› added 11 years ago

83

TIL that some cultures believed Vampires were arithmomaniacs and if you were being chased you could throw a handful of rice at them to forced the Vampire to stop and count each grain. This could also be the origin of “The Count” from Sesame Street.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

D64Y TIL that after Germany discovered the link between smoking and lung cancer, the Nazis initiated a strong anti-tobacco movement. Hitler himself called tobacco “the wrath of the Red Man against the White Man, vengeance for having been given hard liquor.”
djd9 TIL a pair of tortoises have been further into space than any human being. They went around the Moon in Zond 5, before returning to Earth. Both tortoises survived.
oBB5o Dogmatic adherence to mealtimes is anti-science, racist, and might actually be making you sick.
DMQg TIL of the Wolf of Gysinge, a wolf that was held in captivity in Sweden in the early 1800’s. It later managed to escape and, within a three-month period, attacked 31 people (mostly children) and killed 12 with most of the deceased being partially consumed by the wolf.
e0DeE Not getting eaten is at the top of the to-do list for most members of the animal kingdom. Now, a new study suggests several species of dolphins can tell when they’re in danger of becoming a killer whale’s dinner—simply by eavesdropping on their calls.