20 ‘Today I Learned’ Facts That Prove You Can Learn Something New Everyday (New Pics)

Did you know that learning new things can stimulate neurons in the brain and create new neural pathways? This can help us think from new perspectives and improve our behavior toward others. So, if you are trying to change things in your life, take baby steps. Learn something new each day from the popular subreddit called Today I Learned‘.

#1

Image source:  jcgam, o jose lui

TIL that during the middle ages it was believed that ringing church bells during thunderstorms would keep lightning away. The practice was abandoned after more than 100 bell ringers were killed by lightning.

#2

Image source: davetowers646, Dunk

TIL David Bowie used to travel around in New York carrying a Greek newspaper in the belief that people would assume he was just a Greek man who looked like David Bowie and leave him alone.

#3

Image source: Flares117, big-ashb

TIL In 2019, Konami added a new official rule to Yu Gi Oh tournaments, the Hygiene clause where you would be disqualified if you smell bad or wear dirty clothing as it produces an “unpleasant” playing environment. The response was generally positive.

#4

Image source: davetowers646, Bundesarchiv, Bild

TIL Steven Spielberg asked all the extras doing a Nazi salute in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ to also cross their fingers behind their backs.

#5

Image source: mckinneym, en.wikipedia.org

TIL that in addition to names like “Hope”, “Felicity”, and “Prudence”, Puritans also named their children things like “Jesus-Christ-came-into-the-world- to-save”, “Damned”, and “Fly-fornication”.

#6

Image source: 54_actual

TIL Cleopatra was born of incest. “More than a dozen of Cleopatra’s ancestors tied the knot with cousins or siblings, and it’s likely that her own parents were brother and sister. In keeping with this custom, Cleopatra eventually married both of her adolescent brothers.

#7

Image source: jamescookenotthatone, NOAA

TIL The first man to report a rogue wave was Jules Dumont d’Urville in 1826, d’Urville was then publicly ridiculed because such a wave was believed impossible. A rogue wave was not measured until 1995 and the lack of earlier reporting is likely due to few wooden ships surving the encounter.

#8

Image source:  Ok_Copy5217, Vertigo FIlms

TIL When Jane married Stephen Hawking, she believed it would be a two year commitment, as doctors said he only had two years to live. Jane became his full time caretaker and they were together 25 years.

#9

Image source: [deleted], barbie_museum

TIL that when the set of James Cameron’s Titanic was submerged during filming, the Grand Staircase dislodged and floated; supporting the uncomfirmed theory that the missing original staircase dislodged and floated away during the real sinking.

#10

Image source:  EdLoweLaw, cottonbro studio

TIL two gifted college students considered themselves so superior they planned “the perfect crime” to prove their intellectual abilities. After [taking out] a child, despite their purported genius, they left plenty of evidence and were swiftly caught and brought to judgment.

#11

Image source:  ThatcheriteIowan, en.wikipedia.org

TIL An entire Roman legion went missing in the 2nd Century AD, and we’re still baffled as to what happened.

#12

Image source: jamescookenotthatone, J 1982

TIL Public nativity scenes are often the victim of baby Jesus theft. Some churches have had to chain their baby Jesus down to deter theft while others have added GPS tracking to their baby Jesus.

#13

Image source: ManOfLaBook, Ewan Munro

TIL that astronauts eat steak and eggs before a flight because it’s filling and low on dietary fiber so they won’t have to poop during the mission.

#14

Image source:  BoopBoop20, Anthony : )

TIL that the Bald Eagle population has recovered! They are now fairly common birds to be seen in residential areas.

#15

Image source: lenny_the_pope, César Rincón

TIL that in 1931, a scientist tried to teach a baby chimpanzee human behavior by raising it alongside his human son. The chimpanzee never acquired language skills, and the experiment was called off when the human baby began imitating the chimpanzee’s vocalizations.

#16

Image source: The_Critical_Cynic, Nguyen Ngoc Chinh

TIL John Steinbeck IV wrote an article in January 1968 about marijuana usage among the troops. This set off a media firestorm, & the Army began clamping down on marijuana usage, arresting ~1000 G.I.s a week for possession. Many G.I.s switched to heroin, which was odorless and thus harder to detect.

#17

Image source:  wcrp73, Adonyi Gábor

TIL that Earth is the only known place in our solar system where fire occurs and no known exoplanets have oxygen enough to allow fire.

#18

Image source: 2wedfgdfgfgfg

TIL Rod Serling originally wrote an episode about Emmett Till but it was rejected and so he turned to science fiction, instead, to talk about social issues, creating The Twilight Zone.

#19

Image source: Partysausage, ImAshley94

TIL there is a shrine in Wales where Dobby the house elf was buried. consisting of 1000’s of painted rocks and socks.

#20

Image source:  lenny_the_pope, daves_archive1

TIL that for a period of 20 years, Argentina ranked as one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, having the highest GDP per capita in 1895 and being among the 10 richest until 1920. Today, the country is in crippling debt, and is considered one of the biggest economic downturns in modern history.