› added 4 years ago

164

TIL during World War 2, Hawaii’s Japanese population—about 158,000, more than one third of the territory’s total population—did not face mass removal and imprisonment similar to what happened on the mainland.

141r TIL a noblewoman (a widow of a samurai lord & descendent of a long line of ninjas) recruited, trained, & led an all-female group of 200-300 ninja agents—consisting of ex-prostitutes, orphans, & civil-war victims—who were successfully deployed for the Takeda clan against rival warlords in 1500s Japan
x7w7 TIL Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson Installed a English Electric Lightning F1A Jet Fighter in His Front Garden. However, It was Removed on the Orders of the Local Council, to which Clarkson said “[They] wouldn’t believe my claim that it was a leaf blower.”
OG6PL TIL about the white-throated sparrow, where male and female birds each exist in two forms: a white morph and a tan morph. Tan morphs only mate with white morphs, creating four different groups of birds that each act like a distinct 'sex' - tan males, tan females, white males and white females.
VMGLQ TIL about the aranmula kannadi, a valuable mirror that reflects with zero distortion. It is thus said to be the truest mirror in the world.
N7ye6 TIL The word 'Welsh' comes from the Proto-Germanic 'Walhaz', meaning Roman/Celtic speaker. The countries/regions of Wales (UK), Wallonia (Predominately French speaking region in Belgium), Welschland (French speaking region of Switzerland) and many others all get their name from this.