› added 6 years ago

137

TIL the average time between a girl's first period and when she got married was 5 years in the 19th century, but in the 21st it has grown to 15 years.

Read more theatlantic.com

via reddit.com

b99kE TIL plague doctors in the 17th century wore a bird-like mask filled with dried flowers and spices to keep away bad smells, which were thought to be the principal cause of disease. This was later disproved by Germ Theory.
6Zbm TIL that “old-person smell’ is a real thing — Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia confirmed that elderly people really do have a distinct scent, so recognizable in fact that people can identify them by body odor alone.
VMRp8 TIL of Salomon Klass, a Finnish Jewish captain was nominated for the German Iron Cross who stopped a Soviet counterattack 7 times during the Continuation War between Finland, Germany and the USSR. He was among three Finnish Jews to get nominated for the award, they all refused it.
j6AQp TIL that Nazi Officer Klaus Barbie, tortured prisoners during WW2, fled to the USA where he worked as a CIC Agent, emigrated to Bolivia where he made business with Pablo Escobar, helped capturing Che Guevara, was recruited by the BND (German Intelligence) and finally sentenced for life by France.
OoyAX TIL: How you smell rain. The main contributor is actinobacteria which when it decomposes leaves a byproduct called gesmin. When moisture or rain is added, they become aerosols and the tiny particles can be smelled miles away and contribute to the scent we associate with rain.