› added 11 years ago

108

TIL that Chernobyl is the Ukrainian word for wormwood. In the Book of Revelation the star Wormwood is connected to a event that is predicted to poison large numbers of people.Thus some people regard that prophecy has already come to pass.

Read more m.wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

Y7aYB TIL Monique Richard set out to be the first female to summit Canada's highest peak, Mt Logan, but needed rescue before she reached the peak. As of 2019, climbers were no longer permitted to summit Mt Logan by themselves, under any conditions.
VBNkk TIL bonsai trees can live for hundreds of years and be passed down for generations. With the right care, bonsai trees can survive for centuries. Some are over 400 years old, making them living legacies across families.
wkxP TIL As a struggling young writer, Harper Lee once got a year’s wages as a gift from a friend with a note, “You have a year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas.” She wrote To Kill A Mockingbird.
5YGjP TIL The Hubble Space Telescope has already required 4 servicing missions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2002). The fifth mission, that was scheduled in 2005, was canceled following the Columbia disaster (2003). Hubble's problems began when it was discovered that its optical system had a flawed mirror.
r7jy TIL after being caught by casino owners and prosecuted in court for cheating, the Hyland card counting team was acquitted of all charges after the judge ruled that the players’ conduct was not cheating, but merely the use of intelligent strategy.