› added 5 years ago

373

TIL that a group of Belgian authorities have trained giant rats to sniff out land mines planted in Africa

Read more nationalgeographic.com

via reddit.com

awOnb TIL Russia almost descended into civil war in 1993 after the parliament building was shelled by tanks under orders of President Boris Yeltsin
9Y5lX TIL our star is called the Sun but doesn't have an actual name. *Not even Sol.
wbg8 TIL until 1970 United Airlines had men-only flights. The “New York” and “Chicago Executive” were advertised as “a club in the sky for men only”, with business-oriented amenities, free cigars, and a steak dinner served by stewardesses (the only women aboard). A lawsuit by feminists ended the flights.
5Vxyp TIL - Sir Issac Newton was appointed Master of the Royal Mint in honor of his scientific achievements, intended as a no-show job that "has not too much business to require more attendance than you can spare." But Newton took it seriously, personally prosecuting counterfeiters and revaluing coinage.
M7MX8 TIL that since Earth's creation the planet has been hit with 1/21,000,000th its mass in sunlight