And if you ever wanted to share all those interesting tidbits of knowledge with everyone else, well, the massively popular‘Today I Learned’online group might be the perfect place to do it. Its members post the most interesting and unusual facts about the world that they heard about just recently. We’ve collected some of the freshest ones to share with you, Pandas. Scroll down to check them out (and don’t forget to take notes so you can impress your friends later).
Bored Pandawanted to get to grips with how we can all continue to stay curious about the world and how we can check the reliability of scientific claims. So, we reached out to N. Otre Le Vant, the author of‘On Progress in Physics and Subjectivity Theory’and the founder ofInisev. He kindly shared his insights with us. You’ll find his thoughts below.
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In 2001, a 13-year-old Boy Scout named Cody Clawson went missing for over 18 hours near Yellowstone Park. Clawson resorted to using his belt buckle to signal to planes overhead. Eventually, he got a pilot’s attention - and that pilot was none other than Harrison Ford - who rescued Clawson.
N. Otre Le Vantresearches progress in science and uses a pseudonym on purpose because he thinks his name is irrelevant. In his book, ‘On Progress in Physics and Subjectivity Theory,’ he makes the point that it’s the ideas that count, not the people who came up with them. “Just because someone is likable or not doesn’t mean all their ideas are good or bad,” he told Bored Panda via email. “We should separate the art from the artist.“According to the researcher, we’re all born with the gift of curiosity, but some of us end up losing it as we grow older. From his perspective, one reason why we grow less curious about the world is that the social norms that surround us force us into a mindset of accepting things as they are, without question. This means that some people feel pressured to go with the flow of the crowd, switching off their minds.“We must resist this ‘easy way’ and keep the playful, challenging, and ‘always asking why’ approach that was the main reason we learned so many things when we were kids. If we can retain this mindset, we’ll naturally stay curious,” N. Otre Le Vant told Bored Panda.
N. Otre Le Vantresearches progress in science and uses a pseudonym on purpose because he thinks his name is irrelevant. In his book, ‘On Progress in Physics and Subjectivity Theory,’ he makes the point that it’s the ideas that count, not the people who came up with them. “Just because someone is likable or not doesn’t mean all their ideas are good or bad,” he told Bored Panda via email. “We should separate the art from the artist.”
According to the researcher, we’re all born with the gift of curiosity, but some of us end up losing it as we grow older. From his perspective, one reason why we grow less curious about the world is that the social norms that surround us force us into a mindset of accepting things as they are, without question. This means that some people feel pressured to go with the flow of the crowd, switching off their minds.
“We must resist this ‘easy way’ and keep the playful, challenging, and ‘always asking why’ approach that was the main reason we learned so many things when we were kids. If we can retain this mindset, we’ll naturally stay curious,” N. Otre Le Vant told Bored Panda.
Despite not having played since 2018, MLB player Andrew Toles has remained under contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers so he can continue receiving mental health treatment for his schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
We asked the researcher for his thoughts on how the average person can determine whether the scientific claims they spot online are reliable or not. He was happy to shed some light on this.
“Therefore, any theory that deviates from this scientific method should be regarded skeptically. Examples include theories that are so fuzzy they cannot be refuted, or those claimed to be true without having undergone a thorough scientific review.”
On April 18 1930, the BBC’s evening news report simply said “there is no news” and then played piano music for the entire segment.
That being said, he stressed that we shouldn’t ignore new ideas that haven’t (yet) been peer-reviewed.“After all, that’s how all ideas start out. However, these ideas must never be claimed to be true, but regarded as ‘interesting hypotheses’ at best. Those who assert early-stage ideas as definitely true demonstrate a lack of understanding of how easy it is to be wrong and don’t exhibit the level of humility required for progress in science.”
That being said, he stressed that we shouldn’t ignore new ideas that haven’t (yet) been peer-reviewed.
“After all, that’s how all ideas start out. However, these ideas must never be claimed to be true, but regarded as ‘interesting hypotheses’ at best. Those who assert early-stage ideas as definitely true demonstrate a lack of understanding of how easy it is to be wrong and don’t exhibit the level of humility required for progress in science.”
Muhammad Ali’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is on a wall instead of on the ground. This is because Ali, a devout Muslim, did not want people stepping on the name “Muhammad”.
Weather forecasters tend to exaggerate the chance of rain because if it rains when they said it wouldn’t, people get angry, but if it doesn’t rain when they said it would, they are happy. This is known as “wet bias.”
