› added 11 years ago

75

TIL on this date in 1781 a british slave ship called Zong threw over a hundred slaves into the ocean to claim insurance on their death

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vP1kD TIL the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds developed a 'splatometer' for insect analysis. Which is a post card-sized piece of plastic attached to a car that catches bugs as one drives.
BgZbW Today I learned a man survived 438 days lost at sea only to be sued for cannibalism when he returned
OolW1 TIL Not one year has gone by since 1983 without brand new commercial software written for the NES. (skip to 34:15 for a summary of how)
ANP1l TIL about “follies”: 18th-19th century buildings constructed as displays of extravagant wealth, typically with no practical purpose
Ooej1 TIL the ancient Chinese used natural gas for lighting purposes around 500 B.C., using bamboo pipelines to transport the gas for miles.