› added 9 years ago

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TIL More than twice as many members of violent Islamist organizations have engineering degrees as have degrees in Islamic studies.

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49PJ TIL much beloved songs “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and the opening notes of “Hedwigs Theme” throughout the “Harry Potter” series as well as many others were performed on a little known instrument called the Celesta.
x0J5 TIL China is the birthplace of the seismograph. Built in 132 AD, it consisted of 8 metal dragons holding 8 carved balls over 8 frogs. If an earthquake made the ground vibrate, the dragon facing the quake’s source would drop a ball into the mouth of its corresponding frog.
X0PJr TIL that Tony Bennett, the great jazz/pop singer, was also a successful artist (and his paintings are amazing). His painting of Ella Fitzgerald is in the Smithsonian. How did I not know this before?
epxbE TIL of Herxheim, a mass grave/ritual center dating back to ~5000 BC. It is estimated that >1000 individuals were cannibalized at this site as ritual sacrifices.
5YVED TIL of the "Mile Into The Wild" Walkway, an elevated walkway in a refuge for more than 450 Lions, Tigers, Bears, Wolves and other rescued carnivores. It's elevated because the animals do not consider sky as territory, allowing humans to observe them without causing a fight or flight response.