TIL that Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador all have similar flags because they were part of one big country: The Federal Republic of Central America
TIL of the doomed 1936 Eiger north face expedition. One climber died during a training climb and half the expedition left. Of the four climbers who remained, two fell during an avalanche, climbing rope wrapped around the neck of another, and the last froze to death inches from his rescuers.
TIL in 1944 an Ice Jam on the Yellowstone River in Miles City, Montana was cleared by bombing it with a B-17
Today I learned that the Ottoman Empire executed the last ruler of the First Saudi state while he was forced to listen to lute music which he forbade listening to.
TIL Gorillas are vegans – the only lapse is the occasional ant – eating leaves, flowers, shoots and stems. A big male needs to consume 75lb of food a day, so they spend much of their time grazing, with the occasional downtime for naps. Their lives are ‘a picnic party with no beginning and no end’
TIL that the photo of Hitler with a gunshot to his forehead is of his double, Gustav Weler. His body was burned outside his bunker along with his wife Eva Braun right after their suicide, and Soviets took the remains for autopsy after exhuming them.
TIL Spiders Eat Up to 800 Million Tons of Prey Each Year, nearly twice the amount by weight of meat humans consume each year.