Join the Fun!

Steve traces back the origins of his podcast to the '90s. "I first became interested in these quirky facts and stories when I started teaching high school science in the early 1990s," he tells Bored Panda.

"I quickly realized that my students loved this kind of stuff, so I purchased a few books that others had written. This was before the World Wide Web, so online research wasn't an option. I was an early adoptee of the web, and for lack of any better ideas, I decided to take some quirky stories that I knew and place each one on a separate web page."

The I Should Have Known trio first started out as a pub trivia team. "When our local pub quiz shut down, we took up the mantle and started researching our own fun 'did you know' facts," Sups, Andi and Tanner tell us.

#2

TIL a sheepdog named Casper fought for over 30 minutes against 11 coyotes who were threatening his flock, killed 8 of them, and survived with a severe neck wound and a missing tail.

algrinder Report

Final score:

383points

POST

#3

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL: A woman born with birth defects caused by Chernobyl including 6 toes, webbed fingers, no thumbs, leg 15cm shorter than the other, and missing some organs, won a gold medal in the paralympics for cross-country skiiing.

CapitalManufacturer7 , Yakudza Report

Final score:

334points

POST

Their podcast’s premise is particularly interesting. They describe it as a trivia podcast that can't be trusted. Each week, either Sups, Andi or Tanner present their listeners with four big facts on a topic, but one of those facts is a lie. The audience then can try to guess which one is false.

“When we decided to create our show, we knew we wanted to stand out from other podcasts and leave our audiences with something more. So we put our full effort into researching our trivia to make sure it's vetted and as double-checked as possible. Especially because the other two hosts will be grilling us to find the lie among our facts!"

The creators of I Should Have Known reveal the secrets of being professional trivia masters: "Foster creativity to ask weird questions like 'Are birds dinosaurs?' Build diligence in research so you're not just taking Google's or an AI's word as gospel. And develop empathy so you can actually teach your audience something fun and new without boring or stumping them."

#4

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL in 1963, a 16-year-old sent a 4-question survey to 150 well-known authors (75 of which replied) in order to prove to his English tutor that writers don't intentionally add symbolic content to their books.

Calendar8 , theparisreview Report

Final score:

319points

POST

#5

TIL During the 1800s, Hawai‘i became one of the most literate nations in the world with over 90% of the population able to read and write. Even King Kamehameha III proudly declared, “He aupuni palapala ko‘u” (“I have a kingdom of education”)

colapepsikinnie Report

Final score:

277points

POST

#6

TIL that Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum awarded its 10th million visitor with the chance to spend one night in the museum alone. The winner slept underneath Rembrandt's "The Night Watch".

Specialist_Check Report

Final score:

273points

POST

The content of the Useless Information website and podcast has shifted as time went on. Steve admits that the topics he covers are those that he personally finds interesting. "Over the years, I have greatly expanded my research and tend to focus on obscure human interest stories that occurred between 1900 and 1965," he says. "I like to joke that it is simply a hobby that got a bit out of hand."

#7

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Aretha Franklin required that she be paid in cash before any performance. The cash went into her handbag and the handbag either stayed with her security team or would rest on the piano during her onstage performance.

trifletruffles , 49metal Report

Final score:

268points

POST

#8

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Michelin started reviewing restaurants so people would travel farther and wear out their tires, increasing their sales.

julyninetyone , Yente Van Eynde Report

Final score:

251points

POST

#9

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL A hiker was lost on a mountain for 24 hours and ignored calls, texts, and voicemail messages from rescuer teams because he didn’t recognize the phone number.

Algrinder , Oziel Gómez Report

Final score:

244points

POST

Since he's such a veteran, the means of finding content have also changed a great deal. Most of the stories Steve covers come from old newspapers, which he loves to read. "Years ago, the only way to do this was to go to the library and load up reels of microfilm," he adds. "But now all it takes is a few clicks of a mouse button to pull up some old articles."

#10

TIL Michael Schumacher donated $10 million to the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It was the highest individual donation made in the disaster that killed more than 220,000 people. Schumacher's bodyguard Burkhard Cramer, and Cramer's two sons, were killed in the tsunami.

trifletruffles Report

Final score:

208points

POST

#11

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL: In 1956, France banned the serving of alcohol to children under the age of 14 in the school canteens. Prior to that, school children had the right to drink half a litre of wine, cider or beer with their meals. In 1981 France implemented a total alcohol ban in the country’s schools.

diacewrb , Yan Krukau Report

Final score:

207points

POST

#12

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies, was rejected from a role in the Ghostbusters cartoons because they thought he didn't sound like Winston Zeddemore.

Cyrus-114 , sonypictures Report

Final score:

204points

POST

Andi, Tanner and Sups believe that people are naturally drawn to learning. "There's something about being stuck in school and being forced to memorize facts that don't interest us which dampens our curiosity. But if you can deliver interesting nuggets of knowledge and make them relatable to your audience, you find that people can't get enough."

"And then the added bonus with our show is that listeners want to see if they're right. They love to hear the hosts poke holes in the facts and then guess along with them to check their understanding."

#13

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL that in his final years as US president, Woodrow Wilson was too sick to govern. His wife Edith kept his sickness secret, taking over so many duties she was essentially president. She hid Wilson's paralysis by covering his left side with a blanket.

RollingNightSky , loc Report

Final score:

196points

POST

#14

TIL: Author Roald Dahl helped invent a new brain shunt that saved thousands of children after his own baby son suffered a brain injury.

KewpieCutie97 Report

Final score:

193points

POST

#15

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Rockstar hired real-life gang members and ex-convicts in GTA V to voice some of the characters. They also gave them the freedom to improvise the script and say what they would say in real life, to make the dialogue more realistic and authentic.

