› added 4 years ago

48

TIL in 1633, a Turkish gentleman by the name of Lagâri Hasan Çelebi launched himself into the air on a rocket filled with 140 lbs of gunpowder. He landed in the river and was rewarded with silver by the Sultan. Mythbusters later tested this story in 2009 and considered it implausible.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

5L1P TIL Elon Musk is seriously planning Mars colonization using a heavy lift rocket called the Mars Colonial Transporter
b98bQ TIL that when people are blind from birth they don’t see black. They don’t see darkness, they just don’t see anything at all. They see less than darkness
GARX7 TIL Scientists find that lifespan can be extended by dietary restriction, lowered insulin signaling, and slowing down gene transcription.
oBVxY TIL Tigers cannot purr. To show happiness, tigers squint or close their eyes. This is because losing vision lowers defense, so tigers only purposefully do so when they feel comfortable and safe
9KXQ TIL: In Wales in 1950 a man was wrongfully executed for the murder of his wife and daughter. It is the reason capital punishment is outlawed in the UK today