› added 5 months ago

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TIL that Napoleon Bonaparte has no surviving legitimate descendants, but has descendants through his two illegitimate sons, Charles Léon and Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, and may have had other illegitimate children.

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OGnn7 TIL of Behringer's Lying Stones; where pieces of limestone were carved into the shapes of fictitious animals including one that bore the name of God in Hebrew. Behringer, a famous professor, had published a book on the fossils. The discovery of the prank ruined the reputations of everyone involved.
lLAr TIL that the Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, was introduced by King Sejong in the 1440s to improve literacy. The difficulty of Chinese characters favored privileged aristocrats, whereas Sejong’s phonetic alphabet allowed Koreans of all classes to learn how to read and write
xwb1 TIL Two tablespoons of honey would be enough to fuel a bee’s entire flight around the world.
ANwvB TIL about the phrase "Sick as a Parrot" which unlike the one I know "Sick as a dog" is apparently reference to being disappointed or sad because you aren't "bright and beautiful" from a 1682 comedy. Apparently it used to be common in the UK - I'm so excited to learn it!
Rnxj TIL: Platypus DNA contains reptilian, avian, and mammalian lineages.