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50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL a female reporter attempted to recreate the famous novel "Around The World In 80 Days". Not only did she complete it with eight days to spare, she made a detour to interview Jules Verne, the original author.

res30stupid Report

Final score:

524points

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Caro Caro 2 years ago (edited)

Attempted???? She DID IT. But because she was a woman nobody has heard of it.... EDIT: I have to put this here as it seems necessary: This was not taught in schools outside the USA.

314points

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Martin Luther King Jr was a huge fan of Star Trek. He loved that it showed a future with people of all colors working together in harmony. He bumped into Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, at a convention. She said she was quitting. She ended up staying after MLK urged her to, saying she was a role model.

SonOfQuora Report

Final score:

505points

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Otter 2 years ago

Every Trekkie loves Lt. Uhura, and are glad she stayed! Some love her for being a beautiful and and intelligent woman, some love her for being a racial pioneer, some love her for being a feminist pioneer as well as a racial one. Because I believe she was the first female military officer to appear on American TV, and certainly the first one who was a proper officer and not eye candy - when the ship went into combat she'd stay at her station and do her job! And then, there was Nichell Nichols of NASA...

195points

u/Specialist_Check Report

Every fact you come across on the internet has to be taken with a pinch of salt. We all know that, but not many of us go forward and actually do the fact-checking. “Fact-checking is important because anyone can say anything on the internet and you want to know that the information you consume is grounded in reality,” Daniel Markuson, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, told Bored Panda.

"A general rule of thumb is to make sure that your news comes from established, well-known sources. These outlets get their information straight from primary sources and must uphold their reputation," he explained.

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Hisako Koyama, a female Japanese astronomer who hand drew sunspots every day for more than 40 years. Her detailed sketches aid researchers in studying solar cycles and the sun's magnetic fields.

Final score:

469points

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Brian Bennett 2 years ago

Women have done more for the world than anyone thinks!

10points

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Leonard Nimoy refused to join Star Trek the Animated Series without George Takai and Nichelle Nichols claiming they were proof of ethic diversity in the 23rd century.

Aluliman Report

Final score:

456points

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Otter 2 years ago

I don't think I've ever heard a bad word about Nimoy.

196points

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that since Brazil could not afford to send a team to the 1932 Olympics, they sent the athletes on a ship full of coffee. The athletes sold the coffee along the way to fund their journey.

frosted_bite Report

Final score:

430points

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Jonny Man 2 years ago

Coffee: So powerful it gets the job done even when you don't drink it!

172points

However, if you’re still not sure, Daniel's advice is to look into the author, research them, and make sure their credibility is up to par. "It is also important to weigh our own perception and not let our biases skew our understanding of events," he added.

It's no secret that social media helps to spread misinformation. The cybersecurity expert at NordVPN explained that it's because "the business models of the most popular social media platforms are based on increasing engagement. The core problem with this approach is that instead of focusing on providing their users with quality, fact-checked content, social media algorithms feed their users content that is most likely to increase likes, shares, and comments."

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL an FBI whistleblower reported multiple problems in forensic cases. After years of the FBI seeking to ruin him, his claims were investigated and a report showed that forensic hair analysis was flawed or inaccurate over 90% of the time.

marmorset Report

Final score:

401points

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Caro Caro 2 years ago

Got this off internet: is an American chemist and attorney who served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory from 1986 to 1998. Concerned about problems he saw among agents, he went public as a whistleblower to bring attention to procedural errors and misconduct by agents. The FBI retaliated against Whitehurst for ten years before finally investigating his claims and agreeing to 40 reforms to improve the forensic reliability of its testing. is an American chemist and attorney who served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory from 1986 to 1998. Concerned about problems he saw among agents, he went public as a whistleblower to bring attention to procedural errors and misconduct by agents. Dr. Whitehurst currently serves as the Executive Director of the Forensic Justice Project.

128points

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Thought destroyed by Nazis, a priceless mosaic owned by Roman emperor Caligula ended up as a coffee table for 50 years in a NYC apartment.

Specialist_Check Report

Final score:

398points

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Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

If coffee tables could talk...

134points

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that breast milk can adapt to a babies' illness and produce more milk with illness-specific antibodies.

kimcpi Report

Final score:

393points

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Aksa 2 years ago

This is amazing. My milk turned greenisch blueidch when my son caught a cold.

118points

Turns out that "this usually leaves social media littered with posts that make bold and easy-to-digest statements and skip explaining the situation in detail—a perfect place for misinformation to proliferate." Daniel argues that most of the time the truth is messy and boring with many actors involved and interpretations of events available.

"On the other hand, rumors, bold claims, and simple fixes are easy to digest and entertaining. The attention-grabbing factor of misinformation combined with social media’s hunger for attention make them a pair made in heaven," he concluded.

#10

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that the work of Charles Drew, a pioneer in preserving blood, led to large-scale blood bank use, U.S. blood donations to Britons in WWII, and the use of bloodmobiles. He resigned as chief of the first American Red Cross blood bank over a policy that separated the blood of black and white people.

RedditPrat Report

Final score:

382points

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Enothor 2 years ago

The heroic acts forgotten, the criers for peace murdered. Subliminally inculcated media fantasy and fear mongering. “He was against segregation” isn’t something that sells. Sorry, I’m in a misanthropic mood, but tis the season

67points

#11

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Loving Day in June celebrates the day that Interracial Marriage became legal in the US.

sephstorm Report

Final score:

373points

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Joe Reaves 2 years ago

Named after the couple who took their state all the way to the Supreme Court in order to have their marriage recognised.

190points

#12

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Emerson Romero was a silent film actor who was deaf. When movies with sound were invented, deaf actors got less roles and the intertitle text was removed. This led him to make an early form of movie captioning in 1947 so that movies would still be accessible to deaf people.

dilettantedebrah Report

Final score:

360points

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K Witmer 2 years ago

Thank god for this. I have to have CC on all the time or I can't hear what anyone is saying

185points

#13

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL of The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre of 1902. The French wanted rats exterminated from the sewer system. They set a bounty for each dead rat tail. Thousands of tails were submitted per day but the rat problem only grew worse. They found the hunters were breeding, not hunting, rats for their tails.

grandlewis Report

Final score:

354points

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Kira Okah 2 years ago

It's called The Cobra Effect - named after an anecdote of an attempt by the British to reduce cobra numbers in Delhi by offering a cobra bounty, and discovering that people were breeding cobras for income. The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre wasn't quite how this describes though, as people were catching the rats, chopping off their tails, and rereleasing them so they could make more rats.- they weren't farming them or anything, just letting them go afterwards.

