20 Entertaining And Educational Facts Shared By "Today I Learned" Online Group (New Facts)

The internet is filled with all sorts of information, and it’s now easier than ever to learn something new about random things and show off some knowledge in front of your peers. Well, if you wish to learn plenty of things consistently in life, join the ‘Today I Learned’ community on Reddit and learn something new every day. After all, it’s never too late to start learning new things. Scroll below to read some of their interesting posts and check out our previous posts about TIL here, here, and here. More info: Reddit

#1

Image source: theotherbogart, Waldemar "TIL One of the largest charitable donations made by a lottery winner came from a man in Canada. Two years after his wife died from cancer, Tom Crist won the lotto and donated everything to organizations fighting the disease. Canada doesn't tax winnings, so Crist donated $40 million."

#2

Image source: The_Ry_Ry, Bernard Gagnon "TIL Roman concrete structures such as the Pantheon and aqueducts are ultra durable because of lime clasts. While many modern concrete structures crumble after a few decades, Roman concrete has self-healing functionality from lime clasts which allow their structures to survive millennia."

#3

Image source: Ike_Arumba, Cyle Suesz for In The Know "TIL in 1993 Mattel's Barbie division accidentally released a Gay Ken doll. Despite being quickly recalled, it remains the best selling Ken doll of all time."

#4

Image source:  JJKingwolf, Patrick McGarvey "TIL in 1952, Jimmy Carter led a team of nuclear scientists in disassembling a Canadian nuclear reactor undergoing meltdown. To accomplish this, Carter, alongside other American military personnel, personally lowered himself into the reactor to disassemble it by hand."

#5

Image source: Yolo0o, Unknown author "TIL that Nikola Tesla once worked for Thomas Edison but left due to a disagreement over payment for his work on improving Edison's DC power systems. Tesla went on to develop AC power systems, which became the basis for modern electrical grids."

#6

Image source: ThreadbareAdjustment, Eric E Castro "TIL the Myers-Briggs has no scientific basis whatsoever."

#7

Image source: jamescookenotthatone, 7inchs "TIL Sperm whales use babysitters. Sperm whale youths cannot dive as deep as their mothers so when the mother needs to forage in the deep the youth is kept safe by swimming with other adult whales."

#8

Image source: PRSouthern, Kurosi "TIL about Don Ritchie, an Australian who intervened and prevented at least 180 suicide attempts at a notable suicide destination called The Gap. He lived nearby and would approach and ask “Can I help you in some way?”"

#9

Image source: Unleashtheducks, Сергей Игнатьев "TIL Japan has become infested with North American raccoons after an anime based on the book Rascal aired in 1977 and caused thousands of raccoons to be imported as pets only to be released into the wild."

#10

Image source: Lupercali, Pixabay "TIL that we start forgetting early childhood memories at around age 7."

#11

Image source: ElJamoquio, Official U.S. Navy Page "TIL A repairman wanted to get out of work early and intentionally started a fire, causing $700,000,000 in damages to the USS Miami submarine."

#12

Image source: mimino99, Vlada Karpovich "TIL 70% of people in the world do not use toilet paper."

#13

Image source: bermuda__, LawrieM "TIL of castaway huts (or depots) which are deliberately placed on isolated islands by governments. They contain supplies and tools which can help people who become stranded there. Most were built by the New Zealand government in the 19th and 20th centuries."

#14

Image source: PianoCharged, Diego Delso "TIL the ancient Nazca got water in the middle of the desert through an engineered series of 46 aqueducts running 12 m underground. They were built around 200-500 AD, and 32 of them are still used by local farmers today."

#15

Image source: blaikes, kidsdiscover.com "TIL about Josephine Cochrane, who invented the dishwasher because she was fed up of China breaking whilst being hand washed."

#16

Image source: Cjustinstockton, Nathaniel Yeo "TIL by passing a law requiring pharmacies to be owned by a licensed pharmacist, North Dakota has essentially done away with corporate chain pharmacies. Corporations that own pharmacies must be majority owned by licensed pharmacists."

#17

Image source: TheGuyNoOneSees, Roger Brown "TIL that mature bull elephants play a pivotal role in elephant society. The absence of mature bulls creates juvenile delinquency in younger bulls, who will soon enter musth. When mature bulls were introduced into areas with a high concentration of delinquents, they soon put a stop to this behavior."

#18

Image source: Cherimoose, kiarayew.com "TIL of Movile Cave, which has been completely sealed off from the outside world for 5.5 million years and evolved dozens of animal species found nowhere else, sustained only by toxic chemicals in the air and water, not photosynthesis."

#19

Image source: edfitz83, discogs.com "TIL in 1974 the band Ace had their only hit, How Long (has this been going on). The song is not about a cheating girlfriend - it’s about the band’s bass player, who was moonlighting with another band."

#20

Image source: friarcat, 경향신문사 "TIL that South Korea's CIA recruited a suicide squad to kill North Korea's dictator, Kim Il Sung. The squad mutinied, killed their commanders, hijacked a bus to Seoul, and were blown up by their own military. The survivors were then executed."