Whenever I learn something cool, I get this itching desire to tell someone about it. But as it turns out, I don’t have to rush downstairs to interrupt whatever my flatmates are doing and bombard them with interesting yet random facts. I can do it on the Internet, too.
Today I Learned is the 11th most popular subreddit, with nearly 24 million members. All of them are ready to not only share interesting and specific things about something that they just found out but go through other people’s discoveries as well. From the reason why cops like donuts to Stephen Hawking pranking an interview crew, the subreddit has amassed loads of incredible trivia since its creation on Dec 28, 2008. Here are some of the most popular ones within the community.
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#1
TIL of Syndrome K: a fake disease that Italian doctors made up to save Jews who had fled to their hospital seeking protection from the Nazis. Syndrome K “patients” were quarantined and the Nazis were told that it was a deadly, disfiguring, and highly contagious illness. They saved at least 20 lives
363points 
Lauren Caswell Lauren Caswell Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
No matter who you are, you can make a difference
88 88points reply View More Replies…
Astrophysicist Mario Livio thinks that our willingness to learn is, in fact, what makes us human. “Other animals are curious, but only humans are worried and curious about reasons and causes for things. Only humans really ask the question, ‘Why?'”
Livio says we’re even born with it. “There are many studies that have shown that there is a strong genetic component to curiosity,” he explained. “It is also the case that some people are more curious than others, in the same way, that some people have a talent for music and others don’t or some people are smarter than others … But all people are curious, with the possible exception of people who are very deeply depressed or have certain kinds of brain damage.”
#2
TIL a guide dog named Roselle led a group of people including her blind owner down 78 flights of stairs before the North Tower collapsed on 9/11. She only stopped to give kisses to a woman who was having a panic attack.
338points 
Daria Z Daria Z Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Aww what a good girl! ❤️️
81 81points reply View More Replies…
But testing out a new idea can lead to disaster, too.”Curiosity probably led to the vast majority of human populations going extinct,” Agustín Fuentes, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University, told Live Science.
For example, the Inuit of the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska, and the Sámi people of Europe’s northern reaches have “created incredible modes to deal with the challenges” of living in northern climates, but “what we forget about are the probably tens of thousands of populations that tried and failed to make it” in those challenging landscapes,” he said.
But even though not all curious humans lived to pass their penchant for exploration on to their descendants, many did. We can’t help but think, “Huh, I wonder what would happen if …” and the popularity of the subreddit Today I Learned proves it.
#3
TIL of Dr. Donald Hopkins. He helped eradicate Smallpox, and is on the verge of killing another disease. He’s taken Guinea Worm Disease down from 3.5 million cases a year to just 28 cases last year.
326points 
David K David K Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
This…a true hero!
71 71points reply #4
TIL During the American Revolution, an enslaved man was charged with treason and sentenced to hang. He argued that as a slave, he was not a citizen and could not commit treason against a government to which he owed no allegiance. He was subsequently pardoned.
302points Elsker Elsker Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
wow!! Well done!
87 87points reply View More Replies… #5
TIL In 1959, police were called to a segregated library in S. Carolina when a 9yr-old Black boy refused to leave. He later got a PhD in Physics from MIT, and died in 1986, one of the astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger. The library that refused to lend him books is now named after him.
292points 
Gareth Graham Gareth Graham Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Ronald McNair is his name
221 221points reply View More Replies… #6
TIL that in 1916 there was a proposed Amendment to the US Constitution that would put all acts of war to a national vote, and anyone voting yes would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army
277points Daria Z Daria Z Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
I bet there would have been fewer wars had the Amendment been adopted.
144 144points reply #7
TIL A Japanese company has awarded its non-smoking employees 6 extra vacation days to compensate for the smoker’s smoke breaks
276points Laugh or not Laugh or not Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Best incentive to stop smoking.
