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“You live and you learn,” as a saying, remains undefeated. In fact, it’s hard not to, unless you really really enjoy living under rocks, and even there you might discover all sorts of new bugs. Fortunately, most of us actually enjoy discovering more about the world we live in. 

The “Today I Learned” internet group is a gold mine for anyone who enjoys bite-sized nuggets of knowledge. Historical trivia, little-known facts, and cool science details all feature, so get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorite new facts and be sure to comment your thoughts below. 

#1

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that priest Father Damien worked in Hawaii for 16 years, providing comfort to the lepers. He built homes and he treated lepers with his medical expertise. He prayed and comforted the dying. He later contracted leprosy but continued to give to the people and helped improve an orphanage.

LandscapeKind4598 , William Brigham Report

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Mixed Reality Portal
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is what genuinely caring and compassionate.religious people do - not abuse children, amass wealth for themselves, subjecate women and gay people etc or bully folk with hypocritical self righteous bs.

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#2

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL due to efficient recycling processes, 75% of all aluminium produced world wide is still in use today

ikilledmypc , Chad Davis Report

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James Doe
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This should NOT be misunderstood as a free-pass to waste aluminum! It's extremely energy intensive to produce aluminum, don't waste it e.g. to wrap your lunch daily that you can simply put in a reusable box instead!

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#3

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Emma Gibson, frozen as an embryo in 1992, was born in 2017 to a mother born in 1991.

sanandrios , Amina Filkins Report

Despite their ubiquity, most people never stop to ask what makes a fact fun. Most of the time, particularly in school, facts were everything but fun, obnoxious, confusing, and on the test, which never really makes anything enjoyable. Even now, most people only enjoy trivia related to topics they are interested in and even then, within limits. 

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But the real, original fun facts come from chewing gum, where self-proclaimed tidbits of information would be printed inside the wrapper starting from the 1970s. How fun or not these facts were is a question each person has to answer themselves, but in the pre-smartphone era perhaps entertaining someone, even for a few seconds, was easier. Regardless, the idea, much like gum, stuck and spread to other industries. 

#4

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL That the Pink Panther cartoon show was created due to the success of the character in the opening credits of the Pink Panther films

gnome512 , Official Pink Panther Report

#5

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL the humming noise produced by electricity is a different tone in Europe than it is in the US. The American electrical hum is a B-flat whereas the European electrical hum is a G

Gapplesauce37 , Pixabay Report

#6

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Adolphe Sax, the son of instrument designers, was prone to accidents. As a kid, he fell from a 3-story height, drank acidic water he mistook for milk, swallowed a pin, fell into a frying pan, was burned in a gunpowder blast, and fell into a river. He grew up to invent the saxophone.

RedditPrat , Unknown author Report

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As with most things in the world, even the word trivia has some degree of trivia about it. The ancient Roman “triviae” described a place or intersection where a road split into two new roads. Naturally, such areas would get a lot of traffic and become “public spaces” which morphed into “commonplace,” as there were no doubt many “triviae” dotted across that road-building empire. 

#7

TIL Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon.

Proper_Contest_4035 Report

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[>.<]/
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TIL that Buzz Aldrin's mother (named Marion Moon) shot herself before his lunar flight because she didn't know if she could cope with his impending fame. He then fell into depression and alcoholism after his flight.

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#8

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that when Will Smith was 12 his grandmother found his notebook of rap lyrics with curse words and wrote a note in it telling Will that truly smart people do not have to curse when expressing themselves. As a result he resolved not to use profanity in his music.

astarisaslave , Gage Skidmore Report

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Michael Largey
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you think one slap constitutes slapping the s**t out of someone, you've never had the s**t slapped out of you.

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Michael None
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amazing how everyone will crucify him over one mistake. Yes he was wrong, but like you and I he deserves the chance to make amends and grow from his mistakes. Give him a chance to do so. It's not like he slapped you personally!

BluEyedSeoulite
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel really bad for him, in hind sight. I wouldn't want to be in a marriage like that but then again, his kids are grown and he can walk away and everyone is fine financially

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CP
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People care too much about profane words like f*ck and sh*t and not enough on actual hateful language.

Upstaged75
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a line in a song by Eminem that goes "Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records. Well I do. So fvck him and fvck you too." :)

adnap derob
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You think I give a damn about a Grammy? Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me.

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Ryan-James O'Driscoll
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't condemn a man for a slap because I have things in my own life I have said or done that I am not proud of. It must be nice to be perfect enough to write off an entire human for a slap.

eccentric feline
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ahh but it’s scientifically proven that smarter people swear more

Jared Robinson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

lol Granny was wrong. Studies have found that people who are generally smarter generally curse more than less intelligent people.

James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was that the first time he was threatened with being sent to live with his aunt and uncle?

