› added 1 year ago

182

TIL. The marathon distance of 26.2 miles is not the distance between Marathon and Athens, but was established by the Queen of England for the 1908 Olympics.

Read more bbc.com

via reddit.com

5YmxR TIL In the Middle Ages the word "poop" meant to blast a horn. By the 1600s it was slang for farting.
BrAxL TIL that during the Western Schism of the Catholic Church, there was a cardinal appointed by Antipope Benedict XIII who split with the others and, acting as the entire college of cardinals, elected someone Pope all by himself; when that guy died, he elected himself Pope all by himself.
BrO7x TIL that Pacific Bell spent $40 million to put its employees through a training program based on the teachings of Russian mystic George Gurdjieff—to supposedly open their eyes to a "higher-level" consciousness. The program was halted after the Californian utility regulator launched a public inquiry.
M77L7 TIL about “The Open Veins of Latin America,” a seminal historical analysis on resource exploitation since the Conquistadors, and how precious metal mining for bullets and aircraft feeds the Northern hemisphere’s depletion of resources and people from the Rio Grande to the Amazon
DkkJ TIL Women’s right to vote passed thanks to the vote of Harry Burn, a 23-year old representative. Although he opposed the amendment, his mother convinced him to approve it with a note that said “Don’t forget to be a good boy”