85 85points reply View More Replies… #8
TIL hundreds of love letters between two gay World War II soldiers were found and are being made into a book. In one, one of them wrote, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all our letters could be published in the future in a more enlightened time. Then all the world could see how in love we are.”
mike_pants , U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Report
275points 
Hubertus Touché Hubertus Touché Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Nice one! Pity they didn’t live to see their wish come true. Or did they?
63 63points reply View More Replies… #9
TIL that a 13-year-old opened a hot dog stand in front of his home in Minnesota, causing a complaint to the health department. Instead of shutting him down, the inspectors helped him bring his stand up to code and paid the $87 fee for his permit out of their own pockets
273points 
Cats Cats Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Here’s the story, it’s lovely: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/instead-of-shutting-down-teens-hot-dog-stand-city-helps-him-get-a-permit-and-start-a-business/
63 63points reply #10
TIL that the firm Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees on 9/11. The CEO, who was taking his child to school that day, later distributed $180 million to the families and offered jobs to all children of the victims. 57 of those children were employed by Cantor Fitzgerald as of 2016.
273points 
Some Cool Guy Some Cool Guy Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Howard Lutnick (CEO) you are a good man.
122 122points reply #11
TIL of Bob Fletcher, a man who took care of the farms of three Japanese American families while they were interned during World War 2. By keeping their farms running and paying their taxes and mortgages, he ensured the families didn’t lose everything. He was even shot at for supporting them.
269points Verena Gitterle Verena Gitterle Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
a good man
84 84points reply View More Replies… #12
TIL Romans were known to create tombs for their dogs and gave them epitaphs to remember them by. One such inscription read, “I am in tears, while carrying you to your last resting place as much as I rejoiced when bringing you home with my own hands 15 years ago.”
268points Gareth Graham Gareth Graham Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Goodus Boyyus
167 167points reply View More Replies… #13
TIL that everyone in Singapore above the age of 21 is automatically registered as an organ donor. Opting out from this Act will result in you being put at the very bottom of the organ priority list, should you need an organ transplantation.
_crash182 , buffalonews Report
267points 
Viktor Feurer Viktor Feurer Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
tough but fair
138 138points reply View More Replies… #14
TIL Dogs get sprayed by Skunks so often because Skunks lift their tails as a warning, Dogs see this as “Come smell my butt” which is the EXACT OPPOSITE MESSAGE from what the Skunk is trying to send.
discoverwildcare , Jon Gwinn Report
Scyth Scyth Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week agoThis is comedy material.
120 120points reply View More Replies… #15
TIL that there was a rumor that Stephen Hawking would deliberately run over the toes of people he didn’t like. He denied this rumor by stating it was “A Malicious rumor” and “I’ll run over anyone who repeats it”.
253points Elsker Elsker Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
love his sense of humor!
73 73points reply #16
TIL Carrie Fisher delivered a cow tongue inside a Tiffany box to a predatory producer who had assaulted her friend. She said, “The next delivery will be something of yours in a much smaller box!”
247points 
Micah Patchen Micah Patchen Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Ultimate badass
93 93points reply #17
TIL a suicide bomber with explosives in his laptop boarded the Somali owned Daallo Airlines in 2016 intending to blow the whole aircraft. Twenty minutes after the takeoff, the bomb exploded, creating a hole in the plane, and the suicide bomber was sucked out of the plane. He was the only fatality.
247points Lauren Caswell Lauren Caswell Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Hah!
79 79points reply View More Replies… #18
TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called “boy” by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody’s mouth to be “Mister” when speaking to him
245points Some Cool Guy Some Cool Guy Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Pity the fool
43 43points reply #19
TIL actor Robert Pattinson dealt with an obsessed fan who had been camping outside his apartment by taking her out on a dinner date. “I just complained about everything in my life and she never came back.”
244points Lauren Caswell Lauren Caswell Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
That could have gone really wrong though. But a clever tactic.