151points

#14

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that to save the Hawaiian culture and people from disappearing, Kalākaua, the last king of the Hawaiian kingdom, went on a world tour in 1881, and travelled to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, and he became the first reigning monarch to circumnavigate the globe.

Jay21-1-10 Report

Final score:

350points

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Robert Trebor 2 years ago

He was the last king but not the last sovereign. Queen Liliuokalani had that honor, until deposed.

163points

#15

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that 1604, King James I wrote ‘A Counterblaste to Tobacco’, in which he described smoking as a ‘custome lothesome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs.

vrphotosguy55 Report

Final score:

325points

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Caro Caro 2 years ago

He was right! Tobacco kills. I'm glad the younger generation knows this - there are way less young smokers thank goodness.

119points

#16

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Mississippi did not make child-selling illegal until 2009, after a woman tried to sell her granddaughter for $2,000 and a car and it was discovered that there was no law to punish her under.

ob-With-One-B Report

Final score:

324points

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Caro Caro 2 years ago

There might not be a law but there sure is a bus. What a b!tch.

141points

#17

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that in the 1950s, a psychiatrist had three paranoid schizophrenic patients who each believed they were Jesus Christ. He put them in a room together to see if their beliefs would change after confronting each other. They did not, in fact, change their beliefs but each individually came to the conclusion that the other two men were insane. They made a movie about it, called Three Christs.

brother_ Report

Final score:

315points

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MarioRossi 2 years ago

I see that the movie stars Richard Gere as the psychiatrist, and Peter Dinklage as one of the patients. Now I'm curious to see it!

121points

#18

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Thankful Villages (also known as Blessed Villages) are those few villages in Britain to which suffered no casualties in the First World War. These villages had lost no men in the war because all those who left to serve came home again when war ended.

Four_Minute_Mile Report

Final score:

300points

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Fenchurch 2 years ago (edited)

Looked at logically there are reasons this is the case. Taking the one I know about near me the village of Toft in Cambridgeshire. The population in 1914 was around 400, to give an idea of its size its population today is around 600. During the course of the war 7 of Tofts men were eligible to fight. There obviously wasn't enough men to form a friendly regiment (made up from men all on one village) so they at different times as they became of age joined nearby regiments. Thus lessening their chances of dying. This lesson was learned during the second world war and men from the same village were not allowed to enlist together. The term Thankful village was coined in 1930 by a guidebook writer, so it is to be taken with a large pinch of salt! After 1930 many villages saw the "thankful" status as a curse not a blessing as survivors guilt and close ties with neighbouring villages who had lost all men had an impact on the villages prosperity.

113points

#19

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Black Panthers are not a real species. They are jaguars and leopards who have “Melanism”, which causes them to have black skin. It's the opposite effect of having albinism.

VinumNoctua Report

Final score:

299points

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Sapphire Dragon 2 years ago (edited)

What about pink panthers

276points

#20

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Willie O'Ree, the first black man to play in the NHL, was blind in one eye. It was caused by a ricocheting puck that hit him in the face when he was 18 and he kept it a secret for his entire 21-year career.

FuriouSherman Report

Final score:

270points

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Jo Johannsen 2 years ago

Which means he was even better than people thought he was.

210points

#21

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL More than 30 million viewers in Britain tuned in to watch the BBC “Royal Family” documentary in 1969, such that during the intermission, the flushing of toilets all over London caused a water shortage.

blu3r3dgr33n Report

Final score:

264points

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Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

Highlights of that show: an equerry delivering stacks of boxes containing "official work" to the Queen - it was later revealed that most of them were empty - and Prince Charles playing the cello and breaking a string, which hit Prince Edward in the face. As a PR exercise it was a failure and the Queen didn't allow it to be broadcast again

92points

#22

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Tarzan actor and Olympic swimmer Johnny Weismuller and his brother were swimming in Lake Michigan when they saw a boat capsize. They pulled at least 14 people from the water, and 11 of those people survived.

afeeney Report

Final score:

262points

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Scagsy 2 years ago

Here we can see Weismuller performing his famous 'Levitation' illusion to an assembled crowd. He would later go on to sit in a plastic box above the river Thames without any explanation whatsoever.

59points

#23

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 2009 Burger King ran the "Whopper sacrifice" campaign, which gave a free whopper to anyone who deleted 10 friends on Facebook. Facebook suspended the program because Burger King was alerting people letting them know they'd been dropped for a sandwich.

sedelpha Report

Final score:

257points

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DUN DUN (she/her) 2 years ago

"they'd been dropped for a sandwich" This is too funny 😂

196points

#24

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Finland used a lot of resources and logistics during WW II to bring the fallen to their home parishes for a proper funeral, instead of using mass graves in the battlefield.

MFromBeyond Report

Final score:

255points

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IeabellAlakar@aqueenofaplanet 2 years ago

Much better than what happened in the civil war.

33points

RickDavenportYouTube Report

#25

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Paul McCartney is the only artist to reach the top of the UK charts as a solo artist, duo, trio, quartet, quintet and musical ensemble.

Final score:

249points

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Nathaniel 2 years ago

Paul McCartney? Or the replacement the Beatles hired after his untimely death. Conspiracy theory joke.

71points

#26

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in the 1980s, the last 29 Guam kingfishers were captured in an effort to save the species from total extinction caused by non-native brown tree snakes. Through the dedicated effort of zoos, there are now 140 around the world with the aim of reintroducing them back to the wild one day.

blueberrisorbet Report

Final score:

248points

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Holly Stevens 2 years ago

You only managed to get a hundred something birds together in forty years??

39points

#27

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL: In 2020, Colombians shipped 130 grams of cocaine to Italy, inside individually hollowed out coffee beans. They were caught when a customs official noticed the "sender" shared the same name as a mafia boss in John Wick.

OvidPerl Report

Final score:

245points

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DUN DUN (she/her) 2 years ago

This thing got weirder and weirder with every progressing word

252points

#28

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Brendan Fraser is the first American-born actor to be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

literally12sofus Report

Final score:

244points

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Genie Kayleigh 2 years ago

Good for him!

70points

#29

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that In World War II, British spies plotted to spike Hitler's food with oestrogen to make him less aggressive.

m3antar Report

Final score:

230points

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Jer emy 2 years ago

There's another dictator's food that needs spiking right now.

408points

#30

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that unlike most animals, goats have excellent object permanence and are able to remember where objects are hidden without being able to see or smell them.

BringsHomeBones Report

Final score:

228points

POST

Jo Johannsen 2 years ago

Boing!

101points

#31

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL when Charles Darwin was sent some flowers from a friend he noticed one flower was extremely long and bet some moth with really long mouth parts exists to pollinate it. A few years later that moth was discovered.

DriveGenie Report

Final score:

221points

POST

Brian Bennett 2 years ago

Did you know Darwin would eat any animal he could!

