› added 1 year ago

323

TIL that Galileo's middle finger is considered a secular relic.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

gr5gy TIL the first established patent system was the Venetian Patent Statute of 1474, being the earliest codified patent system in the world, with its principles still being the basic foundation of modern patent law
wL1B1 TIL that people brought picnic baskets and opera glasses to watch the first battle of the US Civil War, expecting the whole dispute to be over quickly and easily. They had a bad day.
nWam9 TIL in 1962 there was a serious laughing epidemic in Tanzania that spread across towns and caused people to laugh uncontrollably. It lasted for several months.
xVmG0 TIL that after the devastating volcanic eruption on Whakaari last year in which 21 died and 26 were injured, New Zealand ordered 1.2 million cm of human skin from the US to treat burn victims
N7pve TIL: The world’s oldest living rose is believed to be 1,000 years old. It grows on the wall of the Cathedral of Hildesheim in Germany and its presence is documented since A.D. 815. In 1945 allied bombers destroyed the cathedral, yet the bush survived.