Many people fall prey to the illusory truth effect, acognitive biaswhere the more often we’re exposed to information, the more plausible we think it is. In other words, repetition makes us believe something is (more likely to be) real, even if the information is thoroughly false. Even knowing about this effect doesn’t make us immune to it… but having more awareness is always a plus.It would take too much time and effort to double-check every single claim, so it’s best to focus your energy on checking the reliability of the outlet.Reliable organizationsalways show the evidence behind the facts. They also tend to disclose any conflict of interest, use multiple sources to back up their claims, and are quick to update their information if they make a mistake. Even the best sources will make mistakes sometimes, and nobody is completely objective, but some outlets have a solid track record of reliability, while others peddle opinions as facts.
Many people fall prey to the illusory truth effect, acognitive biaswhere the more often we’re exposed to information, the more plausible we think it is. In other words, repetition makes us believe something is (more likely to be) real, even if the information is thoroughly false. Even knowing about this effect doesn’t make us immune to it… but having more awareness is always a plus.
It would take too much time and effort to double-check every single claim, so it’s best to focus your energy on checking the reliability of the outlet.Reliable organizationsalways show the evidence behind the facts. They also tend to disclose any conflict of interest, use multiple sources to back up their claims, and are quick to update their information if they make a mistake. Even the best sources will make mistakes sometimes, and nobody is completely objective, but some outlets have a solid track record of reliability, while others peddle opinions as facts.
Viggo Mortensen wore his Russian gangster make up tattoos to a Russian restaurant while filming Eastern Promises. The Russian diners fell silent out of fear until Viggo identified himself and said the tattoos were for a movie. After that he removed the tattoos after every workday.
The subreddit is absolutely sprawling, currently boasting some 36 million members from all corners of the Earth. The common threads that unite them are a thirst for new knowledge as well as the entertainment factor folks get from reading what others have to share.
The Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness: poor people buy cheap products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than more expensive items.
What’s more, you’re not allowed to refer to sources that are more recent than two months. All of this helps ensure that the facts shared on r/todayilearned are as accurate as possible. That, along with the fun factor, is a huge draw for many internet users. It’s education and entertainment (aka edutainment) in one place.
287 years is the longest a library book was overdue. While writing a biography on Colonel Robert Walpole in 1956, Prof. John Plumb returned a history book to the Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge after Walpole had checked it out around the year 1667.
in 1915 tipping was so unpopular that 6 states made it illegal to do so.
While dogs may not pass the traditional mirror test, they do pass a “smell mirror” test, suggesting they understand the concept of ‘self’.
Korean serial killer Kim Sun-ja laced her friend’s tea with cyanide, causing her to vomit. She told her friend that she would feel better if she drank more of the beverage, but her friend became suspicious and refused, becoming the only known survivor of 6 poisoning victims from 1986 to 1988.
The directors of Tangled held a “hot man meeting” and had all the women from the studio critique Hollywood men to create the character of Flynn Rider.
The largest unfinished church in the world, the Sagrada Família, began construction in 1886. It is expected to be completed in 2026, nearly 150 years after it began construction.
Squirrels terminal velocity is so low they can fall from any height and survive.
Child voice actors for Bluey are kept secret.
English scientist Henry Cavendish discovered physical laws like Ohm’s, Dalton’s, or Charles’s law and few others as first but they were not named after him because he didn’t publish his notes and didn’t tell his fellow scientists, propably due to being asocial and shy.
Archaeologists working in a 2,500 y.o. Chinese cemetery unearthed charred incense burners and burnt stones that tested high for cannabinol, which is released when THC is burned. “Unlike many wild varieties, the cannabis smoked at the site […] was pretty potent stuff.”
King Cobra is not a cobra. It is the sole species of its genus and happens to look a lot like a cobra.
LaMarcus Thompson, the father of the American roller coaster, invented the first coasters on Coney Island because he thought the world was too sinful and needed more moral entertainment.
Infants under one year old should not be fed honey.
creator of Wonder Woman was in a thruple that involved his first wife and his student. They were heavily into bondage which inspired early iterations of the super heroine. Thruple lasted 22 years all the way to his death
many English words and phrases are loaned from Chinese merchants interacting with British sailors like “chop chop,” “long time no see,” “no pain no gain,” “no can do,” and “look see”
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in 1988 a U.S. Marine was abandoned and died in the Mojave Desert. Search only started when his weapon wasn’t returned.
The final words of Terry Kath, founding guitarist for rock band Chicago, before dying from an accidental self inflicted gunshot wound were “What do you think I’m gonna do? Blow my brains out?”
Babe Ruth constantly cheated on his wives during his baseball career. A detective that the New York Yankees hired to follow him one night in Chicago reported that Ruth had been with six women. Another player said that he was not Ruth’s roommate while traveling; “I room with his suitcase”.
TIL the worst skydiving accident in US history took place over Lake Erie and resulted in 16 fatalities. Due to miscommunications, the skydivers jumped out over water rather than land, and subsequently drowned.
The temperature on the moon at the Apollo 11 landing site was 200ºF (93ºC).
