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People say that every day you learn something new. And while that sounds like a cliche, it’s very much true, especially if you’re a regular user of the internet or an avid reader (in a world where people’s interest in reading is, unfortunately, declining). It’s no secret that both are an infinite source of all sorts of random facts and material on basically every topic there is, so it’s really up to you to decide how much you want to learn each day.
If you’re looking to learn something new on a regular basis, chances are you are already part of the subreddit fittingly titled ‘Today I Learned’, which is where we want to shed light on this beautiful day. On the list below, you will find numerous facts and stories, as shared by said community, so if you’re eager to scratch that itch in your brain, wait no longer and start reading, and make sure to upvote the pieces of information that intrigued you the most.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University, Dr. Tanya Kaefer, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions on learning.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A Challenger space shuttle engineer, Allan McDonald, raised safety concerns against the wishes of his employer & NASA. He was ignored; a fatal accident resulted. When McDonald spoke out, he was demoted by his company. Congress stepped in to help him. He later taught ethical decision making
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#2
An Olympian sold her silver medal to fund a boy's surgery. The buyer let her keep it
#3
During the Apollo 13 mission, Jack Swigert realized he had forgotten to file his tax return. NASA contacted the IRS, who agreed that he was considered ‘out of country’ and therefore entitled to a deadline extension
In a recent interview with Bored Panda, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University, Dr. Tanya Kaefer, seconded the idea that it’s up to each person to decide how much they want to learn each day.
“It is possible to learn something new every day, but learning is a choice, so whether or not you learn something every day is entirely up to you,” she said, adding that learning is how we do everything. “Everything we've done or know is something we've learned. There's no functioning without learning.”
#4
I learned that Mexico, which abolished slavery in 1837, refused the United States’ request to return escaped slaves back up north. Between 3,000 to 5,000 runaway slaves would flee to Mexico
#5
Dashrath Manjhi, the "Mountain Man," spent 22 years carving a 110-meter path through a mountain using just a hammer and chisel. Motivated by grief after his wife died due to a long route to the hospital, he shortened the journey from 55 km to 15 km.
#6
Alanis Morrisette was dropped by her record label after disappointing sales of her first two albums. Her third album, Jagged Little Pill, is the 13th highest selling album of all time worldwide
Discussing the benefits of browsing random facts, for instance, Dr. Kaefer pointed out that while doing so, it’s important to be aware that skimming the surface doesn’t make one an expert in the fields the facts relate to.
“Random, interesting, and fun facts can be fun and a good exercise for learning – just like our bodies, we have to exercise our brains too,” she pointed out. “For some serious, complex topics that greatly impact people's lives, having a shallow, un-nuanced understanding can be detrimental.
No one can know everything about everything, and it’s fine to choose to know a little bit about a lot of different things. You just have to be careful that you don't forget that you don't know everything about that topic.”
#7
Unescorted women prevented men from casually assaulting them in the early 1900s with a simple clothing accessory - the hat pin, and it was so effective as a weapon that laws were passed limiting it's length in many states
Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 2 months ago
"Sorry ladies, we can't allow you to defend yourself too well or we'll never be able to assault you, and what sort of a society would that be!"
#8
At 15, Kara Robinson was kidnapped and assaulted by a serial killer for 18 hours. She managed to escape after manipulating him to feel at ease. She later helped police to capture him because she had memorized details of her surroundings
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 months ago
A similar thing happened in South Africa in the '80s-1990. A serial killer, Gert van Rooyen, had abducted and killed a bunch of young female pre-teens (around 12-13 years old) with the help of his lover, Joey Haarhof. The girls would trust her and she'd turn them over to Van Rooyen, who'd sexually assault and murder them. But one teen, Joan Booysen, liked the TV show MacGyver and jimmied the lock and escaped. Van Rooyen and his girlfriend k!lled themselves before they could be arrested. Six of the girls they're believed to have abducted and killed are still missing.
#9
There is a study that proves across 80 pairs of jeans that women pockets are generally half the size of men for the same brand. Only 40% of them can comfortably fit an iPhone X and only 10% can fit your entire hand. In comparison 100% of male jeans can fit both.
As many people turn to the internet for information, they should also bear in mind that it can become a double-edged sword. “The internet plays a role both good and bad in learning. We have access to a virtually unlimited source of information, but also a lot of misinformation,” Dr. Kaefer noted.
