› added 8 months ago

26

TIL there was an early Christian sect called the Severian Encratites who taught that the Devil created women and “the lower half” of men. They believed vines came from the Devil as well, because of their snake-like tendrils, whereas the Devil himself was created by the Gnostic power, Ialdaboth.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

6ydX TIL that in 1900, 38% of cars were electrically powered
8abQK TIL where seedless watermelons come from. Much like how a donkey and horse can make a mule but the mule will be sterile, seedless watermelons are the infertile offspring between diploid (22 chromosomes) and tetraploid (44 chromosomes) seeded watermelons.
pVjO TIL that the Library of Congress in the US has the unadulterated 35mm print of “Star Wars” submitted to them in 1977 for copyright, and anyone can watch it by prior appointment.
dDQ68 TIL George Lazenby had never acted before playing James Bond, but was instead a model and car salesman who lied about having acting experience. He showed up with a suit, Rolex, and haircut like Sean Connery’s, and slipped past a distracted receptionist to get into the audition.
78d87 TIL in 2019, 11% of 11–16 year olds in the UK said they had spent money on gambling activities in the previous 7 days, while 36% had done so in the preceding 12 months.