45points

#32

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL about the liking gap, which is that people you meet like you more than you think. Psychologists found that "people systematically underestimated how much their conversation partners liked them and enjoyed their company."

nickmac22cu Report

Final score:

211points

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DUN DUN (she/her) 2 years ago

I tell people to their faces that I like them. They should know that I have a special place for them in my heart 😁

111points

#33

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Poppy flowers became associated with the military after a Canadian poet was inspired by a field of poppies near a mass grave in Belgium following World War 1. The poppies grew there after the bombing and trench warfare churned up the soil, exposing dormant poppy seeds to the sunlight.

TheTriviaPage Report

Final score:

197points

POST

Otter 2 years ago

And I presume, because the European poppies were red. The poppies where I live are bright yellow-orange, where a color that doesn't lend itself to appropriate metaphors.

14points

#34

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Ethiopia has a unique calendar which is 7-8 years behind the rest of the world. The current year in Ethiopia is 2014.

Pleeb Report

Final score:

193points

POST

Stoopham McFernybabes 2 years ago

Should we warn them?

406points

#35

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that dolphins will come together to form mega-pods which can consist of over 10,000 dolphins.

Kuriboh1378 Report

Final score:

187points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

You haven't lived until you've attended a dolphin rave

140points

#36

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL until the mid-1990s the Italian-American mafia controlled trash collection in New York City, fixing prices by extorting or murdering competitors or requiring them to join the price-fixing cartel. After an undercover operation convicted the leaders, trash collection costs dropped by $600 million.

SojourningCPA Report

Final score:

186points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

Tony Soprano would agree

45points

#37

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Jeff Cohen who played Chunk, the chubby kid in the Goonies went on to study law and entertainment law later co-founding the Cohen & Gardner firm in Beverly Hills. Earlier he asked Goonies director R.Donner for a recommendation for his college application Donner and his wife offered to pay for it.

befarked247 Report

Final score:

183points

POST

Gabrielle braswell 2 years ago

The goonies is one of my favorite movie's Goonies never say die 💀

33points

#38

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL a grown cat can jump between 5-8 times it's height. That would be the equivalent of human ability to jump from the ground up to 3rd or 4th floor!

PrimeTomato Report

Final score:

174points

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XenoMurph 2 years ago

Only if you measure the height on all fours for a cat, and standing for a human. But if you stand a cat on its hind legs, a cat can jump about twice its own height, still impressive though.

52points

#39

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL a man in San Francisco deposited a junk mail check written for $95,000 dollars, received the money, and built a career off of the event.

iamtherealandy Report

Final score:

171points

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DUN DUN (she/her) 2 years ago

I need that kind of miracle in my life

86points

#40

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL President Harding literally saved the U. S. Constitution which was deteriorating improperly stored at the State Dept. He had it preserved in a glass case.

5oclockpizza Report

Final score:

169points

POST

WilvanderHeijden 2 years ago

He saved the paper copy of the U.S. constitution. The constitution itself got destroyed by his party in the following decades.

131points

#41

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that in the early days of crossword puzzles, the game became an object of cultural hysteria. Newspapers and magazines from the 1920's - 1930's warned of a “crossword craze” gripping the country’s minds. The trend was described as an “epidemic,” a “virulent plague,” and a “national menace.”

hidude100 Report

Final score:

163points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

The Wordle of its day

97points

#42

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL about the woman who was hanging out with friends at the American Legion in a small Minnesota town. Her car slid off the icy road into a ditch. Trying to walk to a friend's house, she ended up freezing (solid!) in her friend's yard. She lived, was fine actually, and still lives in Minnesota.

Shavered22 Report

Final score:

162points

POST

Evil Little Thing 2 years ago

You're not dead until you are warm and dead.

22points

#43

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Wayne Gretzky's stats were so far ahead of his peers' that if you cut his entire career number in half he's still one of the top 20 players of all time.

DriveGenie Report

Final score:

159points

POST

Patrick McKemie 2 years ago

I have no idea who this Guy MacGregor is, what he's talking about and why he thinks someone is only important if he's heard of him. I googled him and got nothing, which was the exact value of his post.

18points

#44

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that an average of 2 amputations occur weekly at US meatpacking plants.

thinkofanamefast Report

Final score:

150points

POST

DUN DUN (she/her) 2 years ago (edited)

So what meat are we all eating today?

94points

#45

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL the way the sun "gives" people vitamin D is by converting cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D.

jellyculture Report

Final score:

145points

POST

Leo Domitrix 2 years ago (edited)

OK, I won't go into the physiology but this is misleading and scanty at best. It's a protein, EDIT: created in the processing of specifically 7-DHC, which is *dehydrocholesterol*, not "oh it'll clog your arteries cholesterol". This then forms a proto/pre Vitamin D EDIT: Vitamin D binding protein. Your liver and kidneys among other things help finish creating a form of Vitamin D that your body then uses. You're welcome for the *short and factual* version of this.

178points

#46

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL the US-Canada border is the longest international border in the world, and that Alaska's portion alone is about 38%.

2BallsInTheHole Report

Final score:

140points

POST

Queen Boudicca 2 years ago

Take that, Texas!

6points

#47

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL: Migraines are 3 times more common in women than in men.

CaptCash Report

Final score:

136points

POST

Scagsy 2 years ago

Probably because men.

347points

#48

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that French schools used to assign 'Le Symbole' to kids caught speaking minority languages (i.e. Breton, Occitan, Basque, etc). The only way to rid oneself of the symbol is to snitch on a fellow student. At the end of the day, the student with the symbol will receive some form of punishment.

DylTyrko Report

Final score:

115points

POST

Rosanna Jackson 2 years ago

This is explains why French are so snobby about their language. To the point that they hate hearing it spoke by learners of the language and get overly pissy with mistakes made in learning conversations. They were erasing other cultural languages and colonizing minds with French. So there is an implicit bias at play. Meanwhile in Italy if you speak a word of Italian you will get a novel of Italian back and they will comfortably and happily let you muck your way through the interaction.

131points

Nadine Debard 2 years ago

Rosanna, this was fifty years ago or even more (the independance of Algeria began the decolonisation in 1962). I don't know which French people you met in your life but what you describe here isn't a thing (anymore?), so please don't make generalities like that. French people love when strangers are talking with an accent, it's lovely. And French people are so bad at talking foreign languages that they admire people who can.

