› added 1 year ago

58

TIL The last time hostages were given as assurances for a treaty was 1748, when two British peers were sent to France

Read more wikisource.org

via reddit.com

nyw7 TIL the French once used targets with white bullseyes. The French word for “white” is “blanc”, which is similar to the English word “blank”. This is the origin of “point-blank range”, essentially meaning “close enough to point directly at your target”.
MGm7 TIL that Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, considered by some to be a “hidden epidemic”. There are many possible negative effects on your health, and you should take corrective action if necessary to avoid this condition.
vk6j TIL unskilled individuals tend to grossly overestimate their abilities while high-skilled individuals tend to believes that tasks they perform well at are easy for everybody, thus underestimating their abilities
DQvD TIL that in 1997 yahoo turned down the chance to buy google for only $1 million, now googles worth $200 billion
kJ8m TIL New York Times author Timothy O'Brien wrote that Donald Trump “only” had 250 million dollars, so Trump sued him for five billion.