35 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That May Leave You With More Questions Than Answers

There is no end to learning these days and it would appear that we were stiffed for knowledge in school. The world is a weird and wonderful place, and the facts shared in the list below are proof that you can still learn something new everyday.  Scroll below to check out the latest trivial facts that have followers of the "Today I Learned" Reddit community hooked. Bizarre, delightfully random and filled to the brim with quirky bits of info, these factoids are sure to shift your perspective as you read along. 

#1

Image source: HonourToMyRedeemer, Niccolò di Tommaso TIL a Catholic monk once wrote an angry letter to the cardinals during a 2 year papal election. Upon receiving it, they immediately chose to elect him; he tried fleeing his election but accepted under pressure. One of his only acts was to decree that popes could resign, and he did so 1 week later.

#2

Image source: NoxiousQueef, Payam Zolfagharian TIL In 2003, the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (organizers of Wimbledon) began paying $2M annually for pandemic insurance, which it did for 17 years. In 2020, Wimbledon was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Club collected a $141M payout.

#3

Image source: tyrion2024, HBO Entertainment TIL HBO didn't submit Alfie Allen (Theon), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), & Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) for Emmy consideration for their work in Game of Thrones' final season, so they each decided to pay the $225 entry fee to submit themselves. This resulted in all three receiving an acting nod.

#4

Image source: tyrion2024, Camellia Entertainment TIL the day after Robin Williams' s**cide was announced, the National S*****e Prevention Lifeline saw the highest number of calls in a single day in its history with 7,500 (twice the normal number).

#5

Today I learned that Danny Devito actually directed Matilda (1996) and how incredibly kind he was to the Matilda Actress Mara Wilson and even made sure that an unfunished cut was shown to her dying Mom. Image source: No_Material3111

#6

TIL in 1990 a truck driver jumped into a moat in an enclosure at the Detroit Zoo to save a chimpanzee from drowning when the chimp inexplicably jumped into the water. He said "Everyone in the whole place was just standing around watching this monkey drown", so he knew he had to do somethng about it. Image source:  tyrion2024

#7

Image source: BuffyCaltrop, E.M. Sammis TIL that Chief Seattle was kicked out of the city named after him because he was Native American

#8

Image source: jc201946, ZR Lin TIL that jaywalking is not illegal in the UK, and that while pedestrian crossings are plentiful, they are not compulsory to use. Ultimately, it is seen as the personal responsibility of the individual to make a sound enough judgement to cross safely.

#9

TIL Stephen King never cashed the $5,000 check that Frank Darabont paid him in 1987 for the rights to adapt his novella 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption'. Eventually, King had the check framed and returned it to Darabont with a note that read, "In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve." Image source: tyrion2024

#10

Image source: Roughneck16, Kobe - TIL that in 1997, 24.6% of US 12th graders smoked cigarettes every single day. By 2023, that number fell to 0.7%.

#11

Image source: tyrion2024, Netflix TIL after Post Malone found out that other patrons at the Houston bar he was in had covered his check, he asked the waitress to charge him for anything so he could leave a tip. The waitress then rang him up for a $1 bill, and in return, he tipped her $20,000, leaving a total of $20,001.

#12

TIL about Cher Ami, a WWI homing pigeon who was shot through the chest, blinded in one eye, and flying with a nearly severed leg—yet still delivered a message that saved 194 men, earned a Croix de Guerre, and now rests in the Smithsonian. Image source: TrackToGrow

#13

TIL the actor with the most on-screen kills is Samuel L. Jackson with 1,734. Completing the Top 5 are: Milla Jovovich (1,299), Jet Li (1,076), Dolph Lundgren (940), and Arnold Schwarzenegger (842). Image source: tyrion2024

#14

TIL that in February 2025 a group of 8 beavers constructed a dam in the exact location that the Czech government had planned to build one. The initial project had been in the planning stage since 2018 and would have cost over $1.2 million. Image source: HYPERHERPADERP_

#15

TIL James Strang, leader of a Mormon splinter-group, crowned himself "king" of his church on Beaver Island, Michigan for 6 years. His "reign" was so hated by the locals that he was assassinated in 1856. His killers were kept in an unlocked jail cell and fined $1.25 Image source:  1000LiveEels

#16

Image source: MysteryBagIdeals, Luís Feliciano TIL Portugal fought a 13-year Colonial War to keep its African colonies long after the rest of Europe had given up theirs. Eventually the military got sick of dying in a pointless war, overthrew the dictatorship and installed a democracy

#17

TIL fast food restaurants frequently use Columbus Ohio to test out new products because the demographics of the city closely resemble those of the country as a whole Image source:  jc201946

#18

Image source:  obvnotlupus, Edward Jenner TIL that Americans work more hours a year than the Japanese

#19

Image source: nuttybudd, DC_Studio TIL in December 2020, GoDaddy tricked employees into thinking they had earned a bonus of $650. Employees were then told they had failed a phishing test and were required to do social engineering training. After media criticism, the company apologized to its staff, but did not offer actual bonuses.