51points

Laura Mende (Human) 2 years ago

I was 14yrs (first basic understanding of French in school lessons) old when my class went to Strasbourg for a field trip. The city of Strasbourg was wisely chosen as it is on the German-French border. We formed groups of 3-5 students and were alloeed to go around alone. We were told by the teacher to speak French, which was quite good for 1,5yrs learning the language. Not fluent but good. The looks we earned at shops and restaurants! 😰 I and my friends tried our best to speak the language, but were shut off by the locals. Then we tried English. The people got angry. Then as last ressource, we spoke German. Being kicked out of a shop by a french shopkeeper was NOT on my to-do-list! But so it was. The whole class was discouraged to speak french after that. (At 18yrs old, my class went to Nice to celebrate our exams. Pretty much the same reactions. Maybe a little bit more patience but not very much.) PS: my mother wants to go visting Paris some day. Everytime she brings it up and says "You speak French, it will be great!", I get nightmares. I'm now 24yrs old, and I get nightmares if I think about speaking french in France.

6points

Mondkatze 2 years ago (edited)

We were in Paris for a short Trip and it takes us two hours to get on the right train to the City (from cdg airport). We don't speak frech but our first Words has always been in frech - then in english to communicate. The people treated us with lots of disrespect, although we were just asking for the right Bus and train. One busdriver looked us in the eyes, shut the door and drove of! You would think that people, working at an airport are used to foreigners and be Kind to those who are just asking. Maybe we had Bad luck but has been so crazy. One track was closed, we asked the staff in Front of the sign for the right track (we startet the question in french again), they lead us in a direction which was totally wrong in the aftersight. We met again, told. They repeated, obviously lying.... Two hours just to finally get on the right train....just one Person (female if that matters) has been nice. If we visit france again, then definetly not Paris. Maybe the countryside. I don't think, all french folx are snobby, but we met a lot. But i will not generalize. People are different. Always. And i always hope for the best (although, you would think with my experiences in the past, i would be pessimist. But with humans, i think positive first because this can influence the Meeting)

3points

Pepper Sergent 2 years ago

French parisian here. Everytime I hear a tourist trying to speak to me in French I compliment them, because I know it is not an easy language to learn. Don't a general statement out of the behavior of a few please.

17points

ADHORTATOR 2 years ago

I am not a native french speaker, I had to learn it on behalf of my wife :-). I never ever had any problems with french people when I was learning it. And that was 30 years ago

15points

Gavin Johnson 2 years ago

I’ve worked extensively around France, spent time there on holiday and interacted with French people in all manner of situations, never once found that my frankly shonky grasp of French was an issue. In every country I’ve visited (including France) I’ve found that if you make an honest attempt to converse in their language they will a) help you by correcting politely and encouraging you b) they will speak to you in your language and test their own skills and c) they will do it all with a sense of humour. They are proud of their language and rightly defend it but they aren’t the overbearing nation you describe. Maybe it’s your approach that’s the issue?

12points

OlivierD 2 years ago

Rosanna, you seem so sadly misinformed... Either you met some very wrong people, you can find some in any country I'm afraid, or else you just believe blindly whatever you are reading on the Internet. I have met quite a few foreigners in France making the effort to speak our language, and if there is one thing that most of them have in common, is that they are usually very successful with their social interactions with the French people they meet

12points

Wistiti 2 years ago

Thank you for generalising so much.

9points

julien 2 years ago

in Louisiana : " Eventually, children were subjected to corporal punishment for speaking French on school grounds. Derogatory terms and phrases were used by English speakers to put social pressure on French speakers ("Don't speak Cajun. Speak White!")

6points

KariLovesHerKat 2 years ago

I had a horrible time in France. The people were awful, at times extremely racist to me and my husband, he is algerian and speaks perfect French. I hated living there and swore I'd never go back and i haven't.

5points

Enea 2 years ago

Doesn't reflect my experience at all. I've had brilliant conversations with very patient French all over France, including Paris, Haute Savoie, the Camargue, and the Perignon, over a timespan of 20 years (so it's not a new thing). If you don't manage to cite a concrete source, better not reciprocate cultural stereotypes. It might fall back on you.

3points

Io O'nl 2 years ago

French people are snobby about their language for themselves. They put a hight expectation on themselves in mastering their langage. It's cultural and it's self-inflicted but have nothing to do with foreigners. People correct each other all the time, and no one bat an eye about it because it is expected of everyone to try and make the effort to speak properly. However, if as a foreigner, you state you want to learn the language (not just communicate), you'll get the same treatment i.e. you'll be corrected, because that's the only way to help you. It's not a critic.

3points

Patrice Frey 2 years ago

This is simply not true.

3points

Leo Domitrix 2 years ago (edited)

As someone who has rotten to no French? It depends *where* in France you are, I suspect.

3points

Alessa Gillespie 2 years ago

I used to be semi fluent but lack of practice and exposure resulted in my French becoming absolute trash. French people have always been incredibly nice to me when I'm butchering every other word. Sorry to hear your experience has been very different.

2points

Adele Perret 2 years ago

Absolute bs.

2points

Vanessa Murphy 1 year ago

That’s so true!!! It drives me nuts when people try to claim French from France is a completely different language than Canadian quebecois french!! It’s the exact same, our accents are just different. It’s like trying to say American Spanish isn’t the same as Spain, Mexican or South American Spanish…

0points

Vanta Black 2 years ago

Not the French people I met. They were actually happy we could have a conversation despite my limited grasp of their language. Which has since become incredibly rusty.

0points

Sandra Schmidt 2 years ago

When and who did you have this awful experience with, I am sorry you met such jerks! Whenever I was in France they were only snubby if you tried to speak to them in a different language. If you just TRIED to speak french they went out of their way to communicate with you. Even if they *gulp* had to speak english!

0points

Giles Ensor 2 years ago

Lived in France when I was a young man. I found that many French people loved the fact that I was trying to speak French, especially as Brits have such a poor reputation for speaking foreign languages. Even in Paris, my appalling French got me much better service than other English-speaking tourists who couldn't even be bothered to learn the basics. The French are no different from any other nationality when it comes to speaking the local language; make an effort and it will always be appreciated.

0points

Ellie Rosser 2 years ago

I lived in France for a year and found them to be entirely charming and helpful, providing you actually make an attempt in good faith to speak their language. What they don't like is idiots who assume everyone should speak English or who make zero attempt to get the accent etc.

0points

julien 2 years ago

now tell us how the natives were treated in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, Scotland, Ireland etc....lol

0points

Candia Lee 2 years ago

Upvoted for that last sentence.

0points

julien 2 years ago

bashing is another form of racism ! french bashing is still strong in some countries ! lol so no surprise here.

0points

Shelli LotusFlower 2 years ago

You have been hurt

-2points

De Gueb 2 years ago

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De Gueb 2 years ago

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Kira Okah 2 years ago (edited)

Similar to the "Welsh Not" in Wales in the 19th century. School kids forbidden from speaking Welsh had a token - typically a piece of wood tied about their neck - given to them and passed between kids who spoke Welsh. Kid with the token at the end of the day was punished. One of the reasons that Welsh became endangered.

