New findings challenge traditional beliefs. One important aspect of knowledge is that it should be accessible to all. On the Today I Learned subreddit, millions of individuals gather to share the most astonishing, obscure, and intriguing facts they have recently come across. Some alter our perspective on the world, while others are simply entertaining – yet all of them demonstrate that there is always more to discover. Here is your daily dose of curiosity. Keep the exchange of information going by sharing your favorites!
1. They stayed underwater for 6 hours, surfacing only as needed and using wet t-shirts to protect their faces from falling embers.
2. George Washington chose to step down after two terms to prevent the presidency from becoming a lifetime appointment in the eyes of Americans.
3. Weird Al’s parody song ‘The Saga Begins,’ based on The Phantom Menace, was recorded before the film’s release in May 1999, with Yankovic piecing together the plot from fan forums.
4. Skeuomorphism refers to modern objects retaining design features from previous iterations, such as small handles on syrup bottles or the floppy disk ‘save’ icon.
5. Phossy Jaw, a bone-destroying affliction among matchstick industry workers, was linked to white phosphorus use and took a century of advocacy to end.
6. Chef Boyardee supplied rations to WWII soldiers and kept his factory open 24/7 to meet the demand when troops headed to Europe.
7. A Super Bowl-winning Jets player lost his ring while surfing, only to have it found and returned by a snorkeling lifeguard 40 years later.
8. Mattel released a disabled Barbie doll in 1997 but discontinued it due to the wheelchair not fitting through the Barbie Dreamhouse door.
9. A US developer was praised as a top employee before being caught outsourcing his job to China for a fraction of his salary.
10. George Washington remains the only independent U.S. president to date, opposing the formation of political parties.
11. Transferring a schizophrenic human’s gut microbiome into mice resulted in the mice showing schizophrenic-like behaviors.
12. A Mexican woman performed a self-C-section with a kitchen knife, surviving despite no medical training, after enduring 12 hours of constant pain.
13. Ancient Rome had fast food outlets called ‘thermopolia,’ akin to modern takeout restaurants, where people bought hot meals on the go.
14. A Swedish man survived for 60 days in his snowed-in car by drinking melted snow, as the snow acted as insulation against temperatures as low as -30°C.
15. Actor Yul Brynner, diagnosed with lung cancer, posthumously warned against smoking through an American Cancer Society ad.
#24 Today I Learned that Q Lazzarus, the singer of “Goodbye Horses,” was relatively unknown when the song featured in “Silence of the Lambs.” Record labels had turned her down because of her dreadlocks, leading her to work as a cab driver. However, her luck changed when she picked up director Jonathan Demme, who was impressed by her demo and exclaimed, “Oh my God, what is this and who are you?”
#25 Today I Learned that during the early Spanish exploration of the American Southwest, explorers encountered a man they called “the Turk.” He spun tales of prosperous lands to the east, but later confessed that he had fabricated these stories to lure the explorers away from the Pueblo civilizations, causing them to perish from hunger in the plains.
#26 Today I Learned that the 2022 Ig Nobel Prize in economics was awarded to a group of mathematicians who mathematically demonstrated that luck plays a more significant role than talent in achieving success.
#27 Today I Learned that individuals who regain their sight after being blind for an extended period struggle to recognize objects because vision is a learned skill, not an automatic process. They must undergo training to teach their brains to interpret visual stimuli.
#28 Today I Learned that Great White Sharks in the Pacific Ocean exhibit a consistent behavior of congregating at a specific location known as the White Shark Cafe, as observed by scientists.
#29 Today I Learned about Linda Chase, who left her roommate’s deceased body in a recliner chair for 18 months, conversing with and watching NASCAR on TV alongside the remains. When authorities discovered the body during a welfare check, Linda could only offer the explanation that she didn’t want to be alone.
#30 Today I Learned about a woman who intended to pick up a friend in Brussels, only to end up in Croatia after driving 900 miles across five international borders due to a GPS error. She realized her mistake two days later when her son reported her missing.
#31 Today I Learned that the British Library is mandated to house a copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland. With over 200 million publications stored, the library adds approximately 6 miles of new shelf space each year and receives more than 8000 new publications daily.
#32 Today I Learned that in 1940, Fleischer Studios initially believed creating a Superman cartoon for Paramount was too challenging. In an attempt to deter the project, they provided a budget estimate four times higher than usual for a cartoon. To their surprise, Paramount accepted the inflated budget.
#33 Today I Learned that the first laws prohibiting food coloring were related to bread production. Some bakers added chalk to darken bread, a practice deemed fraudulent by King Edward I, who decreed that offenders should be publicly pilloried for an hour.
#34 Today I Learned that “South Park” produced an episode titled “Band in China,” resulting in the show being banned in China.
#35 Today I Learned
In 1934, a unique contraption was brought into existence, meticulously designed to facilitate the movement of President Franklin D. Roosevelt between the presidential Office and his Residence with utmost ease. It was a thoughtful invention that catered to the specific needs of the President, who relied on a wheelchair for mobility.
Delving into history, a fascinating tidbit reveals the origins of the color purple’s association with royalty. Dating back to Ancient Rome, the prestigious hue was exclusively derived from an intricate process involving the extraction, milking, and fermentation of a particular snail’s liquid. A staggering revelation emerged, indicating that a staggering 12,000 snails were required to produce a mere gram of this luxurious dye. This scarcity and labor-intensive method led the esteemed Caesars to lay claim to purple as their exclusive color, symbolizing their regal status.
In a modern-day tale of familial discovery, a remarkable incident unfolded in 2020 when a woman undertook an online DNA test. The results unveiled a striking 22% genetic match with a man who would eventually be revealed as her long-lost uncle. Astonishingly, this man had been kidnapped at the tender age of six in 1951, remaining missing for a staggering 70 years. The unfolding of events led to a heartwarming reunion, shedding light on a captivating story of familial reconnection against all odds.
Switching gears to the world of Formula 1 racing, an anecdote involving driver Kimi Raikkonen sheds light on an unexpected twist of fate that almost led to financial turmoil for the Lotus team. Raikkonen’s contract stipulated a lucrative reward of €50,000 for every championship point secured, a clause that Lotus believed would not pose a financial burden due to their car’s anticipated lack of competitiveness. However, Raikkonen defied expectations by amassing an extraordinary 207 points, nearly bankrupting the team in the process with his exceptional performance on the racetrack.
One student’s curious experiment captured the attention of a textile scientist when they wore the same pair of jeans for a remarkable 330 days without washing them. The jeans were subjected to bacterial testing both before and after a wash, revealing minimal variations in bacterial counts despite the prolonged wear. This peculiar study shed light on the resilience of denim fabric and its capacity to withstand extended use without significant bacterial accumulation, sparking intrigue in the realm of textile science.
Amidst the cloak-and-dagger world of espionage, an unlikely friendship blossomed between a KGB agent and a CIA agent engaged in a covert game of recruitment. Despite their awareness of each other’s espionage activities, a mutual understanding prevailed as they refrained from broaching the topic, fostering an unspoken camaraderie amidst their shared secrets and clandestine missions.
Unveiling a historical anecdote from ancient Rome, the enigmatic figure of Marcus Licinius Crassus, renowned as “the richest man in Rome,” emerges as a complex character with a peculiar penchant for
