› added 5 years ago

64

TIL the game Chinese Checkers is neither Chinese nor Checkers

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

mxxQv TIL in an experiment, conducted by Iowa State University, the Pokewalker a toy for kids has been measured against highly advanced and modern pedometers and was actually rated as one of the best pedometers against other pedometers that are built for actual accuracy.
5YN9B TIL Charles Darwin's captain of the HMS Beagle, Robert FitzRoy, invented the first scientific weather forecasts and weather forecasting service. While often correct and immensely popular, the inaccuracy of his predictions and subsequent criticisms contributed to his depression and eventual suicide.
LQQWZ TIL that Stede Bonnet (of "Our Flag Means Death" fame) was an actual person who worked with Blackbeard.
W7RBY TIL In 36 BCE, Roman statesman Marcus Varro wrote about germs, describing “minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, which…enter the body through the mouth and nose and there cause serious diseases.” The germ theory of disease would not be accepted widely for another 1,900 years.
JYMQ1 TIL that night vision goggles emit a green colored viewfinder because the human eyes are more sensitive to green light as we can see more shades of green than most other colors. The green color is also less strenuous to the eyes which is why older computers had green displays.