› added 12 years ago

149

TIL that scientists aren’t really sure why we require sleep. According to one researcher with 50 years of experience in the field, “As far as I know, the only reason we need to sleep that is really, really solid is because we get sleepy.”

Read more ngm.nationalgeographic.com

via reddit.com

bWla TIL In 1974, Philippe Petit snuck into the World Trade Center disguised as a construction worker, stretched a steel cable between the towers with a bow and arrow, and walked across – 8 times.
E1wYV TIL FDR was almost killed by a US warship in WWII. During a secret trans-Atlantic trip, he asked for ship demos. One accidentally fired a torpedo at FDR's ship (which moved fast enough to avoid the hit). Afterward, the destroyer was routinely greeted with the hail "Don't shoot! We're Republicans!"
e0Pnb TIL that Charles Schulz, creator of the comic strip Peanuts, hated the name of his comic, which was chosen by his syndicate (he wanted to call it Li'l Folks). As a result, most Peanuts collections and animated specials, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, don't actually use Peanuts in the title.
e5x6 TIL that the word goodbye comes from an abbreviation of ‘God be with ye’ (godbwye)
KYVbQ TIL that on April 21st, 2016, the CN Tower and Niagara Falls were both bathed in purple light to commemorate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Many bystanders mistakenly believed this to have been a tribute to the legendary musician Prince, who died of a fentanyl overdose that very same day.