92 92points reply #20
TIL Kate Winslet keeps her Oscar in the bathroom so her guests can hold it and make acceptance speeches in the mirror without feeling self conscious
DylaramaGladney , Kate Winslet Report
244points Elsker Elsker Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
that’s so sweet!!:)
68 68points reply #21
TIL when Lawrence Anthony, known as “The Elephant Whisperer”, passed away. A herd of elephants arrived at his house in South Africa to mourn him. Although the elephants were not alerted to the event, they travelled to his house and stood around for two days, and then dispersed.
244points 
Tabitha L Tabitha L Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
As if we needed more proof of how amazing elephants are.
127 127points reply #22
TIL After Col. Shaw died in battle, Confederates buried him in a mass grave as an insult for leading black soldiers. Union troops tried to recover his body, but his father sent a letter saying “We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers.”
239points 
Lisa Lisa Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago (edited)
Robert Gould Shaw was a pretty interesting guy with such a short life. He was born into an prominent abolitionist Boston family, he attended Harvard and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club but he withdrew before graduation. He also led the NE first all black regiment, his family was good people also. Unlike the Confederate soldier who tried to insult his family by burying him with his fellow soldiers.
76 76points reply View More Replies… #23
TIL: Some farmers in Bangladesh have switched to raising ducks instead of chickens, because during catastrophic floods, ducks float.
238points Hubertus Touché Hubertus Touché Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Rumour has it they’ve now started to swap their pigs with hippos…
98 98points reply View More Replies… #24
TIL in the 1880s, the Harvard Observatory director was frustrated with his staff, and would say “My Scottish maid could do better!” So, he hired his Scottish maid. Williamina Fleming ran a team for decades, classified tens of thousands of stars, & discovered white dwarfs and the Horsehead Nebula
237points 
Lathari Lathari Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Computersa.k.a. Pickering’s Harem.
31 31points reply View More Replies… #25
TIL During an interview with Stephen Hawking, the camera operator yanked a cable causing an alarm and Hawking to slump forward. Worried they had killed him, everyone rushed over to find Hawking giggling at his own joke. The alarm was from an office computer losing power.
236points Lauren Caswell Lauren Caswell Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
I’ve heard before he had a great sense of humour, this made me grin
91 91points reply View More Replies… #26
TIL many doctors have stopped calling cancer treatment a “fight” or “battle”. They argue these terms misrepresent how treatment works and if treatments fail, the patient is left with guilt and a false belief they didn’t “fight” hard enough
226points Tabitha L Tabitha L Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
I agree with this so much. “They lost their battle with cancer” has always felt wrong to me. No. They died of cancer.
129 129points reply View More Replies… #27
TIL Keanu Reeves often foregoes some of his paycheck so that producers can bring on other notable actors. On The Devil’s Advocate, he reduced his salary by a few million dollars so that they could afford Al Pacino, and he did the same thing on The Replacements to be able to work with Gene Hackman.
LanterneRougeOG , shutterstock Report
226points Hubertus Touché Hubertus Touché Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
One of the coolest guys I ‘know’. Mister Bezos might consider doing something similar. It wouldn’t make the world a worse place…
86 86points reply View More Replies… #28
TIL when Robert Ballard (professor of oceanography) announced a mission to find the Titanic, it was a cover story for a classified mission to search for lost nuclear submarines. They finished before they were due back, so the team spent the extra time looking for the Titanic and actually found it.
Yes, but did they find the subs?
25 25points reply View More Replies… #29
TIL an actor in Nazi Germany lost his job for being Jewish. He went to the Alps, grew a beard, and dyed all his hair by bathing in diluted hydrogen. He returned to the stage claiming to be a self-taught peasant actor and was praised by the Nazis as “proof of the superiority of Aryan blood.”
216points Micah Patchen Micah Patchen Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
I love dumb nazi stories!
129 129points reply View More Replies… #30
TIL : IN 2006, a man in Portland, Oregon hired a hitman to kill his 51-year-old wife. His wife ended up killing the hitman with her bare hands. When Susan Kuhnhausen had her hands on his neck she asked him, “TELL ME WHO SENT YOU HERE AND I WILL CALL YOU A FUCKING AMBULANCE!”
