› added 10 years ago

188

TIL that the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow is 25 mph or 40 km/h.

Read more wolframalpha.com

via reddit.com

aed0 TIL that in medieval times it was common to have “2” sleeps per night. You would fall asleep for 4 to 5 hours, wake up for 2 hours or so and fall back to sleep for another 3 to 4. It’s been suggested that we may have evolved this way to tend to the fire in order to keep us warm and safe.
EGjw TIL that the Andromeda galaxy is larger than the moon in the sky, but it is usually too dim to see.
AKJw TIL that Manhattan Project mathematician Richard Hamming was asked to check some arithmetic by a fellow researcher. Hamming planned to give it to a subordinate until he realized it was a set of calculations to see if the nuclear detonation would ignite the entire Earth’s atmosphere.
KwbE TIL that maintenance workers on the Golden Gate Bridge are first on the scene to talk down suicidal jumpers. They estimate having a 90% success rate.
km65 TIL The word “Meme” originates from famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book “The Selfish Gene”.