13points

Huddo's sister 2 years ago

That's such a shame! In Australia during the time of the 'Stolen Generation' any Aboriginal was beaten for speaking their language. As a result, many of the languages completely died out, some are only known by a few elders and are trying to be recovered and recorded.

8points

Katherine Boag 2 years ago

England suppressed welsh, irish, and scots. In NZ it was illegal to speak maori in prison until the 90s. Native languages everywhere have been suppressed by colonisers.

6points

Auntriarch 2 years ago

We can add Afrikaans in British controlled South Africa

1point

julien 2 years ago

jus the same in Louisiana : " Eventually, children were subjected to corporal punishment for speaking French on school grounds. Derogatory terms and phrases were used by English speakers to put social pressure on French speakers ("Don't speak Cajun. Speak White!")

6points

Tash 2 years ago

We had the same in Wales - except with the Welsh language. If you were caught speaking Welsh in school the teacher would put a Welsh Not around your neck (a piece of wood on a string). At the end of the day the child wearing it (or any child who had worn it during the day) would be punished. This could be detention, writing lines or, more often, corporal punishment. This went on from around 1798 to 1870's.

5points

El Dee 2 years ago

This was also done to children in Scotland who spoke their native Gaelic after it was banned..

5points

Kai David 2 years ago

The USA government did the same thing. Jailed any one speaking Hawaiian language and other native American language. Took children away from their families and put them in christian orphanages, forced christian names, made them speak englishe, punished children for speaking their native language.

4points

Anton Kider 2 years ago

And Catalan

4points

julien 2 years ago

" Nowadays Louisiana is actually a bilingual State: English is the major spoken language, due to the enactment of the new constitution in 1921, which banned French from being spoken or learned at school. Only recently French has been reintroduced as an “administrative language”, after the creation of the CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) in 1968, aiming to “preserve and improve French language in Louisiana in its several varieties”. USA doesn't have any official language at the federal level !

3points

Brian Bennett 2 years ago

The French aren't too fond of French Canadians or their "slang" language!

2points

julien 2 years ago

" The French aren't too fond of French Canadians or their "slang" language! " the french just Love french canadians and their accent ! lol

1point

Jo Choto 2 years ago

Jesus, the instructions say, "Speak French. Be clean." Ugh.

1point

Jace 2 years ago

In the Netherlands, it is still regarded as ‘not done’ to speak a local dialect outside your village. The norm is ABN which is basically the way of speaking from 1 or 2 specific provinces. If you’re speaking your rural dialect while in the city you’re considered a little backwards or I stupid little farmer. So not totally a French thing.

1point

Tarra Scott 1 year ago

I had a former(thankfully) coworker do this to kids. The last kid would get screamed at by her strict co-teacher. Unsurprisingly, the classroom was very antagonistic with a few kids being the scapegoats. Now she's the chaplain of a wealthy private school.

0points

Amy-Lee Kempi 2 years ago

I’ve read a lot of the comments before writing this, and I can’t help to agree with this post. Although you can’t generalise off course, I have had myself corrected with smug and with laughter quite often when I talked to French people. Maybe because of my accent and they expected a higher level (my father is a native, but I grew up in Flemish schools and use Flemish as a first language), but it was infuriating to be corrected in that way. So to read about this history, I finally understand why SOME French people like to give the feeling it’s important and you are lesser if you don’t.

0points

Hailey B 2 years ago

And with American English, (yes there are many different variations) you can just say the main words in a sentence and show your emotions with your face and the people in the conversation will share looks of confusion as they figure out what you just said. If they can’t figure it out, they either smile, nod, and laugh, or they ask again and help you with every word. It all depends on who they are and how much they care.

0points

Andrew Newsome🇺🇦🇺🇸 2 years ago

Hehe The cheese touch hehe

0points

Nickola Gillespie 2 years ago

The Basque language is called uskadi. I’m half basque and I remember my Amuma telling me things like this. Amuma is basque for gramdmother

0points

Strahd Ivarius 2 years ago

My mom was subject to this up to the '50...

0points

shodokai 2 years ago

Colonialism s**t storm in action. Deplorable. Detestable. Horror maggots.

0points

Laura Silverstein 2 years ago (edited)

The Spanish Inquisition still alive and well

0points

Beatrice Multhaupt 2 years ago

The only friendly places to hang out for tourists whose French isn't Parisian-perfect are Alsace and Burgundy.

0points

Timmy Pillinger 2 years ago

The Welsh knot...

0points

Linda Riebel 2 years ago

And English lovingly absorbs words from many languages. Hurray!

0points

julien 2 years ago

this is not an EXCUSE but an EXPLANATION : you have to understand that in France before the Revolution most regions had not only different languages and dialects but also different units of measurement , different currencies and also different taxes. The State wanted to unify the country with the french language , the metric system, the same currency and the same taxes for all ! nowadays french is the official language but kids can learn at school (if they want to) occitan, catalan, breton, alsatian, basque, provencal, corsican etc...if you travel the country you can see that the names of cities, towns and villages are both in french and the regional language ( where I am it is occitan). THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AdobeStock...5a4dc8.jpg

0points

julien 2 years ago

Basque language

0points

julien 2 years ago

occitan language occitan-62...493004.jpg

0points

julien 2 years ago

Alsatian language alsacien-6...2b1b4d.jpg

0points

julien 2 years ago

breton language panneau-de...a1a5f5.jpg

0points

julien 2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

0points

Mr Zipperface 2 years ago

While on holiday in Arras I went into a chocolaterie armed only with my schoolboy level ability to speak the language. I had practiced what I was going to say in advance and confidently repeated it to the lady behind the counter, who amazingly, seemed to understand my order despite my butchery of the grammar and accent. She then asked me a question which I was not prepared for and the confused look on my face prompted her to smile then switch to English which she spoke perfectly. I think she appreciated my efforts but she could have been saying "Great, another bloody foreigner" for all I know.

0points

#49

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL The Big Ben's unique tone is because the bell had cracked in 1859, barely two months after its inauguration. The bell is since oriented in such a way the hammer doesn't strike the 'crack'.

whomDev Report

Final score:

113points

POST

Gregory Gibbs 2 years ago

The current bell is the second "Big Ben", the first one having also cracked. It was cast at what is now the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, in East London, as was the US Liberty Bell (approx 100 years earlier).

4points

#50

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 1970 Robert White successfully transplanted the head of a rhesus monkey onto another decapitated monkey. It survived for eight days, able to smell, hear, see, and move its mouth. But it was paralyzed from the neck down, as White was unable to reconnect the severed spinal cord.

