› added 4 years ago

41

TIL that Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II had young infants raised without speaking to them in the 13th century to determine if there was a "natural" language imparted by God. His experiments proven unsuccessful because all the children raised this way died.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

d8BOB TIL the three-toed skink is a “bimodally reproductive” species that can lay eggs or give live birth, and is the first known vertebrate to perform both in a single litter.
XaNQ TIL that The Complete Manual of Suicide, a Japanese book which provides explicit descriptions on various methods of suicide, was first published in 1993 and sold more than one million copies.
d8BjQ TIL that when Wizards of the Coast bought TSR and D&D, they hired most of TSR's staff and moved them all to Seattle. They helped find new homes, hired movers, and helped those still paying rent in WI and WA. One said Wizards was doing everything but putting them on their backs and carrying them.
e04xn TIL in the 80s, Munich's Playboy Club issued membership cards that, at a glance, looked very similar to diplomatic passports. As a result, many people escaped East Berlin by simply flashing their membership cards, and were usually waved through by guards.
4D5g TIL the term “slush fund” comes from the age of sailing when salted meat was kept in barrels. After the barrel was finished, there was a slushy mix of fat and salt left over which was saved and then sold at port, the funds were then used to purchase a luxury for the crew.