› added 6 years ago

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TIL that pre-electricity theatre spotlights produced light by directing a flame at calcium oxide (quicklime). These kinds of lights were called limelights and this is the origin of the phrase “in the limelight” to mean “at the centre of attention”.

XEYZX TIL about the italian general Pietro Badoglio. He's responsible for the defeat of Caporetto in WWI; the use of mustard gas during the italian invasion of Ethiopia; the failed invasion of Greece, the "switch of side" and the triggering of the Italian Civil War during WWII.
dDNEj TIL that when Amedeo Modigliani died of tuberculosis, his companion Jeanne Hébuterne threw herself out of the fifth-floor apartment window before dawn on the day of Modigliani’s funeral. She was 21 years old and eight months pregnant with their second child.
WkwjB TIL about Salina Turda, a massive Roman salt mine in Transylvania which contains an underground theme park and other tourist attractions including a lake, mini golf course, and bowling alley. The salty air down there is apparently very good for asthma.
Z8APa TIL about Jono Lancaster who was born with Treacher-Collins syndrome. He travels to meet children with the same disorder in hopes of inspiring them to embrace their features and live their lives to the fullest
J1MyB TIL Iguanas have a so-called “third eye” on the top of their heads. Known as the parietal eye, it looks like a pale scale and can't discern shapes or color—but does sense light and movement, helping iguanas anticipate predatory birds from above.