› added 1 year ago

41

TIL: In the past, covering a yawn with one's hand was believed to protect against the devil or the loss of one's soul. The superstition likely originated from the idea that showing a yawn made one susceptible to spirits entering the wide-open mouth.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

d8gjK TIL of the Oakalla Prison Farm a prison farm in Burnaby, BC. Opened in 1912 it was initially designed to hold 150 men and 50 women. By the 1950s, the population was well over 1000. A working farm, the prison had its own dairy, vegetable gardens and livestock. Riots in the 80s caused its closure.
XQLj TIL that human teeth are evolving to be smaller
VMDKm TIL it is possible to "graft" branches of different trees together and create a tree of 40 fruits
wLGE6 TIL in 2012, a man attempted to pay his traffic ticket with 137 origami dollar bills shaped as pigs, inside of 2 doughnut boxes. The clerk called in police, who required him to unfold every single one to pay his ticket. The event was regarded by the ticketed man as, "The Great Dollar Pig Massacre.".
8vLZ TIL that a lone Finnish soldier camped in a forest with a rifle and canned food, killing over 700 Soviets in under 100 days, surviving counter sniping efforts, artillery strikes, and an exploding bullet to the face.