216points 
read041 read041 Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
This is the ultimate Uno reverse card.
117 117points reply View More Replies… #31
TIL that Willie, a parrot, alerted its owner, Megan Howard, when the toddler she was babysitting began to choke. Megan was in the bathroom, the parrot began screaming “mama, baby” while flapping its wings as the child turned blue. Megan rushed over and performed the Heimlich, saving the girls life
214points Some Cool Guy Some Cool Guy Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Polly deserves a cracker
111 111points reply View More Replies… #32
TIL Max Planck was told by his professor to not go into Physics because “almost everything is already discovered”. Planck said he didn’t want to discover anything, just learn the fundamentals. He went on to originate quantum theory and win a Nobel Prize.
208points 
Norma Norma Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
If QP hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.
37 37points reply View More Replies… #33
TIL – In 1836, a sewer worker accidentally discovered an old drain which ran directly into the Bank of England’s gold vault. He wrote letters to the directors of the bank and requested a meeting inside the vault at an hour of their choosing – and popped out of the floor to greet them
208points 
Joseph Kuhlman Joseph Kuhlman Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Cool!
45 45points reply View More Replies… #34
TIL Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t allowed to dub his own role in Terminator in German, as his accent is considered very rural by German/Austrian standards and it would be too ridiculous to have a death machine from the future come back in time and sound like a hillbilly.
197points Hubertus Touché Hubertus Touché Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
In hindsight… that would have been very funny. “Well, hi diddly ho folks… I’ll be back, y’all hear now!”
118 118points reply View More Replies… #35
TIL Dr. Phil lost his license to practise psychology in 2006. Therefore, all guests on his TV show must sign a contract stating they are only there to receive “advice” from an individual, not a psychologist.
194points Elsker Elsker Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
make me wonder why he lost that license in the first place. Also, shouldn’t they have changed the name to Phil Show, instead of still referring to him as a Dr. ? (maybe they did, i’m not sure. or baybe he had another doctorate..)
55 55points reply View More Replies… #36
TIL that Eminem watched his daughter, Hailie, get crowned homecoming queen from an empty classroom in the school because he didn’t want to take the attention away from her.
194points 
Animal lover❤ Animal lover❤ Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
That’s so sweet
55 55points reply #37
TIL that after Beethoven went deaf, he found he could affix a metal rod to his piano and bite down on it while he played, enabling him to hear perfectly through vibrations in his jawbone. The process is called bone conduction.
189points Elsker Elsker Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
knew this already, but it’s still amazing. how on earth did he go thinking: hey, how about i attach a rod to my piano and stick it in my mouth?!
59 59points reply View More Replies… #38
TIL when Mr Rogers heard his limo driver was going to be waiting outside while Rogers was in a meeting, he asked the driver to come in. On the way back they passed the driver’s home and Rogers asked if they could stop and meet his family. Rogers kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life
186points Micah Patchen Micah Patchen Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Mr. Rogers was the only preacher that I ever had any hope in. The preachers I’ve known in real life were never was warm and kind as he was, and always seemed fake.
68 68points reply View More Replies… #39
TIL The ashes of Stephen Hawking were buried between the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, in a section of Westminster Abbey known as the “Scientists Corner.” As a final tribute, during the burial, the European Space Agency beamed recordings of Hawking’s voice to the nearest black hole
185points 
ML ML Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago (edited)
The actual voice before the disease or the computer voice?
35 35points reply View More Replies… #40
TIL Gary Gygax’s wife was convinced he was having an affair so she followed him to a dimly lit basement and burst into the room only to find him and his friends hunched over hand drawn maps. Gary would go on to invent the role playing game “Dungeons and Dragons”
183points Norma Norma Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
and founded the Gen Con gaming convention. At the time of his death in 2008, he was only worth $5 million. Think how much happiness he’s brought people.