Algrinder , rockstargames Report

Final score:

190points

POST

In Steve Silverman’s mind, there's nothing really surprising about our hunger for learning podcasts such as his. "People love things that are out of the ordinary," he believes. "We like movies with surprising plot twists, books with unexpected endings, and so on. The same is true of being told interesting facts and stories."

The phrase that is now the name of his website and the podcast came from one of the kids Steve was teaching. "A student had told me that I knew more 'useless information' than anyone else, so I placed that title on the main page and have been using it ever since."

#16

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Winston Churchill had a doctor's note to drink "unlimited" alcohol in prohibition America (1932).

CheesyDogPizza , BiblioArchives Report

Final score:

181points

POST

#17

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL A breakthrough in kidney stone treatment will allow them to be expelled without invasive surgery, using a handheld device. NASA has been funding the technology for 10 years, and it's one of the last significant issues in greenlighting human travel to Mars.

Influence_X , RDNE Stock project Report

Final score:

179points

POST

#18

TIL that an unplugged microwave carries enough residual current to kill you, even if it's been unplugged for months. So never try to repair a broken microwave unless you know how to discharge the capacitor

mario_van_pooples Report

Final score:

174points

POST

SingLikeTinaTurner Report

It comes as no surprise that Steve is quite a popular pick for a team on a trivia night. Yet he remains humble: "I am the first to admit that there are huge gaps in my knowledge." He says his focus is less on trivia – he's more interested in telling true stories.

"An example of trivia is knowing how many men have walked on the moon (12 men), but I consider myself to be a storyteller. The more unusual and obscure the stories are, the better."

#19

TIL real doctors from USC Medical Center were recruited to play the doctors who try to save E.T. because Spielberg felt that actors talking about technical medical matters didn’t seem natural.

Final score:

171points

POST

#20

TIL that John F. Kennedy's patrol boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. After a 3-mile swim to an island, he and his crew survived on coconuts for 2 days. Rescued by two islanders, their message etched on a coconut shell became a paperweight on JFK's desk.

NebulaNomad640 Report

Final score:

171points

POST

#21

TIL a man found a winning lottery ticket worth $24 million in an old shirt just two days before it expires.

Jimmie Smith, a 68-year old New Jersey man who discovered a winning New York Lotto ticket in an old shirt hanging in his closet.

The ticket was purchased on May 25, 2016 and the winner had one year to claim the prize.

Smith checked his tickets in May 2017, after seeing a news story about the unclaimed jackpot.

He claimed his prize just two days before the deadline, on May 23, 2017.

Algrinder Report

Final score:

166points

POST

u/jumpedoutoftheboat , Sora Shimazaki Report

It would be criminal to have four trivia masters at my disposal and not ask them their favorite facts. When asked about his favorite story that he covered, Steve has to dig in deep. He has written about so many that it's hard to choose only one. "A number of people have told me that their favorite of all the podcast episodes that I have ever recorded was one titled 'The Woman with the X-Ray Camera,' Steve tells us.

#22

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL average onset of menstruation for girls in 1840 was age 17. In 2000 it was 12 years old.

Final score:

151points

POST

saw & order 1 year ago

I was ten.

75points

Robin Roper 1 year ago

I as well and I had horrible cramps. It sucked to think I had to deal with that for the next 40 years.

25points

Beck 1 year ago

I was 9

19points

FaceTime Audio 1 year ago

Same. It’s too young. I went to the doctor at age 8 scared I had cancer because there were painful lumps in my chest (it wasn’t cancer, it was boobs, but no 8 year old expects that).

16points

Cerridwn d'Wyse 1 year ago

10 also

14points

Heather W 1 year ago

8-1/2 here. So glad I had 3 older sisters so I knew what was happening.

13points

Space Cat<3 1 year ago

That must have been sh1t! Sorry

11points

Upstaged75 1 year ago

I was 11. :(

9points

Celesta 1 year ago

My daughter too. She is NOT coping well

9points

Amanda Wilson 1 year ago

I was 11

8points

Chandra Torres 1 year ago

Same

6points

WiseGirlRomanoff 1 year ago

I was like 13/14

6points

KT 1 year ago

I was 11

5points

Maartje 1 year ago

14

4points

starkey [he/him] 1 year ago

i was 11

3points

Liz Reece 11 months ago

I actually WAS nearly 17, and was worried something was seriously wrong with me... Turns out I was just born in the wrong decade!

2points

Mara Was… A Surgeon 1 year ago

I was eleven, but I had friends and family who were 9-10

2points

SeaJaySea 11 months ago

I was 11

1point

ROSESARERED 12 months ago (edited)

Same, 10th birthday present...happily started going down the otherside, but damm, hot flushes are horrible

1point

Rebecca McManus 1 year ago

Same

1point

Tigara Akimoto 1 year ago

So was I

1point

JK 1 year ago

Same!

1point

Clown fish 1 year ago

I was 1month off 11

1point

Tuesday 1 year ago

Same

1point

Minh Chau Do 9 months ago

I was 11. Crazy how puberty and menstruation happens so early.

0points

SeaJaySea 10 months ago

11...

0points

imjustexisting 11 months ago

same

0points

Marvin HeartofGold (she/them) 12 months ago

11. I really feel that at this point I should be done.

0points

Kelly Reno 12 months ago

Same here. I will never forget the shocked look on my teachers face when it started during school.

0points

Ubiquitous 1 year ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

David 1 year ago

Malnutrition causes delay in the menstruation. 11/12 was the average for women of the elite at the time, who had proper nutrition, but if you include a ll the starving poor, then it makes the average age higher.

44points

Gabriela 1 year ago

Thank you. I immediately thought it as from all the genetic modifications we’re done to food supplies, animal and plant. But you’re right, malnutrición from lack of resources play another big part in our body’s developmental stages.

