› added 1 year ago

60

TIL The Persians had ancient refrigerators called "yakhchals" to preserve the ice and keep it cold underground until the summer, the yakhchal also had a ventilation system that allowed the cold air to enter and the warm air to escape, keeping the temperature inside low.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

GYMo7 TIL that ancient Egyptians believed in afterlife as the dead's heart was weighted against the feather of Maat, If the dead's heart balanced with the feather of Maat, they would be admitted to heavenly paradise, if their heart was heavier than the feather their souls would be permanently destroyed.
EgpW TIL in the 90s Johnny Depp trashed a NYC hotel room and when confronted by the authorities claimed an armadillo was responsible for the damage. It apparently leaped from a cupboard before trashing the room and throwing itself out the window.
XZe6 TIL that you aren’t supposed to walk through the gates of a Japanese shrine, the gates are reserved for the Shinto gods so you have to walk around them (unless you are in fact a Shinto god in the guise of a tourist).
XZnj TIL an 8-year-old’s arm was bitten off by a shark, only to have it reattached after his uncle wrestled the shark to shore.
BrRpx TIL China has the world's biggest deep sea fishing fleet that strip mines the world's oceans. The Chinese government heavily subsidises the fleet. China accounts for a third of world consumption. The seas around China have virtually no fish left but the commercial fishing fleet is still huge.