› added 11 years ago

86

TIL: There was no Roman “thumbs down” for gladiator fights and thumbs up meant death

Read more historynotes.info

via reddit.com

E1XJp TIL that despite the popular depiction in films and television, Manhattan has almost no alleys. The Commissioners Plan of 1811 designed the city's grid layout without alleyways to maximize the limited space. The few alleys that remain mostly predate that plan.
MeR8m TIL In the beginning of his career, Eddie Van Halen would play shows with his back to the audience, to keep anyone from stealing his technique
pVe TIL that you would have to walk the full length of a football field just to burn off one plain M&M candy.
78gRX TIL that, in 2011, researchers at the Mayo Clinic created cats that would give off a green glow under ultraviolet light. The goal was not to fluoresce cats, but to track the progress of gene modification while searching for a treatment for Feline AIDS.
rZwy TIL dogs can smell their owners from 11 miles away