17points

Red Hair Blue Soul 1 year ago

It's believed that this may be due to better medical care and nutrition now. Others think it could be due to increased use of hormones in foods. Draw your own conclusions.

16points

RandomEpiBioPerson 1 year ago

I prefer people to read multiple research papers, taking into account personal bias of the reader and the researchers (mostly to understand that there may be some variability from what the research shows, but that is also perfectly expected in general), and if you don't have training in the field, it's a bit better to just follow general SCIENTIFIC/MEDICAL consensus, with the understanding that outliers and variability exist, rather than just knowing there are various options and drawing an arbitrary conclusion. Btw, I am sort of playing around, while also calling attention to the risks/problems that exist in the "draw your own conclusions" mindset, which I've had to deal with way too much in my profession, but I'm not trying to make any negative remark on your statement about the matter. Both things you mentioned are perfectly viable/potential influences on the age at which menstruation starts, but could be something else, or any combination, which could still change at any point in time. A good reason why repeatable research, and additional study as time goes on, are both very important.

8points

Laura Gillette 1 year ago

I'm not saying there might not be other reasons girls start their periods earlier these days, but a big reason they might have started them later in generations past was poor nutrition. There were a lot of poor, starving people back then, and the body can't menstruate unless it has a minimum baseline of body fat. There are still poor people these days, of course, but heavily subsidized corn and mass produced, highly processed food means even the very poor are usually able to get enough calories to keep enough body fat to menstruate. Even though they're not getting proper nutrition... just calories.

12points

Kelly G 1 year ago (edited)

Laura Lee that has to be the nicest way I have ever heard it described "well over nourished"

0points

Rick 1 year ago

It must really suck to have a menstrual period every month for 40 odd years.

11points

Diolla 1 year ago

It does.

9points

Sandrapocalypse 1 year ago

Meh, It didn't bother me. I did have terrible cramps when I was younger, but now that I'm nearing menopause its like an old friend. I neither hated nor loved it, it is just part of being a women.

3points

Brandy McNamee 10 months ago

Oh, it does. It really does.

0points

David Paterson 1 year ago

I don't know what the average age of onset was in 1840, but I do know that the average age of onset among Aborigines in pre-European Australia was 12 years old. 9 years old was not unknown and some became mothers at age 10, but most became first time mothers at ages 13 to 14.

11points

Grammarly 1 year ago

Jesus Christ, those poor kids

4points

J MacDonald (macdonaldja) 1 year ago

I was 12. I read somewhere (I cannot remember where) That's most girls start when they reach approx 105 lbs.

7points

Elizabeth Brown 1 year ago

I was a bit overweight and started young. My dad said weight had to do with it. Iirc it had to do with the body judging size and nutrients so that you would likely have enough to sustain both yourself and the child

4points

Auntriarch 1 year ago

Yes, my human biology course said 45 kg, so that fits. And yes I was an 22 year old chubster

3points

Huddo's sister 1 year ago

That would explain why I was later, but not explain why my even more underweight sister started at 12

0points

Mia Hamsa 1 year ago

It has been found that it has a lot to do with fat content and nutrients, ie can the body sustain a pregnancy, then body starts that process.

6points

Stardust she/her 1 year ago

What’s causing periods to arrive early these days compared to 200 years ago?

6points

Amanda Rose 1 year ago

A major part is the change in diets over time (height has changed for the same reason).

28points

Maebe Maeve 1 year ago

An increase in dairy milk consumption, which contains hormones.

10points

Jay McGuigan 1 year ago

For starters, doctors and their patients were definitely lying about it starting at 17. For two, there was carcinogens in literally everything from 1800-1910. For three only rich inbred socialites could afford a doctor and their genes are all kinds of toasted.

6points

laura lee 1 year ago (edited)

It's just weight, our children are badly overweight. Now there are many reasons they are getting overweight so early, but the nuts and bolts is when a female gets to around 90-100lbs for a length of time the body thinks you're an adult now

1point

don'tcensorstupidstuff 1 year ago

i was 12 and a half

5points

HelluvaHedgehogAlien 1 year ago

Me too

2points

Lsai Aeon 1 year ago

I was 17 in 1996, we're all over the place in starting menstruation. My neighbor's eldest daughter just started last year, she was 9 and her little sister isn't far behind her

4points

nancy 1 year ago

Had I known that I'd be in debilitating pain for 7 days every month for the next 40-50 years, I would have had my ovaries removed at 11.

4points

JuniorCJ82 1 year ago

Got mine on my 14th birthday. Yay.

3points

Jon Hodges 1 year ago

I believe this has to do with nutrition and body fat. Basically our diets are so nutritional and enery dense that younger bodies have the requisite excess to produce healthy offspring earlier.

3points

Donald 1 year ago

Better average levels of nutrition? Excess hormones in food? I would like to know the correlation.

3points

laura lee 1 year ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Demosthenes 1 year ago

Amazing what sufficient nutrition will do to an organism.

3points

Sparks 1 year ago

in 1840 they were getting married before age 17 ! How things have changed.

3points

laura lee 1 year ago

Mostly out of financial needs not for love

2points

Spocks's Mom 1 year ago

I was 12 in 1984. Seems I was ahead of my time along with a bunch of other classmates.

3points

Lou Cam 1 year ago

It's 10 now. It's related to the amount of body fat so children with high body fat percentages can start from age 8.

3points

Beck 1 year ago

I was 9 and I was not fat.

7points

Aisha McClain 1 year ago

I was 15!

3points

Marie Dahme 1 year ago

Just a thought...but hear me out pandas..is it possible that the hormones added to foods that we are eating could be causing early menses, menopause problems and other things we don't know about ? Even with young boys ? Just a thought...

2points

Beartholomew 1 year ago

11 while away on a week long school trip.

