› added 6 years ago

264

TIL there's an Alien gargoyle on Paisley Abbey

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JYeWV TIL Invented around 1770, the basset horn was pitched a fourth lower than the traditional clarinet (F) and is described to have a rich tone. Mozart liked its sound so much that wrote multiples pieces specifically for his clarinetist friend. As the orchestra started to grow, it fell into obscurity
7Dpb TIL American Geochemist Clair Patterson helped reduce lead levels within the blood of Americans by approximately 80% by the late 90s, after spending decades of fighting the industrial use of lead.
yQoZp TIL That half of a 8-bit byte is called a nibble.
QWPX TIL Ian Bogost created a game called Cow Clicker to criticize FarmVille. You click on a cow every six hours.
69WpY TIL that in mid-6th century CE two monks smuggled silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire, which led to the creation of the Byzantine silk industry that long held a silk monopoly in Europe.