› added 7 years ago

162

TIL that to decide who would become the monarch of the Persian Empire (44% of world population), six nobles decided on a test. They were to gather outside the palace, mounted on their horses at sunrise, and the man whose horse neighed first in recognition of the rising sun would become king.

Read more wikipedia.org

via ift.tt

mxJ1x TIL that "Gish gallop" is a debate technique that focuses on overwhelming an opponent with as many arguments as possible without regard for accuracy or strength of the arguments
9w5dr TIL Christopher Columbus used a lunar eclipse in 1504 to deceive Jamaican natives into providing supplies, claiming it was a sign of divine anger. The frightened natives complied, unaware of the eclipse's natural cause.
e04kL TIL a pilot drunkenly stole and landed planes on the streets of Manhattan twice in the 1950s. The first was to prove how quickly he could get to NYC from NJ. The second was because a bar patron didn't believe his first story.
BrkgW TIL that in 1984, J.R.R. Tolkien's book "The Hobbit" was adapted as a TV movie in the Soviet Union. It was titled "The Fabulous Journey of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, Across the Wild Land, Through the Dark Forest, Beyond the Misty Mountains. There and Back Again"
D1PBJ TIL Of Billy Ray Harris, a beggar who was accidentally given a $4,000 engagement ring by a passing woman when she dropped it into his cup. He never sold it. Two days later the woman came back for her ring and he gave it to her. In thanks, she set up a fund that raised over $185,000 for him