Spelling Bees (competitions where competitors must correctly spell words until one is left standing) don’t really exist outside of English, and within English, they’re pretty much only an American thing.
In 1671 a man attempted to steal the Crown Jewels, and when he was caught he was brought before King Charles II, who found him so amusing that not only did her pardon the man, but he also ended up giving him massive lands in Ireland and a pension of £500 a year (£92,000 today).
That Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Tom Hanks have colonoscopy parties together.
in 1944 the CIA created a manual on sabotaging organizations. Among other things, it suggests to “make speeches… at great length”, “refer all matters to committees”, “make committees as large as possible”, “insist on perfect work in relatively unimportant products”
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Sam White, a Virginia Civil War collector, was killed in 2008 when a 140 year old high explosive cannonball he was restoring detonated in his driveway. The explosion was powerful enough to send chunks of shrapnel up to 1/4 mile away. There were 18 more cannonballs in his driveway at the time.
One of the biggest bottlenecks in road work is soil compaction. Soil can’t effectively be compacted more than around a foot (30 cm) at a time. Any road work that affects the soil foundation can take months because of this.
In 1993, James Scott purposely damaged a levee and caused a massive flood of the Mississippi River only to stall his wife from coming home so that he could party.
Not only does Elmo the muppet have a father, but he’s also a soldier who served in Iraq.
While the Confederacy used the strongest cipher available during the Civil War, the Vigenère cipher, the Union consistently cracked it. This was because the Confederates only ever used three key phrases: “Manchester Bluff”, “Complete Victory” and, as the war came to a close, “Come Retribution”.
There’s a Criminal Defense of Necessity, where the defendant argues the crime was necessary to commit a greater harm from happening.
There is a roadside attraction in Plains, Georgia called the Jimmy Carter Peanut Statue. It depicts a large peanut with a big smile (modeled after Carter’s), and was built in 1976 to support his presidential election. Jimmy Carter himself hates it.
Warren Buffett’s (6th richest person in the world) son thought that his dad’s job was checking security alarm systems; as a kid, had no idea what his dad did for a living and no clue that his dad was really, really rich
Mike Tyson went bankrupt in 2003. Despite having earned $400 million from boxing, examples of reckless spending included $6.3 million on luxury cars and $580K on his 30th birthday party. He has improved his financial situation and now receives $900K/month from his cannabis company, however.
Nobel Prize winning physicist Gerard ’t Hooft had an asteroid named after him, he wrote a constitution for it’s future inhabitants including articles that forbid use of imperial measurement units, outlaw the use of apostrophes, and limit the length of tax forms to one page.
That following the solar eclipse of August 11 1999, the BMJ reported only 14 cases of eye damage from improper viewing of the eclipse, a number lower than initially feared. In one of the most serious cases the patient had looked at the Sun without eye protection for 20 minutes.
According to the International Olympic Committee, gold and silver medals are required to be at least 92.5% silver. The gold in gold medals is in the plating outside and consist of at least 6 grams of pure gold. Silver medals are made of pure silver, while bronze medals are 95% copper and 5% zinc.
Police Academy franchise has produced not one, not two, but four movies with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The final film, Mission to Moscow, only earned $126,247 against a $10 million budget.
There is a high school in China where students study from 6.20am to 11pm to prepare for college admission exam (gaokao).
Jevons paradox, which states that increasing efficiency in resource usage causes higher demand - sometimes increasing usage instead of reducing it.
Arlington, TX is the largest city in the US without public transport. Despite having 390k population and major stadiums, it have no single bus or rail line.
“Borderline personality disorder” was named to describe patients who seemed on the borderline of psychosis.
That John Quincy Adams partially blinded himself looking directly at an eclipse in 1791
At the Japanese Setsubun festival, everyone throws roasted soybeans to drive away evil spirits. The only exception are people/families named Watanabe.
San Antonio’s Riverwalk is drained every two years and popular items found at the bottom of the river include cellphones, laptops, and scooters, in addition to chairs, lights and even a stroller.
Thousands of “low head dams” (aka “killer dams” or “drowning machines”) were built on US waterways in 1800s, are nearly invisible from upstream, have killed hundreds of people, often serve no modern purpose, and for all that, are largely unregulated.
85,200 Swiss women lost their citizenships between 1848-1952 when marrying foreigners due to the “marriage rule”.
Starting in 2001, Dell Glover became the “world’s leading leaker of pre-release music.” He worked at a Universal CD pressing plant & was a member of a file-sharing group called Rabid Neurosis. Over an 11-year period, Rabid Neurosis was responsible for leaking over 20,000 albums.
USA has 4 of the world’s top 5 air forces- each branch of the military individually ranks in the global top 5.
Allais Effect refers to the allegedly unexpected behavior of pendulums which is observed to occur only during a solar eclipse.
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