SojourningCPA Report

Final score:

79points

POST

MyOpinionHasBeenServed 2 years ago

And this was to accomplish... what?

145points

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#51

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that "Ding Dong School," the first U.S. preschool TV show, was canceled when its star refused to let the network broadcast ads for BB guns.

TheLittleLauren Report

Final score:

50points

POST

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! 2 years ago

They'll put their eye out!

14points

#52

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL The Mummy (1999) helped Universal studios gross over one billion dollars in home video sales.

kalash_and_beer Report

Final score:

49points

POST

Jo Johannsen 2 years ago

Love that movie!

18points

#53

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL about Vulture Bees, who instead of collecting nectar, collect the flesh from rotting carcasses and produce a "decay-resistant edible glucose product resembling honey", aka Meat Honey.

Hydra_Lord Report

Final score:

49points

POST

Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago

Meat Honey would be a great name for a metal band.

9points

#54

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL San Marino has two heads of state at once (a diarchy). The heads of state, called "Captains Regent" serve 6-month long terms. They currently have the youngest head of state in the world at 27 and have had a more female heads of state than any other nation with 18.

ownmonster3000 Report

Final score:

46points

POST

RJ 2 years ago

San Marino featured prominently on Putin's list of Unfriendly Countries.

16points

#55

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 1999, financial analyst Harry Markopolos had informed the SEC that he believed it was legally and mathematically impossible to achieve the gains Bernie Madoff claimed. It took four minutes to conclude that his numbers did not add up, and another minute to suspect they were fraudulent.

girlsareCREAMY Report

Final score:

42points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

Charles Ponzi, originator of the Ponzi scheme, was also exposed early in his career but investors chose to believe him

23points

#56

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Queen Elizabeth II is the only currently active military commander who also served in World War II. She remains the Supreme Military Commander for various militaries including UK and Canada. While she has full power to direct the military, she normally delegates.

unknown Report

Final score:

41points

POST

Fat Harry 2 years ago

"Normally". I love the thought of her saying "Actually guys, I think I'll run this one".

40points

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

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

#57

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that In Wisconsin, children are legally allowed to drink alcohol in bars and restaurants or at home as long as they are with a parent or guardian.

CrimeCrisis Report

Final score:

40points

POST

Gwenyth 2 years ago

Wi native. Business still have power to deny this on there property but some places my parents could order me a beer as a teen.

18points

Spongebobnudeypants Report

#58

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL of The Golden Spruce, a 300 year old, 170ft tall, Sitka spruce with a rare genetic mutation that gave its needles a golden color. It was a sacred symbol of the Haida people of British Columbia. It was cut down by Grant Hadwin, a forest engineer, as an act of protest of the logging industry.

Final score:

40points

POST

ERIKA H. 2 years ago

Wait, he cut down the tree to protest cutting down trees?

93points

#59

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg wanted gestapo agent Toht to be a cyborg with a metal arm that could transform into a flamethrower and machine gun. Lucas rejected these ideas as being too far-fetched.

wiftebzwifteb Report

Final score:

40points

POST

ADHORTATOR 2 years ago

I love the cloth hanger scene :-)

18points

#60

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL the Kimberley Process, by which diamonds are certified as "conflict-free", has been largely abandoned as ineffective. Due to corruption and smuggling it is essentially impossible to tell if a gem is a blood diamond or not.

AirborneRodent Report

Final score:

40points

POST

Otter 2 years ago

Good thing I can't afford any diamonds.

20points

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

See Also on Bored Panda

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

#61

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that if you fell asleep during a Puritan church service you would be poked by a long wooden pole.

arintj Report

Final score:

40points

POST

DUN DUN (she/her) 2 years ago

This is that one new knowledge that made my day even better😂

21points

#62

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Britain's consent was required for America's nuclear bombing of Japan, due to a treaty on nuclear research during WWII.

StupidGlasses Report

Final score:

39points

POST

Jacob Nunez 2 years ago

It was not wrong to bomb the Japanese. And i am not going to pretend that it was.

1point

#63

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL the Ohio State Reformatory, which famously appeared in The Shawshank Redemption, was scheduled to be demolished after filming. However, it became a tourist attraction, and a group of enthusiasts later bought the site from the state for one dollar.

ohmahjah Report

Final score:

39points

POST

Summer Mason 2 years ago

This is one of the creepiest buildings I've ever been in. Constantly feel like someone is watching you.

15points

#64

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL the nurse treating Anthony Perkins for facial palsy secretly took his blood samples and tested them for HIV and it was positive. Anthony didn't know he had HIV and found out in a grocery checkout line after the nurse shared the results with The National Enquirer.

AudioCinematic Report

Final score:

38points

POST

Rachknits 2 years ago

That's an awful breach of confidentiality and betrayal of the nursing profession

94points

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

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

#65

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL the 700 3rd class passengers on the titanic all had to share two bathtubs. One for men and one for women.

thenewyorkgod Report

Final score:

38points

POST

Otter 2 years ago

In those days, a lot of people would "wash", because they didn't have access to a shower, bathtub, or running water. They'd pour water into a basin, hopefully warm water, and give themselves an all-over sponge bath. There are several Degas paintings of women doing this, he had a real talent for making beautiful paintings out of the most mundane subjects.

31points

#66

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL That mangos and cashews are part of the poison ivy family.

AotearoaCanuck Report

Final score:

38points

POST

Kira Okah 2 years ago

Raw cashews are poisonous and have to be roasted prior to being sold. The cashew fruit makes a very good wine.

13points

#67

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL about george hensley, who travelled the US to spread religious ideas of the divine healing powers of snake bites. George died in 1955 as a result of a snake bite, the state of kentucky subsequently passed laws prohibiting snakes from being used for religious purposes.

MilchMensch Report

Final score:

37points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

Some idiot in Kentucky: "The government cannot deprive me of my God-given right to be killed by snakes!"

45points

#68

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL of Ahmed Best, the actor who portrayed the character Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel movies. Jar Jar Binks quickly became the most hated character in the Star Wars universe. The vicious backlash against the character left him contemplating ending his life.

ArgumentBotRussia Report

Final score:

36points

POST

Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago

The poor bastard nearly threw himself off a bridge, apparently. Crazy fans are the worst.

45points

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

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

#69

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 2018 Barnum Animal Crackers freed its mascot animals from their cages, after 116 years of using the prior art design.

AnthillOmbudsman Report

Final score:

36points

POST

Flops 2 years ago

If you had to read this three times to work out what it means, please note that the original box artwork featured the animals in cages.

