› added 4 years ago

51

TIL that some Australian Aboriginal languages rely completely on cardinal directions to describe position— "the spider is on your northeast-facing leg" instead of "the spider is on your left leg". Speakers of these languages tend to be far better spatial navigators than speakers of other languages.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

4XGl6 TIL every year, hundreds of people go missing into the American wilderness without a trace, with Oregon’s national parks amongst the highest disappearances.
mxknE TIL that since modern civilizations and languages likely won't exist 10,000 years from now, signs warning about nuclear waste (which will still be dangerous then) have to be designed to be understood by anyone, without the use of language. These tools include pictograms and hostile architecture.
KOmQR TIL there's skincare for fishes.
J1Ynv TIL in 1944, an American named Robert Earl Hughes was drafted into the US Army. At the time, he weighed over 700 pounds and was able to walk without any assistance. He served 21 months.
dDAp9 TIL that the white house used to be open to the public and that in 1829 a rowdy crowd of 20,000 people celebrating Andrew Jackson's inauguration had to be lured out of the White House with washtubs filled with orange juice and whiskey.