[TIL] Lobster's have two bladders that are located beneath their brain. They release urine to communicate with each other. (indie88.com)
TIL of Taos Pueblo, a Native American 'Pueblo' built between 1000CE and 1450CE, containing some of the oldest continuously inhabited houses still occupied in the US (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL in 1956, Malta had a referendum on whether or not it wanted to be fully integrated with the United Kingdom. 76% voted 'Yes'. The referendum result was ignored. In 1964 Malta gained independence (web.archive.org)
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/2003433...
TIL in 2013, an Italian mafia "Ndrangheta" made more money than McDonald's and Deutsche Bank combined (€53bn / £44bn) (www.theguardian.com)
TIL John Astin, the father of Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), auditioned for the part of Gandalf, & had previously starred in Peter Jackson's horror comedy 'The Frighteners' (movieweb.com)
TIL of Supai, Arizona, the only place in the US where mail is still delivered by mules. The community has been referred to as "the most remote community" in the contiguous United States (en.wikipedia.org)
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/1898671...
TIL that following the Roman departure from Britain (410 CE), systematic construction of paved highways in the UK did not resume until the early 18th century (en.wikipedia.org)
After the Romans departed, systematic construction of paved highways in the United Kingdom did not resume until the early 18th century. The Roman road network remained the only nationally managed highway system within Britain until the establishment of the Ministry of Transport in the early 20th century.
TIL Inuit probably don't have 50 words for "snow" (www.babbel.com)
The idea that “Inuit” have a single language is evidently the first issue, but the idea behind the myth seemingly came from an 1800s anthropological study that mentioned four separate words. Many of the languages apparently have agglutinative qualities (like German, where you can just moosh more things on the end of a word...
TIL of COCONUTS-2b, a giant gas planet that takes over 1 million years to orbit around its star (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL India still officially recognises 5 sub-national monarchies, known as the 'Kings of Dangs'. They receive payment from the government every year during Holi (en.wikipedia.org)
As per the treaty signed in 1842 the British were allowed to use the forests and their natural products against which they had to pay around 3,000 silver coins to the five kings. Currently the kings receive a monthly political pension by the Government of India, which is the main source of their income. This payment is continued...
TIL The first black hole visualization was rendered by hand from punch card computer results in 1979 (s.yimg.com)
Jean-Pierre Luminet calculated all of that back in 1979 using the IBM 7040 mainframe, an early transistor computer with punch card inputs. The machine generated isolines for his image that were “directly translatable as smooth curves using the drawing software available at the time,” he told Engadget in an email....
TIL white asparagus is just green asparagus grown in the dark (www.tasteofhome.com)
TIL that Robin Williams had gained a reputation within stand-up comedy circles for stealing jokes. (www.independent.co.uk)
TIL Steven Russell escaped from prison by using laxatives to fake AIDS, then called the prison posing as a doctor, asking for prisoners interested in an experimental treatment, and volunteered. (nowiknow.com)
Once out of Texas, he sent a death certificate to the prison stating he had died.
TIL the Microsoft font 'Calibri' was used to expose corruption in Pakistan because documents written in Calibri could not be from an earlier year than 2007, revealing the possibility of forgery. (www.theverge.com)
TIL How scientists shave ants, and also the ant hair has very cool reflective properties. (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Ant hair is about 98% reflective, and is very similar to how fiber optics work. SEM images in the link for fellow nerds....
TIL that black band around the perimeter of the windshield are called frits and keep it from moving around while the car is in motion (www.travelandleisure.com)
Without these dots, the glass could become loose and eventually fall out of the frame. These frits are also there for aesthetic purposes.
TIL the pig farming industry uses horse blood farms to extract PMSG - which is then used to force pigs into pregnancy more quickly (sentientmedia.org)
Not to mention the fact that horses in the blood farms are also forced into pregnancy over and over to extract PMSG. They are also intentionally underfed, put in all kinds of severe restraints, and much more
TIL You don't lose more heat from your head than anywhere else on your body. The myth came from a 50's army field manual with some suspect experimental procedures. (www.livescience.com)
TIL of Cáin Adomnáin, "Europes first human rights treaty". Created in 697 CE, were a set of laws - which kings across Ireland & Scotland agreed to follow - guaranteeing safety of non-combatants in war (en.wikipedia.org)
The Cáin Adomnáin, also known as the Lex Innocentium (Law of Innocents), was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish, Dál Riatan and Pictish notables at the Synod of Birr in 697. It is called the “Geneva Accords” of the ancient Irish and Europe’s first human rights treaty, for its protection of women and...
TIL The element Einsteinium was first discovered by detonating a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean, and flying fighter jets with debris-capturing filter paper through the top of the mushroom cloud (en.wikipedia.org)
TIL an ant mega-colony exists across 3 continents and is thought to contain billions of ants, all of which recognise each other to be from the same colony. The largest part of the colony is in Europe (news.bbc.co.uk)
TIL of the Kingdom of Bailundo, a non-sovereign monarchy located in Angola. Its king was notably deposed in 2021 after being charged of involvement in a murder (en.wikipedia.org)
Ekuikui V sometimes dubbed himself as the “king of (all) Ovimbundu”. In early 2021, Ekuikui V was sentenced to six years in prison by the Provincial Court of Huambo (TPH) for his implication in a murder in 2017. Ekuikui V had issued a judgment in a traditional court case, finding Jacinto Kamutali Epalangana guilty of killing...
TIL: If a fly gets so deep in your ear you can’t even see it, pour some baby oil in. It encapsulates the fly and eventually it will slip out. (www.mayoclinic.org)
