› added 9 years ago

285

TIL It has been 50 years since Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with motor-neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Hawking’s condition was first diagnosed when he was 21, and he was not expected to see his 25th birthday.

Read more washingtonpost.com

via reddit.com

lo6rV TIL The Ancient Greeks had 6 different distinct words for love. Eros, sexual passion or desire. Philia, deep friendship. Ludus, playful love. Agape, selfless love. Pragma, a long standing love. Philautia, love of the self.
V9vG TIL of Emma Morano, the only living person to have been born in the 1800s. On November 29th she will be one of only 5 other people in history to have reached 117 years of age.
D5lg TIL “Bookkeeper” and “bookkeeping” are the only words in the English language with three consecutive sets of double letters without hyphens, while “Subbookkeeper” is the only word found in an English language dictionary with four pairs of double letters in a row.
Qjnp TIL that while a person who inherits two copies of a cystic fibrosis mutation has a terrible disease, someone who only has one (a carrier) has an inborn resistance to cholera, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. This is an example of heterozygote advantage.
GYdkg TIL the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer story idea was initially rejected, as in the 1930s red noses were associated with alcoholism and drunkards. The author asked an illustrator friend to draw "cute reindeer," and these drawings convinced management to support the idea.