45points

#70

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL a 19 year old East German stole a 10 ton Soviet armored personnel carrier and drove full-speed into the Berlin Wall, got caught in barbered wire and shot twice before West German bar patrons rescued him.

The_pun_fart Report

Final score:

35points

POST

K Witmer 2 years ago

Time for a revolution russia

18points

#71

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Less than half the population can actually smell asparagus pee.

There are two separate genes at work here. One is the gene that causes smelly asparagus pee. The second is the gene that allows you to smell it. So it’s possible you can have smelly pee and not smell it, or smell others’ but not have smelly pee yourself.

nagitoe_ Report

Final score:

34points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

Thanks for adding another anxiety to life, although the obvious solution is to avoid asparagus

30points

OPmeansopeningposter Report

#72

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 1997 a small Texas community tried to replace "Hello" with "Heaven-o" citing religious reasons.

Final score:

33points

POST

Caro Caro 2 years ago

Texas?? *sigh*. What's wrong with Howdy?

43points

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

#73

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 2010 a PA high school was caught spying on students in their home by remotely enabling webcams on school-issued laptops.

fdboostssuck Report

Final score:

33points

POST

Brian Bennett 2 years ago

Sounds normal!

9points

#74

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL we thought dolphins couldn't breathe through their mouths until 2016, when a dolphin with a damaged blowhole learned to mouth breathe.

Gintian Report

Final score:

33points

POST

Kira Okah 2 years ago

Note: The cause of the damage to their blowhole is not known but is very much believed to be that it never developed properly and were born with the damage.

18points

#75

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that the CIA hired a magician named John Mulholland in the 1950s to write a "magic book" for spies. The manual explained how spies could use skills like sleight of hand to poison an enemy's drink, or to steal documents. Mulholland was also employed by the CIA to explore paranormal activities.

TheTriviaPage Report

Final score:

32points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago (edited)

Spy vs Spy: CIA agent produces rabbit from hat, KGB agent counters by producing potatoes and carrots from pocket, both agents enjoy a Cold War truce and a hearty stew

23points

sisyphushaditsoeasy Report

#76

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Elmo from Sesame Street testified before a House of Representative subcommittee, and he was referred to as “Elmo Monster” and “Mr. Monster".

Final score:

32points

POST

Mattewis88 2 years ago

...to urge more funding for music research and music education in schools.

32points

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

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Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

#77

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Male honeybees,called drones, soul purpose is to mate with the queen bee, if they get the chance to mate they die right after. Despite not really doing anything else in the matriarchal hive they are vital for survival of the species.

franticallyaspaz Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

*Sole

29points

#78

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL about the lost village of Tryweryn. A Welsh village and one of the last predominantly welsh speaking communities, that was forcibly vacated destroyed, and purposely flooded by the British government in 1965 in order to create a reservoir to provide water for the English city of Liverpool.

Ourkidof91 Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Kira Okah 2 years ago

Cofiwch Dryweryn

16points

#79

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL there have been at least 600 polar bears that have made the swim/ice drift to Iceland since the settlement of the island.

idiocrites Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Nathaniel 2 years ago

The shrinking habitat of the polar bears and the growing of more temperate areas bordering polar regions means Grizzly bears and Polar bears territories are overlapping more and more. They sometimes breed with each other. The offspring are known as Pizzly bears.

21points

#80

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL about Joyce Vincent and English woman whose death went unnoticed for more than 2 years. Her skeletal remains were found in her bedsit flat with the TV still on and wrapped Christmas presents surrounding her.

hydromies Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Enothor 2 years ago

How was the electricity still on?

20points

College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

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Internet Gives Unemployed Woman A Reality Check After She Expects Friends To Buy Her A Trip

#81

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Joseph Stalin was covered in scars from the smallpox that he’d survived at the age of seven and had official photos portray his face as smooth and fresh with well maintained hair by heavily editing and retouching photos.

33Fatalities Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Rachknits 2 years ago

Ugly outside and insde

33points

#82

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Unilever and Procter & Gamble have been fined $456M for fixing washing powder prices in 8 European countries in 2011. The fines were discounted by 10% after the 2 industry giants admitted running a cartel. Their rival Henkel, who provided the tip-off, was not fined in return.

DreGu90 Report

Final score:

30points

POST

jUst MEat 2 years ago

I see no difference between them and Pablo Escobar

9points

#83

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL some states have "Dead red" laws, which, if you're on a motorcycle or moped that is too light or not large enough to trip the sensor that changes the light from red to green, you're legally allowed to run the red light after waiting a reasonable amount of time.

Jame_Gumball Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Mattewis88 2 years ago

Although not legal unless the light is out or malfunctioning (flashing) most South Africans (including myself) due to high crime rates, especially muggings and hijackings it is common for us to treat red traffic lights as 4 way stops after dark or in very high risk areas. (High risk areas usually warning signs like "Caution high Hijacking area" though so you will know.)

14points

#84

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL one of the original drummers for The Ventures dropped out because he was too young to perform gigs at nightclubs. He went on to become a 4-Star General in the US Air Force.

Glinth Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Robert Trebor 2 years ago

George T. Babbitt, Jr.

5points

#85

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Thomas Edison was so upset with his son’s ineptitude in business, that he paid him $35/wk to use a different name (Jr to then use Thomas Willard).

aim179 Report

Final score:

29points

POST

Enothor 2 years ago

I firmly believe Edison invented nothing. The people he paid did. He’s not an inventor, but a businessman and sheister

48points

#86

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL a study found significant increase in green biomass over 40% of the planet from 1982 to 2015, while a significant decrease in vegetation was seen in only 4% of the surface.

SAT0725 Report

Final score:

29points

POST

Wistiti 2 years ago

Yes, everything being flattened for farms. Absence of diversity.

8points

#87

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Catacomb saints are skeletons exhumed from Roman catacombs and decorated with gold and jewels to serve as "replacement relics" for those destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. It is unlikely that any of those skeletons are actually of the people they are reputed by tradition to be.

LPercepts Report

Final score:

29points

POST

Otter 2 years ago

Someone once did the math: There are so many "Pieces of the True Cross" in the churches of the world, that they make up enough wood to make a Giant Sequoia.

27points

#88

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that in 2017, the Voyager 1 spacecraft successfully fired its backup thrusters for the first time in 37 years.

winkelschleifer Report

Final score:

29points

POST

Nathaniel 2 years ago

NASA switched the spacecraft off and on again?

22points

#89

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Charles Guiteau, the assassin of US president James A. Garfield, was rejected from a utopian group marriage community, and they nicknamed him Charles Gitout. The community eventually became the Oneida silverware company.

Gecko99 Report

Final score:

28points

POST

Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago

He claimed, at his trial, that he did not kill Garfield - the doctors did. This was technically true - the first doctor to attend to Garfield probed the would with unwashed fingers; Garfield died of the resulting infection. Giteau was hanged anyway.

