› added 2 years ago

84

TIL John Hart attempted to reform English spelling over 200 years before Noah Webster

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

awmlo TIL in 1930 a British anthropologist discovered bowling by ancient Egyptians
dxLd TIL of an Austrian man named Adam Rainer, who is the only person in medical history to have been classified as a dwarf and a giant during his lifetime.
E1Wgo TIL that the Empire State Building's antenna was originally designed to be a dock for zepplin airships. It was used only once in September 1931 and abandoned entirely after the Hindenburg incident.
dD4G8 TIL for the ancient Maya, turkeys were considered gifted with exceptional powers and harmful to humans from the nocturnal and dream space. They are portrayed as godlike figures in Maya religious imagery, and at least one Maya ruler included the word for turkey in his royal nickname.
dD778 TIL the sound a whip makes when you crack it is caused by a sonic boom created when the tip of a whip moves faster than the speed of sound. The whip was also the first man made object to break the sound barrier.