“Our learning mechanisms don't distinguish between true facts and made-up stories, so we have to take a whole separate route to check those things. And a lot of times, if a fact is fun, we forget to check whether it's true. So that's an important step in learning from the internet.”
#10
The "microwave-safe" label on plastic containers only means they won't melt or warp, and doesn't guarantee that chemicals won't leach into your food when heated
#11
During the siege of Leningrad, scientists working at the world’s largest collection of seeds protected the seeds from the threats of the cold, the hungry residents of the besieged city, rats, and their own hunger. Twenty-eight of the botanists died during the siege, protecting their collection
Sindhu P 2 months ago (edited)
Some of the botanists who starved were Dimitri Ivanov, Alexander Stchukin, Liliya Rodina, M Steheglov, Georgi Kriyer, G Kovalesky, N Leontjevsky, A Malygina and A Kozrun. Also, the leader (Nikolai Vavilov), was accused of 'anti-Soviet scientific practices' and was starved to death by an a-hole called Lysenko
#12
Key West declared independence from the United States in 1982, then declared war, then immediately surrendered to apply for foreign aid, after being frustrated by the lack of response from the US government to complaints about a roadblock
StarCrossedFriday 2 months ago (edited)
“The Conch Republic (also known as Key West and the Florida Keys) like many nations was born from trouble. The trouble started back in the dark days of March 1982, when the U.S. Federal Government placed a Border Patrol Roadblock at the Last Chance Saloon in Florida City. A seventeen mile traffic jam immediately ensued as the Border Patrol stopped every car leaving or entering the Keys, supposedly searching for illegal d***s and aliens who might be hiding under the front seats, in glove compartments, and in trunks. The media starting reporting on the unprecedented action of the Border Patrol in setting up a Border Roadblock within the United States, itself (after all, most everyone believed that the Florida Keys were indeed part of the United States!) As the stories of the traffic jam poured out across the nation and the world, visitors started canceling reservations to come to the Keys.”
#13
Howard Hughes was a chronic insomniac who wanted to watch movies on TV when most people were asleep, but when he first arrived in Las Vegas he discovered that it had no all-night TV stations. So he purchased a local station in 1967 and turned it into a 24/7 channel.
Liam Farranree 2 months ago
Hughes was obesessed with the movie Ice Station Zebra and would have the station play it repeatedly. Sometimes he would nod off for a while in the middle of it and when he woke up he would phone the station to tell them to play it again from the begining. I like to imagine how many times TV viewers in Las Vegas were watching this movie approach it's climax only to see the opening credits play as the movie began again from the start.
#14
Chinstrap penguins take more than 10,000 micro-naps a day, lasting an average of 4 seconds, for a total of more than 11 hours of daily sleep
#15
Roger Fisher, a Harvard Law School professor who proposed putting the US nuclear codes inside a person, so that the president has no choice but to take a life to activate the country's nuclear weapons
#16
Borat's first movie was banned in Kazakhstan but when the second was released they made a tourism campaign around "Very Nice!"
#17
After his death, it was revealed that Stan Lee, famous Marvel Comics writer, suffered Elder Abuse from various handlers and family members who alienated him from the other part of his family and fired his accountants, lawyers, and caretakers that have been with him for decades
Jacob Ross 2 months ago
That came to light a couple years before he died. I read an open letter from someone close to him begging him I cut ties with certain people. I don't know if the letter author was an abuser or someone genuinely trying to help.
#18
Mozart died at 35, and wrote 800 pieces, 22 pieces every year he lived
#19
Abraham Lincoln and four other Illinois legislators jumped out of a window to prevent a quorum on a vote that would have eliminated the Illinois State Bank in 1840. It was reported that this wasn't his first time doing this to prevent a vote
#20
Aurora Rodríguez Carballeira attempted to create an ideal human being through her daughter, Hildegart. Hildegart read at 2, spoke 4 languages at 8, joined law school at 13, becoming professor there at 18. Her mother [took her life] her when she tried to run away.
ENSJ 2 months ago
Paraphrasing but her mother's reasons were: Once a sculptress identifies even the slightest of imperfections in her work, she destroys it. She never regretted doing it and said she'd do it again if presented the same circumstances. She never considered her daughter as an individual but a project that was an extension of herself. Horrible.
