› added 12 years ago

80

TIL that even wine experts can’t distinguish red wine from white wine on taste alone

Read more salon.com

via bit.ly

mP1M TIL The back of the tin for Boston Harbour Tea carries this lament: “This Tea is from the same London blending House which in the Year of Our Lord 1773 had the Misfortune to suffer a Grievous Wrong in that certain Persons did Place a quantity of its Finest Produce in Boston Harbour.”
GY445 TIL the technical term for wood and metallic powder, shavings, filings and other byproducts from machining or working such material is called "Swarf". This is comprised of everything from metal shavings after a cut, to sawdust from cutting, to metallic powder from sharpening.
Vag4 TIL Vatican once invited Stephen Hawking to a conference where he had an audience with the Pope. Pope John Paul had trouble understanding Hawking and knelt down beside his wheelchair to hear him better, prompting one scientist to comment that “things certainly have changed since Galileo.”
x68Qg TIL there is a type of spider that was named after Angelina Jolie because of her work with the United Nations refugee agency
9YPxB TIL The croissant is not really French. It was inspired by the Austrian kipfel that dates back to at least 1227.