40 40points reply View More Replies… #41
TIL that Billy Joel never sells front row seats in order to see the real fans right in front of him. He gives them away to random people in the cheap seats so that front row isn’t always just wealthy people
176points Tabitha L Tabitha L Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
I’ve been to 3 Billy Joel concerts. He puts on an amazing show. I hope he is still performing when concerts are a thing here again.
36 36points reply #42
TIL that millennial dads are spending 3 times as much times with their kids than their fathers spent with them. Back in 1982, 43% of fathers admitted they’d never changed a diaper. Today, that number is down to about 3%
174points 
kasa alex kasa alex Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
I notice groups of men with prams drinking coffee and walking together at the parks these days
73 73points reply #43
TIL a man falsely imprisoned for 10 years spent most of his time at the library to study law and prove his innocence, and then became a lawyer to help free other people who have been falsely convicted.
173points 
Foxxy (The Original) Foxxy (The Original) Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Wow, what a way to make something out of a shitty situation. Hearing about Archie Williams story recently on AGT made me bawl my eyes out. I know it is probably complicated and I certainly don’t have an answer but there needs to be some way to stop innocent people from going to prison and losing part of their lives.
40 40points reply View More Replies… #44
TIL Six Georgia inmates out on work detail saved a Deputy Sheriff who collapsed unconscious. They could have taken his gun & fled with the work van but used the Deputy’s phone to call 911. The Sheriff’s Office gave the men a pizza party with homemade dessert & recommended reduced sentences.
171points 
ADHORTATOR ADHORTATOR Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Isn’ t there a video about it…
21 21points reply View More Replies… #45
TIL Canadian researchers watched 40 episodes of ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ and found that nearly 40% of the medical advice is not evidence-based, and 15% goes directly against evidence.
Yeah I stopped watching him when he was contradicting so much genuine advice and he also promoted various brands of supplements, vitamins etc.
55 55points reply View More Replies… #46
TIL in 1995, France found a man guilty of killing a teen girl, but he was able to avoid sentencing by hiding out in Germany. In 2009, the victim’s father hired a team to kidnap the killer out of Germany and dump him in front of a French courthouse. It worked, and he is now serving 15 years.
164points Scyth Scyth Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
Only 15 years?
102 102points reply View More Replies… #47
TIL: Nirvana played a concert in Beunos Aires where the crowd threw mud and trash at the all-girl opening act. Kurt Cobain was so upset that he sabotaged the show by playing mostly lesser known songs and teasing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ without ever playing it.
157points 
M O'Connell M O'Connell Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
The opening act was “Calamity Jane” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamity_Jane_(1990s_band)
31 31points reply View More Replies… #48
TIL that in the 1950’s, donut shops were some of the first food businesses commonly open late at night. They became hot spots for police working the night shift since it gave them a place to grab a snack, fill out paper work, or even just take a break. This is why donuts became associated with cops.
151points Foxxy (The Original) Foxxy (The Original) Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago (edited)
We don’t really have many donut shops where I live so we see more coppers at Maccas than anywhere else. We also see a lot of coppers jaywalking to get to the maccas. ALL the bloody time.
12 12points reply View More Replies… #49
TIL BBC journalists requested an interview with Facebook because they weren’t removing child abuse photos. Facebook asked to be sent the photos as proof. When journalists sent the photos, Facebook reported the them to the police because distributing child abuse imagery is illegal
140points DC DC Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
What? Facebook is even more effed up than I thought…
153 153points reply View More Replies… #50
TIL a waitress was tipped a lottery ticket and won $10,000,000. She was then sued by her colleagues for their share. Then she was sued by the man who tipped her the ticket. Then she was kidnapped by her ex husband, and shot him in the chest. Then she went to court against the IRS
135points Elsker Elsker Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 1 week ago
wowwww!! the poor woman… so first you’re to cheap to give her a real tip, and then you go and sue her for winning?? how about just give them fair wages and skip the whole tipping-process…
123 123points reply View More Replies…
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