› added 11 months ago

35

TIL about Atalanta, a heroine from Greek mythology who offered to marry any suitor who could outrun her in a race, but could defeat any man in a race, until Hippomenes got some help from Aphrodite to beat her in a race.

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e01Z5 TIL Rats were not to blame for the spread of plague during the Black Death, according to a study by a team from the universities of Oslo and Ferrara. After comparing infection data to models, they concluded that the spread of the Black Death can be "largely ascribed to human fleas and body lice".
lojAA TIL in 2014, Transformers: Age of Extinction (3rd sequel) was the highest grossing movie that year in China and until then the highest grossing movie ever there.
LWQd TIL The USA adopted the metric system in 1975, but the Reagan administration used budget cuts to halt the final implementation.
nPDW TIL that according to the UN, babies born mid-flight are citizens of the country where the plane is registered.
Wk9RX TIL that while filming Mimic, director Guillermo del Toro's father was kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded $1 million but del Toro already put all his money into the movie. James Cameron came in and gave him the $1 million in cash while also recommending a negotiator.