› added 11 years ago

67

TIL when the Spanish painter Goya was a deaf man in his 70s, he painted 14 pieces directly onto the walls of his home, all unnamed, and they include some of his most important work.

lojKa TIL there are 18 types of ice crystal including recently confirmed Ice XVIII or Supersonic Ice. It exists under extreme pressure, is black, very hot, and heavier than regular ice. Scientists believe it's the most abundant form of water in the universe and is found deep in icy planets like Uranus.
16M8D TIL: Fiddlesticks are traditional instruments used to add percussion to old-time/Cajun fiddle music, allowing two people to play the fiddle at the same time. While the fiddler plays in normal fashion, a second person uses a pair of sticks, or knitting needles etc. to tap out a rhythm on the strings.
Lk0g9 TIL that archeologists have found several iron tools, weapons and cultural objects dating thousands of years before the advent of the Iron age. These objects were held in high regard for their qualities and were made by cold forging iron obtained by fallen meteors.
br64 TIL Homosexuality was legalized in South Australia after police drowned a gay man. A second victim was rescued by a passing serial killer, but refused to name the Police in court out of fear. The change of law led to mass panic and people fled the coast fearing God’s wrath would bring a tsunami.
wZ5P TIL after WW1 the French had the railway cars that Germany surrender in stored in a museum. During WW2 when France was preparing to surrender, Hitler ordered the walls of museum torn down and the railway cars returned to the exact spot of the 1918 armistice in order to humiliate the French.