2points

Vanessa S 1 year ago

11

2points

ybur 1 year ago

Its all fun and games til my taste changes and makes certain foods taste weird. What food is going to be the absoluteshit or worst thing ever this week?? Its a great game

2points

LazyPanda 1 year ago

I was 12

2points

Jay McGuigan 1 year ago

Y'all the girls in 1840 were LYING you needed to be seen as virtuous and pure to get a man and they thought girls menstruated after their first "impure" thought. This is backed up by the fact that untouched aboriginal tribes often go through first menstruation between the ages of 10-14.

2points

laura lee 1 year ago

Aboriginal tribes are generally heavier set. The reason is simple the excuses for it more convoluted. Children in cultures where food scarcity isn't a big problem (and were talking just basic food not good food or nutrient dense food or what we consider healthy food, just calorie dense edibles) in those societies that have access to near unlimited food there is a propensity to over eat and by over eat I mean take in more calories than their body needs to maintain its body weight for one day🙄 over eating for long time builds up fat stores (which you need to produce a healthy baby) once a female regardless of age reaches a weight of roughly 90-100lbs the body thinks they are an adult ready to make a baby

0points

Donna P Sisk 9 months ago

I was 13. And suffered for years. Finally asking my doctor for a hysterectomy. And she said yes. Once it was out, she told me I had ovarian cyst and Tumors on my uterus. As well as endometriosis.

1point

Russell Iacobucci 9 months ago

From chicken to steak , we ingest hormones , and fish give us Mercury . We are digging our own graves with a knife and fork .

1point

Bleau 1 year ago

15 in 1985

1point

Andy Frobig 1 year ago

17? So parents were routinely marrying off their daughters before puberty? We are a nasty species

1point

laura lee 1 year ago

Yes, but most of those underage marriage had clauses that they would not get pregnant until they are of an older proper age

1point

awingard1 1 year ago

Hormones in our food?

1point

laura lee 1 year ago

Yes to a small degree, but most importantly just TOO MUCH food

-3points

Mystery Kitteh 5 months ago

All the hormones added to our food

0points

Marie Dahme 9 months ago

Growth hormones in beef and poultry are the helping matters. Can you imagine how jacked up the inside of kids bodies and mental health are ? Ever wonder if there is a correlation between the added hormones in food and say raging hormones and increased violence? Just a thought I wonder....

0points

Mandy Delaforce (PC Girl) 10 months ago

In females, the first menstrual period, menarche, signals the beginning of the capacity to reproduce and is associated with the development of secondary sexual characteristics. Menarche is one of the most significant milestones in a woman's life. The first cycles tend to be anovulatory and vary widely in length. They are usually painless and occur without warning. Menarche occurs between the ages of 10 and 16 years in most girls in developed countries. Although the precise determinants of menarcheal age remain to be understood, genetic influences, socioeconomic conditions, general health and well-being, nutritional status, certain types of exercise, seasonality, and family size possibly play a role. Over the past century the age at menarche has fallen in industrialized countries, but that trend has stopped and may even be reversing. The average age at menarche in 1840 was 16.5 years, now it is 13.

0points

Helen Rohrlach 10 months ago

In livestock ie cattle and sheep, first heat is roughly 2/3 adult weight. Better nutrition means they grow faster.

0points

Glitcher 10 months ago

This doesn't jibe with all the "mom at 14" stories we hear about the 1800s.

0points

Liz Reece 10 months ago

I thought I was a late bloomr being nearly 17 myself... Turns out I was just born around the wrong time...

0points

Kelley Baltierra 11 months ago

I was eleven

0points

Grack Attack 11 months ago

Why?

0points

Jane Hower 11 months ago

I was 12, in 1956

0points

Cydney Golden 11 months ago (edited)

Hormones in our food supply? Or just healthier people?

0points

Keley Babs 11 months ago

Sucks if you got married off at age 14 and expected have children

0points

Bleau 1 year ago

So how were they getting pregnant so young, that's interesting.

0points

Sheena Leversedge Wood 1 year ago

probably because it tends to correlate very strongly to hitting a particular weight range. when food was scarce , it would happen later (makes sense biologically too, that fertility isn't an advantage when food is scarce) but now people are more well fed, it happens sooner.

0points

Stephanie Barr 1 year ago

Now, that's sad.

0points

Nykky 1 year ago (edited)

It's due to better nutrition and living situations. If you're in poor conditions, your body isn't going to focus on something that isn't needed for survival. It's why girls with eating disorders like anorexia and such can TEND to have periods later in life, or even not have them.

0points

TMoxraaaar 1 year ago

Two weeks before my 12th birthday. 23 years of torture before I was finally diagnosed properly. I BULLIED my gyn to perform a hysterectomy. That was in 2004 and I've never been happier. We are an invalid species for so many reasons. Being deciduous about 4,000 times is ridiculous.

0points

Dorothy Reiser 1 year ago

1965-I was 10

0points

MotherRobinson 1 year ago

My daughter was nine.

0points

JK 1 year ago

I find that slightly hard to believe/skewed data - considering girls were still being married off as young as 12/14 during that time. I'd likely tribute it to the fact the majority of people were poor/malnourished, whoch in turn leads to reduced/delayed menstruation

0points

Dim T 1 year ago

By the way this is because the mechanism that triggers thisbis based on having good nutrition, healthy fat etc. Its also why malnourished women don't get periods So this basically says kids have more resources to thrive these day and is an entirely positive statistic

0points

lisa rathmell 1 year ago

We are eating hormones that are naturally in all animals. We eat mostly female animals. We eat way more animals than we ever have at any time in history. In the US 99% of the cows are pregnant while being milked. The excess estrogens we eat affect us, all of us. Same hormones in animals that you would pay money for if you were trying to change your gender.. Precocious puberty for our kids, man boobs and prostate problems for the men. PCOS, cramps, cysts and hysterectomies for the ladies.

