› added 8 years ago

154

TIL A week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than the average seventeenth century citizen encountered in a lifetime.

Read more awealthofcommonsense.com

via reddit.com

9EwQ TIL 1/3 of homeless people in the United States have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (approx. 250,000 of 744,000).
nbY7 TIL: King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd once ordered his men to put leeks on their helmets to identify themselves in a battle against the Saxons. To this day, the Leek is the national symbol of Wales
PYk9O TIL that traditional Bavarian pretzels are made with lye (sodium hydroxide), the same caustic chemical used to clear drains and dissolve bodies.
Rk0w TIL in the 1500’s, it was believed there had to be a continent on the bottom of the Earth to “balance things out.” It turns out that was true, and that continent was Antarctica.
1Drd TIL Venus flytraps were believed to be an alien species because they seemed to grow in places where meteorites were found. It was thought they had been brought to Earth by meteors.