Today I Learned: A Collection of Facts We Didn’t Know We Needed to Know

This article was originally published on Petsreporter.com

The world is a fascinating place. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, you come across a fascinating fact you didn’t know. With so much information out there about history, science, and society, it’s pretty much impossible to be bored. The ever-popular subreddit r/todayilearned is a gold mine for fun facts, fascinating history, and horrifying revelations. Today, we’re sharing some of our favorite, most interesting finds that people shared with the world. Get ready to have your mind blown and learn something new!

#1: The Last Frontier

Alaska is known as a cold, desolate, and inhospitable place. There is evidence that people have inhabited the area since 10,000 BCE. However, it stands as the least populated state in the US today. Although beautiful, many modern-day Americans haven’t moved there due to the harsh cold and intense weather.

According to the US Census, about 733,276 people are estimated to live in the largest state in the country. To help you visualize just how sparsely populated Alaska is, think of New York City. The population of Alaska is equivalent to about 16 people living in Manhattan. That’s pretty wild to think about.

#2: A Famous Last Meal Request

You may have heard of Philip Workman, a man who was executed in Tennessee in 2007 because he was convicted of the murder of a police officer in a 1982 robbery. While some doubts have arisen regarding Workman’s innocence, his death sentence remained. One thing we do know for sure is that his final meal request was not accepted by the prison.

Workman requested pizza as his last meal, but his request was unique. He wanted that pizza to be given to any homeless person located near the prison. Officers refused to complete this request, stating that they didn’t “donate to charity.” The public was generally horrified when they learned about this story, so they donated pizzas to local homeless shelters in Workman’s honor.

#3: Speed Racer

When we think of someone speeding on the road, we usually envision a car going 100 mph or something like that. However, cars used to be much, much slower. That still didn’t stop people from speeding, though! The first recorded speeding ticket was given out on January 28, 1896, to an unlucky man named Walter Arnold.

According to the Peterson Automotive Museum, Mr. Arnold was caught racing down a street in Kentucky at a whopping eight mph, four times the legal two mph speed limit. Okay, Speed Racer! A police officer pursued Arnold on a bike for five miles before catching up to him and issuing a ticket. Speedometers hadn’t been invented in 1986. Can we really blame the guy?

#4: The Cheese Capital of the World

Italy is known for its amazing cuisine. Cheese is among one of its most famous exports. The country is serious about its cheese production and cultivates plenty of different cheeses that we can’t get in the States. However, another completely unassuming place tops Italy in terms of cheese production: Wisconsin.

Any American worth their salt knows that Wisconsin is the go-to cheese producer. They produce more cheese than any other state in the country, making about 26% of the United States’ cheese. Those Wisconsin cows help make so much cheese, in fact, that the state ranks slightly higher than Italy in terms of cheese production. Pretty impressive.