0points

Casey 1 year ago

I feel like there's probably lots of different reasons mixed together, I was 11

0points

Sandrapocalypse 1 year ago

14

0points

Sara 1 year ago

Microplastics- they increase estrogen.

0points

Anna Drever 1 year ago

11 for me.

0points

Winter 1 year ago

I was 9...

0points

Indosidius 1 year ago

Some science here: in today's live stock production, a lot of growth hormones are used in the feed of livestock. When the animals are slaughtered, these hormones stay in their bodies, and is ingested by the humans that feed on them. It takes a chicken 6 weeks from the egg being laid until it is on the supermarket fridge for us to buy. The egg is hatched in 21 days, leaving just 21 days for the chick to grow big enough to be eaten.

0points

Jan Moore 1 year ago

I was 10 also, luckily my Mom was an RN and because her Mom never told her about any thing about it she made sure I did. She sent a kit to her little sister to help, it was called "So you've started your period".

0points

boredkitten 1 year ago

I was 13

0points

SleepSycho 1 year ago

I was 14 almost 15 and considered a late bloomer—most my friends got them in middle school

0points

Albert Roberts 1 year ago

I wonder if it's the plastics or the fact we're healthier now or both or more reasons?

0points

keyboardtek 1 year ago

Consumption of growth hormones added to our meat?

0points

Panda Boi 1 year ago

Hormones in food..

0points

Ashley_Kirin 1 year ago

No, just no.

2points

laura lee 1 year ago (edited)

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

laura lee 1 year ago

To whoever down voting, do you not even see the correlation of early onset menstruation and childhood obesity rates? Not to mention the very real fact this is taught in human biology courses

0points

TheBlueBitterfly 1 year ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

#23

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL calories in food are measured by exploding a dehydrated food in an oxygen filled canister surrounded by water. The explosion of the food item gives off energy that heats the surrounding water. The increase in temperature of the water is how we calculate calories.

jellypalmbear , Marta Dzedyshko Report

Final score:

150points

POST

#24

TIL: North Korea shot down a US spy plane in April 1969, an enraged Nixon allegedly ordered a tactical nuclear strike and told the joint chiefs to recommend targets. Henry Kissinger spoke to military commanders on the phone and agreed not to do anything until Nixon sobered up in the morning.

u/diacewrb Report

Final score:

145points

POST

nickburrows8398 , Jed Scattergood Report

He agrees to share it with us and our readers. "It's about a young woman named Pearl Lusk who is hired in 1946 by a detective to follow a woman suspected of being a jewel thief," Steve begins. "Pearl is told that the thief keeps the jewels hidden under her dress, so the detective hands Pearl a camera that can take X-ray images."

Steve continues the story: "Pearl kneels down to shoot an image, and suddenly a loud bang is heard, and the suspect falls to the ground. What Pearl didn't know was that a shotgun was hidden inside the supposed camera. And there was no detective or jewel thief. It was simply a jealous husband who tricked Pearl into shooting his estranged wife."

#25

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL that women are traditionally prohibited from entering a sumo ring. This tradition is so strictly enforced that in 2018 two women were asked to leave the ring even though they were preforming CPR on a man who collapsed in one.

Final score:

143points

POST

#26

TIL An otter squeezed through gates into a classical Chinese garden at night in downtown Vancouver and ate 11 prized koi fish. Traps baited with raw chicken and salmon were set up but otter was never caught.

ubcstaffer123 Report

Final score:

133points

POST

#27

TIL that 80% of animals found in Madagascar exist nowhere else on earth.

mikeyv683 Report

Final score:

131points

POST

Forward-Answer-4407 , Alena Shekhovtcova Report

The I Should Have Known trio loves off-the-wall, kooky trivia. "For our show, the more unbelievable, the better," they claim. "The real fun is when you get listeners to question everything, even things you never thought to question!"

The creators recall a recent in-person trivia night the three of them hosted. "We had a 50:50 question that was just ridiculous. 'Which is heavier: the heaviest recorded capybara or the heaviest player to compete in the 2018 FIFA World Cup?' The teams loved debating how big a capybara could possibly get, employing calculations and getting into heated discussions.

The Guinness World Record for the biggest capybara (which is also the biggest rodent) lists it as 130 lbs. But some sources like the Mammalian Species Journal mention one all the way up to 200 lbs!" However, the answer is still the soccer player Roman Torres – he weighs 218 lbs.

#28

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL in the 1980s, NASA had a 1-900 number which charged $2 for the first minute and $.45 for each additional minute. It allowed callers to listen in on a mission status report and mid-flight press conferences, and thousands of them heard the Challenger explosion in real-time.

Final score:

130points

POST

u/EssexGuyUpNorth , Carcomparing.eu Report

#29

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL that Skoda test their car horns 150,000 times for the European car market. For the Indian market the horns are tested 500,000 times due to the increased use of car horns in India. One study carried out at major intersections in Indian cities found that a horn sounds every three seconds.

Final score:

128points

POST

#30

TIL that, to avoid predators, when the glass frogs are asleep, they remove nearly 90% of their circulating blood cells, storing what is essentially their entire circulatory system in one organ and resulting almost transparent

giuliomagnifico Report

Final score:

126points

POST

Don’t hesitate to check out both podcasts if you’re interested in unusual and captivating facts and stories! If you like the unusual premise of the I Should Have Known podcast, you can support them on Patreon as well as follow them on Instagram.

Steve Silverman also has three books to his name. The Flip Side of History, Lindbergh's Artificial Heart and Einstein's Refrigerator, where you can find stories he covered over the years.

#31

TIL that when Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes, he was working as a doctor in the NHS. On the day he broke the record, he had already worked a morning shift at St Mary's hospital in London, and then caught the train to Oxford where he ran the race.

