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Nowadays, you don't have to take a trip to the local library if you want to go on a fact-finding mission. You don't have to read a whole book, magazine, or even an Encyclopaeda Brittanica to learn something new. The internet is a never-ending treasure trove of trivia. From fascinating bite-size tidbits about science, to celebrities, history, and the plain weird and bizarre. The “Today I Learned” (TIL) page is a go-to corner of the internet, where a whopping 39 million people gather to satisfy their hunger for knowledge.
Bored Panda has picked the top cool and weird facts from the page to create the following captivating listicle. Whether you're wanting to impress your friends, needing something interesting to talk about on your next first date, itching to win trivia night or you just enjoy soaking in new information, you should find something useful here. Keep scrolling and don't forget to upvote your favorites.
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#1
TIL in 2011 a Brazilian man rescued a starving Magellanic penguin that was drenched in oil on the beach near his house. It stayed with him for about 11 months before returning to the sea. Although for at least the next 5 years, the penguin returned to visit the man for a few months each year.
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#2
TIL Al Capone, America’s most notorious gangster sponsored the charity that served up three hot meals a day to thousands of the unemployed—no questions asked.
#3
TIL the 'Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills' or Pretty Boy Floyd was a thief in the 1930's who was touted as a hero for destroying mortgage documents whenever he robbed a bank. His funeral had over 20,000 people attend to pay their respects.
There’s no shortage of mind-blowing bite-size facts on this page, to keep your constant need for knowledge satisfied. Bored Panda decided to delve a bit deeper into one of the more endearing ones, in our own quest to learn more about the amazing world we live in.
The story we found particularly fascinating was about a Brazilian man who rescued a penguin drenched in oil. The bird stayed with João Pereira de Souza for almost a year before returning to sea. But in an act of true unconditional love, the penguin returned to visit Pereira de Souza for the next few years. "He arrives in June and leaves to go home in February, and every year he becomes more affectionate, as he appears even happier to see me," said Pereira de Souza during a 2016 interview.
#4
TIL as the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto mounted, the inhabitants knew they would not survive. A team of historians, writers, rabbis, and social workers created a secret cache of documents to record their way of life. 2/3 of the cache survived the war
#5
TIL of Kurt Gerstein, a Nazi officer who tried to alert the world of the Holocaust while it was happening by sending detailed reports to Swedish, Swiss, Dutch and Catholic officials. These were largely ineffective and he died by taking his own life in 1945
#6
TIL that the Spice Girls co-wrote all their own songs. When they left their original management, they allegedly stole the masters of their recordings from the management office to make sure they retained creative control of their work.
The duo’s unique bond made world headlines and was even turned into a documentary, and later, a children’s book called An Old Man And His Penguin. “Off the coast of Brazil, João rescues a lifeless, oil-covered penguin (Dindim) and nurses him back to health. Dindim adopts João as an honorary penguin, and the steadfast friends do everything together. They swim together, fish together, and stroll the beach together," reads the book's description.
"But there are real penguins somewhere across the sea. So one day, Dindim leaves João. The villagers tell João the penguin will never come back. João cannot say if he will or will not. Are the villagers right? Will Dindim ever patter into his old friend's loving arms again?”
#7
TIL that orcas spend their entire lives with their mothers. Only one whale is known to have survived alone: Luna (or Tsux'iit) was young when separated and ended up in Nootka Sound. He was adored by locals for his interactive and playful demeanor, seeking socialization intensely without his pod.
#8
TIL in South Korea, only blind people can get a masseur's license. This law was established in 1912, to help visually impaired people earn a living. It was upheld by their Constitutional Court in 2008.
#9
TIL Malcolm X, while serving a prison sentence in his early 20s, spent his time reading the dictionary and copying its pages to improve his vocabulary. This practice not only expanded his knowledge but also transformed him into one of the most articulate civil rights leaders.
As it turns out, little Dindim never did return to Pereira de Souza after saying his final goodbyes. The book’s author, Alayne Kay Christian tracked down a friend of Pereira de Souza’s to find out more. "He assured me that Joao Pereira de Souza was fine," wrote Christian, before quoting the friend as saying, "Unfortunately, Dindim has not returned to Ilha Grande... Since no tracking devices have been attached to him, it’s hard to know what happened to him.”
