› added 7 years ago

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TIL that Helium is named after the greek god Helios because the first evidence of it’s existence was found not on earth but in the sun during a solar eclipse in 1868. It was not formally identified on earth until 1895.

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yOww TIL Confederates emigrated (in the largest exodus in US history) to Brazil, where they remain to this day. Their Brazilian descendants eat peaches, wear hoop skirts, and sing “Dixie”.
NVWN TIL that “James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher” is a grammatically correct sentence in English.
4Xb0b TIL that in 1942 German prisoners in the island of Nias established a short lived Nazi state.
nQEo TIL in Norse mythology, during the events of Ragnörak, there is a ship made entirely of the untrimmed nails of the dead that will carry hordes to do battle with the Gods. It’s important to keep those nails trimmed so you don’t contribute to building it.
9Yg1B TIL Rifles like the AK-47 have curved magazines because their bullet cases are conical (a.k.a "tapered") rather than cylindrical. Thus, they stack in a curve. Tapered cases have less friction with the chamber when they feed or extract.