› added 11 years ago

67

TIL the phrase “cut off your nose to spite your face” refers to a group of 9th century nuns who, to avoid being raped by Viking invaders, sliced off their noses and upper lips, thus exposing the teeth and gums. It kept them from being raped - but not from being burned alive.

Read more m.wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

x6kbw TIL that the phrase „New Deal“ as used by FDR does not mean deal as in agreement, but Deal as in dealing cards. The American people were supposed to get dealt a new hand
4mrg TIL That the B-58 Hustler bomber did not have ejection seats, instead they had ejection capsules that would enclose the pilot into an egg-shaped capsule to allow a safer ejection at speeds up to Mach 2 and altitudes higher than 35,000 feet. Pilots with size 12 or higher shoes could lose their toes
1ap78 TIL that Stalin's guards were so afraid of him that no one called a doctor until hours after he had a stroke. They feared he might recover and execute anyone who had acted outside of his orders.
ReO4 TIL that during production of the film “Snakes on a Plane” the name was changed to “Pacific Air Flight 121”. Samuel L. Jackson, the lead character, successfully requested the title be changed back, saying, “That’s the only reason I took the job: I read the title.”
bBXj TIL the Soviets space program didn’t only put the first man in space, but also the first women, space station, space rover and had the first (unmanned) soft landing on any body other than earth