› added 7 years ago

271

TIL that Chernobyl actually translates to “Wormwood” in Ukrainian. In the Bible, Wormwood is the name of an angel or star that makes the waters bitter and kills many people.

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GA9WJ TIL that there was an unrecognized proposed state in colonial America called the State of Franklin in what is now eastern Tennessee founded with the intent to be the 14th state.
wpwY TIL that while abundant in the universe, Helium is a finite resource on Earth and cannot be manufactured. Its use in MRI’s means a shortage could seriously affect access to this life saving technology.
MBBV TIL two men were brought up on federal hacking charges when they exploited a bug in video poker machines and won half a million dollars. His lawyer argued, “All these guys did is simply push a sequence of buttons that they were legally entitled to push.” The case was dismissed.
4R1g TIL that Americans spend around $30 billion in lawn care, annually.
eDbk TIL that a chimpanzee Washoe, the first animal to learn American Sign Language, was able to combine the hundreds of signs that she learned into novel combinations that she hadn’t been taught and created herself. She also taught her adopted son some American Sign Language.