› added 11 years ago

307

TIL that St Basil’s Cathedral, the famous colorful church in Moscow, was barely saved from destruction under Stalin. Every city planner and architect hired refused to cooperate in the demolition process, and some even served time in the Gulag for so adamantly protecting the church.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

GYPr7 TIL: That the children of Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, carry no Royal Titles. They are still in the Royal line of succession but have no peerage titles because thier father was common born and refused a title upon marriage into the Royal Family.
PYdaL TIL that 'Peacock' only describes the males of the 'Peafowl' species; the females are 'Peahens'.
4kJB5 TIL about the Toblerone line, a 10 km long Second World War defence line in Canton Vaud (Switzerland). It consists of pyramidal reinforced concrete blocks designed to stop tanks. These lines of defensive blocks can be found all over Switzerland, though more commonly in border areas
gNVA TIL in 1945 an airplane crashed into the Empire State Building, injuring elevator operator Betty Oliver. When rescuers attempted to lower her on an elevator, the cable snapped, plunging her 75 stories down. She survived the fall, and to this day holds the record for longest survived elevator fall.
WQnL TIL to treat bladder cancer, doctors inject cow tuberculosis bacteria up your urethra. The subsequent immune reaction destroys cancer cells, and the treatment has been shown to be more effective than chemotherapy.