› added 4 years ago

140

TIL about the 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet', the last portrait painted by Vincent Van Gogh before his death, which was sold for the then record sum of 82.5 million USD in 1990. It is one of Van Gogh’s most important works, but has been withheld from the public by its anonymous owner for almost 30 years.

Read more staedelmuseum.de

via reddit.com

PYdAJ TIL According to Welsh legend, faeries would not only use Corgis for pulling their carts, but would also ride them into battle.
epNDg TIL that at the age of 11 years and 330 days Thomas Gregory holds the record for being the youngest person to swim the English Channel
0dXkA TIL the term "conspiracy theory" is itself the subject of a conspiracy theory, which posits that the term was popularized by the CIA to discredit conspiratorial believers who opposed the Warren Commission Report that concluded JFK was assassinated by a lone gunman.
b9ZG4 TIL that naked mole rats can survive 18 minutes without oxygen and suffer no lasting effects. They achieve this feat by switching their metabolism to use fructose, instead of glucose, something typically only done by plants.
M71lV TIL that Australian director George Miller worked as an emergency physician while making short films. The prevalence of vehicle accidents and Australia’s enthusiasm for automobiles inspired him to write and film “Mad Max”.