› added 7 years ago

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TIL there's a light bulb that has been burning since 1901. Many like it still exist and can be found working. It has been cited as evidence for the existence of planned obsolescence in later-produced light bulbs. There is a livestream of it. Ironically, two cameras have already died while streaming.

NXdgb TIL that in 546 BCE Argos and Sparta had an all-star "Battle of the 300 Champions," where both sides picked their best hoplites and agreed to fight to the death. The two surviving Argives thought they'd won and left, leaving behind a single injured Spartan on the field. He also claimed victory.
Z81RY TIL Baghdad possessed the world's largest book collection in the 9th century. By the 10th century, the city had become the largest city in the world surpassing even Constantinople with an estimated population between 1.2 million and 2 million.
e0BnE TIL 50%—80% of your poop (excluding water) is bacteria that had been living in your intestines. Many of the bacteria in poop are still alive, but some are dead—carcasses of species that bloomed as they fed on the indigestible plant matter you consumed, then died shortly afterward.
v1xw7 TIL Henry Cavill (The Witcher, Superman) failed his James Bond screentest back in 2005. The role would be won by Daniel Craig.
wLOaY TIL one of the origin theories of the modern military salute comes from France. Knights were thought to greet one another in respect by lifting their visor with their free hand to reveal their face. The hand gesture of lifting the visor being similar to the "salute" hand gesture we do today.