› added 9 months ago

23

TIL Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first practical telephone, was partly driven to experiment with hearing devices because both his mother and his wife were deaf.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

eEGE TIL a faith-healing cult in Indiana in the 1970s and ‘80s caused at least 90 medically preventable deaths.
6D4m TIL the historic, well preserved German town of Rothenburg was spared destruction because a German Major defied Hitler’s orders and refused to defend it.
KYJ5G TIL the twin towns of Laufenburg, split by the High Rhine, built a bridge in 2004. Different sea level references—Mediterranean for Switzerland, North Sea for Germany—led to a 270 mm difference, which a sign error doubled to 540 mm in the middle of the bridge.
a8YG9 TIL about the Sparklemuffin Jumping Spider and other peacock jumping spiders from Australia! Peacock spider males dance for their lives, shaking their colorful behinds and arms, when courting a female. They also create vibrations, serenating their lady of choice!
NVJe TIL The writers of Parks & Rec wrote in Ron Swanson’s alter-ego as Duke Silver before they even knew Nick Offerman was an accomplished saxophonist.