› added 5 years ago

86

TIL a revolt of textile workers in 14th century Florence led to the son of a washerwoman becoming president when he entered the palace barefoot and overthrew the oligarchic government. For 4 years the republic was ruled almost entirely by middle class artisans and shopkeepers

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

E1K6P TIL monks in Westminster Abbey would eat 6,000 calories a day normally and 4,500 a day when "fasting". They drank a gallon of beer and 10 oz of wine and ate 2.25 lbs of bread, 5 eggs, and 2 lbs of meat or fish a day. Many monks became obese and suffered related conditions.
9wJXB TIL that in Ancient Rome, oral sex in general was seen as somewhat disgusting...and forcing a man to orally fellate another was an appropriate punishment for adultery
nevMb TIL much of St Peter's Basilica was funded by selling indulgences, meaning letters excusing you from sin. Rich people sometimes even bought these in advance, for sins they planned on committing.
woxOE TIL that questions have been raised about the legitimacy of Queen Victoria and that she may have been the result of an affair with a non-royal. This has revolved around the hereditary haemophilia that she was the carrier for, and that hadn’t been detected in the royal bloodline previously.
5VVk9 TIL Mario Puzo, in addition to being the author of 'The Godfather' and co-authoring all three Godfather screenplays with Francis Ford Coppola, also wrote the screenplays for the disaster film 'Earthquake' as well as the original 'Superman' and 'Superman II' movies.