Curious Curator

Curious Curator

TIL Momma bears are so protective of their young they’ll actively seek out human occupied areas because they know male bears, who would want to kill their cubs to increase the chances they mate with them, will avoid human contact.

TIL that Leo Marks, a WWII cryptographer, suspected that Germans had infiltrated the Dutch network in 1943 because all messages were being sent without any errors. To test his theory, Marks sent a message with "HH" and received "HH" in response. "HH" was a common German sign-off for "Heil Hitler."

TIL of Moving Day in Quebec. Because of a previous law, the vast majority of leases in Quebec end on or around July 1. In July 2004, approximately 120,000 households moved, corresponding to 4% of the population. Moving companies work around the clock, with charges often being 3x normal rates.

TIL in the Haitian Creole language, the definite article (equivalent to 'the') is placed after the noun

TIL that the picture of George Washington on the $1 bill is based off an unfinished portait of him.

TIL in 1918 photographer Arthur Mole and John Thomas arranged 21,000 soldiers at Camp Sherman in Ohio into a "living portrait" of President Woodrow Wilson. Mole & Thomas created many other living portraits of other famous figures in the years which followed at different military bases around the US.

TIL The iconic Pulp Fiction adrenaline scene was filmed in reverse.

TIL about Louis Remme, who rode on horseback nonstop from Sacramento to Portland in 1855, racing against the ship-borne news of a bank run that would prevent him from withdrawing his own money.

TIL When Caesar said, 'the die is cast' he was quoting a comedian. The phrase comes from Arrhephoros, a play by the Greek comedian Menanders, and Caesar originally said it in Greek.

TIL, that Babe Ruth once crashed his car on his way to an exhibition game. Not wanting to miss the game, he hitchhiked the rest of the way.