› added 3 years ago

109

TIL that mama and papa are almost universal for mother/father. But believed to be a coincidence due to language acquisition.

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5YRAr TIL the "golden spike" the last spike hammered into the transcontinental railroad, was immediately removed and given to railroad baron Leland Stanford who put on display in Palo Alto, California.
vrMK TIL: There are giant concrete arrows built every 10 miles that span from NYC to San Francisco which were used by USPS Pilots to trace their way across America
OYRY TIL that Ethyl Formate, the chemical that gives raspberries their flavor, has been found emanating from dust clouds in space.
W775B TIL that the Capitol was designed to have George Washington's tomb on public display. Both houses passed bills saying he should be buried there, and his wife consented, but due to various delays it took until 1830 for it to be viable. After an attempted theft of his head, the project was cancelled.
ZBdv TIL Ancient Romans would flood the Colosseum and stage naval battles.