50 Of The Most Interesting Facts Ever Posted On “Today I Learned”

To find out more about why it’s so important to be a lifelong learner, we reached out to Dan Lewis, creator of the popular newsletter Now I Know, which brings fun facts to readers' inboxes every day.

First, we wanted to know what inspired Dan to start this newsletter. “I'm a digital native who built my first website in the late 1990s, and I've always been decent at building online audiences,” he told Bored Panda. “While between jobs a decade or so ago, I consulted with an email newsletter startup – they were looking for help building their subscriber base. And I figured hey, I've done this for websites and blogs, how different could email be? But I realized that no, it's a lot different, and I failed miserably.”

“A few months later, that failure was still bugging me, so I decided to give it another go, this time on my own,” Dan continued. “I've always loved random trivia, so I went that route.”

“I started Now I Know in June 2010, sending it to 20 friends/family, and just kept at it, growing it slowly over the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. This Monday's went to more than 50,000 readers!”

As far as why we should keep learning our entire lives, Dan says, “I think it's important to be curious about the world around us and open minded about what we think we know. Learning should be lifelong and fun facts are a great entry point – it keeps you humble and keeps you growing, intellectually.”

We also wanted to know if the trivia expert had any fun facts that he’s partial to. “My favorite fun fact is one I haven't learned yet,” Dan shared. “I titled the newsletter ‘Now I Know’ (instead of ‘Now You Know’) for a reason – it's my effort to learn more and share more.”

“For me, the joy of the fun fact comes from the discovery of something new that I didn't think possible or realistic,” he added. “I really liked most of the ones I've shared before for the same reason!”

And if you’re looking to start learning something new every day, Dan recommends subscribing to Now I Know. “It's easy,” he says. “Next time you learn something new, if it brings you joy, figure out how you found that out – and do that again, and again, and again.”