#21
In a feat of rage, Emperor Hadrian once stabbed a slave in the eye with a pen. Feeling regretful whe he calmed down, Hadrian called the slave and told him to ask for literally anything as compensation. The slave replied "i just want my eye back"
Liam Farranree 2 months ago
and that slave's distant decendant would be Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride,
#22
Charles de Gaulle was not told about the D-Day landings until 2 days before as the British and French leaders did not believe the French could keep the information secret
Michael Largey 2 months ago
More likely they feared he would insist on a voice in the planning, which he would have. Or maybe they just hated talking to him, which they did.
#23
20% of scientific genetics research papers have errors due to Microsoft Excel's auto-formatting of gene names into dates
#24
A young couple in Japan divorce and remarry each other every 3 years to take turns using their family names, all because they can't come into agreement on which last name to use
#25
DJ scratching was invented in 1975 when Grand Wizzard Theodore was playing records loudly, making his mother to enter his room to scold him. This caused him to hold the record still, accidentally moving it back and forth and liking the sound it made
StarCrossedFriday 2 months ago
Unrelated, but the word ‘Wizzard’ always reminds me of Rincewind, a wizard so inept he can’t even spell the word correctly - GNU Terry Pratchett
#26
The 2010 Flash Crash, during which the US stock market temporarily lost $1 trillion in value, was partly caused by Navinder Sarao, an autistic man living in his parents' London home. In a span of 5 years, Sarao made a profit of $40 million by tricking high frequency traders with custom software
Luke Branwen 2 months ago
And we really let these silly imaginary numbers dictate and ruin our lives.
#27
71 year old Bernard Gore was supposed to meet his wife and daughter in a mall in Sydney after first doing a little shopping himself. Instead, he exited a mall door leading to a stairwell labyrinth and was found dead 3 weeks later failing to find his way out
#28
The Goths besieging Constantinople in 378 AD were left stunned when one of the defenders stormed out of the city completely naked, decapitated one of the attackers and proceeded to drink the blood from his neck
Liam Farranree 2 months ago
This spectacle so traumatized the Goths that they've been gloomy and brooding ever since.
#29
Until earlier this year it was legal for apartments in Austin, Texas to have no windows, and that landlords often didn't disclose this in advertisements
XanthippeⓐWulf🇨🇦️️🇬🇧 2 months ago
I love when people post stuff without context. (simplified)This was an IBC f**k up that made it possible for builders to make cheap student housing on the west campus with no windows. They tried to get around it by installing all kinds of fire safety, which probably cost the construction company way more than simply putting in windows. Some of the "windowless" apartments actually do have windows though. There are windows in the studio-style kitchen/ living room area, but nowhere else.
StarCrossedFriday 2 months ago
Reminds me of the old ‘window tax’ in the 18th century - that led to all kinds of unforeseen related long-term issues too.
Donna Leske 2 months ago
My house was built in 1941 and lived in by the owner-builder and his family. In the 60s our power company had a promotion on installing new energy efficient windows (low-cost or free?). He selected double-glazed PICTURE windows for all 5 downstairs rooms. They don't open thus no ventilation unless you leave the door(s) open. I am the second owner, purchased in 2004, I did not notice that the windows didn't open until I'd lived there awhile. In 2006 I took out the (hated) picture windows in the back bedrooms and installed French doors. Still have to be open for venting I'll admit, but now I have egress in case of fire.
Leoninus Fate 2 months ago
I realize Im going to live in a room with one tiny window.... its almost a large couboard
Linda Riebel 2 months ago
Remember the rich guy who tried to force a southern California university to build a student living building? No windows in most rooms AND not nearly enough exits in case of fire. Wonder if that every got built.....
BrunoVI 2 months ago
How was Austin unique in Texas in this? I could see how this could be regulated at the city/county level, but everyone else (or even everyone but some smaller, anonymous towns) had laws Austin didn't? OTOH, why would landlords have to disclose this? Don't people look where they rent? Or at least look at photos of it, first? Who rents a place without having any idea what it looks like?
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 months ago
I would appreciate the knowledge beforehand, but it wouldn't affect my decision to rent--would just tell me I needed to buy more plant lights so my green babies have light.
#30
The Last Of Us accidentally contains an IRL phone number, that leads directly to an adult hotline service
What do you think ?
Freya the Wanderer 2 months ago
Really cool, but I will appreciate citations to strong evidence, or better yet, proof.
Freya the Wanderer 2 months ago
Really cool, but I will appreciate citations to strong evidence, or better yet, proof.
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