming a 250 mile range at the time. Top Gear made it very clear they were talking about driving flat out on a track, that's why Tesla lost.

94points

#28

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Amelia Earhart had a copilot when she disappeared, his name was Fred Noonan.

aomusik , Los Angeles Daily News Report

Final score:

111points

POST

Mgtow Smurf 4 months ago

Fred Noonan was the Navigator.

119points

#29

The Nuremberg Trials executioner lied to the US Military about his prior experience. He botched a number of hangings prior to Nuremberg. The Nuremberg criminals had their faces battered bloody against the too-small trapdoor and were hung from short ropes, with many taking over 10 minutes to die.

shibafather Report

Final score:

106points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago

Botched executions couldn't happen to better people. Nazis suck.

263points

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

See Also on Bored Panda

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#30

The famous "We Can Do It!" poster was barely known during WWII. It was displayed for two weeks as part of a series of posters to boost worker morale in one company's factories. It remained virtually unknown until the 1980s when it was rediscovered in an article about the National Archives.

JRFbase Report

Final score:

105points

POST

james stevenson 4 months ago

Rosie the Riveter

58points

#31

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Cars must have at least three-quarters of a tank in order to leave Singapore, in order to stop them from buying cheaper gas in Malaysia and circumventing Singapore's gas tax.

Brix001 , Skitterphoto/pexels Report

Final score:

102points

POST

Courtney Christelle 4 months ago

Do they not have gas cans?

35points

#32

There have been multiple attempts to privatize the National Weather Service and charge for weather data that is currently in the public domain.

P4t13nt_z3r0 Report

Final score:

102points

POST

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 4 months ago

This is as dumb as thinking that wind turbines are going to make the world hotter because they soak up all the wind. Yes people really believe that. Some of them are in politics.

157points

#33

There were 12 confirmed dogs on the Titanic and 3 of them survived.

Ok-Respond-81 Report

Final score:

102points

POST

HelluvaHedgehogAlien 4 months ago

That’s actually a pretty high survival rate

45points

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

See Also on Bored Panda

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#34

Lucid dreaming is a learnable skill. There are specific techniques and tips, like learning to check your reality, that can increase chances of having a lucid dream.

BumbleBChicken Report

Final score:

101points

POST

Sky Render 4 months ago

The way I discovered to learn this was to forcibly make myself take control of my night terrors. The unreality of the situation coupled with my being simultaneously awake and asleep made it a perfect training grounds, as that's basically what a lucid dream is (but without your eyes open).

46points

#35

Charlize Theron's mother shot and killed her father in self defense in front of her. Charlize would later go on to be the first person born in Africa to win an Oscar for acting.

Korribuns Report

Final score:

95points

POST

T'Mar of Vulcan 4 months ago (edited)

In South Africa she's known as "the bombshell from Benoni" (a town 26 k's - or 16 miles - east of Johannesburg). (Princess Charlene of Monaco - aka Charlene Wittstock - is also from Benoni.)

44points

#36

Ben Stiller developed the premise for Tropic Thunder while shooting Empire of the Sun. He wanted to make a film based on the actors he knew who became "self-important" & appeared to believe they had been part of a real military unit after taking part in boot camps to prepare for war film roles.

Final score:

93points

POST

AisForRebel 4 months ago

"you never go full r****d"

29points

#37

In 2020 Cambridge University Library announced that two notebooks written by Charles Darwin, "worth many millions of pounds", had been missing for 20 years & had likely been stolen. One of the notebooks contains Darwin's famous Tree of Life sketch that explores the relationship between species.

Final score:

92points

POST

Pandemonium 4 months ago

Worth millions of pounds but it's not like you can take it down to Sotheby's and sell it to the highest bidder

42points

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

See Also on Bored Panda

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#38

A Chinese man was thought to have died from a lightning strike until his body exploded at his cremation. A piece of metal was found leading to the discovery that a weather rocket, meant to break up hail, had failed to explode & had fallen through the man's roof acting like a bullet, killing him.

Final score:

91points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago

Holy s**t!

46points

Fun-Maintenance9422 Report

#39

“Smiley Face Theory,” which alleges that from 1990–2010, 45 young men found dead in bodies of water across the Midwest did not accidentally drown but were rather victims of a serial killer. The only known connection is grafiti depicting a “smiley face” found near at least a dozen bodies.

Final score:

85points

POST

Helena 4 months ago

Mentalist vibes. red john

84points

#40

Steller’s sea cows were massive, docile animals that were exterminated less than 30 years after the species was first discovered.

malarky-b Report

Final score:

81points

POST

HelluvaHedgehogAlien 4 months ago

hUmAnItY

57points

#41

A number of people, including a group of Swedish researchers, tried to replicate the experiment shown in the documentary Super Size Me(2004). None of them were able to get the same results as the documentary creator.

Porchie12 Report

Final score:

80points

POST

David 4 months ago

We also know he falsified a lot in his documentary, as well as didnt disclose to people his major health and medical issues from before which also threw off the results.

85points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

See Also on Bored Panda

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#42

On warning of a likely missile launch against the USA, the Pentagon and Strategic Command war rooms, have one minute to brief the president, who then has roughly only six minutes to decide whether and how to respond.

CapnFancyPants Report

Final score:

80points

POST

Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 4 months ago

To all the USA readers.... think very hard on your next Federal vote as to whom you would place this responsibility to.

238points

Astro_gamer_caver , Brooklyn Museum Report

#43

“Today I Learned”: 50 Cool Things People Just Discovered (New Posts) Only three objects have ever been found inside the Great Pyramid of Giza- pieces of wood, a ball made of diorite, and a copper hook. They were found in 1872 in a shaft leading from the Queen's Chamber.

Final score:

70points

POST

Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 4 months ago

So, I guess thieves had already plundered the pyramid well before modern archeologists.

79points

#44

Aztecs had 18 festivities each year, 17 of which included human sacrifices. Apart from extraction of the heart, they used variety of other methods; drowning, starvation, decapitation, burning, bludgeoning, throwing from heights, forced gladiatorial combat and shooting with arrows.

HamFistedSurgeon Report

Final score:

70points

POST

Satan Laughs 4 months ago

Scientists have recently discovered that it was male youths who were primarily sacrificed— often with the same DNA indicating they were family members. It is impossible to distinguish male from female skeletons before puberty so this finding is amazing in understanding WTF the Mayans were doing. I love science so that made me go HUH. In a good way. Well, not for those boys…

37points

#45

US airlines are legally required to refund a ticket within 24 hours of purchase, no matter if the ticket type was refundable or not.

Chemical_Act_7648 Report

Final score:

68points

POST

ElfVibratorGlitter 4 months ago

Oh really? I'll believe this for now, but gonna look into it.

36points