R5W18 TIL We have at least a 50/50 chance, if we could travel there today, of finding at least some form of primitive life on a planet (K2-18B) that is 124 lightyears away given markers in the atmosphere, JWST observations, and the chemical and physical parameters of the planet in relation to it's star.
W7XDo TIL That Crocodile Poop was used for Birth Control in Ancient Egypt
9w5nQ TIL that a gravity hills is a place with an optical illusion that makes a slight downhill slope look like an uphill slope, causing cars left out of gear to appear to roll uphill against gravity.
nWy07 TIL that Phantom Islands appeared on maps but later found not to exist. They often stem from early sailors' reports, navigational errors, or deliberate fabrications, and some lingered on maps for centuries before being debunked.
4kmJ6 TIL that there’s a bus system in Adelaide AU that takes a bus from the roadway to a rail system across town, with beautiful park scenery and tunnels.
x67Qo TIL Duffey Strode, an American former street preacher, gained nationwide notoriety in the 1980s for his style of preaching at age 10. Raised by strict, religious parents, he caught attention for loudly quoting Bible verses about Hell and sin, leading to controversy & appearances on major talk shows.
5V1vn TIL 'Gunners Palace' (2004) a documentary that contains 42 uses of "fuck" and its derivatives, holds the the record for the most ever in a PG-13 film.
M7GZ7 TIL Louis XIV had an elephant at Versailles, a gift from Portugal's king in 1668. The animal became part of the Ménagerie, the palace's zoo, and was fed 80 pounds of bread, 12 pints of wine, and two buckets of soup daily. It is the only African elephant recorded in Europe between 1483 and 1862.
j6yQN TIL 12-year-old Bahia Bakari was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Indian Ocean that killed her mom & 151 others. She had little swimming experience & no life vest. So she clung to a piece of the wreckage & floated in heavy seas for over 9 hours, much of it in darkness, before being rescued.
0d1oR TIL about "terra preta" ("black soil"), a very dark and fertile regenerating soil present in the Amazon Basin.
gr5gy TIL the first established patent system was the Venetian Patent Statute of 1474, being the earliest codified patent system in the world, with its principles still being the basic foundation of modern patent law
b6yGa TIL that Tenji blocks, also known as tactile pavement, were invented in 1967 by Seiichi Miyake to help a friend who was losing their vision. This pavement is now used around the world.