Douglas Tucker
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The commenters JB & JIHANA are absolutely correct. Mr. Smith could have chosen a different path other than a Cain to Abel comedy routine. Will Smith has acknowledged hurting his own career, his giving millions of viewers something to discuss for years about himself, his spouse, Chris Rock, what kind of slapstick humor is acceptable while wearing formal clothes, how the public sees Black people and vigilante punishment in general...all viewpoints we commenters are making here. We who cheer on the Smith Slap or defend Rock's hurtful humor may one day have the Will Smith test. With hope, we will make a better decision than both these fellows did.

KathyT
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People need to just get over it. So judgmental. Must be nice to live a live without reproach...I know I haven't.

Lil Miss Hobbit
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

His grandma was right. My Dad used to say this to me when I wrote stories.

Louise 89
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A few studies have shown people with higher IQs tend to swear more. I can see how its offence when directed at someone but swearing can actually relieve stress, dull the sensation of pain, foster camaraderie among peers and is linked with traits like verbal fluency, openness and honesty.

Vera Rios
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I tell this to my class. Its true. Martin luther, gandhi, cesar chavez and more people made a difference spoke their mind with out bad words. Will smith needs more guidance from grandma in regards to the slap heard around the world. I like will smith he just needs guidanance.

Draga Millani
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records, well I do. So f*ck him and f*ck you too"-Eminem

Jennifer Brown
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

actually, people who swear have been found to be highly F&^*&(ing intelligent

Mo Flores
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Always thought this was funny considering the amount he cursed in movies

ginshun
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Wil Smith don't need to cuss in his rap to sell records, well I do, so f**k him and f**k you too!" - Eminem

Marci Rommal
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And now studies are showing that highly intelligent people tend to curse more than average- or low-intelligence people. While ignorant people tend to be more physically violent.

RavenTheCat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can downvote and rant all you want but , i see all these comments about how he was *right* to slap Chris Rock. Now personally I think Will's a great actor but a terrible person, thats just me and i respect you all for your own opinions . But from what i recalled Chris wasn't trying to make fun of Wills wife herself, if i recall. And i could be wrong. Wasn't he just poking fun at a character she played? Do correct me if im wrong but be civil about it

Swinger Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But also, all y'all have done something stupid or made a rash decision that you later regret. You don't want it to continue to be brought up endlessly. Why do it with celebrities? Don't let one mistake overtake who he really is. Live, learn, and do better next time.

YetAnotherSarah
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So the lyric *isn't* "You saw my blinker bïtch"? I must've misunderstood it for 30 years.

Ricardo Ferreira
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember a time when mr. Smith was THE guy everyone wants to be. Smart, street wise etc. How the turn tables...

Asher Tye
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I tend to agree with that. There are exceptions of course, but it holds as a rule.

T I
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder what his grandma would have thought of his Oscar appearance when he slapped Chris Rock

Holy Shimmering Sheeps541t
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe that's why he lets his wife treat him like dirt and then gets uppity with the wrong people.

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#9

TIL Teófilo Stevenson, widely regarded as the greatest Olympic boxer of all time, was offered a million dollars to defect from Cuba and fight heavyweight world champion Muhammad Ali. Stevenson declined, asking "What is one million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans?"

GoodSamaritan_ Report

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These days, trivial is still used to describe things that really aren’t that complicated. The connection between “trivial” and “trivia” comes from Medieval higher education, where “common” subjects, grammar, rhetoric, and logic, were referred to as “the trivia.” Naturally, a student at the time would no doubt have to memorize all sorts of “trivia,” a label that seems to have stuck.  

#10

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Ancient Romans added lead syrup to wine to improve color, flavor, and to prevent fermentation. The average Roman aristocrat consumed up to 250μg of lead daily. Some Roman texts implicate chronic lead poisoning in the mental deterioration of Nero, Caligula, and other Roman Emperors.

breadlof , Commonists Report

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Billy Harrelson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, the word plumbing comes from the Latin plumbum meaning lead as the pipes were all made of lead.

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#11

TIL at least one of the victims of the Vesuvius Eruption in 79 C.E was found with a vitrified brain. In other words their brain was turned to glass due to the extreme heat.

Dragonbutt45 Report

#12

TIL In 1973, Keith Moon, the drummer for rock band The Who, passed out in the middle of a show. A random guy from the audience named Scot Halpin walked on stage and filled in on drums to finish the show.

Capable-Site-301 Report

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However, about seven hundred years would pass between Medieval students and trivia as we see it today. In 1902, British aphorist Logan Pearsall Smith wrote “I know too much; I have stuffed too many of the facts of History and Science into my intellectuals. My eyes have grown dim over books; believing in geological periods, cave dwellers, Chinese Dynasties, and the fixed stars has prematurely aged me,” reflecting the overwhelming amount of knowledge he had accumulated. 

