› added 7 years ago

451

TIL about the Baghdad Battery. A 2000 year old clay jar with a stopper made of asphalt. Sticking through the asphalt is an iron rod surrounded by a copper cylinder. When filled with vinegar or other electrolytic solution, the jar produces about 1.1 volts.

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VMKbB TIL of Poe's Law: Without a clear indicator of the author's intent, it is impossible to create a parody of extreme views that can't be mistaken for a sincere expression of said extreme views.
QjVa TIL there was such a thing as Woolly Rhinos
OoPYR TIL about Roselle, a seeing-eye dog that led her blind owner, Michael Hingson, down 1,463 steps from the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Dog and owner exited just before the South Tower collapsed, and both survived.
j6JNv Today I learned about moondog, an early adopter of musical minimalism.
j66Pa TIL that a species of beetle endemic to Slovenia is being poached by Nazi items collectors because of its name: Anophthalmus hitleri. It was chosen in honor of Adolph Hitler, in 1933, by a German collector, Oskar Scheibel.