#20

TIL While filming episodes of 'The Mandalorian' the production crew realized they didn't have enough Imperial Stormtrooper uniforms so they reached out to the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, a fan cosplay group, to fill out the ranks. Image source: GentPc

#21

TIL James Brown's dying wish to fund scholarships for needy children was delayed for 15 years due to extensive infighting and legal battles over his ~$90 million estate, which was finally sold in 2021. Image source: SuspiciousWeekend41

#22

TIL the White Star Line sent grieving Titanic families a bill—demanding a £20 “deposit” (≈£2,100 today) to ship their loved one’s body home, and saying that if they couldn’t pay, the company would simply bury the corpse in Halifax and mail them a photo of the grave. Image source: SPXQuantAlgo

#23

TIL that on 8th May 1945 on "Victory in Europe Day", the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret secretly slipped out of Buckingham Palace to join London’s jubilant crowds. Queen Elizabeth later described this as “one of the most memorable nights of my life.” Image source: Upstairs_Drive_5602

#24

TIL that in 1953, Ringo Starr developed tuberculosis and was admitted to a sanatorium, where he stayed for two years. While there, the medical staff attempted to alleviate boredom by encouraging patients to participate in the hospital band, resulting in his initial encounter with a drumset. Image source: milkywaysnow

#25

TIL Mary Tyler Moore insisted on wearing capri pants on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Network execs were uneasy about the fit, fearing the pants were “cupping under” and too revealing of her rear. Despite initial fears, “everyone thought it was great” and the show was a huge hit. Image source: TriviaDuchess

#26

TIL in 2019 research found that women buy 62% of all new cars sold in the US, and in addition, women influence more than 85% of all car purchases. Image source: tyrion2024

#27

Image source: tyrion2024 TIL in 2014 Anna Nicole Smith's estate failed in its final bid to obtain $44m from the estate of J. Howard Marshall whom Smith had married when he was 89 & she was 26. The oil tycoon died the next year & left his $1.6b estate to his son & nothing to Smith despite her claim he had promised her $300m.

#28

TIL in February 1936, Pope Pius XI recieved a mesage from Hitler congratulating him on the anniversary of his coronation. Pius' response critizied Hitler's regime with such force that Germany's foreign secretary tried to suppress the response, but Pius insisted that the message be given to Hitler. Image source: Blackraven2007

#29

Image source: WeatherWindfall, Touchstone Pictures TIL in the 1990 film “Pretty Woman”, Richard Gere’s car was a Lotus Esprit after both Ferrari and Porsche had refused to allow their cars to be used in a film associated with p**********n. As a result of the product placement, Lotus sales had tripled.

#30

Image source: RaccoonCityTacos, Riku Lu TIL that Walt Disney, in 1947, gave permission to the University of Oregon to use Donald Duck's likeness as their mascot.

#31

TIL The world’s largest tomato processor, The Morning Star Company, has no bosses—employees write their own job descriptions and negotiates responsibilities and compensation with peers. Image source: MothersMiIk

#32

Image source: Super_Goomba64, Lucasfilm TIL that While filming his scenes, Anakin's actor would sometimes make lightsaber noises from his mouth, which caused Lucas to stop filming and tell him "Hayden, that looks really great, but I can see your mouth moving. You don't have to do that, we add the sound effects in afterward"

#33

TIL that Buzz Aldrin was known among his fellow astronauts to be very difficult to work with, to the point that Neil Armstrong was offered the chance to replace Aldrin with someone else for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Armstrong thought it over for a day before choosing to stick with Aldrin. Image source:  Spykryo, BBC Archive

#34

Image source:  SPXQuantAlgo, Frederick Wallace TIL that Auschwitz had a brothel (Block 24) where female prisoners were forced to have s*x with selected male inmates as part of a reward system.

#35

Image source: Dear-Potato1092, Alexy Almond TIL that in 2013, the first known Tinder match in Antarctica happened when two researchers—one at McMurdo Station and another camping in the Dry Valleys—swiped right on each other. They were about a 45-minute helicopter ride apart.