#10
TIL while filming Metropolis (1927) they would often end up with more children in the evening than in the morning. Coming from the poorest areas of Berlin, the children would sneak onto set or climb over the fence to experience the warm rooms, games, toys, cocoa, cake, and regular meals
#11
TIL that after his passing, Fred Rogers’ wife revealed that behind the scenes he had a raunchy sense of humor and one of his favorite and funniest ways to break up monotony during a bland event was to look right at her, lift a butt cheek signaling that he was secretly farting, and give her a smile.
#12
TIL a bear in a state park got into campers’ coolers and used claws & teeth to puncture beer cans; Fish & Wildlife Sgt. Bill Heinck said the bear tried a can of Busch, ignored the rest, then drank about 36 Rainier beers. They caught it a live trap baited with donuts, honey, open cans of Rainier.
Christian revealed in her blog that she also came across two videos online of Pereira de Souza waiting patiently on the beach for his penguin friend to come back. The author managed to get the videos translated from Portuguese, and this is what they said:
"The first video is only him saying he has been waiting for Dindim. He is talking to Dindim and asking him to come, so João can be happy again and play with him. He shows his 3 friends and says they are always at the sea, so Joao asks them to keep on the lookout for Dindim."
#13
TIL that Jordan Rice, a 13-year-old Australian boy, became a symbol of courage during devastating floods when he sacrificed his life to save his younger brother. Despite his fear of water, his selfless act continues to inspire as a story of true heroism.
#14
TIL in 2012, over 2,000 Koreans gathered to watch a single man pitch a tent (a 24-man army tent) after he claimed on an internet forum that he could do it in under two hours. The event grew so large it even attracted corporate sponsers. The man succeeded, taking about an hour to accomplish the task.
#15
TIL while on safari, Hemingway survived 2 plane crashes one day apart. The 2nd caught fire & he had to smash open the door with his head, causing extensive burns & skeletal injuries. He was presumed dead until he walked out of the jungle "in high spirits", carrying bananas and a bottle of gin.
"In the second one, he says how much he misses him and how he wishes Dindim would come back. He is calling him and he says that he is always thinking about him. He offers him sardines and that he can come play with his dog and he can pinch his dog as usual. He says, 'I am waiting for you here day and night'.”
Christian believes that Pereira de Souza probably won't give up on his penguin partner in crime. And will continue to call for him from the shore every year. We, at Bored Panda, are incline to agree. "I love the penguin like it's my own child," Pereira de Souza once said in an interview.
"And I believe the penguin loves me..."
#16
TIL Since 1950, the Catholic Church has recognized Darwinian evolution as being compatible with Christian beliefs.
#17
TIL there was a Japanese government review in 2010 which found that 82% of the people aged over 100 in Japan turned out to be dead.
#18
TIL during the filming of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, it became a secret running joke between Tom Holland and Michael Keaton that Keaton would often whisper in a deep voice“I’m Batman” in Tom’s ear on set during a few fight scenes.
#19
TIL: The bodies of two women were discovered over a year after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, but they were both actually victims of murder prior to the eruption whose bodies were hidden to the debris and ash.
#20
TIL on November 29th 2001, Mike Myers received the final letter George Harrison ever sent anybody. Being a fan of satire, George hand wrote the letter expressing his admiration for Mike’s Austin Powers movies. Mike received it on the set of Austin Powers 3 on the day George died.
#21
TIL that in Romania in 1999, a man and a woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning while having sex in a car parked in a garage with the engine running and won the 1999 Darwin Award.
#22
TIL the US Navy had no idea Cher would be wearing a racy outfit when they agreed to let her film “If I Could Turn Back Time” on the battleship *Missouri*. They didn’t see her now-iconic fishnet bodysuit until filming started. The crew’s crazy reaction is genuine.
#23
TIL Tommy Cooper was a Welsh magician/comedian whose shtick was "a clumsy magician messes up his tricks". He had a massive heart attack, collapsed and died on stage during a live broadcast, in front of 12 million viewers, with studio audience laughing at what they thought was just one of his acts.
#24
TIL Japan railway platforms saw a 84 percent decrease in s***ides at stations after they installed blue lights.
