› added 3 years ago

44

TIL that in approximately 8000 BC, the Mesopotamians began using clay tokens to count their agricultural and manufactured goods. Later they began placing these tokens inside large, hollow clay containers (bulla, or globular envelopes) which were then sealed.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

j8nE TIL only one F-117 fighter has ever been shot down in combat, the pilot, who ejected and was rescued behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia, opened a bakery and years later became friends with the man who fired the SAM missile
WmKX TIL Danish philosopher Søren Kirkegaard published his works using amusing pseudonyms (perhaps best of all, Hilarius Bookbinder). Everyone in Copenhagen knew that Søren was the author, so at times he added to the title page of a book the scholarly note that it had been “edited by Søren Kierkegaard.”
xV8kb TIL the United States has less operational high speed rail than North Africa; China has the world's largest amount of rail, whooping the pants off all of Europe combined. China 31K, Europe 18K, the US 54. That's not a typo, 54 miles. North Africa 186mi.
7880X TIL the first modern chain letter was written in the 18th century, with predecessors to the modern chain letter existing as far back as the 9th century
WkWJN TIL Chuck Yeager enlisted as private, was an aircraft mechanic before becoming a pilot, got shot down over France but escaped, had 11.5 aerial victories, broke the sound barrier and multiple speed records as a test pilot, and retired from the US Air Force after 34 years as a brigadier general.