EssexGuyUpNorth Report

Final score:

124points

POST

#32

TIL Terry Pratchett had all his unfinished works destroyed by steamroller after his death.

briskt Report

Final score:

122points

POST

#33

TIL you can die eating a diet of rabbits without another source of fat because they are so lean. It's called protein poisoning, aka Rabbit Starvation.

Dongalor Report

Final score:

120points

POST

#34

TIL that the majority of men in Germany sit down to urinate.

Poopfinger Report

Final score:

118points

POST

#35

TIL The bronze doors of the Pantheon are the original doors from 2000 years ago.

BOQOR Report

Final score:

118points

POST

#36

TIL that the Guinness World Records no longer recognize the fattest animal as a record in order to prevent compulsive overeating.

WyenaTheGirl Report

Final score:

117points

POST

#37

TIL that philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once took mescaline and imagined himself attacked by sea creatures. For years afterward, he suffered from intrusive thoughts about crabs and persistently thought crabs were following him around.

dancingdivadrink Report

Final score:

113points

POST

#38

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL the sun loses over 4 million tons of mass every second as energy.

Travellingjake , Sachin C Nair Report

Final score:

111points

POST

ComfortableShirt93 Report

#39

TIL there is a town in Alaska called Whittier where nearly the entire population lives in one building along with all of the town's public facilities.

Final score:

110points

POST

#40

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL one of the co-creators of Keurig machines was diagnosed with caffeine poisoning due to his daily 30 to 40 cup coffee habit.

radarthreat , Joseph Francis Report

Final score:

107points

POST

#41

TIL that Cassowary meat is so tough that people were told to cook it with a stone in the pot. "When the stone is ready to eat, so is the Cassowary."

ohnoyoufoundthis Report

Final score:

107points

POST

#42

TIL that 61% of US troops killed in Vietnam were under the age of 21. The overall average age was 23.

[deleted] Report

Final score:

103points

POST

#43

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Tina Fey got her chin scar at age 5 when a stranger randomly entered her yard while she was playing and slashed her face.

SAT0725 , David Shankbone Report

Final score:

101points

POST

#44

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL that it is impossible to copy, scan, or Photoshop currency on most modern equipment. Modern copiers and scanners, as well as image processing programs, can identify patterns on the notes and will cease processing the image.

99titan , John Guccione Report

Final score:

101points

POST

#45

TIL in the small town of Norwood Ontario in 1957, some teenagers opened several fire hydrants simultaneously as a prank and caused the towns can-shaped water tower to be crushed inward like a tin can. It remained in use for 35 years and the town became infamous for its crushed water tower.

Dapper_Most3460 Report

Final score:

100points

POST

#46

TIL Michael Jackson's pet chimpanzee Bubbles is still alive, and lives in the Center for Great Apes sanctuary in Florida, where his care is paid for by Jackson's estate.

kiljaeden Report

Final score:

99points

POST

#47

TIL in WW2, when Germans captured a British bomber tail gunner who claimed that he had jumped out of his plane at 5500m without a parachute, they investigated and confirmed his claim and gave him a certificate to confirm his story.

fwouewei Report

Final score:

98points

POST

#48

TIL Louis Braille invented the braille system between ages 12-15 after having been blind 7 years due to an accidental self-inflicted injury at age 5 that resulted in his own blindness.

outoftownMD Report

Final score:

97points

POST

#49

TIL that the man who authored the NIST manual on passwords and recommended password changes every 90 days regrets doing so. Mandatory password changes on a scheduled interval are no longer recommended by NIST.

gixk Report

Final score:

96points

POST

Sebastianlim , FOX 11 Los Angeles Report

#50

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL of Natalia Grace, a 9-year-old orphan whose adopted parents claimed she was actually a 22-year-old sociopath.

Final score:

95points

POST

#51

TIL any person who succesfuly parachutes out of a failing aircraft is eligible to join the caterpillar club. You get a certificate as well as a caterpillar shaped pin and get to join their annual gatherings. People who escaped a failing aircraft with no parachute are denied entry.

Ainsley-Sorsby Report

Final score:

90points

POST

#52

TIL that when casting Walter White for Breaking Bad, the role was originally offered to John Cusack and Matthew Broderick. It wasn't until after they turned it down that the executives saw Bryan Cranston's X-Files episode and cast him for the role.

LawBobLawLoblaw Report

Final score:

90points

POST

toafobark , Government of Alberta Report

#53

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Queen Elizabeth II and her husband were third cousins, both descended from Queen Victoria.

Final score:

84points

POST

Proper_Contest_4035 , TheWorldofTrailers Report

#54

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL Walt Disney used shell companies and fake names to acquire the land in Orlando that would become Disney World in 1971.

Final score:

82points

POST

waitingforthesun92 Report

#55

TIL that the famous “I’ll have what she’s having” line from the film "When Harry Met Sally” wasn't in the original script. Billy Crystal suggested it after he and Meg Ryan improvised the entire orgasm scene. The two were originally supposed to discuss "faking it" without an actual demonstration.

Final score:

79points

POST

nakakapagpabagabag , Leif Eliasson Report

#56

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL the FBI is recommending adblockers as necessary.

Final score:

75points

POST

#57

TIL when Rita Hayworth learned the atomic bomb that was scheduled to be tested at Bikini atoll would feature her likeness, she was offended. Her husband Orson Welles later recalled she was the angriest she had ever been thinking it was a publicity stunt orchestrated by the head of Columbia Pictures.

trifletruffles Report

Final score:

73points

POST

#58

TIL that in 2009, hundreds of brightly-colored bird specimens were stolen from the Natural History Museum London. It was later found that a student had sold them online to be used for fly-fishing lures.

