› added 3 months ago

15

TIL: Sōhei warrior monks were influential for centuries in Japan with warring clans often enlisting these monks for warfare due to their fighting ability due to their isolation and fanaticism. However, disputes between monk temples were common which led to numerous fatal inter temple battles.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

9b0p TIL a biotech startup has managed to 3-D print rhino horns that genetically similar to a real horn. The company plans to flood Chinese and Vietnamese markets, where demand is high, and bring down the price.
e0OJJ TIL while recording Trout Mask Replica, Don Van Vliet, AKA Captain Beefheart, asserted total control over the project by putting his band mates “in the barrel” and berating them continually, sometimes for days, until the musician in question collapsed into tears or in total submission to Van Vliet.
R50la TIL the origins of the bachata. The bachata (which translates to "party, good time") was condemned by Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo as música cachivache, or music of little worth, due to its associations with poor, working class people.
lolZA TIL following JFK’s assassination, the President’s body could not legally be removed from the hospital under Texas law before an autopsy had been performed. Secret Service agents ended up putting Dallas officials against the wall at gunpoint in order for his body to be released.
e0Xa6 TIL at the height of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan commissioned the creation of a unified script to be used by all languages within the empire. Called 'Phags-pa script, it was the official script for about 100 years, before falling out of use towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty in the 1350s.