#13

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL toilet paper wasn’t “splinter free” until the 1930’s

Chewbock , Vlada Karpovich Report

#14

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL the biohazard symbol didn't symbolize or refer to anything originally. It's simply a shape that was picked as being symmetrical, hard to mistake, and easy to remember

JM1210 , atluxity Report

#15

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Brooke Greenberg, who died in 2013, had ‘Syndrome X’, which made her remain physically and cognitively similar to a 1 year old, despite being 20 years old at the time of her death.

_c4rdinal , Marcin Jozwiak Report

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But it wouldn’t be until the 1960s that this idea would really take off as a means of general entertainment. A game titled “Trivia” was published on February 5, 1965, by Ed Goodgold, who also started some of the first contests with the help of Dan Carlinsky. As it always happens, the year, their names, and general information about “trivia” have all become trivia and fun facts. 

#16

TIL that in 2005, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia nominated a fire hydrant to run for the Board of Governors (and even acted as its "translator"). The hydrant pulled in 900 votes, missing a seat by six ballots.

TheLeagueOfOwls Report

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Mycroft1967
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was in college, they put name signs on everyone's doors in the dorm. To make thing interesting some of my friends put the name "Turner Heaton" on the utility room. He got newsletters from the Resident Assistant the whole year. I also understand they signed him up for a couple things on campus.

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#17

TIL that the place Julius Caesar was murdered, “Torre Argentina,” is now a cat sanctuary.

_c4rdinal Report

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SoapsVonSoaps
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been there. You can't go into the ruins but you can see the place where he was stabbed. The cats live there and we went to the sanctuary as well, this was 5 years ago.

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#18

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Women’s shirt buttons are on the left-hand side because wealthy women used to be dressed by their maids and it was easier to access.

DwightKSchrute007 , Liza Summer Report

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GettingCereal
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In those circles where women were dressed by maids, weren't men also dressed by valets?

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#19

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that the Soviet space probe Phobos-2, , designed to explore Mars' moons, failed because 2 of its 3 computers died, and since it used a system where the computers voted on any decision, the 1 healthy computer was unable to outvote 2 dead computers

casualphilosopher1 , Perminov, The Difficult Road to Mars Report

#20

TIL the meerkat is the world's most murderous mammal with 20% of all meerkats being violently killed by another meerkat, most commonly their mother, sister, or aunt

cwood1973 Report

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Boredest Disabled Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. Frankly I would have thought humans might take the top spot. But there's always meerkats to make me feel better about mankind!

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#21

TIL Song titles can't be copyrighted. You can legally title a song "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Stairway to Heaven", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or any other already used song title.

TallEnoughJones Report

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Corvus
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How about mixing them up a little... e.g. "Smells Like Bohemian Heaven."

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#22

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL; "Hello" came to prominence as a greeting with the invention of the telephone

Technical-Split3642 , lensletter Report

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#23

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that the least obese country in the world is Vietnam. Its obesity rates stands at only 2.1%, which is lower than Uganda (5.3%), and significantly lower than the U.S. (41.9%)

VegemiteSucks , Richard Mortel Report

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gerard julien
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

USA : Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 73.6% (2017-2018) Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

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#24

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL 98% of passengers involved in vehicle crashes in Dubai were not wearing seat belts

Double-decker_trams , Mike Bird Report

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PlatinumThe8-BitCat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t know much about Dubai but what I have learned is that it’s filled with idiot rich people

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#25

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) Til Americans have accumulated $21 billion Worth of unused gift cards. Almost 2/3 of people have a card and half of those will likely lose the gift card before using it

mankls3 , Mike Mozart Report

#26

TIL that Bud Light's big marketing push in the 80s was Spuds Mackenzie, a dog presented as "a cool dude". Spuds was played by a female dog, named Honey Tree Evil Eye.

AlwaysTheNoob Report

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#27

TIL Crows and other bird species will coat themselves in ants. Researchers aren’t sure why birds do this, but have called the process “anting”.

Geek_Nan Report

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PattyK
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Supposedly the ants’ formic acid kills things like bacteria, fungi, mites. Hasn’t been proven but hasn’t been disproven. Yet.

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#28

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Charles Manson hypnotized Danny Trejo when they were in jail together.

peezle69 , Gage Skidmore Report

#29

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL Carrie Fisher’s ashes were placed inside a giant Prozac Pill

NamelessMexican , IMDb Report

#30

30 Rarely Heard Facts That May Leave Your Craving For Knowledge Sated, Courtesy Of This Page (New Facts) TIL that Edward Teller, the physicist who advocated for Oppenheimer to lose his security clearance suggested using nukes to create artifical harbours, fracking oil and preventing hurricanes

RiseDarthVader , Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report

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