› added 1 year ago

38

TIL that windmills used to be used to mill grain. From the US and only think of wind turbines and energy.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

GYe41 TIL that in Switzerland, applications for citizenship are decided at the municipal level. Hence, if your neighbors find you annoying then they can vote to deny your citizenship.
PgMO TILed that there is a permanent underwater laboratory called Aquarius that is owned by NOAA but used by NASA to study how people handle extreme living conditions. Residents are referred to as “aquanauts”.
QrN9 TIL the scientists (and everyone else) in Antarctica have ‘heedless sex’ (16,500 condoms are distributed to 200 people spending the winter), taking 'ice wives’ and 'ice husbands,’ and also binge-drink, do drugs and generally go completely nuts, and is pretty much the only reason anyone goes back.
XpY8 TIL that President James K. Polk’s last words were addressed to his wife, and he said, “I love you, Sarah. For all eternity, I love you.”
nWrld TIL an apocryphal story states that the Roman Emperor Honorius was shocked upon the news of the 410 AD Sack of Rome. However, the emperor thought the news regarded one of his favorite pet chickens named Roma, and upon learning it was the city of Rome, the emperor breathed a heavy sigh of relief.