#25
TIL what we call a 9-to-5 workday, Chinese people have "996," which means they have to work from 9am to 9pm 6 days a week.
#26
TIL Keanu Reeves only says 380 words in the entirety of John Wick: Chapter 4, which has a runtime of 169 minutes.
#27
TIL that in 1835, Richard Lawrence attempted to assassinate President Andrew Jackson, marking the first such attempt on a sitting U.S. president. Lawrence's two pistols both misfired, allowing Jackson who was 67 at the time to respond by beating him with his cane until he was restrained.
#28
TIL there is no official "national identity card" in the United States. Most Americans use their driver’s license as a national identification
#29
TIL Early in his career actor Zero Mostel was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for suspected communist sympathies. During his testimony, Mostel refused to name names, made jokes, and challenged the committee's assertions.
#30
TIL of 'Joe Martin', a captive orangutan actor that starred in over 50 silent era films, and for years lived essentially as a free human, wearing clothes, having it's own keys to come and go, attending film premieres and trusted to work with many children. Eventually it attacked many people...
#31
TIL about Frederick Valentich, an Australian pilot who disappeared during a flight in 1978 after reporting an unidentified object following him and saying, 'It's not an aircraft.'
#32
TIL researchers studying nominative determinism found that orthopedic surgeons are more likely to have the surname "Limb" than is expected by chance (Limb, Limb, Limb, & Limb, 2015)
#33
TIL: The US developed the chemical compound Cyanogen Chloride for use in WW2 against Japan. It is a highly toxic blood agent that could penetrate gas masks. Truman decided against using it and opted for the atom bomb. It is now listed in the Chemical Weapons Convention and has never been deployed.
#34
TIL that Thalidomide, the drug responsible for thousands of birth defects across Europe in the 1950s/60s, was developed by a doctor who had previously worked for the Nazis, experimenting on concentration camp victims
#35
TIL: There is a figure known as the "unluckiest man in Pompeii". In 2018, archaeologists uncovered his skeleton and a rock where his head should've been, he got struck by the rock and his skull was found in a tunnel a distance away.
#36
TIL until the 1980’s, US television stations would sign off at the end of the broadcasting day, and before they cut to static for the rest of the night, they would often play short clips of American landmarks and US military imagery in a patriotic montage accompanied by the star spangled banner.
#37
TIL that nearly 0% of Indigenous Mexicans develop wisdom teeth, while practically 100% of Tasmanians do.
#38
TIL Max Planck, the father of quantum theory, considered his quantum hypothesis just a mathematical trick to get the right answer rather than a sizable discovery until Einstein interpreted his hypothesis realistically and used it to explain physical phenomena.
#39
TIL David Letterman once insulted Quentin Tarantino on his show, which made Tarantino call Letterman on the phone and threaten to come to NY to “kill” him. Letterman responded by offering to pay for his flight and have QT choose the method of battle. Tarantino agreed and chose “bats.”
#40
TIL: The federal government is by far the largest employer of veterans in the United States
#42
TIL ecologists once thought Beaver dam-building was an amazing feat of planning, indicative of the high intellect. This was tested when a recording of running water was played in a field near a beaver pond. Although on dry land, the beaver covered the tape player with branches and mud.
#44
TIL a high-ranking dinosaur ant who challenges her queen but fails will be immobilized, publicly chastised for several days, join the working class and lose all hope of ever ruling or reproducing
#45
TIL a film in 1997 with a budget of $15 million only made $309 because it only played in 2 movie theaters before being pulled.
#46
TIL certain East Asian physical traits, like thicker hair, more sweat glands, distinct teeth, and smaller breasts, stem from a gene mutation about 35,000 years ago. Africans and Europeans usually carry the ancestral version of the gene, but in most East Asians, one of the DNA units has mutated.
#47
TIL that Graphene is the thinnest two-dimensional material in existence and is 200 times stronger than steel. It is also the most conductive material on Earth, excelling in both electrical and thermal conductivity.
#48
TIL The only known naturally occuring nuclear fission reactor was discovered in Oklo, Gabon and is thought to have been active 1.7 billion years ago. This discovery in 1972 was made after chemists noticed a significant reduction in fissionable U-235 within the ore coming from the Gabonese mine.
#49
TIL economists estimate that only 8 percent of the world's currency exists as physical cash
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