› added 5 years ago

236

TIL that elephants like to paint and play music. Some paintings have been compared to abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock and have sold for $25,000. Other elephants have been taught to play in an orchestra and reportedly have a strong sense of rhythm and enjoy improvisation.

Read more the-scientist.com

via reddit.com

OG4Oe Til of Thomas Brassey, who, by the time of his death in 1870, was responsible for the laying of ¹/²⁰ of all the railways in the world.
rjkw TIL The most sophisticated bomb ever encountered by the FBI destroyed Harvey’s Wagon Wheel casino in Lake Tahoe in 1980. The device included 28 toggle switches , a float switch, tilt sensor, sensors and spring switches casing screws and joints, and a few surprises.
WkWLY TIL that dolphins have a highly developed spoken language, similar to the human language. This indicates a high level of intelligence and consciousness in dolphins. In addition to this, dolphin brains are somewhat larger and more complex than human ones.
XEmpP TIL that in 1970, a pilot engaging in mock combat in an F-106 lost control in a dive, ejected, and then the plane righted itself, continued to fly, landed softly in a snowy field, then was later recovered with minimal damage and returned to service.
E16Jd TIL Smen is North African salted fermented butter that farmers in Southern Morocco will sometimes bury in the ground on their daughter's birth date and age it until the day that daughter gets married, where they will unearth and use it to season the food served on her wedding.