Hybrid351 Report

Final score:

73points

POST

#59

TIL: Crab Rangoons aren't related to Chinese cuisine, and were instead invented in an American Tiki bar by someone trying to give a new appatizer a suitably Asian sounding name, and then re-appropriated by Chinese-American restaurateurs as a staple appetizer.

Rusty_Porksword Report

Final score:

72points

POST

#60

TIL when Conan O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC over the Tonight Show drama, he was awarded $45 million, $12 million of which was for his staff who had moved with Conan to Los Angeles from New York when he left Late Night.

BoosherCacow Report

Final score:

70points

POST

#61

TIL the USS Kidd is the only US Navy ship permitted to fly the Jolly Roger.

u/bostonian277 Report

Final score:

70points

POST

greatmanyarrows , millennium-media Report

#62

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL that both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are two of the oldest fathers on record, fathering children at the ages of 83 and 79 respectively.

Final score:

70points

POST

#63

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL the CG director of Silent Hill, Takayoshi Sako, created all the game's cutscenes by himself. He used the office's 150 computers to render the scenes after all the other employees left for the night. He also slept under his desk and lived at the office for the 3 years it took him to finish.

SaltyPeter3434 , Konami Report

Final score:

69points

POST

#64

TIL Ninjas did not wear black on missions, because they would not blend in with the enviroment.

No_Version2156 Report

Final score:

68points

POST

#65

TIL when Cleopatra and Julius Caesar met and subsequently became lovers, she was 21 and he was 52.

TheHabro Report

Final score:

67points

POST

#66

TIL in 2005, Sothebys & Christies had to play Rock-Paper-Scissors over an art collection. Sothebys assumed it was random chance, so had no strategy. But Christies studied the game & asked two 11yo twin girls, who picked scissors: “Rock is way too obvious, and scissors beats paper.” Christies won.

Pfeffer_Prinz Report

Final score:

67points

POST

#67

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL that gooning is a form of legal kidnapping in the US where a parent can hire someone to kidnap a kid they think is troubled at night to bring them to boarding school or behavior modification facility.

InterestingPickle , Pixabay Report

Final score:

66points

POST

#68

TIL pilot callsigns are assigned to you by your "buddies", inspired from something stupid you did/say, your name, or your physical appearance. e.g. "Rat" for someone short and ugly; "Alphabet" if your name is too long; "Caveman" if you enjoyed survival training too much.

EconomicRegret Report

Final score:

66points

POST

#69

TIL Argentina forced Mcdonald's in their country to sell the Big Mac at an artificially low price to improve their country's performance on the Big Mac index; effectively hiding their country's inflation.

DeVolkaan Report

Final score:

66points

POST

#70

TIL When Jimmy Carter left the White House, his secretary had transcribed over 5,000 pages from his personal journal. Carter waited a long time to publish his diary since it contains his unguarded impressions. "White House Diary", released in 2010, contains a quarter of everything he wrote.

ubcstaffer123 Report

Final score:

65points

POST

#71

TIL In 2012 Jimmy Zhong uncovered a coding error on the now defunct crypto market Silk Road that allowed him to withdraw more funds than he deposited. He stole 51,680 BTC ($3.4 Billion) and stayed anonymous for ten years before finally getting caught and arrested in '21 and was sentenced to 1 year.

Bluest_waters Report

Final score:

64points

POST

#72

TIL the Goodyear Airdock is so large it has its own climate. Temperature fluctuations create clouds and rain inside the structure.

Qonold Report

Final score:

64points

POST

#73

TIL in 2011, the Kellogg's brand decided to add Vitamin D to all of its cereals in the UK due to the fact that 1 in 5 people in the UK were deficient in Vitamin D. A study in 2021 showed that 1 in 6 adults in the UK have low levels of vitamin D in their blood

Genesistrd Report

Final score:

64points

POST

#74

TIL In 2014, Swiss Air Force could not intercept a hijacked airplane because the incident happened outside their working hours.

010x Report

Final score:

63points

POST

#75

TIL In the 1970s, Irish banks went on strike -- so people made their own currency, and the pubs kept the country from falling into ruin.

tomtermite Report

Final score:

63points

POST

#76

TIL that Apple code-named the PowerMac 7100 “Carl Sagan.” Sagan sent a C&D letter, Apple complied, renaming it “BHA” for “Butthead Astronomer.” Settling out of court, the final name became “LAW” for “Lawyers are Wimps.”

Mpm_277 Report

Final score:

61points

POST

appalachianengineer Report

#77

TIL that the last television ever manufactured in the U.S. made its way off the assembly line in July 2005 at the former Magnavox production headquarters in Greeneville, Tennessee. The TV remains on public display in a history museum in the town.

Final score:

61points

POST

#78

TIL that as the USS Franklin was returning to Pearl Harbor for repairs after surviving multiple kamikaze hits, the captain refused to allow the harbor pilot to dock the aircraft carrier, wanting to do it himself. He proceeded to immediately crash the ship into the dock.

CreeperIan02 Report

Final score:

59points

POST

#79

TIL that Starbucks incurred massive losses and failed miserably trying to expand into Australia.

Rd28T Report

Final score:

59points

POST

waitingforthesun92 Report

#80

TIL that the production team of "Elf" (2003) approached Macy’s to use their store for the film, but Macy’s declined as they didn’t like the idea that there was a fake Santa working in the store. Instead, the department store scenes were shot in the cafeteria of a mental hospital in Vancouver.

Final score:

58points

POST

#81

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL in 2018 multiple Virginia towns banned trick or treating for anyone over the age of 12. For example, according to the Chesapeake, Virginia city code in 2018, violators could face a fine and up to 6 months in jail.

Sandstorm400 , Charles Parker Report

Final score:

57points

POST

fap_fap_fap_fapper Report

#82

TIL due to being a Scientologist, Kirstie Alley decided not to reprise her role as Rebecca Howe on the Cheers spinoff Frasier, because Frasier is a psychiatrist.