22points

#90

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 1989 a Soviet pilot ejected from a Mig-23 fighter jet over Poland after experiencing technical problems. The jet continued to fly on autopilot for 600 miles before running out of fuel and crashing into a house in Belgium, killing its occupant.

yayyemen Report

Final score:

28points

POST

Mark Berry 2 years ago

That Belgian was smote in a very special way.

3points

#91

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that the New York Times Best-Seller list is not a mathematically objective factual content based on sales figures, but editorial content protected under the US constitution as free speech.

dodli Report

Final score:

27points

POST

Stephen Steve Stephenson III 2 years ago

So a marketing ploy

20points

#92

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that there is a Polish soup called czernina that's made with duck blood and other ingredients. Traditionally, this soup was served to men who were rejected after asking for permission to wed their significant other.

dilettantedebrah Report

Final score:

27points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

"I cannot marry my sweetheart, I must drink the blood of ducks instead of getting drunk like a normal person"

32points

#93

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL during his two years playing major league baseball John Miller hit a home run in his first ever at bat, and his last ever at bat, and those are the only two home runs of his entire MLB career.

Sorripto Report

Final score:

25points

POST

Brian Bennett 2 years ago

He must have got other hits or the coaches were slow to realize he was not MLB material!

6points

#94

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL there is a stable population of rhesus macaque monkeys in central Florida. They were released on an island in a swamp as part of a jungle cruise attraction in 1938, but escaped the island because the tour operator didn’t know they could swim.

GhostPartyArctica Report

Final score:

25points

POST

Brian Bennett 2 years ago

And nobody goes there lucky monkeys!

2points

#95

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Gucci was accused of evading taxes on more than 1 billion euros in revenues between 2011 and 2017. Its owner Kering, which has denied avoiding tax, agreed to pay $1.4B in 2019 to settle the dispute, which was the highest ever agreed settlement by a company with Italian tax authorities.

DreGu90 Report

Final score:

24points

POST

Julia Atkinson 2 years ago

If Gucci wants me to buy grotesquely over-priced goods with their name plastered all over them the company needs to pay ME for advertising

31points

#96

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 2014, the French drank over 162 million bottles of champagne (or nearly 3 bottles per person). The rest of the world shared the 145 million bottles of champagne that were exported.

tossinthisshit1 Report

Final score:

24points

POST

Sander 2 years ago

I guess it also depends on the definition of 'champagne'; champagne is sparkling wine produced in the French region of the same name. Are other sparkling wines included in this count (like Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco...)? Many countries have their own alternatives. Otherwise this would be a bit like saying 'People in London account for 99% of this local bakeries bread sales. The rest of the UK only account for 1% of this local bakeries bread sales!'

8points

#97

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Native Americans also used Alcatraz as a prison.

CrispitoDay Report

Final score:

24points

POST

Nicola Roberts 2 years ago (edited)

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-alcatraz - Other Native Americans, accused of mutiny, Indian campaigns against the army, or escapees from other prisons were also sent to Alcatraz. One such prisoner, Chief Kaetena, a compatriot of Geronimo, was sent to Alcatraz after battling against General George Crook’s army. After having spent two years on the rock, he was released in March of 1886, at which time Crook wrote, “His stay on Alcatraz has worked a complete reformation in his character.” Can't speak for it's authenticity but that was the first site I looked at.

6points

#98

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL The frontal lobe is the first part of the brain to atrophy, causing difficulty in inhibiting irrelevant or inappropriate thoughts.

FredCole918 Report

Final score:

23points

POST

Rachknits 2 years ago

Anyone have any clue what the photo has to do with the post?

64points

#99

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL it’s a myth that any amount of alcohol consumption kills brain cells and the quantity required to actually kill a brain cell would also kill you. Instead, alcohol does harm dendrites, which are the branch-like ends of brain cells that are key for passing messages from one neuron to another.

its-classic-rando Report

Final score:

22points

POST

Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago

So, alcohol causes brain damage, but not the way people think it does.

25points

#100

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL when the United States officially transitioned from analog to digital television on June 12, 2009, "1.75 million Americans were still not ready" resulting in 317,450 calls to the FCC on June 13. Coupons from the Dept. of Commerce were given out, to be exchanged for DTV Converter Boxes.

CaptainJZH Report

Final score:

21points

POST

Hann 2 years ago

I know many, many people who do not understand analog clocks. Sickly amount of people, actually.

4points

#101

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL in 2011, a 16 year old teenager repelled down into a San Francisco dealership and stole Guy Fieri’s Lamborghini.

WorkingContext Report

Final score:

19points

POST

MarioRossi 2 years ago

*rappelled, I guess.

23points

#102

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL 2 boys from California ran away from home ending up living in the Canadian wilderness. They then received aid from residents of a nearby town until their parents saw them on a news report. They had been "missing" for 10 months.

madman1101 Report

Final score:

19points

POST

Rachknits 2 years ago

I wonder what had happened to them to cause them to do this

17points

#103

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Most of North America's earthworms are not native, the native earthworms were killed of by an ice sheet around 10000 years ago. Most earthworms in North America today were descended from those introduced by settlers in the 18th century.

Certified_Cichlid Report

Final score:

19points

POST

Jyri Hakola 2 years ago

I think this is a claim that needs article reference before is reliable. Earthworms are found everywhere on the northern latitudes on areas covered by Ice of last ice-age...

26points

#104

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL Paul McCartney was arrested in Japan in 1980 for possession of 219 grams of marijuana.

ahjumTaeng Report

Final score:

18points

POST

phil bishop 2 years ago

Hmmmm only the US (and Myanmar?) still use ounces. Go decimal...

4points

#105

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL “Stone Cold” Steve Austin decided on his frosty prefix because his then English wife once told him to drink his tea before it got “stone cold”.

tyBollox Report

Final score:

16points

POST

Jonny Man 2 years ago

Stone Cold Tea Austin has a better ring to it :P

10points

Zestyclose-Court-265 Report

#106

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that Tommy Wiseau named the character of Mark in "The Room" after Matt Damon, but he misheard Matt as Mark.

Final score:

15points

POST

Sander 2 years ago

Oh, hi Matt

7points

#107

50 New ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove It’s Never Too Late To Learn Something New TIL that when a Concorde crashed in 2000, it came within 30 feet of hitting a plane carrying the French president.

stuart2202 Report

Final score:

12points

POST

Wilf 2 years ago

Not quite true. The Concorde veered to the left during takeoff because of the damaged landing gear. Jaques Chirac's Boeing 747 was on an adjacent taxiway, but much further away than 30 feet.

11points