Final score:

55points

POST

#83

TIL Ariana Grande gets less than 10% of the royalties for her 2019 single "7 Rings". Most of it goes to the estate of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the songwriters of "My Favourite Things".

Specialist_Check Report

Final score:

54points

POST

#84

TIL it took 15 years and 5,127 prototypes before James Dyson shipped his first vacuum cleaner.

JOWWLLL Report

Final score:

54points

POST

#85

TIL Roald Dahl wrote "The Twits" because of his profound disgust for beards.

Thomas_Catthew Report

Final score:

53points

POST

#86

TIL: This year Belgian Customs destroyed 2,352 cans of Miller High Life because it had the word Champagne on them.

jadraxx Report

Final score:

53points

POST

#87

TIL the former CEO of Nissan fled Japan in 2019 by hiding in an audio equipment box.

Specialist_Check Report

Final score:

52points

POST

#88

TIL 4000 luxury cars, including Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley models, are at the bottom of the ocean after the ship Felicity Ace sank

Illbb Report

Final score:

52points

POST

#89

TIL the exercise paradox: hunter-gatherers who trek miles daily (or climb up trees) burn the same calories as much-less-active office workers and machine operators.

jnpha Report

Final score:

51points

POST

#90

TIL about the "Rabbit Test," a human pregnancy test developed in 1931, in which urine from a female human would be injected into a female rabbit. The rabbit would be dissected and if its ovaries were enlarged then the human was likely pregnant (~98% certainty). The test was used into the 1970s

nondescriptun Report

Final score:

50points

POST

#91

TIL one of the reasons LBJ didn’t pursue another presidential term 1969-1973 was because an actuarial committee (accurately) predicted he would die at age 64, when he would still be in office. He died 2 days after the 1973 inauguration.

pussibilities Report

Final score:

49points

POST

#92

TIL the ahead of the U.S. invasion of Grenada 40 years ago, the Pentagon "knew so little about the country, it had to plan the invasion using maps normally sold to tourists."

DavidCarraway Report

Final score:

46points

POST

#93

TIL it is virtually impossible to die from sinking to the bottom and suffocating if you get trapped in quicksand.

0nlyinVegas Report

Final score:

44points

POST

#94

TIL that the U.S. Army disposed of banned chemical weapons and munitions through a program called CHASE (Cut Holes And Sink ‘Em) where the chemicals were loaded on a ship that was then purposely sank in the ocean.

hootch42 Report

Final score:

44points

POST

#95

TIL that until 1773, Harvard University graduates were ranked not by academic merit but according to their birth status or rank of their parents.

SnarkySheep Report

Final score:

44points

POST

#96

TIL there are 80,000 Americans living in Saudi Arabia, housing compounds with luxurious amenities, such as swimming pools and tennis courts. They are walled off and provide "some security and privacy from the country's strict Islamic code on matters of dress and social mixing."

bulovawatch Report

Final score:

43points

POST

#97

TIL the original draft of the film "Being John Malkovich" had nothing to do with the actor himself. Upon being pitched the film, New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye asked "Why the f**k can't it be called 'Being Tom Cruise?", a question that John Malkovich also asked.

dogrio345 Report

Final score:

42points

POST

#98

TIL in 2006, Quiznos sent mystery shoppers to franchise stores and sued owners for not putting enough meat in a prime rib sandwich. The owners won a lawsuit against Quiznos, with the judge calling Quizno's meat-weighing exercise a "charade" to bolster its national ad campaign against Subway.

WouldbeWanderer Report

Final score:

41points

POST

#99

TIL, the average thru hiker on the Appalachian Trail spends $10,000 during their 5-month hike.

Hilaria_adderall Report

Final score:

40points

POST

ZealousidealLuck6303 Report

#100

TIL, In the movie 300, a Persian emissary is thrown down a well by Leonidas. In reality, Sparta sent two volunteers back to Persia to be executed, in atonement for the deaths of the Persians.

Final score:

40points

POST

#101

TIL There are filial laws in the USA (state by state) that require adult children to support sick or indigent parents.

LisaLisa1962 Report

Final score:

38points

POST

#102

TIL that the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War took place in Europe. America’s Spanish and French allies besieged Gibraltar, at one point attacking with 60,000 men, but were defeated by the 5,000 British defenders.

[deleted] Report

Final score:

36points

POST

#103

TIL of the 2020 Nigeria Hostage Rescue, where a 27 year old American was kidnapped. The US responded by sending 30 Navy SEALs, 3 AC-130J Ghostriders, 8 CV-22B Ospreys, 6 C-17A Globemaster IIIs 5 KC-135R Stratotankers 8 MC-130J Commando IIs 1 P-8A Poseidons, and 1 Gulfstream V to rescue him

BeevyD Report

Final score:

36points

POST

#104

TIL Although surveys indicate people think running is bad for one's knees, research shows it's not, and is likely good for knees/joints.

somepeoplewait Report

Final score:

36points

POST

#105

TIL Action Comics #1 is so valuable that even a copy graded as low as 1.5/10 by the CGC still sold for $175,000.

godumbledorkk Report

Final score:

34points

POST

Forward-Answer-4407 Report

#106

TIL in 2022, BMW offered subscriptions for customers in the U.K. that would enable them to use their car's heated front seats (£15 per month) or heated steering wheel (£10 per month).

Final score:

31points

POST

#107

50 Intriguing “Today I Learned” Facts That You Probably Didn’t Learn In School (New Pics) TIL in the 1950s Temple University and the City of Philadelphia disinterred an entire cemetery to expand Temple's campus and dumped 28,000 headstones into the river.

diatriose , RDNE Stock project Report

Final score:

30points

POST